I've not been myself.

[Theseus]

The meaning is as in the below quotation from one of John Reuben's lyrics. It is self-explanatory but of interest to me because of my difficulty of translating into Greek 'I have been'/'I have not been'. Neither Είμαι/ήμουν fit the English idiom.

I Haven't Been Myself Lately Lyrics

I’m not alright, I haven’t been myself lately
I’m not okay with the way I’ve let my thoughts overtake
Take me away to the place I should have gone
I hope I’m not here for long
I’ll see you when I’m better
I'll see you when I'm better

 

[drsiebenmal]

It is self-explanatory but of interest to me because of my difficulty of translating into Greek 'I have been'/'I have not been'. Neither Είμαι/ήμουν fit the English idiom.

I wouldn't hesitate to translate Δεν ήμουν στα καλά μου τελευταία/Δεν ήμουν ο εαυτός μου τελευταία. What's bothering you with it or, worse, where am I wrong, Theseus?

 

[Theseus]

Δεν ήμουν ο εαυτός μου τελευταία. That's fine, doctor! The τελευταία makes all the difference. I was concerned because Δεν ήμουν on its own implied to me ''I wasn't in the past but I am now'' and Δεν είμαι would mean 'I am still not myself'. It is the English continuous perfect tense which stumped me:- 'I wasn't and still am not'. I hope you understand this nicety. If not, post another entry. Sorry! To add to the confusion I caused, in the lyrics of the song the word 'lately' features. I was thinking merely of the sentence 'I am not myself' without any qualifying adverb.

 

[daeman]

[...]It is the English continuous perfect tense which stumped me:- 'I wasn't and still am not'. [...]

For that continuous perfect, you can say: Δεν είμαι στα καλά μου τελευταία (I wasn't and still am not) and again the adverb conveys the proper sense, whereas Δεν ήμουν στα καλά μου τελευταία indeed means "I wasn't but now I am", usually.

 

[nickel]

Προτιμώ κι εγώ τον ενεστώτα όταν μεταφράζουμε present perfect continuous (I have been working) ή τον simple present perfect στην περίπτωση ρημάτων χωρίς continuous χρόνους (have been, have known).

God is dead, Marx is dead, and I haven't been feeling very well lately. [Apologies for the misquotation.] ... κι εγώ δεν νιώθω καλά τελευταία.

Αλλά, ως γνωστόν, όχι πάντα:
Where have you been? Πού ήσουνα;