Learn Hardcore Greek: Την άνοιξη ντύνομαι με χρώματα που μου αρέσουν και τα μαλλιά μου είναι πάντα καθαρά. - In spring I dress in colors that I like and my hair is always clean.

In Greek, seasons are usually used with the definite article, and when you say “in spring / in the spring” in a general, habitual sense, Greek often uses the accusative with the article:

Την άνοιξη = (in) the spring / in spring
(literally “the spring” in the accusative)

This is called accusative of time: the accusative case is used without a preposition to mean “during X time”.

You’ll very often see:

Την άνοιξη, το καλοκαίρι, τον χειμώνα, το φθινόπωρο
= in spring, in summer, in winter, in autumn

Η άνοιξη (nominative) would be used when it is the subject of the sentence (e.g. Η άνοιξη είναι όμορφη = “Spring is beautiful”), not when expressing “in spring”.

Why is it ντύνομαι and not just ντύω?

Greek distinguishes between:

ντύνω = I dress (someone else)
ντύνομαι = I get dressed / I dress myself

In modern Greek, when you talk about getting dressed yourself, you almost always use the middle/passive form:

ντύνομαι = I get dressed / I dress myself
ντύθηκα = I got dressed
θα ντυθώ = I will get dressed

So in this sentence:

ντύνομαι με χρώματα… = I dress (myself) in colors…

Using ντύνω here would sound like you are dressing someone else:

Ντύνω το παιδί = I dress the child.

Why is the preposition με used in ντύνομαι με χρώματα? Could it be σε or nothing at all?

Here, με is best translated as “with” or “in” and is very natural with ντύνομαι when you describe what kind / style of clothes or colors you wear:

ντύνομαι με χρώματα = I dress in colors
ντύνομαι με σκούρα ρούχα = I dress in dark clothes

You could find other constructions in Greek:

ντύνομαι χρωματιστά = I dress colorfully (adverb/adjective)
φοράω χρωματιστά ρούχα = I wear colorful clothes

But ντύνομαι σε χρώματα is unusual here, and normally σε wouldn’t be used in this expression. The natural choice with this verb and this meaning is με.

How does που μου αρέσουν work here? Why is it αρέσουν (plural) and not αρέσει?

In Greek, the verb αρέσω works almost like “to be pleasing”, and it agrees with the thing that is liked, not with the person who likes it.

In the sentence:

χρώματα που μου αρέσουν
- χρώματα = colors (neuter plural)
- που = that / which
- μου = to me (indirect object)
- αρέσουν = please (3rd person plural)

So literally: “colors that are pleasing to me”.

Because χρώματα is plural, the verb must also be plural: αρέσουν.

If the thing liked were singular, you’d use αρέσει:

Ένα χρώμα που μου αρέσει = A color that I like
Μου αρέσει αυτό το χρώμα = I like this color

What exactly does μου mean in που μου αρέσουν? Why not use εμένα?

μου here is an unstressed (clitic) pronoun that functions like a dative: it means “to me”.

μου αρέσουν = they please me / to me
Literally: They are pleasing to me.

You can also say:

Εμένα μου αρέσουν (τα) χρώματα αυτά.
= I (personally) like these colors.

Here, εμένα adds emphasis (“I like them (even if others don’t)”).

So:

μου = (to) me (normal, unstressed)
εμένα (μου) = me (with emphasis)

In your sentence, simple μου is the neutral, normal choice.

Why is it τα μαλλιά μου and not just μαλλιά μου or οι τρίχες μου?

For hair on your head, Greek normally uses the neuter plural noun:

τα μαλλιά = (the) hair (on someone’s head; treated as plural)

You usually see it with the article:

Τα μαλλιά μου είναι μακριά. = My hair is long.
Τα μαλλιά σου είναι βρεγμένα. = Your hair is wet.

μαλλιά μου without the article is possible but sounds incomplete or poetic / very informal in isolation; in normal speech you use τα μαλλιά μου.

