Έχω μεγάλη εμπιστοσύνη στη δασκάλα μου, γιατί με βοηθάει όταν αγχώνομαι.

I have great trust in my teacher, because she helps me when I get stressed.

Breakdown of Έχω μεγάλη εμπιστοσύνη στη δασκάλα μου, γιατί με βοηθάει όταν αγχώνομαι.

• έχω: to have
• μου: my
• γιατί: because
• με: me
• σε: in
• βοηθάω: to help
• όταν: when
• η δασκάλα: the female teacher
• μεγάλος: great
• η εμπιστοσύνη: the trust
• αγχώνομαι: to get stressed

Questions & Answers about Έχω μεγάλη εμπιστοσύνη στη δασκάλα μου, γιατί με βοηθάει όταν αγχώνομαι.

What does Έχω μεγάλη εμπιστοσύνη literally mean, and why do we use έχω (I have) with εμπιστοσύνη?

Literally, Έχω μεγάλη εμπιστοσύνη means I have great trust / confidence.

In Greek, trust is a noun (η εμπιστοσύνη) and the usual way to say to trust (someone) is:

• έχω εμπιστοσύνη σε κάποιον = I have trust in someone

So instead of using a single verb like English to trust, Greek often uses έχω + a noun:

• Έχω εμπιστοσύνη στη δασκάλα μου.
  I trust my teacher. / I have confidence in my teacher.

This is perfectly natural and very common in Greek.

What is the difference between έχω εμπιστοσύνη σε κάποιον and εμπιστεύομαι κάποιον?

Both can mean I trust someone, but there is a nuance:

• έχω εμπιστοσύνη σε κάποιον

  • Common, neutral, and slightly more descriptive: I have trust in someone.
  • Structure: έχω + εμπιστοσύνη + σε + accusative

• εμπιστεύομαι κάποιον

  • A single verb: I trust someone, I confide in someone.
  • Slightly more formal or strong in tone.
  • Structure: εμπιστεύομαι + accusative
    e.g. Εμπιστεύομαι τη δασκάλα μου.

In everyday speech, έχω εμπιστοσύνη σε… is very common and sounds natural and friendly, especially in this kind of sentence.

Why is it μεγάλη εμπιστοσύνη and not μεγάλο εμπιστοσύνη?

Because adjectives in Greek must agree with the noun in:

• gender
• number
• case

The noun εμπιστοσύνη is:

• feminine
• singular
• accusative (because it is the direct object of έχω)

So the adjective μεγάλος (big, great) must take the feminine, singular, accusative form:

• masculine: μεγάλο (e.g. μεγάλο σπίτι)
• feminine: μεγάλη (e.g. μεγάλη εμπιστοσύνη)
• neuter: μεγάλο (again, e.g. μεγάλο πρόβλημα)

Therefore: μεγάλη εμπιστοσύνη is the only correct form here.

Why do we say στη δασκάλα μου and not just σε δασκάλα μου or something else?

Στη is a contraction of:

• σε (a preposition, often “to / in / at / into”)
• τη(ν) (the feminine singular definite article: the)

So:

• σε + τη δασκάλα → στη δασκάλα

We need the article (τη) because we are talking about a specific teacher: my teacher.

• Έχω εμπιστοσύνη στη δασκάλα μου.
  I trust the teacher of mine → my teacher.

Without the article (σε δασκάλα μου) sounds ungrammatical and unnatural in this context.

Why is μου after the noun (δασκάλα) and not before it, like in English my teacher?

Greek uses a different pattern for many possessives:

• η δασκάλα μου = my teacher
  (literally: the teacher of me)

Here μου is an unstressed possessive pronoun (a clitic) that usually comes after the noun, together with the definite article:

• το βιβλίο μου = my book
• ο φίλος μου = my friend
• η δασκάλα μου = my teacher

Putting μου before the noun (μου δασκάλα) is not normal in standard modern Greek (apart from some fixed expressions or poetic style). So the natural order is:

στη δασκάλα μου = to my teacher

Which case is δασκάλα in here, and why?

Δασκάλα is in the accusative singular:

• nominative: η δασκάλα (the teacher – subject)
• accusative: τη δασκάλα (the teacher – object / after prepositions)

Prepositions like σε in modern Greek almost always take the accusative:

• σε + τη δασκάλα → στη δασκάλα

So δασκάλα appears in the accusative form because it follows σε (contracted to στη).

Why do we say στη δασκάλα μου with σε? Does σε here mean “to”, “in”, or something else?

