Όταν σπουδάζω στην πρωτεύουσα, οι γονείς μου με παίρνουν τηλέφωνο κάθε μέρα.

When I study in the capital, my parents call me every day.

Breakdown of Όταν σπουδάζω στην πρωτεύουσα, οι γονείς μου με παίρνουν τηλέφωνο κάθε μέρα.

• μου: my
• κάθε μέρα: every day
• με: me
• σε: in
• όταν: when
• σπουδάζω: to study
• ο γονιός: the parent
• η πρωτεύουσα: the capital
• παίρνω τηλέφωνο: to call

Questions & Answers about Όταν σπουδάζω στην πρωτεύουσα, οι γονείς μου με παίρνουν τηλέφωνο κάθε μέρα.

Where is the I in the Greek sentence? Why isn’t εγώ written?

In Greek, the subject pronoun (like εγώ = I) is usually dropped because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• σπουδάζω = I study / I am studying
  The ending -ω tells you the subject is I.

So Όταν σπουδάζω literally is When (I) study, and εγώ is normally omitted unless you want to emphasize I (for example: Εγώ σπουδάζω, όχι ο αδερφός μου. = I am the one who studies, not my brother.).

What exactly does σπουδάζω mean? Is it just to study?

σπουδάζω is more specific than the English study. It usually means:

• to study at university / college
  (to be enrolled in higher education, working towards a degree)

Examples:

• Σπουδάζω ιατρική. = I study medicine / I’m studying medicine (at university).
• Πού σπουδάζεις; = Where do you study? (Which university / city?)

For studying for a test / doing homework, Greek normally uses διαβάζω (or a bit more formal μελετάω / μελετώ):

• Διαβάζω για τις εξετάσεις. = I’m studying for the exams.

In your sentence, Όταν σπουδάζω στην πρωτεύουσα means When I’m (away) at university in the capital.

Why is the present tense (σπουδάζω, παίρνουν) used? In English I might say when I am studying or when I study—is it the same idea?

Yes. The Greek present tense here expresses a general, repeated situation (habitual action), just like English when I study / when I’m studying.

• Όταν σπουδάζω στην πρωτεύουσα, οι γονείς μου με παίρνουν τηλέφωνο κάθε μέρα.
  = When I’m studying in the capital, my parents call me every day.
  (whenever that situation is true; it’s a regular pattern)

If you were talking about a single future event, Greek would often change aspect:

• Όταν σπουδάσω στην Αθήνα, θα βρω δουλειά.
  = When I study in Athens (once / after I have studied), I will find a job.

Here, though, it’s clearly a habit, so σπουδάζω / με παίρνουν in the present is exactly right.

Why do we use Όταν here and not αν or όποτε?

These three words are all different:

• Όταν = when (introduces a time clause)
  Used for specific times or for regular / habitual times.

  • Όταν βρέχει, μένω στο σπίτι. = When it rains, I stay at home.

• αν = if (condition, not time)

  • Αν βρέξει, θα μείνω στο σπίτι. = If it rains, I’ll stay at home.

• όποτε = whenever (any time / every time that…)

  • Όποτε βρέχει, μένω σπίτι. = Whenever it rains, I stay home.

In your sentence, we are talking about a time frame (when I am in the capital as a student), so Όταν (when) is the natural choice.

What is στην in στην πρωτεύουσα? How is it formed?

στην is a contraction:

• σε (in, at, to) + την (the, feminine accusative singular) → στην

So:

• σε την πρωτεύουσα → στην πρωτεύουσα

This tells us:

• πρωτεύουσα is feminine, and
• it is the object of the preposition σε.

Literally: in the capital.

What does πρωτεύουσα mean exactly, and why isn’t πόλη written?

πρωτεύουσα means capital (city) by itself. In modern Greek, if you just say:

• η πρωτεύουσα = the capital city

you don’t need to add πόλη. If you want to be more specific, you might say:

• η πρωτεύουσα της Ελλάδας είναι η Αθήνα.
  = The capital of Greece is Athens.

So στην πρωτεύουσα here simply means in the capital (city), probably the capital of the country the speaker is from.

How does οι γονείς μου work? Why is the possessive μου after the noun, and what is οι?

Breakdown:

• γονείς = parents (plural)
• οι = the (nominative plural article for masculine nouns; γονείς is grammatically masculine plural)
• μου = my

In Greek, possessive pronouns like μου (my), σου (your), του / της / του (his / her / its) normally come after the noun:

• οι γονείς μου = my parents
• το σπίτι σου = your house
• το αυτοκίνητό της = her car

So οι γονείς μου literally is the parents my, but it functions as my parents.
μου here is in the genitive case, showing possession.

