Μερικές φορές ηχογραφώ τη φωνή της δασκάλας στο μάθημα, όταν αυτό επιτρέπεται.

Sometimes I record the teacher’s (female) voice in class when this is allowed.

Breakdown of Μερικές φορές ηχογραφώ τη φωνή της δασκάλας στο μάθημα, όταν αυτό επιτρέπεται.

• αυτός: this
• σε: at
• όταν: when
• μερικές φορές: sometimes
• το μάθημα: the class
• η δασκάλα: the female teacher
• η φωνή: the voice
• επιτρέπεται: to be allowed
• ηχογραφώ: to record

Questions & Answers about Μερικές φορές ηχογραφώ τη φωνή της δασκάλας στο μάθημα, όταν αυτό επιτρέπεται.

Why is there no separate word for “I” in the sentence? Why doesn’t it say Εγώ ηχογραφώ?

In Greek, the subject pronoun (like εγώ = I) is usually omitted, because the verb ending already tells you who the subject is.

• ηχογραφώ ends in -ώ, which marks 1st person singular: I record / I am recording.
• So ηχογραφώ by itself already means “I record”.

You use εγώ only when you want to add emphasis or contrast, e.g.:

• Εγώ ηχογραφώ τη φωνή της δασκάλας, όχι οι συμμαθητές μου.
  I record the teacher’s voice, not my classmates.

In a neutral sentence like yours, leaving out εγώ is more natural.

What exactly does Μερικές φορές mean, and how is it different from συχνά or κάποιες φορές?

Μερικές φορές literally means “several times” but is used as “sometimes”.

• Μερικές φορές = sometimes, at times (fairly neutral).
• Κάποιες φορές = sometimes as well; very similar, slightly more colloquial in many contexts.
• Συχνά = often, frequently (implies higher frequency).

So:

• Μερικές φορές ηχογραφώ… = Sometimes I record…
• Συχνά ηχογραφώ… = I often record… (more frequent).

All three are adverbs of frequency; here Μερικές φορές sounds perfectly natural and neutral.

How is the phrase τη φωνή της δασκάλας structured grammatically?

τη φωνή της δασκάλας breaks down like this:

• τη – definite article, feminine accusative singular (“the” before a direct object)
• φωνή – feminine noun, voice, in the accusative (direct object of ηχογραφώ)
• της – definite article, feminine genitive singular, here acting like “of the”
• δασκάλας – feminine noun, teacher, in the genitive (“of the teacher”)

So literally:
ηχογραφώ τη φωνή της δασκάλας = I record the voice of the teacher.

Accusative (τη φωνή) is needed because it’s the thing being recorded.
Genitive (της δασκάλας) shows possession/relationship: it’s the teacher’s voice.

Why is it written τη φωνή and not την φωνή? I learned that την is the feminine article.

You’re right that the basic feminine accusative article is την.

However, in modern Greek την is usually shortened to τη in writing when the next word begins with a consonant, especially a voiceless consonant (φ, θ, χ, κ, π, τ, σ):

• την → τη φωνή
• την → τη γυναίκα
• την → τη θάλασσα

Before a vowel or certain consonant clusters, you often keep the full form την:

• την ώρα
• την ημέρα

In speech, many speakers will still pronounce the -ν: [tīn foní], but in standard spelling it’s τη φωνή.

Why is της δασκάλας in the genitive, and how does it relate to η δασκάλα?

Base form (nominative): η δασκάλα = the (female) teacher.

In της δασκάλας:

• της – feminine genitive article
• δασκάλας – noun δασκάλα in genitive singular

The genitive here marks possession / belonging:

• της δασκάλας = of the teacher / the teacher’s.

So:

• η δασκάλα μιλάει. – The teacher is speaking. (subject, nominative)
• Ακούω τη φωνή της δασκάλας. – I hear the teacher’s voice. (the voice belongs to her, so genitive)

What does στο μάθημα mean exactly, and how is στο formed?

στο μάθημα literally means “in the lesson / in class.”

Grammatically:

• σε = in / at / to
• το = the (neuter nominative/accusative singular)
• σε + το → στο

So στο μάθημα = σε + το μάθημα = in the lesson / during the lesson.

μάθημα (lesson, class) is a neuter noun. Because it follows the preposition σε, it appears in the accusative:

• στο μάθημα
• στη δουλειά (σε + τη δουλειά)
• στο σπίτι (σε + το σπίτι)

Why does the sentence say ηχογραφώ τη φωνή της δασκάλας and not just ηχογραφώ τη δασκάλα?

