Η καθηγήτρια γράφει μια άλλη λύση στο τετράδιό μας, γιατί η πρώτη ήταν δύσκολη.

The professor (female) writes another solution in our notebook because the first one was difficult.

Breakdown of Η καθηγήτρια γράφει μια άλλη λύση στο τετράδιό μας, γιατί η πρώτη ήταν δύσκολη.

• είμαι: to be
• γιατί: because
• σε: in
• γράφω: to write
• δύσκολος: difficult
• μία: one
• άλλος: another
• μας: our
• το τετράδιο: the notebook
• πρώτος: first
• η καθηγήτρια: the female professor
• η λύση: the solution

Questions & Answers about Η καθηγήτρια γράφει μια άλλη λύση στο τετράδιό μας, γιατί η πρώτη ήταν δύσκολη.

In Η καθηγήτρια, what does the article η tell me, and why is it feminine if teacher can be male or female?

Η is the feminine singular definite article in the nominative case. It tells you:

• the noun is feminine
• singular
• and is the subject of the sentence

Καθηγήτρια is the specifically female form of teacher, professor (the male form is καθηγητής).

So:

• η καθηγήτρια = the (female) teacher / professor
• ο καθηγητής = the (male) teacher / professor

Greek usually marks natural gender on nouns for people, so if we know it is a woman, we use the feminine form and the feminine article η.

Why is γράφει used here for “is writing”? Why not some form like “είναι γράφοντας”?

Modern Greek does not normally use a separate continuous form like English “is writing”.

The present tense of the verb (here γράφει) usually covers both:

• simple present: she writes
• present continuous: she is writing

So:

• Η καθηγήτρια γράφει μια άλλη λύση…
  can mean either The teacher writes another solution… or The teacher is writing another solution…, depending on context.

Forms like είναι γράφοντας are not the normal way to express the continuous aspect; they sound unnatural in everyday Greek.

What exactly does μια do in μια άλλη λύση? Is it the number one or an article?

Here μια is the indefinite article, meaning “a / an”, not the number one.

• μια λύση = a solution
• η λύση = the solution

You will also see it written as μία (with an accent). In everyday writing, for the article meaning “a”, it’s usually written as μια without an accent; μία is more clearly the numeral one. In speech they’re pronounced the same in most dialects.

What’s the difference between μια άλλη λύση and άλλη μια λύση?

Word order changes the nuance:

• μια άλλη λύση = a different solution

  • Emphasis: another one, but not the same as the first one; a different alternative.
  • That is exactly what we want here: the first solution was difficult, so she writes a different one.

• άλλη μια λύση = one more solution / another solution (in addition)

  • Emphasis: an extra one, in addition to the existing ones, not necessarily different in kind.

So in this sentence, μια άλλη λύση fits better because we contrast it with η πρώτη (the first one).

What are the gender and case of λύση in μια άλλη λύση, and how do I know?

Λύση is:

• feminine
• singular
• accusative case

How we know:

1. Dictionary form: η λύση – the article η shows it is feminine.
2. In the sentence it is the direct object of γράφει (she writes what? → a different solution), so it must be in the accusative.
3. The article and adjective agree with it:
   • μια (fem. sg. acc.)
   • άλλη (fem. sg. acc.)
   • λύση (fem. sg. acc.)

All three match in gender, number, and case, which is a key agreement rule in Greek.

What does στο mean in στο τετράδιό μας, and why is it one word?

Στο is a contraction of:

• σε (preposition: in, at, to)
• το (neuter singular definite article: the)

So:

• σε + το = στο

Στο τετράδιό μας literally: in the notebook of us → in our notebook.

These contractions are extremely common:

• σε + τον = στον
• σε + την = στην
• σε + το = στο

Why is it τετράδιό μας with an accent on -διό, instead of just τετράδιο μας?

Because μας here is an enclitic (an unstressed little word that “leans” on the previous word), the stress pattern of the phrase changes.

Basic word: τετράδιο – stress on -τρά- (third from the end: τε-τρά-δι-ο).

