Learn Hardcore Greek: Εγώ δεν είμαι σε δίαιτα, αλλά προσπαθώ να τρώω λιγότερη σοκολάτα το βράδυ. - I am not on a diet, but I try to eat less chocolate in the evening.

Δεν είμαι σε δίαιτα… = I am not on a diet… (perfectly natural)
Εγώ δεν είμαι σε δίαιτα… adds emphasis, like “I am not on a diet (myself)” or “Me, I’m not on a diet…”, often implying contrast with someone else.

So you can drop Εγώ unless you want to stress I specifically.

Why is the negative δεν placed before είμαι? Is there a rule?

Yes. In Greek, the basic rule is:

δεν (or δε) + conjugated verb

So you put δεν directly in front of the main verb (or in front of the auxiliary in compound tenses):

Δεν είμαι σε δίαιτα. – I am not on a diet.
Δεν τρώω σοκολάτα. – I do not eat chocolate.
Δεν έχω φάει. – I have not eaten.

You cannot move δεν somewhere else like in English; it always sits right before the verb it negates.

Why is it σε δίαιτα and not στη δίαιτα or σε μια δίαιτα?

Σε δίαιτα is an idiomatic way to say “on a diet” in Greek.

είμαι σε δίαιτα = I am on (some) diet / I’m dieting.

A few points:

There is no article here because we are talking about the activity/state of dieting, not one specific, clearly identified diet.
στη δίαιτα would mean “in the diet / in the specific diet”, and would usually sound wrong here unless you had just mentioned that exact diet.
σε μια δίαιτα (literally “on a diet / on one diet”) can appear, but it suggests some particular diet out of others, so it’s less common in this generic sense.

So σε δίαιτα (no article) is the normal, idiomatic choice.

Could I say Δεν κάνω δίαιτα instead of Δεν είμαι σε δίαιτα? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can, and many Greeks would actually find Δεν κάνω δίαιτα a bit more natural.

Δεν κάνω δίαιτα. = I’m not dieting / I’m not following a diet.
Δεν είμαι σε δίαιτα. = I’m not on a diet.

They usually mean the same thing in everyday speech. If anything:

κάνω δίαιτα focuses on the action (“I don’t diet / I’m not dieting”),
είμαι σε δίαιτα focuses on the state (“I am not in a diet-phase / diet-condition”).

But in practice you can treat them as interchangeable here.

What exactly does προσπαθώ να mean? Is it always “try to”?

Προσπαθώ να + verb normally means “I try to / I attempt to”:

προσπαθώ να κοιμηθώ – I try to sleep.
προσπαθώ να μάθω ελληνικά – I’m trying to learn Greek.

It can also carry the sense of “struggle to” or “make an effort to”, depending on context. In your sentence:

προσπαθώ να τρώω λιγότερη σοκολάτα
= I’m trying to eat less chocolate.

So you can safely think of προσπαθώ να as “try to” + verb.

Why is it να τρώω and not να φάω? What’s the difference?

This is about aspect: imperfective vs perfective.

να τρώω (imperfective) – focuses on ongoing / repeated / habitual action.
να φάω (perfective) – focuses on one complete event or a single occasion.

Here you mean a habitual change: in general, you are trying to eat less chocolate in the evenings, not just once. So Greek prefers:

προσπαθώ να τρώω λιγότερη σοκολάτα το βράδυ
= I’m trying to (generally) eat less chocolate in the evenings.

If you said:

προσπαθώ να φάω λιγότερη σοκολάτα (σήμερα το βράδυ),

it would sound more like “I’m trying to eat less chocolate (this evening / on this specific occasion).”

Is τρώω here “I eat” or “I am eating”? How does Greek show continuous actions?

Greek present tense (τρώω) covers both:

I eat (general / habitual),
I am eating (right now / currently),

depending on context.

So τρώω can mean:

Τώρα τρώω. – I’m eating now.
Κάθε μέρα τρώω σαλάτα. – I eat salad every day.

In your sentence, να τρώω λιγότερη σοκολάτα το βράδυ clearly refers to a habitual behavior (in the evenings), so it corresponds to English “I’m trying to eat less chocolate (in general, habitually).”