What is the role of με in οι γονείς μου με παίρνουν τηλέφωνο? Why is it before the verb?

με is the unstressed object pronoun meaning me (direct object, accusative case).

Greek has clitic pronouns (short, unstressed pronouns) that usually go before the verb in simple statements:

• με βλέπουν = they see me
• τον αγαπώ = I love him
• τη γνωρίζω = I know her

So:

• οι γονείς μου με παίρνουν τηλέφωνο
  = my parents call me (on the phone)

Word order:

• με must go directly before the verb παίρνουν (except in some special constructions like imperatives or infinitive-like forms, where it can go after).

Why is it με παίρνουν τηλέφωνο and not something like με τηλεφωνούν? What does παίρνω τηλέφωνο literally mean?

Modern Greek commonly uses the expression:

• παίρνω κάποιον τηλέφωνο
  literally: I take someone telephone
  meaning: I call someone (on the phone)

So:

• με παίρνουν τηλέφωνο = they call me (on the phone)

There is also the verb:

• τηλεφωνώ (σε κάποιον) = to telephone (someone)

So you could also say:

• Οι γονείς μου μου τηλεφωνούν κάθε μέρα.
  = My parents call me every day.

Differences:

• παίρνω τηλέφωνο is very common, everyday speech.
• τηλεφωνώ is also common, perhaps a bit more formal or neutral.

In your sentence, με παίρνουν τηλέφωνο is a perfectly normal, natural way to say they call me.

Why is τηλέφωνο used without το (the article)? Could we say με παίρνουν το τηλέφωνο?

Here, τηλέφωνο behaves almost like an adverbial / manner word rather than a normal counted noun.

• με παίρνουν τηλέφωνο
  = they call me (by) telephone

Because it functions more like by phone / on the phone, it normally appears without the article in this expression.

You should not say:

• με παίρνουν το τηλέφωνο
  That sounds like they take the phone me, and is incorrect.

You can use the article in other contexts:

• Το τηλέφωνο είναι καινούργιο. = The phone is new.
• Μιλάω στο τηλέφωνο. = I’m talking on the phone.

But in the fixed phrase παίρνω κάποιον τηλέφωνο, τηλέφωνο is bare, without το.

What does κάθε μέρα mean, and is there any difference between μέρα, ημέρα, and καθημερινά?

• κάθε μέρα = every day
  (κάθε = every, μέρα = day)

About the words:

• μέρα = day in everyday, informal speech.
• ημέρα = the same word, more formal / written (you’ll see it in documents, news, etc.)

Both are correct; in speech you nearly always hear μέρα.

• καθημερινά = daily / every day (an adverb)
  • Οι γονείς μου με παίρνουν τηλέφωνο καθημερινά.
    = My parents call me daily / every day.

So your sentence:

• … κάθε μέρα. = … every day.

is the standard, neutral, conversational way to say it.

Why is there a comma after Όταν σπουδάζω στην πρωτεύουσα? Is that required in Greek?

Yes, this follows a common Greek punctuation rule:

When a subordinate clause (introduced by όταν, αν, επειδή, etc.) comes before the main clause, it is normally followed by a comma.

• Όταν βρέχει, μένω σπίτι.
• Επειδή κουράστηκα, θα πάω σπίτι.

If the order is reversed, often no comma is used:

• Μένω σπίτι όταν βρέχει.

In your sentence:

• Όταν σπουδάζω στην πρωτεύουσα, = subordinate time clause
• οι γονείς μου με παίρνουν τηλέφωνο κάθε μέρα. = main clause

So the comma after πρωτεύουσα is standard and correct.

Can the word order change? For example, can I say Οι γονείς μου με παίρνουν τηλέφωνο κάθε μέρα όταν σπουδάζω στην πρωτεύουσα? Does the meaning change?

You can change the word order quite flexibly in Greek, and the basic meaning stays the same. All of these are grammatical:

• Όταν σπουδάζω στην πρωτεύουσα, οι γονείς μου με παίρνουν τηλέφωνο κάθε μέρα.
• Οι γονείς μου με παίρνουν τηλέφωνο κάθε μέρα, όταν σπουδάζω στην πρωτεύουσα.
• Οι γονείς μου, όταν σπουδάζω στην πρωτεύουσα, με παίρνουν τηλέφωνο κάθε μέρα.
• Όταν σπουδάζω στην πρωτεύουσα, κάθε μέρα οι γονείς μου με παίρνουν τηλέφωνο.

Differences are mainly in rhythm and emphasis:

• Starting with Όταν σπουδάζω στην πρωτεύουσα puts emphasis on the time / situation.
• Starting with Οι γονείς μου emphasizes the parents as the topic.

But for a learner, you can treat them all as meaning When I’m studying in the capital, my parents call me every day.