Μπορείς να μου το δείξεις στο τηλέφωνο;

Can you show it to me on the phone?

Breakdown of Μπορείς να μου το δείξεις στο τηλέφωνο;

• μπορώ: to be able
• να: to
• το τηλέφωνο: the phone
• μου: me
• σε: on
• το: it
• δείχνω: to show

Questions & Answers about Μπορείς να μου το δείξεις στο τηλέφωνο;

What exactly does μπορείς mean here, and what form of the verb is it?

Μπορείς is the 2nd person singular, present tense of the verb μπορώ (to be able, can).

• μπορώ = I can / I am able
• μπορείς = you (singular) can / you are able

So μπορείς on its own means “you can” or “are you able (to)…?”
Grammatically: present indicative active, 2nd person singular of μπορώ.

Why do we need να after μπορείς?

In Modern Greek, verbs like μπορώ (can, be able to) are normally followed by a να-clause instead of an infinitive (Greek doesn’t use true infinitives like “to show” in English).

So where English says:

• you can show,

Greek says:

• μπορείς να δείξεις (literally: you can that you show)

Here να is a particle that introduces a verb in the subjunctive mood (δείξεις). The structure is:

• μπορείς (you can) + να (subjunctive marker) + δείξεις (subjunctive form of “show”)

Why is it δείξεις and not δείχνεις after να?

Both δείξεις and δείχνεις come from δείχνω (to show), but they are different:

• δείξεις = aorist subjunctive, 2nd person singular
  
  • Used for a single, complete action: show (once), have shown.
• δείχνεις = present indicative, 2nd person singular
  
  • Used for ongoing or habitual action: you show, you are showing.

After να, you usually get a subjunctive form, and for a one-time action (“show it to me (one time)”), Greek normally uses the aorist subjunctive:

• να δείξεις = (for you) to show (once, completely)

If you said να δείχνεις, it would sound like:

• “for you to be showing (continuously / habitually)”

which doesn’t fit a normal request like this one.

What exactly do μου and το mean here?

Both μου and το are weak (clitic) object pronouns:

• μου = to me / for me / my (indirect object, 1st person singular)
• το = it (direct object, 3rd person singular neuter)

In this sentence:

• μου = “to me”
• το = “it”

So να μου το δείξεις literally means:

• “(for you) to show it to me”

Why is the order να μου το δείξεις and not να το μου δείξεις or να δείξεις μου το?

Greek has fixed rules for the order and position of these weak pronouns:

1. Position with a finite verb in normal statements/questions
   Weak pronouns usually go before the verb:

   • μου το δείχνεις (you show it to me)
   • θα μου το δείξεις (you will show it to me)

2. Order inside a cluster
   When you have two object pronouns together, the indirect one (in genitive: μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους) comes before the direct one (τον, την, το, τους, τις, τα):

   • μου το δείξεις (to-me it you-show)
   • σου το δίνω (to-you it I-give)
   • μας τα φέρνουν (to-us them they-bring)

So:

• να μου το δείξεις = ✅ correct, natural
• να το μου δείξεις = ❌ wrong order
• να δείξεις μου το = ❌ weak pronouns placed incorrectly after the verb

In positive statements and yes/no questions, clitic pronouns do not normally follow the finite verb. (They can follow imperatives, e.g. δείξε μου το.)

What is the difference between μου and εμένα? Could I say Μπορείς να το δείξεις σε μένα;?

Yes, you could say Μπορείς να το δείξεις σε μένα;, but it’s less natural in this specific context.

Difference:

• μου = weak (clitic) pronoun, unstressed, used all the time in normal speech:
  • να μου το δείξεις = to show it to me
• εμένα (often with σε → σε μένα) = strong (stressed) pronoun, used for emphasis or contrast:
  • Να το δείξεις σε μένα, όχι σε αυτόν.
    Show it to me, not to him.

Here, there’s no contrast being emphasized, so Greek strongly prefers the weak form:

• Μπορείς να μου το δείξεις; = natural, neutral
• Μπορείς να το δείξεις σε μένα; = grammatically fine, but sounds like you’re stressing me (“to me specifically”).

What does στο τηλέφωνο mean literally, and what is στο?

