Learn Hardcore Greek: Η καθηγήτρια λέει ότι κάθε λάθος είναι ένα βήμα πιο κοντά στη σωστή λύση και μας ζητάει να είμαστε υπομονετικοί. - The professor female says that every mistake is one step closer to the right solution and asks us to be patient.

καθηγητής / καθηγήτρια
- typically for secondary school, university, or more “specialist” teaching
- also used for “professor” at university
δάσκαλος / δασκάλα
- typically for primary school teacher
- also more “general” teacher, especially for younger kids

So Η καθηγήτρια suggests:

the teacher is female, and
we’re probably talking about a high‑school or university teacher, not a primary school teacher.

You could say Η δασκάλα λέει…, but that would make most Greeks picture an elementary-school teacher.

Why do we need the article Η in Η καθηγήτρια λέει…? Could we just say Καθηγήτρια λέει…?

In Greek, you almost always use the definite article with professions when you mean a specific person:

Η καθηγήτρια λέει… = The teacher says… (our teacher, a specific one)
Ο γιατρός ήρθε. = The doctor came.

If you say Καθηγήτρια λέει… without the article, it sounds wrong or incomplete in standard Greek.

Articles are used more frequently in Greek than in English, especially with:

professions: η καθηγήτρια, ο γιατρός, η δασκάλα
people you know: η Μαρία, ο Γιάννης (often with article)

So here the article Η is natural and basically required.

What is the role of ότι in λέει ότι κάθε λάθος…? Can we use πως instead, and is there any difference?

Λέει ότι… introduces reported (indirect) speech, like English “She says that…”.

λέει ότι κάθε λάθος είναι… = she says that every mistake is…

You can almost always replace ότι with πως in this structure:

λέει πως κάθε λάθος είναι… – also correct and very common.

Differences:

In modern spoken Greek, ότι and πως are usually interchangeable when they mean “that” in reported speech.
Ότι is a bit more neutral / standard, especially in writing.
Πως can feel slightly more informal or conversational, but it’s still completely correct.

Just don’t confuse ότι (“that” as a conjunction) with ό,τι (“whatever / anything that…”), which has a comma.

Why is it κάθε λάθος in the singular, not a plural like κάθε λάθη?

In Greek, κάθε (every / each) is always followed by a singular noun:

κάθε λάθος = every mistake
κάθε παιδί = every child
κάθε μέρα = every day

There is no plural form like κάθε λάθη.
This matches English “every mistake” (singular), not “every mistakes”.

So the singular λάθος is required after κάθε.

Why do we say είναι ένα βήμα and not just είναι βήμα? Can ένα be omitted?

Ένα βήμα = “a step”. The article ένα is the indefinite article (a/an).

κάθε λάθος είναι ένα βήμα πιο κοντά…
= every mistake is a step closer…

You could say κάθε λάθος είναι βήμα πιο κοντά…, but:

with ένα βήμα, it sounds more natural and idiomatic here, as a metaphor:
“each mistake is a step closer…”
without ένα, it can sound a bit more bare / abstract.

In many metaphorical sentences with είναι + noun, Greek usually keeps ένα:

είναι ένα πρόβλημα – it is a problem
είναι μια ευκαιρία – it is an opportunity

So είναι ένα βήμα is the most natural choice.

How does πιο κοντά work here? Is κοντά an adjective or an adverb, and how is πιο used?

Κοντά means “near / close” and can function as:

an adverb:
- Ελάτε πιο κοντά. – Come closer.
a kind of predicative adjective-like word after είμαι:
- Είμαστε κοντά. – We are close.

Πιο is the regular comparative marker = “more / -er”.

So:

πιο κοντά = closer / more near

In the sentence:

ένα βήμα πιο κοντά στη σωστή λύση
= “one step closer to the correct solution”

Greek often forms comparatives with πιο + (adjective/adverb):

πιο μεγάλος – bigger
πιο γρήγορα – faster
πιο κοντά – closer

There is a form κοντινός (“nearby”), but πιο κοντά is the normal and most idiomatic way to say “closer” here.

What exactly is στη σωστή λύση? How is it built from σε + τη, and why is λύση in that form?

Στη is the contraction of σε + τη(ν):

σε = to / in / at
τη(ν) = the (feminine, singular, accusative)

So:

σε + τη σωστή λύση → στη σωστή λύση
= “to the correct solution” / “towards the correct solution”

Grammar:

λύση is a feminine noun:
- nominative: η λύση (the solution)
- accusative: τη λύση (direct object / after prepositions)

After σε, the noun goes into the accusative:

σε + τη λύση → στη λύση
σε + τη σωστή λύση → στη σωστή λύση

The adjective σωστή agrees with λύση in:

gender: feminine
number: singular
case: accusative

So στη σωστή λύση is literally “to the correct solution”.

