Χτες άκουσα έναν δυνατό κεραυνό και σήμερα το πρωί είχε παγετό στο χωριό.

Yes. Χτες means yesterday and is very common in everyday Greek.

A useful thing to know is that there is also a more formal spelling, χθες. Both mean the same thing:

• χτες = common, everyday spelling/pronunciation
• χθες = more conservative/formal spelling

Putting Χτες at the beginning is natural, just like saying Yesterday, ... in English.

Άκουσα is the aorist form, which is usually used for a completed event in the past.

So:

• άκουσα = I heard / I listened to (one completed event)
• άκουγα = I was hearing, I used to hear, or I was listening (ongoing/repeated background action)

In this sentence, the speaker is referring to a specific event yesterday, so άκουσα is the natural choice.

Greek often leaves out subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows the person.

Here, άκουσα already means I heard. So adding εγώ would only be necessary for emphasis or contrast.

Compare:

• άκουσα = I heard
• εγώ άκουσα = I heard / I was the one who heard

This is very normal in Greek.

Because κεραυνό is the direct object of άκουσα, it has to be in the accusative case. The article and adjective must match the noun.

Dictionary forms:

• ο κεραυνός = thunderbolt / lightning strike
• ένας δυνατός κεραυνός = a loud/strong thunderclap or a strong thunderbolt

In the accusative singular masculine, they become:

• έναν
• δυνατό
• κεραυνό

So:

• nominative: ένας δυνατός κεραυνός
• accusative: έναν δυνατό κεραυνό

This agreement is a basic Greek pattern: article + adjective + noun all match in gender, number, and case.

Literally, κεραυνός usually means lightning bolt, thunderbolt, or a lightning strike.

However, in real usage, especially in weather contexts, it can overlap with the idea of a dramatic clap of thunder. Since the meaning has already been given to the learner, the important point is that it refers to a strong storm sound/event.

So depending on context, English may translate it a bit differently, but the Greek word itself is κεραυνός.

Yes, δυνατός basically means strong, but it can also mean loud, depending on context.

So:

• δυνατός άντρας = a strong man
• δυνατή μουσική = loud music
• δυνατός θόρυβος = loud noise

Here, έναν δυνατό κεραυνό can be understood as a loud thunderclap or a strong thunderbolt/lightning strike, depending on how the sentence is being interpreted.

This is a very common Greek expression meaning this morning.

Literally, it is today the morning, but idiomatically it corresponds to English this morning.

Similar time expressions are common in Greek:

• σήμερα το πρωί = this morning
• σήμερα το βράδυ = tonight / this evening
• χτες το βράδυ = last night

So even though it looks a little different from English, it is a normal fixed way to talk about time.

Greek often uses έχει or είχε in weather expressions where English uses there was, it was, or a special weather phrase.

So:

• είχε παγετό = there was frost / it was frosty
• είχε ζέστη = it was hot
• είχε κρύο = it was cold

This is an impersonal use of έχω (to have) that is very common in Greek weather descriptions.

Because after είχε, the noun appears in the accusative case.

The dictionary form is:

• ο παγετός = frost

But in the accusative singular it becomes:

• τον παγετό
• or without article: παγετό

In weather expressions, Greek very often uses the noun without the article, so είχε παγετό is the natural phrasing.

Because Greek often omits the article with weather or general-condition nouns in fixed expressions.

So:

• είχε παγετό = there was frost
• είχε ομίχλη = there was fog
• είχε βροχή = there was rain

Using no article makes the phrase sound more like a general weather condition, not like a specific, countable object.

Στο χωριό means in the village or at the village, depending on context. Here it means in the village.

It is a contraction:

• σε = in / at / to
• το = the
• σε + το = στο

And:

• το χωριό = the village

So:

• στο χωριό = in the village

This contraction is extremely common in Greek:

• στο σπίτι = in the house / at home
• στο σχολείο = at school
• στον δρόμο = on the road / in the street

Yes, Greek word order is more flexible than English word order.

This sentence puts the time expressions first:

• Χτες ...
• σήμερα το πρωί ...

That highlights the contrast between yesterday and this morning.

A Greek speaker could rearrange parts of the sentence, but this version sounds natural and clear. Fronting time expressions is especially common when telling a short story or reporting weather/events.

A comma is not required here. In Greek, short introductory time words like Χτες are often written without a comma, especially in simple everyday sentences.

So this is normal:

• Χτες άκουσα έναν δυνατό κεραυνό...

You might sometimes see punctuation used differently for style or emphasis, but the sentence as written is perfectly natural.

Yes. Σήμερα means today, but the verb is still in the past: είχε = there was.

So the speaker is talking from a later point in time, looking back and saying:

• yesterday, I heard ...
• and this morning, there was ...

This is completely normal. A word like today does not force the verb to be present tense; it just gives the time reference.

A more formal version might replace Χτες with Χθες:

• Χθες άκουσα έναν δυνατό κεραυνό και σήμερα το πρωί είχε παγετό στο χωριό.

The meaning stays the same. The original sentence sounds natural and conversational, while χθες looks a bit more formal or conservative in writing.