Την Πέμπτη ο καθηγητής μας λέει τους βαθμούς από την εξέταση.

On Thursday the professor tells us the grades from the exam.

Breakdown of Την Πέμπτη ο καθηγητής μας λέει τους βαθμούς από την εξέταση.

• από: from
• μας: our
• λέω: to tell
• ο καθηγητής: the male professor
• την Πέμπτη: on Thursday
• η εξέταση: the exam
• ο βαθμός: the grade

Questions & Answers about Την Πέμπτη ο καθηγητής μας λέει τους βαθμούς από την εξέταση.

Why is it Την Πέμπτη and not Η Πέμπτη? What does the accusative here mean?

With days of the week, Greek often uses the accusative with the definite article to mean “on [that day]”.

• Την Πέμπτη = on Thursday (this coming or a specific Thursday)
• Η Πέμπτη = Thursday as a subject or topic (e.g. Η Πέμπτη είναι δύσκολη μέρα – Thursday is a difficult day).

So Την Πέμπτη is an accusative of time: it answers the question πότε; (when?), meaning “On Thursday…”

Why is the word order Την Πέμπτη ο καθηγητής μας λέει… and not Ο καθηγητής μας λέει… την Πέμπτη? Is there a difference?

Both are grammatically correct; Greek word order is relatively flexible.

• Την Πέμπτη ο καθηγητής μας λέει τους βαθμούς…
  Puts a bit more emphasis on the time: As for Thursday – that’s when our teacher tells the grades…

• Ο καθηγητής μας λέει τους βαθμούς την Πέμπτη.
  More neutral; starts with “our teacher” as the topic.

In many contexts they mean the same; the choice is mainly about rhythm and which element you want to highlight.

What exactly does ο καθηγητής μας mean? Is μας “us” as an object?

Here μας is a possessive pronoun in the genitive, meaning “our”, not “us”.

• ο καθηγητής = the (male) teacher / lecturer / professor
• ο καθηγητής μας = our teacher

So in this sentence:

• ο καθηγητής μας = our teacher (subject)
• There is no explicit “us” as an object. If you wanted to say “tells us our grades”, you could say:
  • Ο καθηγητής μας μάς λέει τους βαθμούς…
    (here μάς before the verb is “to us”).

Note the difference:

• ο καθηγητής μας → our teacher
• μάς λέει → tells us

Why is λέει (present tense) used if the action is in the future? In English I’d expect “will tell”.

Greek often uses the present tense for scheduled or fixed future events, especially with a time expression:

• Την Πέμπτη ο καθηγητής μας λέει τους βαθμούς…
  = On Thursday our teacher tells us the grades
  but in natural English: On Thursday our teacher *will tell us the grades.*

It’s similar to English “The train leaves at 7 tomorrow” – present form for a future timetable. Greek can also use the future:

• Την Πέμπτη ο καθηγητής μας θα πει τους βαθμούς…

Both are correct; the present here sounds quite natural for an arranged event.

What does λέει τους βαθμούς literally mean? Is it natural Greek to say “say the grades”?

Literally, λέει τους βαθμούς = “(he) says the grades”.
In context, it means “announces / tells the grades”, which is perfectly natural Greek.

Some alternatives you might hear:

• μας ανακοινώνει τους βαθμούς – he announces the grades to us
• μας λέει τα αποτελέσματα της εξέτασης – he tells us the results of the exam

But λέει τους βαθμούς is fine as everyday, informal usage.

What does τους βαθμούς mean, and why is it masculine plural?

• βαθμός (masc. singular) = grade, mark (in a test or exam)
• οι βαθμοί (nom. pl.) / τους βαθμούς (acc. pl.) = the grades/marks

In the sentence:

• λέει τους βαθμούς – “(he) tells the grades”

The verb λέει takes a direct object in the accusative, so we use τους βαθμούς (masculine plural accusative with article τους).

Why is it από την εξέταση and not της εξέτασης? What does από add?

Both are possible, but they feel slightly different:

• τους βαθμούς από την εξέταση
  Literally: “the grades from the exam”.
  από (from) highlights the source: the grades that come from that exam.

• τους βαθμούς της εξέτασης
  Literally: “the grades of the exam”.
  Uses the genitive to show possession/association.

In everyday speech, από την εξέταση is very common and maybe a bit more casual.
της εξέτασης sounds a bit more “written” or formal, but still perfectly correct.

What is the difference between εξέταση and διαγώνισμα?

Both relate to tests, but they’re used somewhat differently:

• εξέταση

  • exam, examination (often more official or formal)
  • can be oral or written, e.g. university exams, final exams
  • e.g. η εξέταση στα μαθηματικά

• διαγώνισμα

  • a test (usually written, often in school)
  • more like periodic tests during the school year
  • e.g. γράψαμε διαγώνισμα ιστορίας – we wrote a history test

In this sentence, από την εξέταση suggests a formal exam situation (like midterms, finals, or a major test).

Which cases are used in this sentence, and for which words?

The sentence: Την Πέμπτη ο καθηγητής μας λέει τους βαθμούς από την εξέταση.

• Την Πέμπτη – accusative singular (feminine)
  Accusative of time = on Thursday.

• ο καθηγητής μας – nominative singular (masculine)
  Subject of the verb λέει.

• τους βαθμούς – accusative plural (masculine)
  Direct object of λέει (what does he tell? the grades).

• από την εξέταση – accusative singular after a preposition
  In Greek, prepositions like από take the accusative → from the exam.

If I want to be very clear that he tells us the grades, where do I put μας?

You add the clitic pronoun μας (us) before the verb:

• Την Πέμπτη ο καθηγητής μας μάς λέει τους βαθμούς από την εξέταση.

Now you have:

• ο καθηγητής μας = our teacher
• μάς λέει = tells us
• τους βαθμούς = the grades

In speech, the two μας often sound like one, but grammatically they are different:

• μας after καθηγητής = possessive “our”
• μάς before λέει = object “to us”

Do I always need the article with days of the week, like την Πέμπτη?

With a specific day, especially for a one-time event, Greek very often uses the article:

• Την Πέμπτη έχω μάθημα. – I have class on Thursday.
• Τη Δευτέρα φεύγω. – I leave on Monday.

You can omit the article mainly in more general statements, titles, or lists (Πέμπτη: μάθημα ελληνικών on a schedule).
But in normal sentences about when something happens, using την / τη with the day is standard and natural.