Η δασκάλα μάς είπε ότι το σεμινάριο πρόκειται να είναι πιο δύσκολο από το προηγούμενο.

to be

Breakdown of Η δασκάλα μάς είπε ότι το σεμινάριο πρόκειται να είναι πιο δύσκολο από το προηγούμενο.

• πιο: more
• ότι: that
• από: than

Questions & Answers about Η δασκάλα μάς είπε ότι το σεμινάριο πρόκειται να είναι πιο δύσκολο από το προηγούμενο.

Why is there an accent on μάς here? What is the difference between μάς, μας, and εμάς?

Μας / μάς and εμάς are all forms of “us”, but they behave differently.

• μας (without accent) is the weak / clitic form:

  • as object pronoun:
    
    • Η δασκάλα μας είπε. = The teacher told us.
  • as possessive (our):
    
    • Η δασκάλα μας. = Our teacher.

• μάς (with accent) is used mainly:

  • for emphasis:
    
    • Η δασκάλα μάς είπε, όχι τους άλλους.
      = The teacher told *us, not the others.*
  • or to avoid ambiguity with the possessive μας in writing.

• εμάς is the strong/stressed form of “us”:

  • often used for contrast or alone:
    
    • Εμάς μάς είπε την αλήθεια. = She told *us the truth.*
    • Ποιον φώναξε; – Εμάς. = Whom did she call? – Us.

In your sentence, μάς is written with an accent to show it is a stressed object pronoun (told us) and not the possessive (our). In everyday writing you will also often see μας είπε without the accent, unless the writer wants special emphasis or clarity.

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Why does μάς come before είπε? Could we say είπε μάς instead?