Στο is a contraction:

• σε (preposition “in / on / at / by”)
  
  • το (neuter definite article “the”)
    = στο

So:

• στο τηλέφωνο literally = “on/at the telephone”

Idiomatic meaning: “on the phone / by phone” (as a medium).
It doesn’t mean physically “onto the phone” but “via the phone” (e.g. a video call, sending a picture, etc.).

Why is it στο τηλέφωνο and not με το τηλέφωνο?

Both are possible Greek phrases, but they mean different things:

• στο τηλέφωνο

  • Idiomatic: “on the phone / over the phone”
  • Focus on the medium of communication
  • E.g. Μιλάμε στο τηλέφωνο. = We’re talking on the phone.

• με το τηλέφωνο

  • Literally: “with the phone” (as a tool / instrument)
  • Could mean “using the phone” in some contexts, but it’s not the standard way to say “on the phone” as a communication channel.

In your sentence, you want “on the phone / via the phone”, so στο τηλέφωνο is the normal, idiomatic choice.

Is this sentence formal or informal? How would I make it more polite or formal?

The given sentence is informal because it uses μπορείς (2nd person singular “you”).

To sound more polite or formal (to a stranger, older person, client, etc.), you use the plural/formal “you”:

• Μπορείτε να μου το δείξετε στο τηλέφωνο;

Changes:

• μπορείς → μπορείτε (you can, formal/plural)
• δείξεις → δείξετε (2nd person plural subjunctive)

Everything else stays the same. This is the standard polite version.

Can I drop any of the pronouns, like μου or το, and still be correct?

Yes, but the meaning changes:

1. Drop μου:

   • Μπορείς να το δείξεις στο τηλέφωνο;
   • Now it means: “Can you show it on the phone?”
     It doesn’t explicitly say to whom; context might imply it, but grammatically “to me” disappears.

2. Drop το:

   • Μπορείς να μου δείξεις στο τηλέφωνο;
   • This sounds incomplete in Greek: “Can you show me on the phone?”
     It raises the question show you what?
     You normally need an object (το, αυτό, a noun, etc.).

So:

• Dropping μου: possible, but you lose “to me”.
• Dropping το: usually not acceptable here; sounds unfinished.

How would I say “Can you show it to us on the phone?” or “Can you show them to me on the phone?” using the same pattern?

You just change the object pronouns:

1. “Can you show it to us on the phone?”

   • Μπορείς να μας το δείξεις στο τηλέφωνο;
   • μας = to us
   • το = it

2. “Can you show them to me on the phone?” (assuming “them” is neuter plural)

   • Μπορείς να μου τα δείξεις στο τηλέφωνο;
   • μου = to me
   • τα = them (neuter plural)

Notice the same pattern:

• [indirect pronoun] + [direct pronoun] + δείξεις
  
  • μας το δείξεις
  • μου τα δείξεις

Does the word order change because this is a question, or is it the same as a statement in Greek?

The word order is the same as in a statement. Greek usually does not change word order for yes/no questions the way English sometimes does.

• Statement-like structure:
  • Μπορείς να μου το δείξεις στο τηλέφωνο.
    (You can show it to me on the phone.)
• Question:
  • Μπορείς να μου το δείξεις στο τηλέφωνο;
    (Can you show it to me on the phone?)

What marks it as a question is:

• Intonation (rising at the end in speech)
• Question mark ; in Greek (though many people also use ? informally)

Why don’t the pronouns attach directly to μπορείς, e.g. Μπορείς να το μου δείξεις or Μπορείς μου να το δείξεις?

In this kind of structure, the pronouns belong to the main action verb (here δείξεις, “show”), not to the modal-like verb μπορείς (“can”).

The logical grouping is:

• μπορείς (you can)
• να μου το δείξεις (to show it to me)

Greek keeps the clitic pronouns close to the verb that carries the actual action and meaning (showing), so they attach to δείξεις, not to μπορείς.

That’s why:

• ✅ Μπορείς να μου το δείξεις…
• ❌ Μπορείς να το μου δείξεις…
• ❌ Μπορείς μου να το δείξεις…

The latter two break both the normal clitic order and the usual attachment to the main verb.