Learn Hardcore Greek: Δεν προλάβαμε να τελειώσουμε όλες τις ασκήσεις, παρόλα αυτά ο καθηγητής ήταν ήρεμος. - We didn’t manage to finish all the exercises, nevertheless the professor male was calm.

It implies there was some time limit (end of class, test time, etc.), and you ran out of time before finishing, not just that you failed in general.

Why do we say να τελειώσουμε after προλάβαμε? Why να instead of an infinitive?

Modern Greek doesn’t really use infinitives the way English does. Instead, it normally uses να + subjunctive.

Verb + να + verb (subjunctive) often plays the role that “to + verb” (infinitive) plays in English.

So:

English: We didn’t manage *to finish…*
Greek: Δεν προλάβαμε να τελειώσουμε…

Here να τελειώσουμε is a subordinate clause (“that we finish / to finish”), and να is just the standard marker that introduces this kind of clause in modern Greek (similar to “that / to” but not identical).

Why is it να τελειώσουμε (aorist subjunctive) and not να τελειώνουμε?

Greek distinguishes aspect (kind of action) even in the subjunctive:

να τελειώσουμε → aorist subjunctive (perfective aspect):
a single, completed action (to finish once, to have it done)
να τελειώνουμε → present subjunctive (imperfective aspect):
an ongoing, repeated, or habitual action (to be finishing, to be in the process)

Here, the idea is:

“We didn’t have time to finish (all of them completely).”

So the completed-result meaning fits best, hence να τελειώσουμε.

If you said δεν προλάβαμε να τελειώνουμε, it would sound off or unnatural in this context, because the goal is clearly to get all the exercises done, not just to be in the process of doing them.

How is Δεν προλάβαμε να… different from Δεν καταφέραμε να… or Δεν μπορέσαμε να…?

All three can be translated as “we didn’t manage to…”, but they focus on different reasons:

Δεν προλάβαμε να τελειώσουμε…
→ Emphasis on lack of time / missing the deadline.
“We didn’t finish because there wasn’t enough time.”
Δεν καταφέραμε να τελειώσουμε…
→ Emphasis on failure / we couldn’t achieve it, with no specific reason given.
Could be difficulty, time, ability, anything.
Δεν μπορέσαμε να τελειώσουμε…
→ Emphasis on inability (“we weren’t able to”), again without specifying whether the problem was time, difficulty, etc.

In this sentence the point is clearly time pressure, so Δεν προλάβαμε is the most natural choice.

Why do we say όλες τις ασκήσεις (with the article)? Could we drop τις?

Όλες τις ασκήσεις literally means “all the exercises”:

όλες = all (feminine plural)
τις = the (feminine plural, accusative)
ασκήσεις = exercises

In Greek, the definite article is used much more frequently than in English. When you mean a specific, known set (for example: the exercises from today’s worksheet), you normally keep the article:

όλες τις ασκήσεις = all the (specific) exercises

If you drop the article and say όλες ασκήσεις, it sounds wrong in standard modern Greek. For countable nouns in this kind of sentence, you need the article:
όλες τις ασκήσεις, όλα τα βιβλία, όλους τους φίλους, etc.

Why is there a comma before παρόλα αυτά?

The sentence actually contains two main clauses:

Δεν προλάβαμε να τελειώσουμε όλες τις ασκήσεις,
παρόλα αυτά ο καθηγητής ήταν ήρεμος.

Παρόλα αυτά works like “however / nevertheless”, linking two sentences that contrast with each other.

In Greek punctuation, when you have:

one independent clause,
then a linking expression like όμως, παρόλα αυτά, παρ’ όλα αυτά,
then another independent clause,

you typically separate them with a comma (or sometimes a period and start a new sentence). So the comma here is the normal way to signal the break between the two clauses.

What’s the difference between παρόλα αυτά, παρ’ όλα αυτά, and όμως?

All of them can often translate to “however / nevertheless / even so”, but there are nuances:

παρ’ όλα αυτά (with apostrophe)
- More careful / traditional spelling.
- Comes from παρά + όλα αυτά → “despite all that”.
παρόλα αυτά (one word)
- Very common in everyday writing, slightly more informal as spelling, but widely accepted in practice.
όμως
- Also “however / though / yet”.
- A bit more flexible in position:
  - Όμως, δεν προλάβαμε…
  - Δεν προλάβαμε όμως να…
  - Δεν προλάβαμε, όμως ο καθηγητής ήταν ήρεμος.

In your sentence, you could also say:

Δεν προλάβαμε να τελειώσουμε όλες τις ασκήσεις, όμως ο καθηγητής ήταν ήρεμος.

