Όταν είμαι κουρασμένος, θυμάμαι το κίνητρό μου και συνεχίζω λίγο ακόμα.

Όταν means when. It introduces a time clause: Όταν είμαι κουρασμένος = When I am tired.

In this sentence, it describes a repeated or general situation, not just one single moment. So the idea is:

• Whenever I feel tired, I remember my motivation and keep going a little longer.

Greek often uses όταν + present tense for this kind of habitual meaning.

Greek commonly expresses to be tired as:

• είμαι = I am
• κουρασμένος = tired

So literally, it is I am tired.

κουρασμένος is an adjective, and it must agree with the person’s gender and number:

• masculine: κουρασμένος
• feminine: κουρασμένη
• plural masculine/mixed: κουρασμένοι
• plural feminine: κουρασμένες

So a woman would say:

• Όταν είμαι κουρασμένη...

Because the speaker is assumed to be male, or the sentence is being given in the masculine as the default dictionary/example form.

In Greek, adjectives usually match the gender of the person or thing they describe. Since κουρασμένος describes the hidden subject I, it changes depending on who is speaking.

So:

• male speaker: είμαι κουρασμένος
• female speaker: είμαι κουρασμένη

This is very common in Greek and something English speakers have to get used to, because English adjectives do not change for gender.

That is a very common learner question. θυμάμαι means I remember, even though it has a middle/passive-style ending -μαι.

This is one of many Greek verbs that look passive in form but are active in meaning. So you should learn it as a normal vocabulary item:

• θυμάμαι = I remember
• θυμάσαι = you remember
• θυμάται = he/she remembers

Its active-looking counterpart θυμίζω is a different verb and means I remind.

So:

• θυμάμαι κάτι = I remember something
• θυμίζω κάτι σε κάποιον = I remind someone of something

Because κίνητρο is a noun, and Greek usually uses the definite article much more often than English does.

Here:

• το κίνητρο = the motivation
• το κίνητρό μου = my motivation

Greek often keeps the article even with possessive words like μου. So where English says my motivation, Greek normally says literally the motivation my.

This pattern is very common:

• το βιβλίο μου = my book
• η φίλη μου = my friend
• το σπίτι μας = our house

This is about accent placement.

The basic noun is:

• κίνητρο = motivation

When an enclitic like μου follows, Greek often adds or shifts an accent so the word is pronounced correctly:

• το κίνητρό μου

This extra written accent helps show the stress pattern before the unstressed μου.

You will see this with other words too:

• ο άνθρωπός μου
• το δώρο μου
• ο δάσκαλός μου

So this is not a different word; it is the same noun with accent behavior affected by the following enclitic.

μου means my here, but grammatically it is the weak genitive form of the pronoun I.

So in Greek possession is often expressed with:

• article + noun + weak pronoun

For example:

• το κίνητρό μου = my motivation
• η ιδέα σου = your idea
• το σχέδιό της = her plan

So although you translate μου as my, its grammatical role is closer to of me.

Because συνεχίζω here is just another main verb coordinated with θυμάμαι by και.

The structure is:

• θυμάμαι ... και συνεχίζω ...
• I remember ... and I continue ...

Both verbs are finite present-tense verbs in the main clause.

You would use να if the structure required a subordinate clause, for example after certain verbs or expressions:

• Θέλω να συνεχίσω = I want to continue
• Προσπαθώ να συνεχίσω = I try to continue

But here the meaning is simply:

• I remember my motivation and keep going...

So no να is needed.

λίγο ακόμα means a little longer, a bit more, or a little more depending on context.

Word by word:

• λίγο = a little / a bit
• ακόμα = still / yet / more

Together here, they mean that the speaker continues for a bit longer:

• συνεχίζω λίγο ακόμα = I keep going a little longer

This is a very natural Greek expression.

Similar examples:

• Περίμενε λίγο ακόμα. = Wait a little longer.
• Θέλω λίγο ακόμα. = I want a little more.

Because the sentence describes a general habit or repeated reaction.

It is not talking about one specific occasion in the past or future. It means something like:

• When(ever) I’m tired, I remember my motivation and keep going a little longer.

So Greek uses the present tense in all three verbs:

• είμαι = I am
• θυμάμαι = I remember
• συνεχίζω = I continue

If you wanted a past meaning, the verbs would change. If you wanted a future or one-time event meaning, the structure might also change.

Yes. Greek word order is fairly flexible, although some orders sound more natural than others.

The given sentence is very natural:

• Όταν είμαι κουρασμένος, θυμάμαι το κίνητρό μου και συνεχίζω λίγο ακόμα.

You could also move the time clause:

• Θυμάμαι το κίνητρό μου και συνεχίζω λίγο ακόμα όταν είμαι κουρασμένος.

That still makes sense, but it gives a slightly different rhythm and emphasis. Starting with Όταν είμαι κουρασμένος highlights the condition first, which sounds very natural in this kind of reflective statement.

Because the sentence begins with a subordinate clause:

• Όταν είμαι κουρασμένος, ...

Greek normally separates that introductory time clause from the main clause with a comma, just as English often does:

• When I am tired, I remember my motivation...

So the comma helps show the structure clearly:

1. time clause
2. main clause

Yes, κίνητρο is a very common and natural Greek word for motivation, incentive, or motive, depending on context.

In a sentence like this, το κίνητρό μου clearly means my motivation or what motivates me.

Depending on context, Greek could sometimes use other expressions, but κίνητρο is perfectly normal here and sounds natural.