Learn Hardcore Greek: Χτες μια αστυνομικός σταμάτησε έναν οδηγό γιατί δεν φόραγε κράνος. - Yesterday a female police officer stopped a driver because he wasn’t wearing a helmet.

μια and μία are usually pronounced the same and often used interchangeably.
Here, μια is the indefinite article “a / one” for feminine nouns (like English “a” in “a police officer”).

Traditionally:

μία (with accent) was more clearly the numeral “one” (the number 1),
μια (without written accent) worked more as an article “a”.

In everyday writing now, this distinction is often not followed strictly, and most texts would accept either μια or μία in this sentence. The choice here emphasizes it as the article.

Why does αστυνομικός look masculine if it refers to a woman?

Because some professions in Greek are common gender:

The form of the word is the same for men and women: αστυνομικός, γιατρός, δικηγόρος, etc.
The article and any adjectives show whether it’s male or female:
- ένας καλός αστυνομικός = a good (male) police officer
- μια καλή αστυνομικός = a good (female) police officer

So the ending ‑ος here does not automatically mean “male”; you have to look at the article (μια).

Why is it έναν οδηγό and not ένας οδηγός?

This is about case:

ένας οδηγός = nominative (subject form)
- e.g. Ένας οδηγός έφτασε. – A driver arrived.
έναν οδηγό = accusative (direct object form)
- e.g. Μια αστυνομικός σταμάτησε έναν οδηγό. – A police officer stopped a driver.

In the given sentence:

μια αστυνομικός is the subject (who did the stopping),
έναν οδηγό is the object (who was stopped), so έναν (accusative) is required.

Why is there no article with κράνος (just δεν φόραγε κράνος, not δεν φόραγε ένα κράνος)?

In Greek, when talking about wearing or using something in a general, non‑specific way, you often omit the article:

δεν φόραγε κράνος = he wasn’t wearing a/any helmet (generic, non‑specific)
φοράω γυαλιά = I wear glasses (not “some particular glasses”)

If you say:

δεν φόραγε ένα κράνος, it sounds a bit more specific/individual (“a helmet” as a countable object),
δεν φόραγε το κράνος = “he wasn’t wearing the helmet”, a specific one already known in context.

In this context (traffic, safety rule), δεν φόραγε κράνος (no article) is the most natural way to state he had no helmet on.

Why is σταμάτησε used, and what tense is it?

Σταμάτησε is the aorist (simple past) of σταματάω / σταματώ (“to stop”).

σταμάτησε = “(she) stopped” as a single, completed action in the past.
The aorist is used for events seen as whole units: she stopped him once, at that moment yesterday.

So Μια αστυνομικός σταμάτησε έναν οδηγό = “A police officer stopped a driver” (one completed event, yesterday).

Why is it δεν φόραγε and not δεν φόρεσε?

Both are past forms of φοράω / φορώ (“to wear / to put on”), but:

φόραγε = imperfect (past continuous): “was wearing / used to wear / was not wearing”
φόρεσε = aorist (simple past): “put on” (one completed action)

Meaning difference:

δεν φόραγε κράνος – he wasn’t wearing a helmet (his state at that time; continuous during the ride).
δεν φόρεσε κράνος – he didn’t put on a helmet (focus on the single action of not putting it on).

In the context of a traffic stop, the relevant fact is that at the moment she stopped him, he was not wearing a helmet, so the imperfect (δεν φόραγε) is the natural choice.

What is the difference between φόραγε and φορούσε?

Both are imperfect (past continuous) forms of φοράω / φορώ, third person singular:

φόραγε κράνος
φορούσε κράνος

They mean the same thing: “he/she was wearing a helmet.”

Differences:

Both forms are correct; usage can depend on:
- register (some feel φορούσε a bit more standard/formal, φόραγε more colloquial),
- rhythm and sound in a sentence.

In everyday speech you will hear both. In your sentence, you could also say:

… γιατί δεν φορούσε κράνος.

with no change in meaning.

Why is δεν placed before the verb (δεν φόραγε)?

Standard Greek negation places δεν directly before the verb:

δεν φόραγε κράνος – he wasn’t wearing a helmet
δεν σταμάτησε – he didn’t stop

You cannot move δεν after the verb or before the noun:

✗ φόραγε δεν κράνος
✗ δεν κράνος φόραγε

So the correct pattern is:
δεν + verb (+ object/complements)

Can γιατί mean both “why” and “because”? How does it work here?

Yes. Γιατί is used both for:

Questions = “why”
- Γιατί δεν φόραγε κράνος; – Why wasn’t he wearing a helmet?
Explanations = “because”
- Τον σταμάτησε γιατί δεν φόραγε κράνος. – She stopped him because he wasn’t wearing a helmet.

In your sentence, γιατί introduces the reason for stopping him, so it means “because.”
Context, punctuation, and intonation (in speech) show whether γιατί is a question word or a conjunction meaning “because.”

Could we use επειδή instead of γιατί here?

Yes:

Χτες μια αστυνομικός σταμάτησε έναν οδηγό επειδή δεν φόραγε κράνος.

This is also correct and natural.

Nuance:

επειδή is more strictly causal (“because”),
γιατί is very common and can be:
- “why” in questions,
- “because” in explanations.

In everyday speech, γιατί as “because” is extremely frequent. Επειδή can sound a little more formal or emphatic, but the difference here is small.

Can I say Χθες instead of Χτες? And what about εχτές?

Yes:

Χτες and Χθες are alternative spellings of the same word “yesterday.”
Pronunciation is the same: [xtes]. The θ is not pronounced separately in modern speech.

Usage:

Χτες is the more common modern spelling.
Χθες looks a bit more formal or older‑style.

You’ll also hear and see εχτές (and εχθές), which is a colloquial variant; all are understood as “yesterday.” In your sentence, Χτες is the most typical choice.

Where can χτες go in the sentence? Is the word order fixed?

Word order in Greek is flexible, especially for adverbs like χτες (“yesterday”). All of these are possible:

Χτες μια αστυνομικός σταμάτησε έναν οδηγό γιατί δεν φόραγε κράνος.
Μια αστυνομικός χτες σταμάτησε έναν οδηγό γιατί δεν φόραγε κράνος.
Μια αστυνομικός σταμάτησε χτες έναν οδηγό γιατί δεν φόραγε κράνος.

They all mean the same thing; the differences are in emphasis and rhythm:

Χτες at the beginning often gives a time‑setting, storytelling feel (“Yesterday, a police officer…”).
In the middle it sounds more neutral.

The version you have is very natural, especially at the start of a narrative.

How does the stress work in αστυνομικός and οδηγός?

Both words have stress on the last syllable:

αστυνομικός – as-ty-no-mi-KOS
οδηγός – o-dhi-GOS

This final‑syllable stress stays in all cases except when plural endings shift it (e.g., αστυνομικοί, οδηγοί, still stressed on the last syllable: -KOI, -DHI).

In the full sentence, main stresses fall on:
Χτες μια αστυνομικός σταμάτησε έναν οδηγό γιατί δεν φόραγε κράνος.