Learn Hardcore Greek: Αφού μίλησα με τη μαμά μου, ένιωσα καλύτερα, παρόλο που το πρόβλημα δεν είχε φύγει. - After I talked with my mom, I felt better, even though the problem had not gone away.

After (something happened) – temporal use
- Αφού έφαγα, κοιμήθηκα. = After I ate, I slept.
Since / because – causal use
- Αφού είσαι κουρασμένος, πήγαινε για ύπνο. = Since you’re tired, go to sleep.

Here, it is clearly temporal: one action (talking) happened first, and then another (feeling better) followed.

Comparisons:

μετά usually appears as an adverb and needs που or a noun to introduce a clause:
- Μετά που μίλησα με τη μαμά μου, ένιωσα καλύτερα.
όταν means when and is more neutral about order; αφού emphasizes that the first event is completed before the second.

Why is the verb μίλησα used (aorist) and not μιλούσα?

Μίλησα is the aorist (simple past) of μιλάω and presents the action as a completed whole: I talked (once / in one event).

If you said μιλούσα (imperfect), it would focus on the ongoing nature of the action: I was talking / I used to talk. In this context:

Αφού μίλησα με τη μαμά μου…
= After I finished talking to my mom…

Using μιλούσα here would sound odd, because the idea is that the conversation finished, and then you felt better. The sequence and completion are important, so the aorist μίλησα is the natural choice.

Why is the preposition με used in μίλησα με τη μαμά μου? Could I say σε instead?

Both μιλάω με κάποιον and μιλάω σε κάποιον exist, but they have slightly different flavors:

μιλάω με κάποιον = talk with someone (more like a two-way conversation)
μιλάω σε κάποιον = talk to someone (can feel a bit more one-directional)

In everyday speech, μιλάω με is very common for normal conversations:

Μίλησα με τη μαμά μου. = I talked with my mom.

You can say:

Μίλησα στη μαμά μου.

It’s grammatically correct, but in this emotional context of a mutual conversation, με sounds more natural.

Why do we say τη μαμά μου with a definite article? In English we just say “my mom,” not “the my mom.”

Greek normally uses the definite article together with possessives:

το βιβλίο μου = my book
ο αδελφός σου = your brother
η φίλη μας = our friend

So η μαμά μου literally is “the mom my” but idiomatically it just means “my mom”.

Omitting the article (μαμά μου) is possible in some vocative or informal contexts (calling her, or in some set expressions), but in normal grammar, the pattern article + noun + possessive is the default. Here, because τη μαμά μου is a direct object, we see the article in the accusative form.

Why is it written τη μαμά μου and not την μαμά μου?

The full accusative feminine article is την, but in everyday writing and speech, ν is dropped before words starting with:

a vowel (usually), or
μ, ν, λ, ρ, σ

So:

την κόρη μου → often pronounced and written την κόρη μου (kept before κ)
την μαμά μου → usually becomes τη μαμά μου

This is a standard spelling convention in Modern Greek:

την → shortened to τη before many consonants (like μ here).

So τη μαμά μου is the normal modern spelling and pronunciation.

Why is the subject “I” not written explicitly? Can I say Εγώ μίλησα… εγώ ένιωσα…?

Greek is a pro‑drop language: the subject pronoun is usually omitted because the verb ending already shows the person:

μίλησα = I spoke
ένιωσα = I felt

Therefore, Αφού μίλησα… ένιωσα… is completely natural and standard.

You can add εγώ:

Εγώ μίλησα με τη μαμά μου, εγώ ένιωσα καλύτερα…

But then you are putting contrast or emphasis on I:

I talked to my mom (maybe not someone else),
I felt better (maybe unlike others).

Since there is no special contrast here, the neutral choice is to omit the pronoun.

What is the difference between ένιωσα καλύτερα and ένιωθα καλύτερα?

ένιωσα καλύτερα = aorist (simple past)
– describes a change of state, a completed event:
At that moment, I felt better / I started to feel better.
ένιωθα καλύτερα = imperfect (past continuous)
– describes a continuing state in the past:
I was feeling better (for a period of time).

In this sentence, the point is that after talking with mom, there was a noticeable shift in how you felt, so the aorist ένιωσα is chosen.

What exactly does παρόλο που mean, and how is it written? Is it the same as αν και or αν και?

παρόλο που means “although / even though” and introduces a concessive clause (something that’s true despite another fact).

