Οι γονείς μου ήταν αυστηροί όταν ήμουν παιδί, αλλά τώρα είναι πιο ήρεμοι.

My parents were strict when I was a child, but now they are calmer.

Breakdown of Οι γονείς μου ήταν αυστηροί όταν ήμουν παιδί, αλλά τώρα είναι πιο ήρεμοι.

• είμαι: to be
• τώρα: now
• μου: my
• αλλά: but
• πιο: more
• το παιδί: the child
• όταν: when
• ήρεμος: calm
• αυστηρός: strict
• ο γονέας: the parent

Questions & Answers about Οι γονείς μου ήταν αυστηροί όταν ήμουν παιδί, αλλά τώρα είναι πιο ήρεμοι.

Why do we say Οι γονείς μου and not just Γονείς μου for my parents?

In Greek, when you show possession with words like μου (my), σου (your), του (his), you almost always keep the definite article:

• Οι γονείς μου = literally the parents of me = my parents
• Το σπίτι μου = my house
• Η αδελφή μου = my sister

Leaving out οι here (Γονείς μου ήταν αυστηροί...) would sound wrong in standard Greek, except in special cases like direct address:

• Γονείς μου, σας αγαπώ. = My parents, I love you. (talking directly to them, vocative feel)

So in your sentence you need the article: Οι γονείς μου...

Why is μου after γονείς instead of before, like English my parents?

Greek possessive pronouns like μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους are clitics and normally come after the noun:

• οι γονείς μου = my parents
• το βιβλίο σου = your book
• η δουλειά μας = our job

You don’t say μου γονείς in Greek; the normal pattern is:

article + noun + possessive-clitic
οι γονείς μου, το σπίτι σου, η μητέρα του

What gender and number is γονείς, and how does that affect αυστηροί and ήρεμοι?

Γονείς is:

• Gender: masculine
• Number: plural
• Case: nominative (it’s the subject of the sentence)

Adjectives in Greek must agree with the noun they describe in gender, number, and case, so:

• Masculine nominative plural ending: -οί
• αυστηροί (from αυστηρός) → masculine nominative plural
• ήρεμοι (from ήρεμος) → masculine nominative plural

That’s why we say:

• Οι γονείς μου ήταν αυστηροί.
• Οι γονείς μου είναι πιο ήρεμοι.

and not αυστηρό / ήρεμο, which are neuter singular forms.

What tense is ήταν here, and why not some other past tense?

Ήταν is the imperfect of the verb είμαι (to be):

• ήμουν – I was
• ήσουν – you were
• ήταν – he/she/it was or they were
  (same form for 3rd singular and 3rd plural)

Greek doesn’t have a separate “simple past” of είμαι like English was/were vs used to be. The imperfect covers both:

• a state in the past: they were strict at that time
• a habitual/long‑lasting situation: they used to be strict

So Οι γονείς μου ήταν αυστηροί όταν ήμουν παιδί can mean both:

• My parents were strict when I was a child.
• My parents used to be strict when I was a child.

Why is παιδί used without an article (no ένα or το)?

In Greek, when you say what someone is/was in terms of:

• profession: Ήταν δάσκαλος. = He was a teacher.
• role/status: Είμαι φοιτητής. = I am a student.
• stage of life: Ήμουν παιδί. = I was a child.

you often omit the article. It expresses a general category, not a specific, identified person:

• Ήμουν παιδί. ≈ I was (a) child.
• Όταν ήμουν παιδί... = When I was a child...

You can say όταν ήμουν ένα παιδί, but it sounds marked/poetic or very emphatic, not the neutral everyday version.

Can I say όταν ήμουνα παιδί instead of όταν ήμουν παιδί?

Yes, you’ll hear both:

• ήμουν – more standard/neutral
• ήμουνα – more colloquial, often in spoken Greek

Meaning is the same:

• Όταν ήμουν παιδί…
• Όταν ήμουνα παιδί…

Both = When I was a child…

How does αλλά work here, and is the comma before it necessary?

Αλλά means but and links two contrasting clauses:

• ...όταν ήμουν παιδί, αλλά τώρα είναι πιο ήρεμοι.

The comma is used much like in English:

• They were strict when I was a child, but now they are calmer.

In Greek you normally put a comma before αλλά when it joins two full clauses, so:

• Correct and natural: ..., αλλά ...
• Writing without the comma looks wrong in standard punctuation.

How is the comparative πιο ήρεμοι formed? Could I also say ηρεμότεροι?

Πιο is the basic word for more, used to form comparatives:

• ήρεμος → πιο ήρεμος = more calm
• ήρεμοι → πιο ήρεμοι (agreeing with γονείς)

Greek also has synthetic comparatives with endings like -ότερος:

• ήρεμος → ηρεμότερος → ηρεμότεροι

So in theory:

• είναι πιο ήρεμοι
• είναι ηρεμότεροι

are both grammatically possible.

However, in modern everyday Greek, πιο + adjective is much more common and sounds more natural in most contexts. Ηρεμότεροι feels a bit more formal or old‑fashioned here.

Why is it πιο ήρεμοι and not just πιο ήρεμο after είναι?

Again, because adjectives must agree with the subject:

• Subject: Οι γονείς μου → masculine, plural, nominative
• Predicate adjective must match that: ήρεμοι

So:

• Οι γονείς μου είναι πιο ήρεμοι. ✅
  (My parents are calmer.)

If you said πιο ήρεμο, that would be neuter singular, which doesn’t match γονείς and is ungrammatical in this sentence.

Can I change the word order in this sentence, and if so, what stays fixed?

Greek word order is fairly flexible. Variants that are still natural:

• Όταν ήμουν παιδί, οι γονείς μου ήταν αυστηροί, αλλά τώρα είναι πιο ήρεμοι.
• Οι γονείς μου, όταν ήμουν παιδί, ήταν αυστηροί, αλλά τώρα είναι πιο ήρεμοι.
• Όταν ήμουν παιδί, οι γονείς μου ήταν αυστηροί· τώρα όμως είναι πιο ήρεμοι.

What basically stays fixed:

• μου follows γονείς → γονείς μου
• πιο directly before the adjective it modifies → πιο ήρεμοι
• όταν directly before the verb clause it introduces → όταν ήμουν παιδί

Other parts (like placing τώρα earlier or later) can move for emphasis or style.

How do you pronounce γονείς, αυστηροί, and ήρεμοι?

Approximate pronunciations (stress marked by bold syllable):

• γονείς → go‑NEES

  • γ = like English g in go
  • ει = like ee in see

• αυστηροί → af‑sti‑REE

  • αυ before consonant = af (here before σ)
  • οι = like ee in see

• ήρεμοι → EE‑re‑mee

  • ή = stressed ee sound
  • ει = again like ee in see

So the full sentence, roughly:

Ee go‑NEES mu EE‑tan af‑sti‑REE o‑TAN EE‑mun pe‑THEE, a‑LA TÓ‑ra EE‑ne pee‑o EE‑re‑mee.