Αυτός σήμερα είναι πολύ κουρασμένος.

Today he is very tired.

Breakdown of Αυτός σήμερα είναι πολύ κουρασμένος.

• είμαι: to be
• πολύ: very
• σήμερα: today
• κουρασμένος: tired
• αυτός: that

Questions & Answers about Αυτός σήμερα είναι πολύ κουρασμένος.

Why do we use Αυτός here? I thought Greek usually drops the subject pronoun.

Greek normally leaves out subject pronouns because the verb form usually shows the subject (e.g. είμαι, είσαι, είναι etc.).

In Αυτός σήμερα είναι πολύ κουρασμένος, using Αυτός adds emphasis or contrast:

• Αυτός σήμερα είναι πολύ κουρασμένος.
  → He (as opposed to someone else) is very tired today.
• Σήμερα είναι πολύ κουρασμένος.
  → More neutral: He is very tired today.

So Αυτός is not grammatically required; it’s a stylistic/emphatic choice.

Can I move σήμερα to another place in the sentence? Is the word order flexible?

Yes, Greek word order is fairly flexible. All of these are grammatically correct, with small changes in emphasis:

• Σήμερα είναι πολύ κουρασμένος. (very natural)
• Σήμερα αυτός είναι πολύ κουρασμένος. (emphasis on he)
• Είναι πολύ κουρασμένος σήμερα. (neutral, very natural in speech)
• Αυτός σήμερα είναι πολύ κουρασμένος. (focus on this particular person today)

The basic meaning stays the same: he is very tired today. Word order mostly affects what is emphasized, not whether the sentence is correct.

Is Αυτός always “he”? What if I’m talking about a woman?

Αυτός is the masculine singular pronoun, so it refers to a man or masculine noun.

For people, you’d use:

• Αυτός = he / this man
• Αυτή = she / this woman
• Αυτό = it / this (neuter)

So for a woman you would say:

• Αυτή σήμερα είναι πολύ κουρασμένη.
  (She is very tired today.)

Notice that both the pronoun and the adjective change to feminine:
Αυτή … κουρασμένη.

Why is it κουρασμένος and not some other form? What exactly is κουρασμένος?

Κουρασμένος is an adjective meaning tired. It agrees with the subject in gender, number, and case.

Masculine singular (for Αυτός):

• κουρασμένος

Other forms:

• Feminine: κουρασμένη → Αυτή είναι κουρασμένη.
• Neuter: κουρασμένο → Αυτό είναι κουρασμένο.
• Plural masculine: κουρασμένοι → Αυτοί είναι κουρασμένοι.
• Plural feminine: κουρασμένες → Αυτές είναι κουρασμένες.
• Plural neuter: κουρασμένα → Αυτά είναι κουρασμένα.

So you use κουρασμένος here because the subject Αυτός is masculine singular.

Is κουρασμένος a past participle, like “tired” from “to tire”?

In traditional grammar terms, κουρασμένος comes from the verb κουράζω (to tire), but in modern Greek it is treated and used like a normal adjective.

• With είμαι: Είμαι κουρασμένος. (I am tired.)
• With νιώθω: Νιώθω κουρασμένος. (I feel tired.)

So you can think of it like English “tired”: originally from a verb, but functioning as an adjective.

What does πολύ do here, and does it change form?

In πολύ κουρασμένος, πολύ means very and it does not change form in this use. It’s an adverb modifying the adjective κουρασμένος:

• κουρασμένος = tired
• πολύ κουρασμένος = very tired

As an adverb (before adjectives and other adverbs), πολύ stays πολύ, no matter the gender or number:

• πολύ κουρασμένη (feminine)
• πολύ κουρασμένο (neuter)
• πολύ κουρασμένοι (plural)

It only changes form when it’s used as an adjective meaning much / many (e.g. πολλή δουλειά, πολλοί άνθρωποι), but that’s a different use.

Can πολύ go after κουρασμένος, like in English “tired very”?

No. In Greek, the intensifying πολύ comes before the adjective:

• ✔ πολύ κουρασμένος
• ✘ κουρασμένος πολύ (this sounds wrong or at least very odd here)

However, you can sometimes put πολύ at the end of the sentence to emphasize how much, but then it usually modifies the verb or the whole phrase, not directly the adjective:

• Είναι κουρασμένος, πολύ. (sounds like: He is tired, very (much). – quite emphatic/stylized)

For normal speech, keep πολύ before the adjective: πολύ κουρασμένος.

Does είναι mean both “he is” and “she is”? How do I know the subject?

Yes. Είναι is the 3rd person singular of είμαι (to be), and it can mean:

• he is
• she is
• it is

You know who the subject is from:

1. Context (what and who you’re talking about), and/or
2. An explicit subject: a pronoun or a noun.

In Αυτός σήμερα είναι πολύ κουρασμένος, the pronoun Αυτός makes it clear it’s he.
Without it (Σήμερα είναι πολύ κουρασμένος), context tells you it’s he (because of masculine κουρασμένος).

How would I say this in the past tense: “He was very tired today”?

Change είναι (present) to ήταν (past):

• Αυτός σήμερα ήταν πολύ κουρασμένος.
  → He was very tired today.

Word order variants are similar:

• Σήμερα ήταν πολύ κουρασμένος.
• Ήταν πολύ κουρασμένος σήμερα.

The adjective κουρασμένος doesn’t change between present and past; only the verb είμαι changes.

Is Αυτός σήμερα είναι πολύ κουρασμένος the most natural way to say this?

In everyday speech, the most neutral/natural versions would usually be:

• Σήμερα είναι πολύ κουρασμένος.
• Είναι πολύ κουρασμένος σήμερα.

Including Αυτός is fine, but it adds extra emphasis (HE, today, is very tired), so it might be used when:

• Contrasting people: Αυτός σήμερα είναι πολύ κουρασμένος, η Μαρία όχι.
• Answering who is tired: – Ποιος είναι κουρασμένος; – Αυτός σήμερα είναι πολύ κουρασμένος.

Why is there no article like “the” before Αυτός or κουρασμένος?

Two points:

1. Personal pronouns like Αυτός, Αυτή, Αυτό never take an article. They already identify the person.

2. After είμαι (to be), when you use an adjective like κουρασμένος, you don’t use an article either:

• Είναι κουρασμένος. (He is tired.)
• Είναι ψηλή. (She is tall.)
• Είμαι έτοιμος. (I am ready.)

So the structure [subject] + είναι + [adjective] naturally has no article before the adjective.

How do I pronounce this whole sentence?

Syllable breakdown with stress (marked by the accent):

• Αυ-ΤΌς (af-TÓS)
• σή-ΜΕ-ρα (SÍ-me-ra)
• ΕΊ-ναι (Í-ne)
• πο-ΛΎ (po-LÍ)
• κου-ρασ-ΜΈ-νος (koo-ras-MÉ-nos)

Put it together (approximate English-style transcription):

• Αυτός σήμερα είναι πολύ κουρασμένος.
  → af-TÓS SÍ-me-ra Í-ne po-LÍ koo-ras-MÉ-nos

Stress is important in Greek; moving the stress can change the word or make it hard to understand.