Could we move πιο κοντά to the end and say είναι ένα βήμα στη σωστή λύση πιο κοντά? Is that word order acceptable?

That word order would sound unnatural in Greek.

The usual and most natural pattern is:

ένα βήμα πιο κοντά στη σωστή λύση

You can move some parts around, but πιο κοντά typically stays directly after the noun it modifies (βήμα):

κάθε λάθος είναι ένα βήμα πιο κοντά στη σωστή λύση ✅ (normal)
κάθε λάθος είναι πιο κοντά ένα βήμα στη σωστή λύση ❌ (weird)
κάθε λάθος είναι ένα βήμα στη σωστή λύση πιο κοντά ❌ (sounds wrong / foreign)

So keep πιο κοντά close to βήμα; don’t push it to the end of the phrase.

In μας ζητάει, what is μας doing grammatically, and why does it go before the verb?

Μας here is the weak object pronoun = “us”.

μας ζητάει = “she asks us”

It is the indirect object of ζητάει:

subject: η καθηγήτρια (she)
verb: ζητάει (asks)
indirect object: μας (us)
complement clause: να είμαστε υπομονετικοί (to be patient)

Greek uses clitic pronouns that usually appear before the verb in simple clauses:

μας βοηθάει – she helps us
σας βλέπω – I see you
τον ρώτησα – I asked him

You cannot normally say ζητάει μας in standard Greek; μας must come before (with some exceptions in imperatives or infinitive-like forms, but not here).

If you want to avoid the clitic, you could say:

ζητάει από εμάς να είμαστε υπομονετικοί.
= “she asks from us to be patient”, more emphatic on us.

Why ζητάει and not ζητά or ζητεί? Are these different verbs or just variants?

They are forms of the same verb: ζητάω / ζητώ = “to ask for / request”.

Present tense 3rd person singular:

ζητάει
ζητά
ζητεί

All three are grammatically correct, but differ in style:

ζητάει
- very common in everyday spoken Greek
- feels informal / neutral
ζητά
- also common, slightly shorter / more colloquial
ζητεί
- more formal, written, or old-fashioned

In spoken modern Greek, ζητάει and ζητά are what you will hear most.
So μας ζητάει is perfectly natural conversational Greek.

What is the role of να in μας ζητάει να είμαστε υπομονετικοί? Is είμαστε here subjunctive?

In modern Greek, να introduces a subordinate clause with a subjunctive-like verb form. After verbs of desire, request, command, etc., Greek uses this να + verb structure:

μας ζητάει να είμαστε υπομονετικοί
= she asks us *to be patient*

Here:

να = marker introducing the subordinate clause
είμαστε = present subjunctive form of είμαι (it looks the same as the indicative in this person, but functionally it’s subjunctive)

Typical pattern:

ζητάω (από κάποιον) να + verb
- ζητάω να φύγω – I ask to leave
- ζητάω από εσένα να με βοηθήσεις – I ask you to help me

So να είμαστε expresses something wished / requested, not a plain fact; that’s why Greek uses να instead of ότι or nothing.

Why is υπομονετικοί in the plural masculine form? What is it agreeing with?

Υπομονετικοί is an adjective meaning “patient” (as in patient people), masculine plural:

masculine: υπομονετικός – υπομονετικοί
feminine: υπομονετική – υπομονετικές
neuter: υπομονετικό – υπομονετικά

In να είμαστε υπομονετικοί:

the subject is we = εμείς (plural)
so the adjective needs to be plural
by default, Greek often uses masculine plural when the group is:
- mixed (men + women), or
- unspecified / generic (“we students”, “we people in class”)

If the group were only women and you wanted to stress that, you could say:

να είμαστε υπομονετικές – “(we, all female) to be patient”

So υπομονετικοί agrees in:

number: plural (εμείς)
gender: masculine plural as the default for mixed / neutral groups.

Could we say να είμαστε υπομονετικά instead of υπομονετικοί? What’s the difference?

υπομονετικοί = adjective, “patient (people)”
υπομονετικά = adverb, “patiently”

In this sentence, είμαστε (“we are”) links the subject to an adjective describing what we are:

να είμαστε υπομονετικοί
= “to be patient (people)”

If you used the adverb:

να είμαστε υπομονετικά ❌

this sounds wrong, because είμαι normally takes an adjective, not an adverb.

Use:

να είμαστε υπομονετικοί – to be patient
να περιμένουμε υπομονετικά – to wait patiently (adverb modifying the verb περιμένουμε)

So in the original sentence, υπομονετικοί (adjective) is the correct and natural choice.