η τρίχα / οι τρίχες is a single hair / hairs (strands):

Μια τρίχα στο πουκάμισο = A hair on the shirt (a single strand)
Έχω άσπρες τρίχες = I have white hairs (individual strands)

So to talk about your hair in general, you say τα μαλλιά μου, not οι τρίχες μου.

Why is the adjective καθαρά and not καθαρό or καθαροί?

Greek adjectives must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun they describe.

τα μαλλιά = neuter, plural, nominative
So the adjective must also be neuter plural nominative:
καθαρά.

Patterns:

Singular:
- το μαλλί είναι καθαρό = the hair (one “unit”) is clean
Plural:
- τα μαλλιά είναι καθαρά = the hair (in general) is clean

καθαρό = neuter singular
καθαροί = masculine plural

Neither matches τα μαλλιά (neuter plural), so καθαρά is the correct form.

Could I say τα μαλλιά μου είναι πάντα καθαρό instead of καθαρά?

No, that would be ungrammatical.

τα μαλλιά = neuter plural
The adjective must also be neuter plural: καθαρά

καθαρό is neuter singular, which would only match something like το μαλλί (singular), e.g.:

Το μαλλί μου είναι πάντα καθαρό.
= My hair (as a single mass) is always clean.

But when you use the normal plural form τα μαλλιά, you must say:

Τα μαλλιά μου είναι πάντα καθαρά.

Can πάντα (always) go in another position, like Τα μαλλιά μου πάντα είναι καθαρά?

Yes, πάντα is fairly flexible in position. Common options:

Τα μαλλιά μου είναι πάντα καθαρά.
Τα μαλλιά μου πάντα είναι καθαρά.
Πάντα τα μαλλιά μου είναι καθαρά.

All are grammatically correct; the differences are mainly about emphasis and style.

είναι πάντα καθαρά is the most neutral and common.
πάντα είναι καθαρά slightly emphasizes “they are *always clean*”.
Starting with Πάντα emphasizes always even more:
Πάντα τα μαλλιά μου είναι καθαρά = My hair is *always clean, no exceptions.*

In your sentence, είναι πάντα καθαρά is the standard, natural choice.

Could I use φοράω instead of ντύνομαι here? For example, Την άνοιξη φοράω χρώματα που μου αρέσουν?

Yes, you can, but there’s a slight nuance difference:

ντύνομαι με χρώματα = I dress in colors
- Focuses on how I get dressed / my style overall.
φοράω χρώματα / φοράω ρούχα = I wear colors / I wear clothes
- Focuses more on the clothes themselves that I have on.

Both are correct ways to express a similar idea:

Την άνοιξη ντύνομαι με χρώματα που μου αρέσουν.
Την άνοιξη φοράω χρώματα που μου αρέσουν.

The first feels a bit more about style / way of dressing, the second a bit more literal “I wear colors I like”.

Why isn’t there any word for “my” before χρώματα, like τα χρώματά μου?

In this sentence, we’re talking about colors that I like, not my colors as possessions.

χρώματα που μου αρέσουν = colors that I like
τα χρώματά μου = my colors (colors that belong to me / my personal palette)

Greek uses relative clauses with που (that/which) very often instead of possessive adjectives:

Βιβλία που μου αρέσουν = books that I like
Ταινίες που μας άρεσαν = movies that we liked

So χρώματα που μου αρέσουν already gives the idea “the colors I like”, and adding μου directly to χρώματα would change the meaning to literal ownership.

Does the present tense ντύνομαι and είναι here mean “right now” or “usually”?

In Greek, the simple present tense (ενεστώτας) is used both for:

Present habitual / general truths
Actions happening now (depending on context)

In your sentence:

Την άνοιξη ντύνομαι με χρώματα που μου αρέσουν…
…και τα μαλλιά μου είναι πάντα καθαρά.

Because of Την άνοιξη and πάντα, the meaning is clearly habitual:

In spring I (usually / generally) dress in colors that I like, and my hair is always clean.

So here the present tense expresses regular, repeated behavior, not just what’s happening at this exact moment.