Learn Hardcore Greek: Η δασκάλα μάς ρωτάει τι είδος βιβλίου προτιμάμε, κλασικό ή σύγχρονο. - The teacher asks us what kind of book we prefer, classic or modern.

μας (no accent) is the normal weak form and can mean:
- us (object): Η δασκάλα μας ρωτάει. = The teacher asks us.
- our (possessive): Η δασκάλα μας ρωτάει. = Our teacher asks.
Written the same, they can be ambiguous in writing.
μάς with an accent is used here mainly to avoid ambiguity and make it clear it is the object pronoun “us”, not the possessive our teacher.

So:

Η δασκάλα μάς ρωτάει → The teacher asks us.
Η δασκάλα μας ρωτάει → can be read as Our teacher asks or The teacher asks us, depending on context.

In speech, the stress and context usually make it clear; the accent is mostly a spelling convention to clarify meaning in writing.

Can the word order be different? For example, can I say Η δασκάλα μας ρωτάει or Μάς ρωτάει η δασκάλα?

Greek word order is fairly flexible, so several versions are possible:

Η δασκάλα μάς ρωτάει τι είδος βιβλίου προτιμάμε...
Neutral, common word order (subject–object pronoun–verb).
Η δασκάλα μας ρωτάει τι είδος βιβλίου προτιμάμε...
Very natural in everyday writing and speech. As explained before, this can also be read as Our teacher asks us, but context usually makes it clear.
Μάς ρωτάει η δασκάλα τι είδος βιβλίου προτιμάμε...
Also correct. Here μάς is placed first for emphasis: It’s us that the teacher is asking.

What you cannot normally do in a simple statement is put the weak pronoun after the verb, like:

✗ Η δασκάλα ρωτάει μας (wrong/unidiomatic in modern Greek).

With weak pronouns in ordinary statements, Greek prefers them before the verb: μας ρωτάει, μας βλέπει, etc. They go after the verb mainly with imperatives: ρώτα μας = ask us.

What is the difference between ρωτάει and ρωτά? Are they both correct?

Yes, both are correct forms of the same verb.

The verb has two parallel forms:

ρωτάω / ρωτώ = to ask

From this you get:

3rd person singular:
- ρωτάει (from ρωτάω) – very common in everyday speech.
- ρωτά (from ρωτώ) – a bit shorter and slightly more formal/literary in feel.

So you could also say:

Η δασκάλα μάς ρωτά τι είδος βιβλίου προτιμάμε...

It means the same thing. For speaking and informal writing, ρωτάει is more common and sounds more conversational.

Why is it τι είδος βιβλίου and not ποιο είδος βιβλίου? What is the difference between τι and ποιο?

Both τι είδος βιβλίου and ποιο είδος βιβλίου are grammatically correct.

τι = what, used for open questions:
- τι είδος βιβλίου ≈ what kind of book
ποιο = which, usually when you are choosing from a known or limited set:
- ποιο είδος βιβλίου ≈ which kind of book

In real Greek, speakers often use τι είδος even when English might use which kind of. It’s a very common fixed phrase: τι είδος μουσικής, τι είδος φαγητού, etc.

So:

τι είδος βιβλίου προτιμάμε – perfectly natural, slightly more neutral.
ποιο είδος βιβλίου προτιμάμε – also fine, can feel a little more “choice among options”.

In your sentence, τι είδος is just the most idiomatic everyday choice.

Why is βιβλίου in the genitive case and not βιβλίο?

βιβλίου is the genitive singular of βιβλίο.

The noun είδος (kind, type) normally takes a genitive to express kind of X:

είδος μουσικής – kind of music
είδος ταινίας – kind of film
είδος βιβλίου – kind of book

So the pattern is:

είδος + genitive

That’s why we have:

τι είδος βιβλίου = what kind of book,

not τι είδος βιβλίο. Using the nominative βιβλίο here would be ungrammatical.

Why are κλασικό and σύγχρονο in the neuter singular? Shouldn’t they agree with μας (we/us), which is plural?

The adjectives κλασικό and σύγχρονο agree with the noun they describe, not with μας.

