Breakdown of Η μαμά μου σκουπίζει το πάτωμα κάθε βράδυ.
Questions & Answers about Η μαμά μου σκουπίζει το πάτωμα κάθε βράδυ.
In Greek, nouns have grammatical gender (masculine, feminine, neuter), and the definite article changes accordingly.
- η = the (feminine singular)
- ο = the (masculine singular)
- το = the (neuter singular)
The word μαμά (mom, mum) is grammatically feminine, so it always takes the feminine article: η μαμά.
So:
- η μαμά = the mom
- ο μπαμπάς = the dad
- το παιδί = the child
Greek normally puts the possessive pronoun after the noun:
- η μαμά μου = my mom
- το βιβλίο σου = your book
- το σπίτι του = his house
Here, μου is an unstressed (clitic) pronoun meaning my. It always follows the noun it modifies and does not take its own article.
So the natural Greek order is:
- η μαμά μου (literally: the mom my)
not μου η μαμά.
Greek often drops subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows the subject.
- σκουπίζει is 3rd person singular: he/she/it sweeps / is sweeping.
From the verb ending -ει/ζει, we know it’s “he/she/it”.
Because we also have η μαμά μου as the subject, we don’t need an extra she:
- Η μαμά μου σκουπίζει... ≈ My mom (she) sweeps...
You could say Αυτή σκουπίζει το πάτωμα (“She sweeps the floor”), but with η μαμά μου there, adding αυτή would sound redundant.
- The base (dictionary) form is σκουπίζω = I sweep.
- σκουπίζει is the 3rd person singular, present tense: he/she/it sweeps / is sweeping.
A simple conjugation of the present tense:
- (εγώ) σκουπίζω = I sweep
- (εσύ) σκουπίζεις = you sweep
- (αυτός/αυτή/αυτό) σκουπίζει = he/she/it sweeps
- (εμείς) σκουπίζουμε = we sweep
- (εσείς) σκουπίζετε = you (pl./formal) sweep
- (αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά) σκουπίζουν(ε) = they sweep
Greek present tense usually covers both English “sweeps” and “is sweeping.” Context decides which sounds better in translation. Here, with κάθε βράδυ (“every night”), it describes a habitual action: she sweeps (every night).
Greek uses the definite article much more often than English does. When you talk about a specific, known thing (like the floor in your house), Greek almost always uses the article:
- το πάτωμα = the floor
- το σπίτι = the house
- το αυτοκίνητο = the car
So σκουπίζει το πάτωμα is the normal way to say “sweeps the floor.”
Leaving out the article (σκουπίζει πάτωμα) would usually sound odd or incomplete.
Greek still uses cases, and you mainly see them in the article endings:
Η μαμά
- η (feminine nominative singular) = subject form
- So η μαμά is in the nominative; it is the subject of the verb.
Το πάτωμα
- το (neuter nominative/accusative singular)
- In this sentence, το πάτωμα is the object of the verb σκουπίζει, so it is in the accusative case.
In many neuter nouns, nominative and accusative look the same; the function in the sentence (subject vs object) tells you which is which.
The word κάθε (every/each) is always followed by a singular noun:
- κάθε βράδυ = every night
- κάθε μέρα = every day
- κάθε εβδομάδα = every week
So we do not say κάθε βράδια. The idea of repetition is already expressed by κάθε, so the noun stays singular.
Yes. Greek word order is fairly flexible, and all of these are grammatically correct:
- Η μαμά μου σκουπίζει το πάτωμα κάθε βράδυ.
- Κάθε βράδυ η μαμά μου σκουπίζει το πάτωμα.
- Η μαμά μου κάθε βράδυ σκουπίζει το πάτωμα.
The basic meaning stays the same. Moving κάθε βράδυ towards the beginning just puts a little extra emphasis on the time (“Every night, my mom sweeps the floor”).
The version you were given is probably the most neutral.
Both mean mother, but they differ in tone and formality:
- μαμά = mom / mum
- Informal, warm, everyday word. Used with your own mother, in family talk, with kids, etc.
- μητέρα = mother
- More formal, polite, or “official” word (forms, announcements, maybe in more formal speech).
In this sentence, Η μαμά μου σκουπίζει..., the tone is informal and family-like, which fits μαμά perfectly.
It’s capitalized only because it is the first word of the sentence. In Greek, as in English, the first word of a sentence starts with a capital letter.
The article in its basic form is:
- η μαμά (not Η μαμά) in the middle of a sentence.
At the beginning of a sentence:
- Η μαμά μου σκουπίζει...
The capital “Η” is just sentence capitalization, not a special form of the article.
Approximate phonetic transcription (stress marked with ˈ):
- Η μαμά μου σκουπίζει το πάτωμα κάθε βράδυ.
/i maˈma mu skuˈpizi to ˈpatoma ˈkaθe ˈvraði/
Some points to watch:
- η is pronounced /i/ (like “ee” in see).
- μαμά is stressed on the second syllable: ma-MA.
- σκουπίζει: “σκου” like “skoo”, -πίζει like “PEE-zee” but with z as in “zoo”.
- πάτωμα: stress on ΠΑ: PA-to-ma.
- κάθε: κά-θε, with θ like the “th” in think.
- βράδυ: VRA-thi (Greek δ is like the “th” in this).
Yes. In Greek, the article must always agree with its noun in gender, number, and case.
In the sentence:
- η μαμά
- η: feminine, singular, nominative
- μαμά: feminine, singular, nominative
- το πάτωμα
- το: neuter, singular, accusative (same form as neuter nominative)
- πάτωμα: neuter, singular, accusative
If the noun changed to plural, the article would change too:
- οι μαμάδες (the moms)
- τα πατώματα (the floors)
Agreement of article + noun is a key pattern to watch in Greek.