The meaning is essentially the same; it’s mostly a style / rhythm choice.

Which spelling is more correct: παρόλα αυτά or παρ’ όλα αυτά?

From a strictly traditional / formal point of view, παρ’ όλα αυτά is considered more “correct” because:

it shows the preposition παρά contracting to παρ’ before a vowel (ό),
and you clearly see the phrase structure: παρ’ όλα αυτά (“despite all that”).

However:

παρόλα αυτά is extremely common in modern informal and semi-formal writing,
many native speakers use it without thinking,
and you will definitely see it in real-world texts.

For learners:

In exams / formal writing, prefer παρ’ όλα αυτά.
In everyday use, both forms are understood; παρ’ όλα αυτά just looks a bit more “correct” on paper.

Why is there no explicit “we” (εμείς) in Δεν προλάβαμε?

Greek verb endings already show the subject person and number.

Προλάβαμε ends in -αμε, which marks 1st person plural → “we”.

So:

Δεν προλάβαμε… = “We didn’t manage…”
(Εμείς) δεν προλάβαμε… = “We didn’t manage…” (with εμείς only for emphasis).

Greek normally drops subject pronouns unless:

you want to emphasize contrast (Εμείς δεν προλάβαμε, αλλά αυτοί πρόλαβαν. – “We didn’t make it, but they did.”),
or there is potential ambiguity.

So the sentence is perfectly natural without εμείς.

Why is it ο καθηγητής ήταν ήρεμος and not something like ήταν ήρεμο?

Let’s break it down:

ο καθηγητής = the (male) teacher
- masculine, singular, nominative
ήταν = was (3rd person singular of είμαι, “to be”)
ήρεμος = calm
- masculine, singular (matching ο καθηγητής)

In Greek, predicate adjectives (after “to be”) agree in gender, number, and case with the subject:

Ο καθηγητής ήταν ήρεμος. (masculine, singular)
Η δασκάλα ήταν ήρεμη. (feminine, singular)
Οι καθηγητές ήταν ήρεμοι. (masculine plural)
Τα παιδιά ήταν ήρεμα. (neuter plural)

So ήρεμο (neuter) would be wrong here, because ο καθηγητής is masculine.

Does ήρεμος mean “calm” or “quiet”? Any nuance?

Ήρεμος primarily means:

calm, tranquil, not agitated (emotionally or behaviorally),
also quiet, peaceful in some contexts.

Nuance in this sentence:

ο καθηγητής ήταν ήρεμος
→ “the teacher was calm / relaxed / not upset”

The idea is that despite the students not finishing the exercises, he didn’t get angry, stressed, or annoyed.
He remained chill, composed, not shouting or complaining.

If you wanted to emphasize “silent”, you would more likely use σιωπηλός or ήσυχος, depending on context.
Ήρεμος is more about inner calm / lack of tension.

What tense is προλάβαμε and how is it formed?

Προλάβαμε is the aorist (simple past) of προλαβαίνω.

Present → προλαβαίνω (I have time / I manage in time)
Aorist stem → πρόλαβα-
1st person plural aorist → προλάβαμε

Pattern:

πρόλαβα (I made it in time)
πρόλαβες
πρόλαβε
προλάβαμε
προλάβατε
πρόλαβαν / προλάβανε

The stress shift (προ-λαβαίνω → πρό-λαβα-) and the ending -αμε mark the aorist.
Using the aorist here gives a simple, completed past event: “we (didn’t) manage (in that specific situation).”

Can we change the word order around παρόλα αυτά or start a new sentence with it?

Yes, Greek word order is relatively flexible. You can have:

Δεν προλάβαμε να τελειώσουμε όλες τις ασκήσεις, παρόλα αυτά ο καθηγητής ήταν ήρεμος.
(Your original sentence.)
Δεν προλάβαμε να τελειώσουμε όλες τις ασκήσεις. Παρ’ όλα αυτά, ο καθηγητής ήταν ήρεμος.
- Use a period and start a new sentence with Παρ’ όλα αυτά.
- Very natural and maybe a bit clearer in writing.
Παρ’ όλα αυτά, ο καθηγητής ήταν ήρεμος· δεν προλάβαμε να τελειώσουμε όλες τις ασκήσεις.
- Reverses the order of the clauses.
- Still grammatical, though it slightly changes the flow of information.

You wouldn’t normally move παρόλα αυτά to the end of the clause (ο καθηγητής ήταν ήρεμος παρόλα αυτά) in this context; it sounds awkward. It works best before the clause it modifies, much like “however” or “even so” in English.