Breakdown of Ο βαθμός τριμήνου δείχνει τη σχολική επίδοση.
Questions & Answers about Ο βαθμός τριμήνου δείχνει τη σχολική επίδοση.
Why is ο βαθμός masculine, and what does ο tell me?
Ο is the masculine singular definite article, meaning the.
So ο βαθμός = the grade / the mark.
Greek nouns have grammatical gender, and βαθμός is a masculine noun. That is why it takes ο in the nominative singular.
A few basic article forms for comparison:
- ο = masculine singular nominative
- η = feminine singular nominative
- το = neuter singular nominative
So in this sentence, ο βαθμός is the subject of the verb.
What exactly is βαθμός here?
In this sentence, βαθμός means grade, mark, or score.
It can also mean other things in different contexts, such as:
- degree
- level
- rank
But in a school context, βαθμός most naturally means a student's grade/mark.
Why is it τριμήνου and not τρίμηνο?
Because τριμήνου is in the genitive case.
The basic noun is:
- το τρίμηνο = the trimester / the term
But here Greek is expressing the idea grade of the term / trimester, so it uses the genitive:
- βαθμός τριμήνου = term grade / literally grade of trimester
So:
- nominative: το τρίμηνο
- genitive: του τριμήνου
In this sentence, the noun appears in genitive form without the article:
- τριμήνου
That is very common in Greek in this kind of compact expression.
Why is there no article before τριμήνου?
Greek often leaves out the article in expressions like this when one noun modifies another.
So:
- ο βαθμός τριμήνου = the term grade
- literally: the grade of term
You could also see fuller phrases with an article, depending on context, such as:
- ο βαθμός του τριμήνου = the grade of the trimester
That version sounds more explicitly like the grade of the specific term.
The version in your sentence, ο βαθμός τριμήνου, is more compact and label-like, which is very natural in school or administrative language.
What form is δείχνει?
Δείχνει is the 3rd person singular present tense of the verb δείχνω = to show.
So it can mean:
- he shows
- she shows
- it shows
Here the subject is ο βαθμός τριμήνου, which is singular, so Greek uses δείχνει = shows.
A few forms of δείχνω:
- δείχνω = I show
- δείχνεις = you show
- δείχνει = he/she/it shows
- δείχνουμε = we show
- δείχνετε = you all show
- δείχνουν(ε) = they show
Why is τη σχολική επίδοση in that form?
Because it is the direct object of δείχνει, so it must be in the accusative case.
The basic noun is:
- η επίδοση = the performance / achievement
In the accusative singular, it becomes:
- την επίδοση
The adjective σχολική also has to match the noun in:
- gender: feminine
- number: singular
- case: accusative
So:
- τη(ν) σχολική επίδοση = the school/academic performance
This whole phrase is the object of the verb:
- shows the academic performance
Why is it τη and not την?
In Modern Greek, the final -ν of την is often dropped before certain consonants.
So both of these may occur:
- την σχολική επίδοση
- τη σχολική επίδοση
Before a word starting with σ, dropping the -ν is very common, so τη σχολική επίδοση sounds perfectly normal.
You will see the same thing with other articles and pronouns too, for example:
- τον φίλο often keeps the -ν
- τη μητέρα may drop it depending on the following sound
- δε(ν) also behaves similarly in some contexts
In short, τη σχολική επίδοση is just a normal phonetic/spelling variant of την σχολική επίδοση.
What does σχολική επίδοση mean exactly?
Σχολική means school-related or academic, and επίδοση means performance or achievement.
So σχολική επίδοση means:
- school performance
- academic performance
- school achievement
In natural English, academic performance is often the smoothest translation.
Why is the adjective σχολική before the noun επίδοση?
Because Greek commonly places adjectives before the noun, especially in straightforward descriptive phrases.
So:
- η σχολική επίδοση = the academic performance
That said, Greek can also place adjectives after the noun in some contexts:
- η επίδοση η σχολική would sound marked or unnatural here
- η επίδοση στο σχολείο would mean something a bit different
For this sentence, η σχολική επίδοση is the normal order.
Can the word order change, or is this fixed?
The word order can change, because Greek has more flexibility than English thanks to its case system.
The sentence as given:
- Ο βαθμός τριμήνου δείχνει τη σχολική επίδοση.
is a normal, neutral order:
- subject + verb + object
But Greek could change the order for emphasis, for example:
- Τη σχολική επίδοση δείχνει ο βαθμός τριμήνου.
- Δείχνει τη σχολική επίδοση ο βαθμός τριμήνου.
These are still understandable, but the original order is the most straightforward and standard for learners.
Is βαθμός τριμήνου like saying grade of the term?
Yes. That is a good way to understand it structurally.
Greek often uses a pattern like:
- noun + genitive noun
to express relationships that English often shows with of or by using a noun as an adjective.
So:
- βαθμός τριμήνου literally = grade of term naturally = term grade
Other similar patterns:
- βιβλίο μαθητή = student's book / book of a student
- αίθουσα διδασκαλίας = classroom / literally room of teaching
So yes, this is a very useful structure to learn.
How do I know that ο βαθμός τριμήνου is the subject?
There are two main clues:
The article and noun are in the nominative form
- ο βαθμός = nominative singular masculine
The verb agrees with it
- δείχνει = 3rd person singular
- ο βαθμός τριμήνου is singular, so that matches
Meanwhile, τη σχολική επίδοση is clearly the object because it is in the accusative.
So the structure is:
- Ο βαθμός τριμήνου = subject
- δείχνει = verb
- τη σχολική επίδοση = object
Is επίδοση a common word, and how is it different from something like απόδοση?
Yes, επίδοση is a common word, especially in education, sports, and evaluation contexts.
It often means:
- performance
- achievement
- attainment
For example:
- σχολική επίδοση = academic performance
- αθλητική επίδοση = athletic performance
By contrast, απόδοση often means:
- output
- yield
- efficiency
- rendering/translation in some contexts
So in a school sentence, επίδοση is the more natural choice for performance/achievement.
How would this sentence sound if I added του and said Ο βαθμός του τριμήνου?
That would also be correct:
- Ο βαθμός του τριμήνου δείχνει τη σχολική επίδοση.
This version is a bit more explicit:
- the grade of the trimester/term
The original:
- Ο βαθμός τριμήνου
is more compact and often sounds like a fixed label or category, similar to how English says term grade.
So the difference is not that one is right and the other is wrong; it is more about style and phrasing.
How is this sentence pronounced?
A rough pronunciation guide is:
- Ο βαθμός τριμήνου δείχνει τη σχολική επίδοση
- o vath-MOS tree-MEE-noo THEEH-khnee tee skho-lee-KEE eh-PEE-tho-see
A few helpful notes:
- θ sounds like th in think
- δ sounds like th in this
- χ is a rough sound, like German Bach or Scottish loch
- Stress matters a lot in Greek, so pay attention to:
- βαθμός
- τριμήνου
- δείχνει
- σχολική
- επίδοση
The accent marks show which syllable is stressed.
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