Learn Hardcore Greek: Η αδερφή μου προτιμάει ποιήματα και έχει έναν συγγραφέα που γράφει μόνο ποιήματα. - My sister prefers poems and has an author who writes only poems.

Putting them before the noun (μου αδερφή) is wrong in standard modern Greek (it can appear only in very special, poetic or emphatic contexts with extra words in between).

So: article + noun + possessive is the regular pattern.

I’ve seen both αδερφή and αδελφή. Which one is correct and what’s the difference?

Both are understood and both appear in writing:

αδερφή: more common in everyday, informal writing; reflects actual modern pronunciation.
αδελφή: more conservative/spelling based (closer to the ancient form ἀδελφή); often seen in more formal texts, older books, or people who prefer traditional spelling.

In speech they sound the same: [aðerˈfi]. For everyday use, αδερφή is perfectly fine and very common.

Why is the verb προτιμάει used instead of προτιμά? Are both correct?

Yes, both are correct. They are two alternative 3rd person singular present forms of the same verb:

αυτός / αυτή προτιμά
αυτός / αυτή προτιμάει

Meaning: he/she prefers.

In modern Greek:

Verbs like μιλάω (to speak), ζητάω (to ask), προτιμάω (to prefer) can have two sets of endings:
- μιλά, ζητά, προτιμά
- μιλάει, ζητάει, προτιμάει

The shorter forms (προτιμά) are slightly more common in writing; the longer ones (προτιμάει) are very common in speech and also acceptable in writing. There is no change in meaning.

Why is there no article before ποιήματα in προτιμάει ποιήματα?

In Greek, when talking about things in a general or non-specific way, the plural often appears without an article:

προτιμάει ποιήματα = she prefers poems (in general)
διαβάζει βιβλία = he reads books (in general)
αγοράζουμε φρούτα = we buy fruit/fruit in general

If you add an article, you make it more specific:

προτιμάει τα ποιήματα = she prefers the poems (some particular poems already known from context).

How does έχει work here? Does έχει έναν συγγραφέα literally mean “she has a writer”?

Yes, έχει is the verb “to have”, so literally:

έχει έναν συγγραφέα = she has a writer.

But context tells you what “has” means. In this sentence it implies:

She has one writer she particularly follows/likes.
She has a favorite author.
She is a fan of a certain author.

Greek often uses έχω similarly to English “have” to mean “have (as X, as Y)”:

έχω έναν φίλο στην Αθήνα = I have a friend in Athens.
έχει έναν γιατρό εδώ κοντά = she has a doctor nearby (i.e., her doctor).

Why is it έναν συγγραφέα and not ένα συγγραφέα or something else?

συγγραφέας (author, writer) is grammatically masculine, no matter the actual gender of the person.

In the accusative singular masculine, the indefinite article is:

έναν (more careful/standard)
ένα (also widely used in speech; more informal/colloquial in this position)

So:

έναν συγγραφέα = a male author / an author (gender-neutral in practice)

Formally, έναν συγγραφέα is textbook-correct. You will also hear ένα συγγραφέα in everyday speech, but έναν is the safer choice for learners.

If συγγραφέας means writer/author, how would I say poet? And why doesn’t the sentence use that?

συγγραφέας = writer / author (any type: novels, essays, poetry, etc.)
ποιητής = poet (specifically someone who writes poetry)

Your sentence says:

έχει έναν συγγραφέα που γράφει μόνο ποιήματα
= she has an author who writes only poems.

Greek often uses συγγραφέας even for people who mostly write poetry. You could also say:

έχει έναν ποιητή που γράφει μόνο ποιήματα

which is more literally “she has a poet who writes only poems,” but the original is natural and idiomatic.

What exactly is the role of που in που γράφει μόνο ποιήματα? Is it the same as “who/that” in English?

Yes. Here που is a relative pronoun, introducing a relative clause:

έναν συγγραφέα που γράφει μόνο ποιήματα
= a writer who writes only poems.

In everyday modern Greek, που is by far the most common relative word, used for:

who
that
which

A more formal alternative exists: ο οποίος / η οποία / το οποίο, etc., but in spoken and informal written Greek που is standard and natural:

ο άνθρωπος που μένει εκεί = the man who lives there
το βιβλίο που διαβάζω = the book that I’m reading

Why is μόνο placed before ποιήματα? Can I move it somewhere else?

μόνο means only and usually goes just before the word or phrase it limits:

γράφει μόνο ποιήματα = he writes only poems (not novels, not stories, etc.)

If you move μόνο, you change what is limited:

μόνο γράφει ποιήματα (possible but unusual here) would suggest he only writes poems (and doesn’t do anything else) — different nuance.

So γράφει μόνο ποιήματα is the normal way to say “he writes only poems.”

What tense is προτιμάει and γράφει, and why are they used instead of a continuous form like English “is writing”?

Both προτιμάει and γράφει are in the present simple (ενεστώτας, active voice).

In Greek, the present tense:

covers both English simple present (he writes)
and often English present continuous (he is writing),
especially for habits and general truths.

So:

η αδερφή μου προτιμάει ποιήματα
= my sister prefers poems / my sister likes poems (more)
έναν συγγραφέα που γράφει μόνο ποιήματα
= a writer who writes only poems (habitually)

There is no separate continuous form like “is writing” formed with to be + participle in Greek; context tells you if it’s habitual or happening right now.

How would I say “she prefers poems to novels” in Greek? I don’t see a word for “than” in the sentence.

The verb προτιμάω / προτιμώ usually takes από for “than/over”:

προτιμάει ποιήματα από μυθιστορήματα
= she prefers poems to novels.