Learn Hardcore Greek: Η φίλη μου δεν διστάζει ποτέ να ρωτήσει τη δασκάλα ό,τι δεν καταλαβαίνει. - My female friend never hesitates to ask the teacher female whatever she doesn’t understand.

διστάζει = present, imperfective aspect
It describes a general, repeated habit: she never hesitates.
να ρωτήσει = aorist subjunctive
After να, the aorist usually presents the action as a single, complete whole: to ask (once, as a complete act) each time she has a question.

So the sentence means: on any given occasion, she does not (generally) hesitate to perform the complete act of asking.

Compare:

Δεν διστάζει να ρωτήσει. – She doesn’t hesitate (in general) to ask (do the act of asking).
Δεν διστάζει να ρωτάει. – She doesn’t hesitate to be constantly asking / to ask repeatedly (more “ongoing” or “habitually asking” feel).

In this sentence, the aorist ρωτήσει is the natural choice: it’s about the decision to ask, as one complete act each time something is unclear.

What’s the difference between ό,τι and ότι?

They are two different words:

ό,τι (with comma and accent) = “whatever / anything that”
It is a relative / indefinite pronoun.
In the sentence:
- ό,τι δεν καταλαβαίνει = whatever (she) doesn’t understand / anything she doesn’t understand.
ότι (no comma, only accent on the first syllable in older spelling; nowadays often written χωρίς τόνο) = “that” (conjunction, like English “that” in “I think that…”).
Example:
- Νομίζω ότι έχει δίκιο. – I think that he is right.

So:

Use ό,τι when it can be replaced by “whatever / anything that”.
Use ότι when it introduces a clause and can be replaced by “that” (and often can be dropped in English).

In your sentence, it must be ό,τι, because it means “whatever (she) doesn’t understand”.

Why is it τη δασκάλα and not something like τη δασκάλα της (“her teacher”)?

Greek often uses the definite article where English would use a possessive:

τη δασκάλα can naturally mean “her (school) teacher” in the right context.
Greek doesn’t need to repeat της when it is obvious whose teacher we mean.

Here, the subject is Η φίλη μου (my friend). It is natural to assume that τη δασκάλα is “her teacher” (for example, the teacher of the class she attends), so Greek leaves out the possessive.

You could say:

τη δασκάλα της – her teacher (more explicit that she is the teacher of “her”)
τη δασκάλα μου – my teacher

…but τη δασκάλα alone is completely idiomatic and usually understood as the relevant/known teacher, “her teacher” in this context.

Why is it τη δασκάλα and not την δασκάλα?

The feminine accusative article has two forms:

την before vowel sounds or certain consonants
τη before most consonants in everyday spelling

Rule of thumb (modern, informal rule): drop the final -ν unless the next word starts with a vowel or with κ, π, τ, μπ, ντ, γκ, ξ, ψ.

την Ελλάδα (Ε is a vowel)
την πόρτα (π)
τη δασκάλα (δ is not in that list, so -ν is usually dropped)

Both τη δασκάλα and την δασκάλα are pronounceable, but in modern standard writing you’ll normally see τη δασκάλα.

Why is μου put after φίλη (Η φίλη μου) instead of before it, like in English “my friend”?

Greek possessive pronouns like μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους are unstressed clitics. They normally come after the noun they modify:

ο φίλος μου – my (male) friend
η φίλη μου – my (female) friend
το βιβλίο σου – your book
η μητέρα του – his mother

There is a different stressed form that can go before the noun (δικός μου, δική μου, δικό μου), but that is used for emphasis or contrast:

η δική μου φίλη – my friend (as opposed to someone else’s)
το δικό σου βιβλίο – your book (not mine)

In neutral statements, the normal pattern is [article] + [noun] + [clitic possessive]: Η φίλη μου.

Why is the negative adverb ποτέ placed after διστάζει? Could it be Ποτέ δεν διστάζει?

Both word orders are possible:

Η φίλη μου δεν διστάζει ποτέ...
Η φίλη μου ποτέ δεν διστάζει...

They both mean “My friend never hesitates…”.

General points:

In negative sentences, ποτέ is normally used together with δεν:
- Δεν διστάζει ποτέ. – She never hesitates.
Positioning:
- δεν + verb + ποτέ is very common.
- ποτέ δεν + verb is also common and can sound a bit more emphatic or stylistic at times.

So your sentence uses a very standard word order: δεν διστάζει ποτέ.

Why is it να ρωτήσει and not να ρωτάει? What’s the difference?

Both forms are subjunctive with να, but they use different aspects:

να ρωτήσει – aorist subjunctive
Focuses on the whole action as a single, complete event: to ask (once, as an act).
να ρωτάει – present (imperfective) subjunctive
Focuses on the action as ongoing or repeated: to be asking / to keep asking / to ask habitually.

In this sentence:

δεν διστάζει ποτέ να ρωτήσει = she never hesitates to do the act of asking whenever needed.
δεν διστάζει ποτέ να ρωτάει would hint more at not hesitating to keep asking (again and again), which is a slightly different nuance.

The aorist να ρωτήσει is the normal, idiomatic choice for “not hesitating to ask (about something she doesn’t understand)”.

Why is καταλαβαίνει in the present tense and not something like κατάλαβε or έχει καταλάβει?

καταλαβαίνει is present, imperfective aspect, and here it expresses a general situation / state:

ό,τι δεν καταλαβαίνει = whatever she does not understand (whenever that happens).

It’s not about one specific past moment of not understanding, but about any content that she doesn’t understand at the time of the lesson, in general, repeatedly.

If you said:

ό,τι δεν κατάλαβε – whatever she did not understand (on some specific past occasion)
ό,τι δεν έχει καταλάβει – whatever she has not understood (up to now)

you would be shifting the focus to a specific time frame (e.g. a particular lesson or block of time). The original sentence talks about her general habit in class, so δεν καταλαβαίνει is the natural choice.

What is the subject of καταλαβαίνει? There is no pronoun “she” written.

The subject is still “she”, referring back to Η φίλη μου.

Greek is a “pro‑drop” language: subject pronouns (εγώ, εσύ, αυτός, αυτή, etc.) are often omitted, because the verb ending already shows the person and number.

καταλαβαίνει is 3rd person singular: he/she/it understands.
In context, the only relevant 3rd person singular subject is η φίλη μου, so native speakers automatically understand:
- (η φίλη μου) δεν καταλαβαίνει – (my friend) doesn’t understand.

You could add αυτή for emphasis:

…ό,τι δεν καταλαβαίνει αυτή. – whatever she doesn’t understand (as opposed to others),

but normally it is left out.

Does Η φίλη μου mean just “my (female) friend”, or can it also mean “my girlfriend”?

Η φίλη μου literally means “my (female) friend”.

Whether it is understood as “friend” or “girlfriend” depends on context and intonation:

In many everyday contexts (especially if you are talking about school, class, teacher, etc.), η φίλη μου will be heard as “my (female) friend / classmate”.
In a romantic context, or if it’s clear you’re talking about a partner, η φίλη μου can be understood as “my girlfriend”.

Greek doesn’t have a completely separate everyday word for “girlfriend” vs “female friend” the way English does. Context decides the interpretation.