Χτες το βράδυ είχε έναν ξαφνικό δυνατό αέρα και δεν κοιμήθηκα καλά.

Last night there was a sudden strong wind and I didn’t sleep well.

Breakdown of Χτες το βράδυ είχε έναν ξαφνικό δυνατό αέρα και δεν κοιμήθηκα καλά.

• καλά: well
• και: and
• έχω: to have
• δεν: not

Questions & Answers about Χτες το βράδυ είχε έναν ξαφνικό δυνατό αέρα και δεν κοιμήθηκα καλά.

Why does the sentence use είχε? What is the subject here?

In είχε έναν ξαφνικό δυνατό αέρα, the verb είχε (from έχω, to have) is used in an impersonal way, similar to there was in English.

• Literally, this part is: There was a sudden strong wind.
• Grammatically, είχε is 3rd person singular, past tense (imperfect), but there is no real subject expressed like he/she/it.
• Greek often uses έχω (in είχε) impersonally for:
  • Weather: Είχε ήλιο = There was sun / It was sunny
  • Environmental conditions: Είχε κίνηση = There was traffic

So here, είχε works like English there was, and the logical subject is the situation or environment, not a specific pronoun like it.

How would you literally translate είχε έναν ξαφνικό δυνατό αέρα, and how does that relate to it was windy in English?