Breakdown of Σήμερα δοκιμάζω μια καινούρια καυτερή σάλτσα ντομάτας για τα μακαρόνια.
Questions & Answers about Σήμερα δοκιμάζω μια καινούρια καυτερή σάλτσα ντομάτας για τα μακαρόνια.
Modern Greek uses the present tense a lot where English might use a future construction.
- Σήμερα δοκιμάζω…
Literally: “Today I (am) try(ing)…”
This can mean:- “Today I’m trying…” (present arrangement / plan)
- “Today I’m going to try…” (near-future plan)
If you say:
- Σήμερα θα δοκιμάσω μια καινούρια καυτερή σάλτσα ντομάτας…
this is closer to “Today I will try / I’m going to try…”, with a clearer future sense.
Nuance:
- δοκιμάζω (present): sounds like something planned or decided, part of today’s program; also could be happening “now”.
- θα δοκιμάσω (future): focuses more on the future action itself, a bit more neutral or formal as a statement of intention.
Both are correct here; the original sentence is just slightly more colloquial and “immediate.”
Greek articles agree with the gender of the noun.
- σάλτσα is feminine (like most nouns ending in -α in the singular).
- The feminine indefinite article in the nominative/accusative singular is μια.
- The neuter indefinite article is ένα (used with neuter nouns, like ένα βιβλίο “a book”).
So:
- μια σάλτσα = a sauce (feminine)
- ένα βιβλίο = a book (neuter)
- ένας καφές = a coffee (masculine, with ένας)
That’s why it must be μια καινούρια καυτερή σάλτσα and not ένα….
Both καινούρια and νέα can mean “new,” but they’re not always interchangeable.
καινούρια σάλτσα
Emphasizes “new to me / brand-new / different from what I had before”.
It often implies a fresh, different, or recently acquired thing.νέα σάλτσα
Can also mean “new sauce,” but νέος/νέα/νέο is often more formal or abstract:- new idea, new era, new government, new law, etc.
- It can also have the sense of “young” for people (νέος άνθρωπος = young person).
In everyday speech, especially for food, clothes, objects, etc., καινούριος/καινούρια/καινούριο is much more common.
So μια καινούρια καυτερή σάλτσα sounds naturally conversational: “a new (to me), different spicy sauce.”
καυτερή comes from καυτερός, -ή, -ό and means “spicy / hot (because of chili, pepper, etc.)”.
It refers to spiciness, not temperature.ζεστή comes from ζεστός, -ή, -ό and means “warm / hot (in temperature)”.
So:
- καυτερή σάλτσα = spicy sauce (chili heat)
- ζεστή σάλτσα = hot/warm sauce (temperature)
Also note agreement:
- καυτερή is feminine singular, agreeing with σάλτσα (feminine).
- masculine: καυτερός (π.χ. καυτερός μεζές)
- neuter: καυτερό (π.χ. καυτερό πιάτο)
ντομάτας is the genitive singular of ντομάτα (tomato).
- ντομάτα (fem.) = tomato (nominative/accusative singular)
- ντομάτας = of tomato (genitive singular)
In Greek, a very common way to express “X sauce” (= sauce of X) is:
- σάλτσα + noun in genitive
- σάλτσα ντομάτας = sauce of tomato = tomato sauce
- σάλτσα γιαουρτιού = yoghurt sauce
- σάλτσα λεμονιού = lemon sauce
So σάλτσα ντομάτας literally means “sauce of tomato”, which corresponds to English “tomato sauce.” The genitive -ας is just the regular genitive ending for many feminine nouns ending in -α.
Yes, σάλτσα από ντομάτα is grammatically correct, but there’s a nuance:
σάλτσα ντομάτας
- Very natural, standard way to name the type of sauce.
- Sounds like the usual label or category: “tomato sauce.”
σάλτσα από ντομάτα
- Literally “sauce from tomato.”
- Can emphasize the origin or ingredient slightly more, e.g. “a sauce made from tomato (as opposed to another ingredient).”
- In practice, for common fixed combinations like tomato sauce, yoghurt sauce, etc., Greeks strongly prefer the genitive form (σάλτσα ντομάτας, σάλτσα γιαουρτιού, etc.).
In everyday usage, σάλτσα ντομάτας is the normal, idiomatic choice here.
Greek adjectives most frequently appear before the noun, especially in simple noun phrases:
- μια καινούρια καυτερή σάλτσα
literally: “a new spicy sauce.”