When we attach the enclitic μας:

• The whole unit τετράδιο μας is treated as one accent group.
• Greek stress must stay within the last three syllables of the accent group.
• If we kept the stress on -τρά-, in τε-τρά-δι-ο-μας it would now be too far from the end.
• So the stress moves one syllable to the right, onto -διό: τετράδιό μας.

You will see the same pattern with other proparoxytone nouns + μου / σου / μας / σας / τους, e.g.:

• το άνθρωπό μου (from άνθρωπος)
• το άσυλό μας (from άσυλο)

Why is μας placed after τετράδιό, not before, like in English “our notebook”?

Greek normally uses postposed clitic possessive pronouns:

• το βιβλίο μου = my book
• η τσάντα σου = your bag
• το τετράδιό μας = our notebook

So the pattern is usually:

article + noun (+ adjective) + possessive pronoun

Putting μας before the noun (μας τετράδιο) is not standard Modern Greek; using it after the noun is the normal, idiomatic position.

In γιατί η πρώτη ήταν δύσκολη, how does γιατί work? Doesn’t γιατί also mean “why”?

Γιατί has two main uses:

1. As “why” – an interrogative:

   • Γιατί ήταν δύσκολη; = Why was it difficult?

2. As “because” – a conjunction introducing a reason:

   • Δεν την καταλάβαμε, γιατί ήταν δύσκολη.
     = We didn’t understand it, because it was difficult.

In your sentence, γιατί clearly introduces the reason:

She writes another solution because the first one was difficult.

That’s why it is translated as “because” here, not “why”.

In γιατί η πρώτη ήταν δύσκολη, what does η πρώτη refer to, and why is there no noun after it?

Η πρώτη literally means “the first (one)”.

• πρώτη is the feminine singular form of the ordinal adjective πρώτος (first).
• The noun λύση is understood from context and omitted:
  • Full form would be: γιατί η πρώτη λύση ήταν δύσκολη.
  • Greek often drops the noun when it’s clear, and just keeps the adjective with the article.

So η πρώτη here means “the first one (solution)”. It’s an adjective used as a noun (a substantivized adjective), and it agrees in gender and number with the understood λύση (feminine, singular).

What tense is ήταν in η πρώτη ήταν δύσκολη, and how is it different from είναι?

Ήταν is the past tense of είμαι (to be). More precisely, it is the imperfect tense:

• είναι = is / are (present)
• ήταν = was / were (past)

In this context:

• η πρώτη ήταν δύσκολη = the first (one) was difficult

We’re talking about a condition that held in the past (when they tried to use or understand the first solution), so the past form ήταν is required, not είναι (is).

Why is δύσκολη feminine and not δύσκολο or δύσκολος?

Δύσκολη is an adjective that must agree with the noun it describes in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here, the thing that is difficult is η πρώτη (λύση), which is:

• feminine
• singular
• nominative

So the adjective must also be:

• δύσκολη (fem. sg. nom.)

Other forms:

• δύσκολος – masculine (e.g. ο δύσκολος δρόμος)
• δύσκολο – neuter (e.g. το δύσκολο πρόβλημα)

In our sentence, η πρώτη ήταν δύσκολη = the first (solution) was difficult → feminine form is required.

Could the word order be different, for example Η καθηγήτρια γράφει στο τετράδιό μας μια άλλη λύση? Would that change the meaning?

Yes, you can change the word order somewhat without changing the basic meaning. For example:

• Η καθηγήτρια γράφει στο τετράδιό μας μια άλλη λύση, γιατί η πρώτη ήταν δύσκολη.

This is still natural Greek and means the same thing. Greek word order is fairly flexible, especially inside the verb–object–adverbial area.

Some common, natural variants for the main clause:

• Η καθηγήτρια γράφει μια άλλη λύση στο τετράδιό μας. (original)
• Η καθηγήτρια γράφει στο τετράδιό μας μια άλλη λύση.

The differences are mainly in focus and rhythm, not in basic meaning. In everyday speech and writing, the original order is very typical and clear.