Learn Hardcore Greek: Εκεί ο δικηγόρος σου εξηγεί τον νόμο και σε βοηθάει να είσαι ασφαλής. - There your lawyer explains the law to you and helps you to be safe.

a physical place already known from context (e.g. “At that office, your lawyer explains the law…”), or
sometimes more abstract, like “in that situation / in that context”, depending on what has been said before.

Greek often puts adverbs like εκεί at the start of the sentence to set the scene. Word order is more flexible than in English, so Εκεί at the start is very natural and not especially marked.

Why do we say ο δικηγόρος σου with the article ο? In English we often just say “your lawyer” without “the”.

In Greek, a singular, countable noun almost always needs a definite or indefinite article:

ο δικηγόρος = the lawyer
ένας δικηγόρος = a lawyer

When you add a possessive like σου (your), you still keep the article:

ο δικηγόρος σου = your lawyer (literally: the lawyer of-you)

In English, we can say:

“your lawyer” (no article)

But in Greek, saying just δικηγόρος σου (without ο) would sound incomplete or wrong in normal speech. So the article ο is required here.

Why is σου after the noun (δικηγόρος σου) instead of before it like in English (“your lawyer”)?

Greek possessive pronouns (my, your, his, etc.) usually come after the noun and after the article:

ο δικηγόρος σου = your lawyer
το βιβλίο μου = my book
η μητέρα του = his mother

The pattern is:

[article] + [noun] + [possessive]

So instead of “your lawyer”, Greek literally says “the lawyer your”. This is just a normal word-order difference between the two languages.

You can also sometimes say ο δικός σου δικηγόρος (“your own lawyer”) for emphasis, but the neutral, plain way is ο δικηγόρος σου.

What form is εξηγεί, and from which verb does it come?

εξηγεί is:

3rd person singular
present tense (continuous aspect)
active voice
from the verb εξηγώ (to explain)

So:

εξηγώ = I explain
εξηγείς = you explain (singular)
εξηγεί = he/she/it explains
εξηγούμε / εξηγούμε = we explain
εξηγείτε = you explain (plural / polite)
εξηγούν(ε) = they explain

In the sentence, ο δικηγόρος σου εξηγεί = your lawyer explains / is explaining.

Why do we say τον νόμο and not το νόμο?

The noun νόμος (law) is:

masculine
nominative singular: ο νόμος (the law)

In the accusative singular (the direct object form), the article becomes:

τον νόμο = the law (as object)

So:

ο νόμος (subject)
τον νόμο (object)

το is the neuter article; you use it with neuter nouns (e.g. το σπίτι). Because νόμος is masculine, the correct accusative article is τον, not το.

That’s why we have εξηγεί τον νόμο = he explains the law.

What does σε mean in σε βοηθάει, and why is it in front of the verb?

σε here is the object pronoun meaning you (singular), in the accusative case.

βοηθάει = (he) helps
σε βοηθάει = he helps you

Greek object pronouns like με (me), σε (you), τον (him), την (her) typically go before the verb in simple statements:

με βοηθάει = he helps me
σε βοηθάει = he helps you
τον βλέπω = I see him

So σε must appear before βοηθάει (in this neutral word order).

In fast speech before a vowel, σε can contract to σ’:

σ’ αγαπώ = I love you

But in careful writing and here in isolation, σε is used.

Is there a difference between βοηθάει, βοηθά, and βοηθάει vs βοηθά? Which is correct?

The verb is βοηθάω / βοηθώ (to help). In the 3rd person singular present, you can see:

βοηθάει
βοηθά

Both βοηθάει and βοηθά are correct in modern Greek. They are just different accepted spellings/pronunciations of the same form:

σε βοηθάει = he helps you
σε βοηθά = he helps you

βοηθάει is slightly more “spelled-out” and common in learners’ materials; βοηθά is a bit shorter and very common in everyday speech and writing. Grammatically, they are equivalent.

Why do we use να είσαι instead of an infinitive like English “to be”?

Modern Greek does not have an infinitive the way English does (“to be”, “to help”, etc.).

Instead, Greek uses:

να + subjunctive form of the verb

For είμαι (to be), the 2nd person singular subjunctive is να είσαι. So:

να είσαι ασφαλής = (for) you to be safe

With verbs of wanting, hoping, helping, etc., English uses to + infinitive:

He helps you to be safe.