Greek doesn’t need a special continuous form like English; adverbs like τώρα (“now”), κάθε μέρα (“every day”) and context usually make the meaning clear.

Why is it λιγότερη σοκολάτα and not λιγότερο σοκολάτα?

Λιγότερη agrees in gender, number and case with σοκολάτα.

σοκολάτα is feminine singular, so we use the feminine form:
- λίγος (m.) – little, few
- λίγη (f.)
- λίγο (n.)
- comparative: λιγότερος, λιγότερη, λιγότερο

So:

λιγότερη σοκολάτα = less chocolate (feminine noun → feminine adjective).
λιγότερο σοκολάτα would be grammatically wrong here.

Compare:

τρώω λιγότερο – I eat less (in general; here λιγότερο is adverb, modifying the verb).
τρώω λιγότερη σοκολάτα – I eat less chocolate (here it modifies a feminine noun, so λιγότερη).

Why is there no article before σοκολάτα, but there is an article in το βράδυ?

Two different patterns:

Mass/indefinite nouns after verbs like “eat, drink”
Greek often drops the article where English might say “some”:
- Τρώω σοκολάτα. – I eat chocolate.
- Πίνω νερό. – I drink (some) water.
- Τρώω ψωμί. – I eat bread.
So λιγότερη σοκολάτα is “less (some) chocolate” – no article needed.
Parts of the day used as time expressions
Here Greek usually uses the neuter singular with article:
- το πρωί – in the morning
- το μεσημέρι – at noon
- το απόγευμα – in the afternoon
- το βράδυ – in the evening / at night
So το βράδυ = “in the evening / at night” as a time expression, and the το is standard.

What does το βράδυ mean exactly, and how is it different from τη νύχτα?

Approximate meanings:

το βράδυ = the evening / early night
Usually from around 7–8 p.m. until bedtime. In English you might translate it as “in the evening” or sometimes “at night”, depending on context.
τη νύχτα = at night / during the night
This often suggests later, darker hours, maybe while people are normally asleep.

Examples:

Διαβάζω το βράδυ. – I study in the evening.
Ξυπνάω τη νύχτα. – I wake up at night (during the night).

In your sentence, το βράδυ is the natural choice, because we are talking about evening/evening-snacking habits, not weird times in the middle of the night.

Can I move words around, like Δεν είμαι σε δίαιτα εγώ or προσπαθώ το βράδυ να τρώω λιγότερη σοκολάτα?

Greek word order is fairly flexible, but some things are more natural than others.

Δεν είμαι σε δίαιτα, αλλά προσπαθώ να τρώω λιγότερη σοκολάτα το βράδυ.
→ completely natural.

You can also say:

Εγώ δεν είμαι σε δίαιτα, αλλά προσπαθώ να τρώω λιγότερη σοκολάτα το βράδυ.
(extra emphasis on Εγώ)
Δεν είμαι σε δίαιτα, αλλά το βράδυ προσπαθώ να τρώω λιγότερη σοκολάτα.
(emphasizes in the evening a bit more)
Δεν είμαι σε δίαιτα εγώ… – possible, but sounds more marked, like “I’m not the one on a diet”, with strong contrast.

Key constraints:

δεν must stay right before the verb it negates (δεν είμαι, δεν κάνω, etc.).
να must stay directly before the verb it introduces (να τρώω, να φάω).

Within those limits, you can move adverbials like το βράδυ or λιγότερη σοκολάτα for emphasis or style.

Are there other natural ways to say this sentence in Greek?

Yes, several variations are very natural. For example:

Δεν κάνω δίαιτα, αλλά προσπαθώ να τρώω λιγότερη σοκολάτα το βράδυ.
(using κάνω δίαιτα, very common)
Δεν είμαι σε δίαιτα· απλώς προσπαθώ να τρώω λιγότερη σοκολάτα το βράδυ.
(adds απλώς = simply / just)
Δεν κάνω δίαιτα· απλώς προσπαθώ το βράδυ να τρώω λιγότερη σοκολάτα.
(moves το βράδυ for emphasis)

All of these keep the same basic meaning as your original sentence.