Breakdown of Δεν θέλω να μιλήσω σε κανέναν σήμερα.
Questions & Answers about Δεν θέλω να μιλήσω σε κανέναν σήμερα.
In Greek, double negation is standard and correct, not a mistake.
- Δεν is the main negation particle for verbs.
- κανέναν is an indefinite pronoun that becomes negative when used with δεν.
So:
- Δεν θέλω = I don’t want
- σε κανέναν (with δεν) = to anyone (literally to no one, but in Greek it must be combined with δεν)
Together, Δεν θέλω να μιλήσω σε κανέναν literally feels like I don’t want to talk to no one, but in Greek that is the normal way to say I don’t want to talk to anyone.
Without δεν, κανέναν can also mean someone / anyone in questions or conditionals:
- Θέλεις να μιλήσεις σε κανέναν; = Do you want to talk to anyone?
Greek doesn’t have a true infinitive (like to talk). Instead, it uses να + a verb form.
In να μιλήσω:
- να is a particle that introduces a verb in the subjunctive mood.
- μιλήσω is the subjunctive form of the verb μιλάω (to speak / to talk).
After verbs of wanting, needing, trying, etc., Greek uses να + subjunctive, where English would use to + infinitive:
- Θέλω να μιλήσω = I want to talk.
- Πρέπει να φύγω. = I have to leave.
- Προσπαθώ να διαβάσω. = I’m trying to study.
So here, να doesn’t translate directly as “to,” but να μιλήσω as a unit functions like to talk in English.
μιλήσω is the aorist subjunctive form of μιλάω (to talk).
Greek has two basic “aspects” in the subjunctive:
- Imperfective (ongoing/repeated):
να μιλάω = to be talking / to talk (regularly) - Aorist (single/complete event):
να μιλήσω = to talk (once, as a single action)
In Δεν θέλω να μιλήσω σε κανέναν σήμερα, the speaker is referring to the act of talking at all (any instance of talking today). That’s why the aorist is natural here.
You could say Δεν θέλω να μιλάω σε κανέναν σήμερα, but that would emphasize the ongoing activity of talking throughout today, like “I don’t want to be talking to anyone today (as a general ongoing thing).” For this sentence, να μιλήσω is the default, neutral choice.
- σε is a preposition meaning to (or at, in, depending on context).
- κανέναν here is an indefinite pronoun meaning anyone / no one.
Together, σε κανέναν literally is to anyone / to no one.
The verb μιλάω (to speak / talk) in Greek usually takes σε + accusative to show who you talk to:
- Μιλάω σε αυτόν. = I talk to him.
- Μιλάω σε φίλους. = I talk to friends.
- Μιλάω σε κανέναν. (with δεν in the sentence) = I talk to no one / I don’t talk to anyone.
So you need σε with κανέναν here, just like you need “to” in English:
I don’t want to talk *to anyone.*
κανέναν here is in the accusative case, because it is the object of the preposition σε.
Masculine indefinite/negative pronouns like this decline similarly to masculine nouns:
Singular (masculine):
- Nominative: κανένας
- Genitive: κανενός
- Accusative: κανέναν
So:
- κανένας = no one / anyone (subject)
- βλέπω κανέναν = I see anyone / no one (object)
- σε κανέναν = to anyone / to no one (after σε, which takes the accusative)
That’s why you see -αν at the end: it marks accusative singular masculine.
Yes, κανέναν is the masculine form of the pronoun, but in this kind of sentence it is gender-neutral in meaning.
Forms:
- Masculine: κανένας / κανέναν
- Feminine: καμία / καμιά
- Neuter: κανένα
In practice:
- σε κανέναν is the most common general way to say to anyone / to no one (about people), regardless of actual gender.
- You usually only bother with feminine or neuter if you are emphasizing that fact or referring to a grammatically feminine/neuter noun.
So here, σε κανέναν just means to anyone, not to any man. The gender is grammatical, not semantic in normal usage.
Yes, Greek word order is quite flexible, and putting σήμερα earlier is completely fine:
- Δεν θέλω να μιλήσω σε κανέναν σήμερα.
- Σήμερα δεν θέλω να μιλήσω σε κανέναν.
Both mean: I don’t want to talk to anyone today.
Differences:
- Σήμερα δεν θέλω… slightly emphasizes “today”: As for today, I don’t want to talk to anyone.
- With σήμερα at the end, the emphasis is more neutral, but still natural.
So you can safely move σήμερα without changing the basic meaning; it mainly affects focus/emphasis.
No, not with the verb μιλήσω.
- μιλάω / μιλώ in the sense of talk to someone normally requires σε:
- μιλάω σε κάποιον = I talk to someone.
- μιλάω σε κανέναν (with overall negation) = I talk to no one / anyone.
If you drop σε and say μιλήσω κανέναν, it sounds wrong or at least very unnatural.
There are other verbs where you can have a direct object in the accusative without a preposition, e.g.:
- Δεν βλέπω κανέναν. = I don’t see anyone.
But μιλάω in this interpersonal sense behaves like speak to someone, so you need σε.
They are related but not the same:
Δεν θέλω να μιλήσω σε κανέναν σήμερα.
- Focus: desire / intention.
- I don’t want to talk to anyone today (maybe I will if I have to, but I don’t want to).
Δεν μιλάω σε κανέναν σήμερα.
- Focus: actual behavior / action.
- I’m not talking to anyone today (this is what I’m actually doing / my policy today).
The first talks about your wish, the second about your current practice. In many contexts they overlap, but grammatically they are different.
Not if you’re talking about people with the verb μιλάω.
- κανέναν is masculine accusative; it is the natural default for a person.
- κανένα is neuter accusative. It usually goes with neuter nouns or with things rather than people.
You might see κανένα in sentences like:
- Δεν βλέπω κανένα βιβλίο. = I don’t see any book.
- Δεν έχω κανένα πρόβλημα. = I don’t have any problem.
But for talking to anyone (a person) you use σε κανέναν.
In everyday writing and speech, no real difference in meaning or pronunciation.
- Δεν is the full form.
- Δε is a very common shortened form, especially in informal writing.
In speech, ν in δεν is often dropped or assimilated before certain consonants, so δεν θέλω is usually pronounced close to δε θέλω. Both are standard; Δεν is more formal or careful, Δε is more casual/colloquial in writing, but both are correct.
A rough phonetic guide (using English-like approximations):
Δεν θέλω να μιλήσω σε κανέναν σήμερα.
- Δεν ≈ then (with a soft th as in this)
- θέλω ≈ THEH-lo (stress on θέ; th as in think, short e)
- να ≈ na (like nah but shorter)
- μιλήσω ≈ mee-LEE-so (stress on λή)
- σε ≈ se (like seh)
- κανέναν ≈ ka-NE-nan (stress on νέ; both a like in cup but shorter)
- σήμερα ≈ SEE-me-ra (stress on σί, i as in machine)
Stress marks in Greek show exactly where the emphasis goes:
- Θέλω, μιλήσω, κανέναν, σήμερα → stress on the syllable with the accent mark.