Spelling:

Common modern form: παρόλο που (one word παρόλο
- που)
More formal/etymological: παρ’ όλο που (with an apostrophe)

Meaning here:

…ένιωσα καλύτερα, παρόλο που το πρόβλημα δεν είχε φύγει.
= I felt better, even though the problem hadn’t gone away.

It is very similar in use to:

αν και
- Ένιωσα καλύτερα, αν και το πρόβλημα δεν είχε φύγει.

Both are correct; παρόλο που is extremely common and a bit more colloquial/neutral.

Why is there a comma before παρόλο που?

The comma separates two main parts:

Αφού μίλησα με τη μαμά μου, ένιωσα καλύτερα
παρόλο που το πρόβλημα δεν είχε φύγει

The second part is a concessive subordinate clause (introduced by παρόλο που) that modifies the whole previous statement. In both Greek and English, such clauses are often set off by a comma:

I felt better, even though the problem hadn’t gone away.

So the comma before παρόλο που is normal punctuation to show that what follows is an “even though…” qualification of the previous idea.

What tense is δεν είχε φύγει, and why not simply δεν έφυγε?

είχε φύγει is the past perfect (Greek: υπερσυντέλικος) of φεύγω (to leave, go away).

έφυγε = aorist (simple past): it left / it went away
είχε φύγει = past perfect: it had left / it had gone away

So:

δεν έφυγε = it didn’t leave (in that past period)
δεν είχε φύγει = it had not left yet by the time of another past event

In this sentence, we have two moments:

Past event A: I talked to my mom and felt better.
Past state B: The problem had not gone away yet.

To show that B is already true at the time of A, Greek uses the past perfect:

το πρόβλημα δεν είχε φύγει = the problem had not gone away (by then).

How is the past perfect είχε φύγει formed, and is this pattern regular?

The past perfect (υπερσυντέλικος) in Greek is usually formed as:

[past of έχω] + [perfect stem of main verb]

For φεύγω:

Present perfect: έχω φύγει = I have left
Past perfect: είχα φύγει = I had left

Here we see:

είχε φύγει = he/she/it had left

Pattern:

έχω → είχα
έχει → είχε
Then add the perfect participle form (often identical to the one used after έχω in the present perfect).

So yes, είχε φύγει follows the regular είχα + participle pattern for the past perfect.

Why does the Greek say το πρόβλημα δεν είχε φύγει (“the problem hadn’t left”)? Is that natural, or should it be something like “hadn’t been solved”?

In Greek, it is very natural to say:

το πρόβλημα έφυγε = the problem went away
το πρόβλημα δεν είχε φύγει = the problem hadn’t gone away

This metaphor (a problem “leaving” or “going away”) exists in English too (“My headache went away”), but Greek uses it quite freely for problems, difficulties, worries, etc.

You could also say:

το πρόβλημα δεν είχε λυθεί = the problem hadn’t been solved

That is more literal. But δεν είχε φύγει is idiomatic and perfectly normal.

Could we say δεν είχε φύγει το πρόβλημα instead of το πρόβλημα δεν είχε φύγει? Is there a difference?

Yes, both word orders are grammatically correct:

το πρόβλημα δεν είχε φύγει
δεν είχε φύγει το πρόβλημα

The difference is one of emphasis and rhythm:

το πρόβλημα δεν είχε φύγει – most neutral; the subject is presented first.
δεν είχε φύγει το πρόβλημα – puts slightly more weight on δεν είχε φύγει, almost like:
- it still hadn’t gone away, the problem.

In everyday speech, option 1 is more common here, but option 2 does not sound wrong; it can feel a bit more expressive.

How is this sentence pronounced, especially δεν είχε φύγει?

Approximate pronunciation (stress marked with ´):

Αφού μίλησα με τη μαμά μου, ένιωσα καλύτερα, παρόλο που το πρόβλημα δεν είχε φύγει.

IPA‑like approximation:

[aˈfu ˈmilisa me ti maˈma mu, ˈeɲosa kaˈlitera, paˈɾolo pu to ˈpɾoβlima ðen ˈiçe ˈfiʝi]

Key points:

Αφού: [aˈfu] – stress on the second syllable.
ένιωσα: [ˈeɲosa] – νι before a vowel sounds like palatal ɲ (similar to Spanish ñ).
δεν είχε: [ðen ˈiçe] –
- δεν is [ðen];
- χ before ε/ι is a palatal fricative [ç], like the German ich.
φύγει: [ˈfiʝi] – γ before ι becomes a soft “y” sound [ʝ], somewhat like y in your but fricative.

The whole phrase is usually spoken with a smooth rhythm, small pauses at the commas, and a falling intonation at the end.