In έχω εμπιστοσύνη σε κάποιον, σε is used in a more abstract way: it means in / towards that person, expressing who receives the trust.

You can understand it as:

• έχω εμπιστοσύνη σε κάποιον = I have trust in someone

Some other examples:

• Έχω εμπιστοσύνη σε σένα. = I trust you.
• Έχω εμπιστοσύνη στους φίλους μου. = I trust my friends.

So here σε is not literal physical “to” or “in a place”, but “in / towards” in the sense of emotional or mental orientation.

Can γιατί mean both “because” and “why”? In this sentence, which meaning is it?

Yes, γιατί can mean:

• why (question)
• because (answer / conjunction)

In this sentence:

• Έχω μεγάλη εμπιστοσύνη στη δασκάλα μου, γιατί με βοηθάει όταν αγχώνομαι.

γιατί clearly means because:

• I have great confidence in my teacher, because she helps me when I get stressed.

You know it’s “because” here because:

• the sentence is not a question
• γιατί connects a reason (she helps me…) to a statement (I have trust…).

What is the difference between με βοηθάει and με βοηθά? Are both correct?

Both are correct and both are used in modern Greek.

The verb βοηθάω (to help) has two alternative present forms:

• με βοηθάει (more “full”, often a bit more informal)
• με βοηθά (slightly shorter, often seen in writing or somewhat more formal speech)

Meaning:

• με βοηθάει = she helps me
• με βοηθά = she helps me

No difference in meaning; this is just a stylistic / phonetic choice. In everyday conversation, με βοηθάει is very common.

Why is it με βοηθάει and not βοηθάει με like English “helps me”?

In Greek, unstressed object pronouns (like με, σε, τον, την, etc.) normally go before the verb in simple tenses:

• με βοηθάει = she helps me
• σε βλέπω = I see you
• τον ακούω = I hear him

So the natural order is:
[pronoun] + [verb] → με βοηθάει, not βοηθάει με.

You can place the pronoun after the verb in certain cases (imperatives, infinitive-like structures, some special constructions), but not here.

What exactly does αγχώνομαι mean, and why does it end in -ομαι?

Αγχώνομαι means I get stressed / I become anxious / I feel stressed.

The ending -ομαι marks the middle / passive voice in modern Greek. Many verbs for feelings or states use this form:

• φοβάμαι = I am afraid
• χαίρομαι = I am glad / I enjoy
• στενοχωριέμαι = I feel sad / I am upset
• αγχώνομαι = I get stressed / I feel stressed

There is also an active form αγχώνω, which means I stress (someone):

• Αυτή η δουλειά με αγχώνει. = This job stresses me.

So:

• αγχώνομαι = I get stressed (myself, my own state)
• αγχώνω κάποιον = I cause someone else to be stressed.

Why don’t we say something like αγχώνω τον εαυτό μου instead of αγχώνομαι?

Greek often uses middle/passive forms instead of reflexive structures with “myself”:

• English: I wash myself
  Greek: πλένομαι (not usually πλένω τον εαυτό μου in everyday speech)
• English: I get dressed
  Greek: ντύνομαι

Similarly:

• αγχώνομαι already means I get stressed / I become stressed.
• αγχώνω τον εαυτό μου is grammatically possible but sounds forced, unnatural and rarely used.

So αγχώνομαι alone is the standard, natural way to express I get stressed.

What does όταν do in όταν αγχώνομαι? Could we say this part differently?

Όταν means when (in the sense of whenever / every time that).

• όταν αγχώνομαι = when I get stressed / whenever I get stressed

Here it introduces a time clause describing the situation in which the teacher helps:

• …γιατί με βοηθάει όταν αγχώνομαι.
  because she helps me when I get stressed.

You could rephrase with a slightly different structure, but όταν is the normal and natural word here:

• με βοηθάει κάθε φορά που αγχώνομαι = she helps me every time I get stressed.
  (a bit more explicit but same idea)

Could we change the word order of the second part, for example to γιατί όταν αγχώνομαι με βοηθάει? Is that still correct?

Yes, that is still correct and natural:

• …γιατί με βοηθάει όταν αγχώνομαι.
• …γιατί όταν αγχώνομαι με βοηθάει.

Both mean exactly the same:
because she helps me when I get stressed.

Greek word order is relatively flexible. Moving όταν αγχώνομαι earlier can slightly change the rhythm or emphasis, but not the basic meaning. The original order is perhaps a bit more common in neutral speech, but both are fine.