Both are grammatically possible, but the meaning is different:

• ηχογραφώ τη φωνή της δασκάλας
  → I record the teacher’s voice. (specifically the sound of her voice)

• ηχογραφώ τη δασκάλα
  → I record the teacher. (more general; in modern usage it can sound like you are video-recording her, or capturing her entire speech)

If you want to be very clear that you are capturing audio of what she says in class, τη φωνή της δασκάλας is the most precise and natural.

What is the nuance of the verb ηχογραφώ? How is it different from just γράφω or μαγνητοφωνώ?

• ηχογραφώ literally means “I record sound” (from ήχος = sound + γράφω = write).
  It’s the standard modern verb for audio recording (with a phone, recorder, etc.).

• γράφω by itself means “I write” or “I am writing”, not “record” in modern language, except in very specific technical contexts.

• μαγνητοφωνώ is an older verb from μαγνητόφωνο (tape recorder). It also means “to record (on tape)”, but today it sounds more old-fashioned or specifically about tape recorders.

For everyday speech now:

• ηχογραφώ τη φωνή της δασκάλας is the natural way to say I (audio) record the teacher’s voice.

Why is there a comma before όταν in ..., όταν αυτό επιτρέπεται?

In Greek, a subordinate clause introduced by όταν (when) is often separated by a comma from the main clause, especially when it comes after the main clause.

Your sentence has:

• Main clause: Μερικές φορές ηχογραφώ τη φωνή της δασκάλας στο μάθημα
• Subordinate clause: όταν αυτό επιτρέπεται (when this is allowed)

So you write:

• Μερικές φορές ηχογραφώ τη φωνή της δασκάλας στο μάθημα, όταν αυτό επιτρέπεται.

If the όταν-clause came first, you would also normally keep the comma:

• Όταν αυτό επιτρέπεται, μερικές φορές ηχογραφώ τη φωνή της δασκάλας στο μάθημα.

What does όταν αυτό επιτρέπεται literally mean, and why is αυτό used here?

Literal breakdown:

• όταν = when
• αυτό = this / it (neuter, singular)
• επιτρέπεται = is allowed / is permitted (impersonal passive form of επιτρέπω)

So literally: “when this is allowed.”

Here αυτό refers to the whole action mentioned before: recording the teacher’s voice in class.

You could also say:

• ..., όταν επιτρέπεται.

and it would still be correct and natural, with an understood “it”.
Including αυτό makes the reference more explicit and a bit more formal or careful, like:

• when this (i.e. recording) is permitted.

Is the verb επιτρέπεται always impersonal, like “it is allowed”?

επιτρέπεται is very often used impersonally, like English “(it) is allowed / is permitted”:

• Εδώ δεν επιτρέπεται το κάπνισμα. – Smoking is not allowed here.

In your sentence, επιτρέπεται is also impersonal, with αυτό standing in for “this action”:

• όταν αυτό επιτρέπεται – when this is allowed.

You can make it personal if you specify who allows what:

• Ο καθηγητής επιτρέπει να ηχογραφούμε το μάθημα.
  The professor allows us to record the lesson.

Could the word order be Ηχογραφώ μερικές φορές τη φωνή της δασκάλας στο μάθημα instead? Does it change the meaning?

Yes, you can say:

• Ηχογραφώ μερικές φορές τη φωνή της δασκάλας στο μάθημα, όταν αυτό επιτρέπεται.

The meaning is the same: Sometimes I record the teacher’s voice in class, when this is allowed.

Word order in Greek is relatively flexible. Placing Μερικές φορές at the beginning (as in the original) slightly highlights the “sometimes”:

• Μερικές φορές ηχογραφώ… → Sometimes, I record… (emphasis on the sometimes part)

Both versions are correct and idiomatic.

Does ηχογραφώ here mean a one-time action or a repeated habit? How would I say “I recorded” in the past?

In Μερικές φορές ηχογραφώ…, the present tense ηχογραφώ expresses a habitual or repeated action:

• I sometimes record the teacher’s voice in class…

To talk about a completed action in the past, you use the aorist:

• Ηχογράφησα τη φωνή της δασκάλας.
  I recorded the teacher’s voice (on one occasion / completed).

To talk about ongoing or repeated past actions, you use the imperfect:

• Μερικές φορές ηχογραφούσα τη φωνή της δασκάλας στο μάθημα.
  Sometimes I used to record / I was recording the teacher’s voice in class.