Learn Hardcore Greek: Στην εξέταση ελληνικών το όριο είναι μία ώρα.

Gender: feminine
Base form (nominative singular): η εξέταση – the exam/test
In the sentence: στην εξέταση – here εξέταση is in the accusative singular, because it follows σε.

Basic forms of this noun:

Nominative: η εξέταση – the exam (subject)
Genitive: της εξέτασης – of the exam
Accusative: την εξέταση – the exam (object, or after σε)

After σε, we use the accusative, so we get σε την εξέταση → στην εξέταση.
Εξέτασης (genitive) would mean of the exam, which is not what we need here.

What does ελληνικών mean here, and why is it in that form?

ελληνικών here is:

The genitive plural of ελληνικός, -ή, -ό (Greek).
It is used as a noun meaning “(the) Greek (language)”.

Full paradigm (neuter plural):

Nominative/Accusative plural: τα ελληνικά – Greek (language)
Genitive plural: των ελληνικών – of (the) Greek (language)

In εξέταση ελληνικών, the structure is:

εξέταση = exam
ελληνικών = of Greek (language)

So literally: “exam of Greek” (i.e. exam in the Greek language). That’s why it’s genitive: it shows what the exam is of.

What is the difference between εξέταση ελληνικών and ελληνική εξέταση?

They are not the same:

εξέταση ελληνικών
- Literally: exam of Greek (language)
- Meaning: an exam where the subject is Greek (like an English exam in school).
ελληνική εξέταση
- Literally: Greek exam
- Meaning: an exam that is Greek in some sense (e.g. organized by Greeks, part of Greek system, in Greek culture).
- It does not automatically mean that the subject being tested is the Greek language.

So in your sentence, εξέταση ελληνικών is the natural way to say exam in Greek (language) as a school subject.

Could I say στην εξέταση στα ελληνικά instead? What’s the difference?

You can, but the nuance changes slightly:

εξέταση ελληνικών
- Focus: subject of the exam is Greek (language as a school subject).
εξέταση στα ελληνικά
- στα = σε + τα → in the
- Literally: exam in Greek (language)
- Focus: the language in which the exam is conducted.

In many contexts, the meaning overlaps, and both could be understood similarly.
But:

If you mean “the Greek-language exam as a school subject”, εξέταση ελληνικών is more standard.
If you mean “this exam is conducted in Greek (not in English/Spanish/etc.)”, εξέταση στα ελληνικά fits better.

Why do we say το όριο and not just όριο or ένα όριο?

In Greek, the definite article is used more often than in English.

το όριο = the limit (a specific, known limit in this context)
όριο alone (no article) is usually more abstract: limit as a concept.
ένα όριο = a limit (some limit, not clearly specified)

In an exam setting, the time limit is a specific, known rule, so Greek naturally uses the definite article:

το όριο είναι μία ώρα = the limit is one hour

Saying όριο είναι μία ώρα would sound incomplete or very unusual here.

What does όριο mean more generally, and is Greek omitting a word like “time” here?

όριο means:

limit, boundary, maximum, depending on context.

Examples:

όριο ταχύτητας – speed limit
σύνορα / όρια – borders, boundaries

In το όριο είναι μία ώρα, the understood idea is “time limit”, but Greek often doesn’t need to say χρόνου (of time):

το όριο (χρόνου) είναι μία ώρα

The word χρόνου is simply omitted because the context of an exam makes it clear we are talking about time.

Why is it written μία ώρα and not μια ώρα or η μία ώρα?

Points to note:

μία vs μια
- μία and μια are two spellings of the same word in modern Greek.
- Both are pronounced the same in everyday speech (like “mia”).
- Many writers use μια, especially in casual writing; μία is a bit more formal/clear, and in some contexts helps distinguish it from other words.
Function here
- Here μία is the numeral: one.
- So μία ώρα = one hour.
Why not η μία ώρα?
- η would be the definite article: the one hour.
- That would be used in more specific contrasts:
  - Όχι δύο. Η μία ώρα είναι αρκετή. – Not two. One hour is enough.
- In your sentence, we are simply stating the duration: the limit is one hour, so μία ώρα without η is natural.

Why doesn’t ώρα have an article? Why not μία η ώρα or μία ώρα η?

In time or quantity expressions with numerals, Greek often omits the definite article:

μία ώρα – one hour
δύο ώρες – two hours
τρεις μέρες – three days

You normally don’t say η μία ώρα unless you want to emphasize “that one hour (and not another)”.

So:

το όριο είναι μία ώρα = the limit is one hour (standard)
Adding η would sound marked or contrastive here.

Can I change the word order? For example: Το όριο στην εξέταση ελληνικών είναι μία ώρα?

Yes, Greek allows flexible word order. All of these are grammatically correct:

Στην εξέταση ελληνικών το όριο είναι μία ώρα.
Το όριο στην εξέταση ελληνικών είναι μία ώρα.
Το όριο είναι μία ώρα στην εξέταση ελληνικών.

Differences are mainly about emphasis:

Starting with Στην εξέταση ελληνικών emphasizes the context (in the Greek exam…).
Starting with Το όριο emphasizes the limit itself.
Putting στην εξέταση ελληνικών at the end can sound like adding that information after stating the main fact.

Meaning remains essentially the same.

How do you pronounce the whole sentence?

A broad phonetic approximation (Latin letters):

Στην εξέταση ελληνικών το όριο είναι μία ώρα.
- Steen ek-ZE-ta-see e-lee-nee-KON to O-ree-o EE-ne MEE-a O-ra.

Syllable breakdown with stress (stressed syllable in caps):

Στην | ε-ΞΕ-τα-ση | ε-λλη-νι-ΚΩΝ | το | Ο-ρι-ο | ΕΙ-νε | ΜΙ-α | Ω-ρα

Notes:

Στην sounds like steen.
εξέταση: stress on ΞΕ.
ελληνικών: stress on the last syllable -κΩΝ.
είναι: pronounced roughly EE-ne.
μία: in normal fast speech often sounds like mia.
ώρα: long-ish o sound (OH-ra).

Is είναι always the same form for “is” and “are” in Greek?

είναι is the 3rd person singular and plural form of the verb είμαι (to be) in the present tense:

είναι = he is / she is / it is or they are

So:

το όριο είναι – the limit is (singular)
τα όρια είναι – the limits are (plural)

Context and the subject tell you whether it means is or are. The form itself doesn’t change between singular and plural in the 3rd person.