Ο φοιτητής και η φοιτήτρια από την περιοχή μου μαθαίνουν κι αυτοί ελληνικά.

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Breakdown of Ο φοιτητής και η φοιτήτρια από την περιοχή μου μαθαίνουν κι αυτοί ελληνικά.

• ελληνικά: in Greek
• μου: my
• από: from

Questions & Answers about Ο φοιτητής και η φοιτήτρια από την περιοχή μου μαθαίνουν κι αυτοί ελληνικά.

Why is the verb μαθαίνουν plural when ο φοιτητής and η φοιτήτρια each look singular?

In Greek, the verb agrees with the whole subject, not with each noun separately.

The subject here is ο φοιτητής και η φοιτήτρια (the male student and the female student). Together they form a plural subject, so the verb must be in the 3rd person plural:

• 3rd person singular: μαθαίνει – he/she/it learns
• 3rd person plural: μαθαίνουν – they learn

So μαθαίνουν is correct because it means “they learn / they are learning” and the “they” refers to both students together.

Why is the pronoun αυτοί masculine plural even though one of the people is female (η φοιτήτρια)?

Greek uses the masculine plural for groups that are:

• all male, or
• mixed (male + female)

So for:

• two males → αυτοί
• two females → αυτές
• one male + one female → still αυτοί

Since ο φοιτητής (male) and η φοιτήτρια (female) form a mixed group, Greek grammar requires the masculine plural pronoun αυτοί.

Why do we say κι αυτοί when we already know who the subject is? Isn’t that redundant?