Here they describe the (implied) book, which is neuter singular:

το βιβλίο – the book (neuter singular)
κλασικό (βιβλίο) – a classic book
σύγχρονο (βιβλίο) – a modern/contemporary book

So we have:

κλασικό ή σύγχρονο (βιβλίο)

Even though μας is plural (we/us), the adjectives are talking about ένα βιβλίο (one book), so they are neuter singular.

If the adjectives were describing us, they would be plural and masculine/feminine, e.g.:

Είμαστε κλασικοί αναγνώστες.
Είμαστε σύγχρονοι αναγνώστες.

Why is there no article before βιβλίου and before κλασικό / σύγχρονο?

There are two points here:

No article with “βιβλίου” in “τι είδος βιβλίου”
We are talking about any kind of book in general, not a specific book you already know. In Greek, when something is indefinite or generic, you often omit the article:
- τι είδος βιβλίου – what kind of book (in general)
Adding an article here (τι είδος του βιβλίου) would be wrong and would also change the meaning.
No article with “κλασικό ή σύγχρονο”
Again, we mean a classic book or a modern book in general. Greek frequently omits the article in this kind of either/or choice:
- κλασικό ή σύγχρονο (βιβλίο) – (a) classic or (a) modern book

So the missing articles are natural, because we are not referring to a specific, known item.

Why is there a comma before κλασικό ή σύγχρονο?

The comma separates the indirect question from the extra clarification that follows.

τι είδος βιβλίου προτιμάμε – what kind of book we prefer
κλασικό ή σύγχρονο – classic or modern

The part κλασικό ή σύγχρονο is almost like the teacher adding an explanation:

What kind of book do we prefer – classic or modern?

In spoken Greek, there would naturally be a slight pause there, and the comma reflects that pause. Grammatically, commas are often used in Greek to separate such additional phrases or short clarifications at the end of a clause.

Could we omit είδος and say Η δασκάλα μάς ρωτάει τι βιβλίο προτιμάμε? Is there any difference?

Yes, you can say:

Η δασκάλα μάς ρωτάει τι βιβλίο προτιμάμε.

This is correct and means essentially the same thing: The teacher asks us what book we prefer.

The nuance:

τι βιβλίο προτιμάμε – what book we prefer (slightly more concrete; could be about a specific choice).
τι είδος βιβλίου προτιμάμε – what kind of book we prefer (focusing on the category, e.g. classic vs modern, detective, fantasy, etc.).

So with είδος you put the emphasis on the type/category rather than on a particular book.

Why is the present tense used (ρωτάει, προτιμάμε)? Could other tenses be used, and how would that change the meaning?

In Greek, the present tense often covers what English expresses with both simple present and present continuous:

Η δασκάλα μάς ρωτάει can mean:
- The teacher asks us (repeated habit), or
- The teacher is asking us (now).

Similarly, προτιμάμε can be:

we prefer (in general), or
we are preferring / we are choosing (in this situation).

Other tenses:

Η δασκάλα μάς ρώτησε τι είδος βιβλίου προτιμάμε.
The teacher asked us what kind of book we prefer (simple past).
Η δασκάλα θα μάς ρωτήσει τι είδος βιβλίου προτιμάμε.
The teacher will ask us what kind of book we prefer (future).

So the present tense here simply describes an action happening now or in a current context, just like English is asking / prefer.

What exactly is the role of τι είδος βιβλίου προτιμάμε in the sentence? Is it a separate question?

τι είδος βιβλίου προτιμάμε is an indirect question clause that functions as the object of the verb ρωτάει.

Structure:

Η δασκάλα μάς ρωτάει – The teacher asks us
(main clause)
τι είδος βιβλίου προτιμάμε – what kind of book we prefer
(indirect question = what she is asking about)

So the whole thing is:

The teacher asks us what kind of book we prefer.

In Greek, after verbs like ρωτάω (ask) or δεν ξέρω (I don’t know), you can introduce an indirect question directly with τι, ποιος, πού, πότε, γιατί, etc., without adding something like ότι/that:

Με ρωτάει τι κάνω. – She asks me what I’m doing.
Δεν ξέρω πού είναι. – I don’t know where he is.

Your sentence follows this same pattern.