The order of multiple adjectives is generally:
- Determiner (article)
- Opinion / quality / description adjectives
- Color / material / type
- Noun
So μια (article) + καινούρια (new) + καυτερή (spicy) + σάλτσα (noun) is very natural.
Adjectives can go after the noun, but that usually changes the structure. For example:
- μια καυτερή σάλτσα ντομάτας = a spicy tomato sauce (both adjectives before)
- μια σάλτσα ντομάτας, καυτερή και καινούρια = a tomato sauce, spicy and new
(here καυτερή and καινούρια are in a more “descriptive” or “added information” position, often separated by a comma or καί).
In short:
- Basic, neutral description? → Put adjectives before the noun.
- Extra, comments/descriptions? → You may put adjectives after, often in a looser, more “spoken” style.
Different nouns behave differently:
ντομάτα → ντομάτας (singular)
We’re talking about the type of sauce (“tomato sauce”), so Greek uses the singular “tomato” in genitive: σάλτσα ντομάτας.μακαρόνια is normally used in the plural to mean “pasta / macaroni” in general.
It’s a plural noun by default, like English “spaghetti” or “noodles” as a dish.
There is a singular:
- μακαρόνι (one piece of macaroni), but:
- It’s rarely used in everyday speech unless you really mean one piece.
- For the dish or category, Greeks almost always use the plural μακαρόνια.
So:
- για τα μακαρόνια = for the pasta / for the macaroni (as a dish)
Both forms are possible, but there is a nuance:
για τα μακαρόνια
- Literally: “for the pasta.”
- Sounds like you are referring to specific pasta:
- the pasta you are going to cook now,
- the pasta you have at home,
- or pasta as a familiar, known dish in this context.
- Very natural in a sentence like this; it feels like “for the pasta (I’m making).”
για μακαρόνια
- Literally: “for pasta / for some pasta.”
- A bit more generic or indefinite.
- Could suggest “for pasta in general” or “for pasta (unspecific).”
In everyday talk about actual cooking plans, για τα μακαρόνια is slightly more common and sounds more concrete and conversational.
Yes, σήμερα (today) can move around quite freely. All of these are grammatically correct:
- Σήμερα δοκιμάζω μια καινούρια καυτερή σάλτσα ντομάτας για τα μακαρόνια.
- Δοκιμάζω σήμερα μια καινούρια καυτερή σάλτσα ντομάτας για τα μακαρόνια.
- Δοκιμάζω μια καινούρια καυτερή σάλτσα ντομάτας σήμερα για τα μακαρόνια.
The main differences are in emphasis and rhythm:
Σήμερα δοκιμάζω…
Emphasizes “today (as opposed to some other day), I’m trying…”.Δοκιμάζω σήμερα…
More neutral, focus slightly more on the action “I’m trying,” with “today” as extra info.
Greek word order is relatively flexible because case endings show who does what, but the default, neutral place for a time adverb like σήμερα is often at the beginning or just after the verb. The original sentence is perfectly natural.
Stress in Greek is very important; the accent mark (´) shows where the stress falls.
δοκιμάζω → do-ki-MA-zo
- Stress on the μά syllable.
- δ = like English “th” in “this”.
- ζ = as in “zoo”.
σάλτσα → SAl-tsa
- Stress on σά.
- τσ = “ts” (like “cats”).
ντομάτας → do-MA-tas
- Stress on μά.
- ντ at the start is pronounced like d in “dog” (so “domatas”).
μακαρόνια → ma-ka-RO-nia
- Stress on ρο.
- νι here is like “ni” in “onion” (similar to Spanish ñ), especially in careful speech: ma-ka-RO-nya.
Altogether, spoken naturally: ΣΗ-με-ρα δο-κι-ΜΑ-ζω μια κε-ΝΟΥ-ρια καυ-τε-ΡΙ σΑΛ-τσα ντο-ΜΑ-τας για τα μα-κα-ΡΟ-nya.
Yes, you can drop μια:
- Σήμερα δοκιμάζω καινούρια καυτερή σάλτσα ντομάτας για τα μακαρόνια.
This is still correct. The difference is subtle:
με “μια” → μια καινούρια καυτερή σάλτσα
- Feels like “a particular new spicy sauce (one sauce)” you have in mind.
- Slightly more natural if you’re talking about “this one new sauce I bought / made.”
without “μια” → καινούρια καυτερή σάλτσα
- Can sound a bit more general: “new spicy tomato sauce” as a category or kind.
- Still fine in context and common in speech, especially after verbs like θέλω, ψάχνω, δοκιμάζω.
Both are used in everyday Greek; including μια often makes the noun phrase feel a bit more specific and concrete.