Σήμερα κάνω μια πίτα με μανιτάρια και καλαμπόκι, γιατί δεν έχω κρέας.

Yes, κάνω very often means do, but in Greek it is also commonly used for make in many everyday contexts.

So:

• κάνω μια πίτα = I’m making a pie/pita
• literally, it is still the normal verb Greek uses here

Greek often uses κάνω where English prefers make. You could also hear φτιάχνω in similar situations, which also means make / prepare.

So in this sentence, κάνω is completely natural.

Not exactly.

In Greek, πίτα can mean several things, depending on context:

• a pie
• a savory pie
• sometimes a flatbread in certain contexts

In this sentence, μια πίτα με μανιτάρια και καλαμπόκι most naturally means:

• a pie with mushrooms and corn

It does not usually mean the small round bread that English often calls pita bread.

μια is the feminine form of the indefinite article, meaning a / an / one.

Since πίτα is a feminine noun, Greek uses:

• μια πίτα = a pie

Compare:

• ένας for masculine nouns
• μια / μία for feminine nouns
• ένα for neuter nouns

So the article agrees with the gender of the noun.

Because Greek, like English, often leaves out the article when talking about ingredients or materials in a general sense.

So:

• με μανιτάρια και καλαμπόκι = with mushrooms and corn

This sounds like listing ingredients, not referring to specific mushrooms or specific corn already known to the listener.

You could sometimes include articles in other contexts, but here the article-less version is the most natural way to describe what is in the pie.

The preposition με means with, and in Modern Greek it is followed by the accusative case.

So:

• με μανιτάρια = with mushrooms
• με καλαμπόκι = with corn

A learner may notice that μανιτάρια looks the same as the nominative plural form. That is normal, because for many neuter nouns, the nominative and accusative forms are identical.

Here:

• singular: το μανιτάρι
• plural: τα μανιτάρια

And after με, you still get the accusative form, which happens to look the same.

This is because the two words are being used in slightly different ways:

• μανιτάρια = mushrooms as countable pieces
• καλαμπόκι = corn as a mass/ingredient

English does something similar:

• with mushrooms
• and corn

So Greek is following the same idea: one ingredient is naturally thought of as separate items, the other as an uncountable food substance.

That’s right: γιατί can mean either why? or because, depending on context.

Here it means because:

• γιατί δεν έχω κρέας = because I don’t have meat

There is no confusion in this sentence because the structure clearly shows it is giving a reason.

Compare:

• Γιατί δεν έχεις κρέας; = Why don’t you have meat?
• Δεν βάζω κρέας, γιατί δεν έχω. = I’m not adding meat, because I don’t have any.

In Modern Greek, δεν is the basic negation used with verbs in the indicative.

So:

• έχω = I have
• δεν έχω = I do not have / I don’t have

This is the normal way to negate a statement.

Here:

• γιατί δεν έχω κρέας = because I don’t have meat

Because κρέας here means meat in a general, indefinite sense, not the meat or a specific piece of meat.

So:

• δεν έχω κρέας = I don’t have meat

This is very similar to English, where we also usually say I don’t have meat, not I don’t have the meat, unless we mean a specific meat already mentioned.

Yes, κάνω is present tense: I make / I am making.

Greek present tense can express:

• a general/habitual action
• an action happening now
• a very near or current action in context

Because of Σήμερα (today), the sentence is understood as something happening today:

• Σήμερα κάνω μια πίτα... = Today I’m making a pie...

So although the Greek form is present tense, the most natural English translation is often the present continuous: I’m making.

Putting Σήμερα first is very natural because it sets the time frame right away:

• Σήμερα = Today

Greek word order is relatively flexible, but the beginning of the sentence is a common place for time expressions, especially when they give important context.

So this word order feels very natural:

• Σήμερα κάνω μια πίτα...
• Today I’m making a pie...

You could rearrange parts of the sentence in Greek, but this version is straightforward and common.

A helpful rough pronunciation is:

• Σήμερα → SEE-me-ra
• κάνω → KA-no
• μια → mya
• πίτα → PEE-ta
• με → me
• μανιτάρια → ma-ni-TA-ria
• και → ke
• καλαμπόκι → ka-lam-BO-ki
• γιατί → ya-TEE
• δεν → then or then(d) depending on what follows
• έχω → E-ho
• κρέας → KRE-as

A more natural whole-sentence rhythm would be something like:

SEE-me-ra KA-no mya PEE-ta me ma-ni-TA-ria ke ka-lam-BO-ki, ya-TEE then E-ho KRE-as.

Yes. A few natural alternatives are possible, for example:

• Σήμερα φτιάχνω μια πίτα με μανιτάρια και καλαμπόκι, γιατί δεν έχω κρέας.
• Σήμερα θα κάνω μια πίτα με μανιτάρια και καλαμπόκι, γιατί δεν έχω κρέας.

These differ slightly:

• φτιάχνω emphasizes prepare/make
• θα κάνω makes it more clearly future: I’ll make / I’m going to make

But your original sentence is perfectly natural and idiomatic.