Learn Hardcore Greek: Η περίληψη που έγραψες είναι ξεκάθαρη και δεν χάνει κανένα σημαντικό σημείο. - The summary that you wrote is clear and does not miss any important point.

Η περίληψη literally is the summary, but in many contexts it corresponds to English "your summary" or just "the summary" as a general reference.
Saying just Περίληψη without the article would sound more like a title, a label, or something very generic (e.g. on a form or as a heading).

So in natural Greek, when you refer to a specific thing that both speaker and listener know (here, a specific summary the other person wrote), you almost always use the article: Η περίληψη.

What is the role of που in που έγραψες? Is it the same as who / which / that in English?

Yes. Here που introduces a relative clause and works like that / which in English:

Η περίληψη που έγραψες = the summary (that) you wrote

Some key points:

που in this use is invariable: it does not change form for gender, number, or case.
It can correspond to who, which, that depending on the context, but in Greek we just use που.
It’s much more common in everyday speech than the more formal relative pronouns ο οποίος, η οποία, το οποίο.

What tense and person is έγραψες, and why is that tense used here instead of something like γράφεις?

έγραψες is:

Aorist tense, active voice, second person singular of γράφω (to write).

So έγραψες = you wrote (referring to a specific, completed action in the past).

Why aorist and not present?

Aorist in Greek is used for completed actions with no focus on duration or repetition.
The sentence talks about the particular summary you (already) wrote, so a past, completed event.
γράφεις (present: you write / are writing) would suggest something ongoing or habitual, which doesn’t fit here.

So που έγραψες means that you wrote (at some point, completed).

Could I move που έγραψες somewhere else, like in English, or must it stay right after Η περίληψη?

In Greek, the relative clause που έγραψες normally follows immediately after the noun it describes:

Η περίληψη που έγραψες είναι ξεκάθαρη…

You cannot move it around as freely as in English. For instance:

❌ Η περίληψη είναι ξεκάθαρη που έγραψες… – This sounds wrong or at best very odd.

So: keep που έγραψες right after Η περίληψη, because it specifies which summary you are talking about.

Why is it ξεκάθαρη and not ξεκάθαρο or ξεκάθαρος?

Adjectives in Greek must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

Η περίληψη is:
- gender: feminine
- number: singular
- case: nominative (subject of the sentence)

So the adjective ξεκάθαρος (clear) must also be feminine, singular, nominative:

Masculine: ξεκάθαρος
Feminine: ξεκάθαρη
Neuter: ξεκάθαρο

Therefore:

Η περίληψη είναι ξεκάθαρη. ✅
Η περίληψη είναι ξεκάθαρο. ❌ (wrong gender)
Ο τίτλος είναι ξεκάθαρος. (masculine noun)
Το κείμενο είναι ξεκάθαρο. (neuter noun)

What’s the nuance of ξεκάθαρη? Is it the same as saying σαφής or καθαρή?

All three can sometimes translate as clear, but with slightly different flavor:

ξεκάθαρη: very common in everyday speech; implies something is obvious, easy to understand, unambiguous.
- Η περίληψη είναι ξεκάθαρη = The summary is very clear / straightforward.
σαφής: more formal; often used in written or more formal language, like σαφής οδηγίες (clear instructions), σαφής διατύπωση (clear wording).
καθαρή: literally clean, but in some contexts can also mean clear (e.g. καθαρή εικόνα = clear image, καθαρή φωνή = clear voice).

In this context, ξεκάθαρη is the most natural, conversational choice for clear (easy to understand).

Why is δεν used before χάνει? Is this the normal way to negate verbs?

Yes. In modern Greek, the standard way to negate a verb in the indicative (normal statement) is:

δεν + verb

So:

χάνει = it loses / it misses
δεν χάνει = it does not lose / it does not miss

Examples:

Δεν καταλαβαίνω. = I don’t understand.
Δεν θυμάται. = He/She doesn’t remember.
Δεν χάνει κανένα σημαντικό σημείο. = It doesn’t miss any important point.

So δεν is simply the regular negative particle for verbs in such sentences.

Is χάνει here more like “loses” or “misses” in English?

Literally χάνει comes from χάνω, which often means to lose (e.g. χάνω τα κλειδιά μου = I lose my keys).

However, in this context:

δεν χάνει κανένα σημαντικό σημείο is better understood as:
- it does not miss / leave out any important point
  rather than “it does not lose any important point.”

So the meaning is:

The summary includes all the important points; it doesn’t omit anything important.

You could also say more explicitly:

δεν παραλείπει κανένα σημαντικό σημείο (does not omit/leave out any important point).

