Learn Hardcore Greek: Δεν ένιωσα καν αμηχανία, γιατί η στάση τους ήταν γεμάτη ευγένεια και όχι αδιαφορία. - I didn’t even feel awkwardness, because their attitude was full of politeness and not indifference.

Breakdown of Δεν ένιωσα καν αμηχανία, γιατί η στάση τους ήταν γεμάτη ευγένεια και όχι αδιαφορία.

What tense is ένιωσα, and why is that form used here?

Ένιωσα is the aorist form of νιώθω (to feel). It means I felt.

Greek uses the aorist here because the speaker is talking about a single completed reaction in the past, not an ongoing feeling. So:

In this sentence, the idea is: At that moment, I didn’t even feel awkwardness.

Why is δεν placed before ένιωσα?

Δεν is the normal negative particle used before verbs in Greek. It means not.

So:

Its position is very regular: it usually comes directly before the verb, or before the verb phrase.

What does καν mean here?

In a negative sentence, καν adds the meaning even or at all, depending on how you translate it naturally.

So:

Δεν ένιωσα αμηχανία = I didn’t feel awkwardness / embarrassment
Δεν ένιωσα καν αμηχανία = I didn’t even feel awkwardness / I didn’t feel any awkwardness at all

Here it strengthens the negation. It shows that not only was the feeling absent, but it was absent completely.