Breakdown of Στην ηλικία μου τότε διάβαζε μόνο λίγα βιβλία στο σχολείο.
Questions & Answers about Στην ηλικία μου τότε διάβαζε μόνο λίγα βιβλία στο σχολείο.
Literally, Στην ηλικία μου τότε is:
- στην = in the / at the (contraction of σε
- την)
- ηλικία = age (feminine noun)
- μου = my (unstressed possessive pronoun, genitive of εγώ)
- τότε = then / at that time
So a very literal rendering is: In-the age my then → At my age back then.
In Greek, unstressed possessive pronouns (my, your, his…) normally come after the noun:
- η ηλικία μου = my age
- το σπίτι σου = your house
- το βιβλίο του = his book
So ηλικία μου is the normal order; putting μου before the noun (μου ηλικία) is wrong in standard Greek.
Στην is σε + την = in/at the. Greek uses the article much more than English, especially with abstract nouns like age.
Here, we are talking about a specific, known age: my age. So Greek naturally uses the article:
- στην ηλικία μου ≈ at my age
Without the article (σε ηλικία μου) sounds wrong here.
Compare:
- στην ηλικία μου – at my age (specific, the age I have now)
- σε μικρή ηλικία – at a young age (more general; here we often drop the article)
So with ηλικία μου referring to a concrete, known age, στην is expected.
In Greek, subject pronouns (he, she, we, etc.) are usually omitted because the verb ending tells you the person and number.
διάβαζε is 3rd person singular imperfect of διαβάζω (to read), so, by form alone, it can correspond to:
- he was reading
- she was reading
- it was reading
The sentence:
- Στην ηλικία μου τότε διάβαζε μόνο λίγα βιβλία στο σχολείο.
literally means: At my age back then, he/she only read a few books in/at school.
Which one (he/she/it) is intended must come from the wider context (earlier sentences or the situation). Greek relies heavily on context for this. If the context had just mentioned my father, then we’d understand διάβαζε as he was reading, etc.
Greek distinguishes clearly between:
- Imperfect (e.g. διάβαζε) – past, ongoing, repeated, or habitual action
- Aorist (e.g. διάβασε) – past, single, complete action (no focus on duration or repetition)
In this sentence:
- διάβαζε implies a habitual or regular situation in that period of life:
At my age back then, he/she would only read a few books at school (as a rule / generally).
If you used διάβασε:
- Στην ηλικία μου τότε διάβασε μόνο λίγα βιβλία στο σχολείο.
it would sound more like On that occasion, when he was my age back then, he only read a few books at school — a more specific, one-time event, which doesn’t fit as well with the idea of a general habit at that age.
- λίγα βιβλία = a few books / some books
- μόνο λίγα βιβλία = only a few books, just a few books
μόνο emphasizes the small number, often with a hint that it’s less than expected or not enough.
So:
- διάβαζε λίγα βιβλία στο σχολείο
= he/she read a few books at school (neutral statement) - διάβαζε μόνο λίγα βιβλία στο σχολείο
= he/she only read a few books at school (it sounds like you expected more, or you’re comparing with now, when people read more).
λίγα βιβλία is an indefinite quantity (some, a few). In Greek, like in English, we normally don’t use the definite article for that:
- λίγα βιβλία = a few books
- μερικά βιβλία = some books
If you say τα λίγα βιβλία, that means the few books (a specific, known set of few books), which is a different meaning.
In this sentence you’re talking about unspecified few books that students in general read, so λίγα βιβλία without an article is appropriate.
στο is σε + το:
- σε = in / at / on
- το = the (neuter singular article)
So στο σχολείο is literally in/at the school.
In Greek, for places and institutions, the pattern σε + definite article + noun is very common, even when English uses at school without the:
- στο σχολείο = at school
- στο γραφείο = at the office
- στο σπίτι = at home (literally at the house)
Just σε σχολείο (in/at a school) would sound like in some school or other, not the general idea of when you are at school (as a student). Here we mean the general institution, so στο σχολείο is natural.
Greek word order is relatively flexible, especially for adverbs and prepositional phrases. All of these are possible and grammatical, with slightly different emphasis:
Στην ηλικία μου τότε διάβαζε μόνο λίγα βιβλία στο σχολείο.
– Neutral; Στην ηλικία μου τότε sets the time frame first.Τότε, στην ηλικία μου, διάβαζε μόνο λίγα βιβλία στο σχολείο.
– Emphasizes τότε first, then adds στην ηλικία μου as a clarification.Στην ηλικία μου τότε, στο σχολείο, διάβαζε μόνο λίγα βιβλία.
– Brings στο σχολείο forward for emphasis on at school.
All of these would be understood the same in everyday speech; the differences are mostly about rhythm and what you want to highlight.
You just change the possessive pronoun after ηλικία:
- Στην ηλικία σου τότε = At your age back then
- Στην ηλικία του τότε = At his age back then
- Στην ηλικία της τότε = At her age back then
- Στην ηλικία μας τότε = At our age back then
- Στην ηλικία σας τότε = At your (pl./formal) age back then
- Στην ηλικία τους τότε = At their age back then
Everything else in the sentence can stay the same:
- Στην ηλικία σου τότε διάβαζες μόνο λίγα βιβλία στο σχολείο.
At your age back then you (sg.) only read a few books at school.
ηλικία is:
- gender: feminine
- base form (nominative): η ηλικία
- here it appears as την ηλικία (accusative singular), because it is the object of the preposition σε.
σε takes the accusative case:
- σε
- την ηλικία → στην ηλικία
So:
- η ηλικία (subject): the age
- την ηλικία (after σε): the age (accusative)
- στην ηλικία: in/at the age
The feminine gender is what triggers την (not τον or το).
διάβαζε is:
- verb: διαβάζω (to read, to study)
- tense: imperfect
- voice: active
- person/number: 3rd person singular
Imperfect of διαβάζω (active):
- 1st sg: διάβαζα – I was reading / I used to read
- 2nd sg: διάβαζες – you were reading
- 3rd sg: διάβαζε – he/she/it was reading
- 1st pl: διαβάζαμε – we were reading
- 2nd pl: διαβάζατε – you (pl.) were reading
- 3rd pl: διάβαζαν (or διαβάζανε) – they were reading
The form in the sentence is the 3rd singular.
Yes. διαβάζω in Greek can mean both:
- to read (a book, a text, etc.)
- to study / do schoolwork
So διάβαζε βιβλία στο σχολείο can be understood as:
- he/she read books at school, or
- he/she studied books at school (did academic work with them)
In context with στο σχολείο, both readings are very close in practice, and English would typically translate it as read or studied depending on nuance. The important idea is that he/she was engaging with only a few books in the school setting.