Why is κανένα used after δεν? Isn’t that a kind of double negative?

Modern Greek commonly uses what looks like a double negative, but it’s normal and correct.

Pattern:

δεν
- verb + κανένας / καμία / κανένα (or similar words like τίποτα, ποτέ)

Examples:

Δεν έχω κανένα πρόβλημα. = I don’t have any problem.
Δεν είδα κανέναν. = I didn’t see anybody.
Δεν χάνει κανένα σημαντικό σημείο. = It doesn’t miss any important point.

So δεν … κανένα together correspond to English “doesn’t … any”.
It’s not “too negative” in Greek; it’s simply the normal way to say it.

What exactly is the form of κανένα here? How does it agree with σημείο?

κανένα here is the neuter singular accusative form of κανένας / καμία / κανένα (meaning any in negative contexts, or no).

The noun σημείο (point) is:
- gender: neuter
- number: singular
- case: accusative (object of the verb χάνει)

So the adjective/pronoun must match:

κανένα σημαντικό σημείο
- κανένα (neuter sg. acc.)
- σημαντικό (neuter sg. acc., adjective)
- σημείο (neuter sg. acc., noun)

All three agree in gender, number, and case.

Why is σημαντικό σημείο in the singular? Could I also say σημαντικά σημεία in the plural?

You could use either singular or plural, but there’s a slight nuance:

κανένα σημαντικό σημείο (singular):
- Literally: “any important point”
- As a negative: “does not miss any important point / doesn’t miss a single important point”
κανένα σημαντικό σημείο is already a very natural way to say it covers all important points.

If you said:

δεν χάνει κανένα σημαντικό σημείο – very natural, standard.
δεν χάνει κανένα σημαντικό σημάδι – wrong word (σημάδι = mark/sign, different meaning).
δεν χάνει κανένα σημαντικό σημεία – ungrammatical (agreement error).
δεν χάνει κανένα σημαντικό σημείο ή λεπτομέρεια – adds nuance (“point or detail”).

You could use a plural structure like:

δεν χάνει σημαντικά σημεία (no κανένα, but now the meaning is slightly less emphatic).
Or: δεν χάνει κανένα σημαντικό σημείο από τα βασικά (no important point among the key ones).

But the original singular κανένα σημαντικό σημείο is the most idiomatic way to say not a single important point is missed.

Is σημαντικό here an adjective modifying σημείο?

Yes.

σημαντικό is the neuter singular accusative form of σημαντικός (important).
It modifies σημείο (point), which is also neuter singular accusative.

So the whole phrase:

κανένα σημαντικό σημείο = “any important point” (in this negative structure: “no important point / not any important point”).

Agreement:

σημαντικό (neuter sg. acc.) → matches
σημείο (neuter sg. acc. noun)

If I wanted to be more emphatic, could I say something like ούτε ένα σημαντικό σημείο instead of κανένα σημαντικό σημείο?

Yes, you can use ούτε ένα for extra emphasis:

δεν χάνει ούτε ένα σημαντικό σημείο = it doesn’t miss even a single important point.

Comparing:

δεν χάνει κανένα σημαντικό σημείο – neutral, standard: “doesn’t miss any important point.”
δεν χάνει ούτε ένα σημαντικό σημείο – more emphatic: “doesn’t miss a single important point / not even one.”

Both are correct; the version with ούτε ένα just sounds slightly stronger.

Is έγραψες informal? How would I say this sentence politely or in the plural you form?

Yes. έγραψες is 2nd person singular, so it’s used:

When talking to one person you tutoyer (informal you: εσύ).

To make it polite or plural, you use:

γράψατε = aorist, 2nd person plural of γράφω.

So the polite / plural version is:

Η περίληψη που γράψατε είναι ξεκάθαρη και δεν χάνει κανένα σημαντικό σημείο.

This can mean:

The summary that you (sir/ma’am) wrote… (formal to one person), or
The summary that you (all of you) wrote… (addressing several people).

Could I omit που and say something like Η περίληψη έγραψες είναι ξεκάθαρη?

No, που is necessary here to link η περίληψη with έγραψες as a relative clause.

Η περίληψη που έγραψες = “the summary that you wrote”
Without που, Η περίληψη έγραψες… is ungrammatical in modern Greek.

Whenever you want to say the X that you did / that you saw / that you wrote, you normally need:

το/η/ο + noun + που + [clause]
- το βιβλίο που διάβασες = the book that you read
- η ταινία που είδαμε = the movie that we saw
- η περίληψη που έγραψες = the summary that you wrote