Greek uses να + subjunctive:

σε βοηθάει να είσαι ασφαλής = he helps you (so that) you be safe.

So να είσαι plays the role of “to be” here.

What form is είσαι, and how is it different from είσαι vs είσαι in other contexts?

είσαι is:

2nd person singular
present tense
of the verb είμαι (to be)

The basic present forms are:

είμαι = I am
είσαι = you are (singular)
είναι = he/she/it is, they are
είμαστε = we are
είστε = you are (plural / polite)
είναι = they are

In να είσαι ασφαλής, είσαι is in the subjunctive environment because of να, but the form itself is identical to the indicative present είσαι (you are). Context and the να marker tell you it’s “(for) you to be safe” rather than a simple “you are safe” statement.

Why is ασφαλής in that form? Does it agree with “you”? Isn’t there a different masculine/feminine form?

ασφαλής is an adjective meaning safe.

It belongs to a group of adjectives that have:

the same form for masculine and feminine in the nominative singular:
- (ο/η) ασφαλής = safe (masc/fem)
neuter: ασφαλές

In να είσαι ασφαλής, the underlying subject is “you” (2nd person singular). Depending on who “you” refers to:

if you is male: είσαι ασφαλής (masculine form)
if you is female: είσαι ασφαλής (feminine form — looks the same)

So the form ασφαλής here is correct for both masculine and feminine “you”. It’s in the nominative because it’s a predicate adjective describing the subject (“you”).

Can we change the word order? For example, can we say Ο δικηγόρος σου εκεί εξηγεί τον νόμο…?

Greek word order is quite flexible, so several variants are possible. All of these can be grammatically correct, but they differ slightly in emphasis:

Εκεί ο δικηγόρος σου εξηγεί τον νόμο και σε βοηθάει να είσαι ασφαλής.
– Neutral, with εκεί setting the scene: “There, your lawyer explains…”
Ο δικηγόρος σου εκεί εξηγεί τον νόμο…
– Emphasizes that is the place where your lawyer explains the law, something like: “Your lawyer (is the one who) explains the law there…”
Ο δικηγόρος σου εξηγεί εκεί τον νόμο…
– More emphasis on where he explains the law, “Your lawyer explains the law there…”

The original order with Εκεί at the front is very natural if you’re first talking about the place, then describing what happens there.

Why don’t we say αυτός ο δικηγόρος σου or use αυτός somewhere as “he”? Where is the subject pronoun?

Greek often drops subject pronouns (it’s a “pro-drop” language) because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

εξηγεί tells us it is he/she/it explains.
From context (ο δικηγόρος σου right before), we know the subject is “your lawyer”, i.e. he.

So:

Εκεί ο δικηγόρος σου εξηγεί…
literally: “There the lawyer your explains…”

Adding αυτός as a subject pronoun (Αυτός εξηγεί…) is only done when you want extra emphasis on he (as opposed to someone else). In this neutral sentence, you don’t need αυτός at all.

What’s the difference between σου / σε and σας in similar sentences?

σου and σε are singular:

σου = your (possessive) / to you (genitive)
- ο δικηγόρος σου = your lawyer
σε = you (object, accusative)
- σε βοηθάει = he helps you

σας can be both plural and formal/polite singular:

σας (possessive) = your (plural or polite singular)
- ο δικηγόρος σας = your lawyer (to several people, or politely to one person)
σας (object) = you (plural or polite singular)
- σας βοηθάει = he helps you (you all / you, sir/madam)

So you could say:

Εκεί ο δικηγόρος σας εξηγεί τον νόμο και σας βοηθάει να είστε ασφαλείς.
– addressing more than one person (or politely), with plural είστε and ασφαλείς.

How would the meaning change if we used past tense, like εξήγησε and βοήθησε, instead of εξηγεί and βοηθάει?

Current sentence (present):

εξηγεί τον νόμο και σε βοηθάει να είσαι ασφαλής
– He explains the law and helps you be safe.
This describes something habitual, ongoing, or generally true in that place or context.

Past (aorist) version:

Εκεί ο δικηγόρος σου εξήγησε τον νόμο και σε βοήθησε να είσαι ασφαλής.
– There, your lawyer explained the law and helped you be safe.

Here, εξήγησε and βοήθησε describe completed actions at some time in the past. It no longer talks about what normally happens there, but about what happened once (or on some specific occasion).