Learn Hardcore Greek: Η δασκάλα έχει πολλή ενέργεια και κάνει ακόμα και τη γραμματική ευχάριστη. - The teacher has a lot of energy and makes even grammar pleasant.

As an adverb (invariable form: πολύ)
- Modifies verbs or adjectives
- Does not change form
- Examples:
  - Τρέχει πολύ. = He/She runs a lot.
  - Είναι πολύ καλός. = He is very good.
As an adjective/pronoun (meaning “much/many”)
- Modifies nouns
- Changes for gender and number:
  - Masculine: πολύς
  - Feminine: πολλή
  - Neuter: πολύ
  - Plural: πολλοί / πολλές / πολλά

Here it describes the amount of energy (a noun), so it’s an adjective and must match ενέργεια (feminine singular):

πολλή ενέργεια = much/a lot of energy

In writing, we keep the double λ and the accent on the last syllable: πολλή.

Could you also say “Η δασκάλα είναι πολύ ενεργητική” instead of “έχει πολλή ενέργεια”?

Yes, but the nuance is slightly different:

Η δασκάλα έχει πολλή ενέργεια.
- Literally: “The teacher has a lot of energy.”
- Focuses on the quantity of energy she has.
Η δασκάλα είναι πολύ ενεργητική.
- Literally: “The teacher is very energetic.”
- Focuses on her character/quality (she is an energetic person).

Both are natural and positive; in context they’re very close in meaning.

What does ακόμα και mean here, and is it different from just ακόμα?

In this sentence:

ακόμα και = “even” (in the sense of “even grammar”).

The structure is:

κάνει ακόμα και τη γραμματική ευχάριστη
= “she makes even grammar pleasant.”

On its own, ακόμα usually means:

still/yet (temporal meaning):
- Είναι ακόμα εδώ. = He/She is still here.
But in the fixed phrase ακόμα και, it means “even”.

You can think of ακόμα και as a set phrase:

ακόμα και + noun / phrase = even + noun / phrase.

Note: ακόμα and ακόμη are variants; in modern Greek they’re usually interchangeable, so you can also see ακόμη και.

Why is it written τη γραμματική and not την γραμματική?

The full form is την γραμματική (feminine accusative singular article: την).

However, in modern Greek, the final -ν in την (and τον) is often dropped before certain consonants in writing and speech.

General rule (in practice):

Keep -ν before:
- vowels: την ώρα, τον άντρα
- the consonants: κ, π, τ, ξ, ψ, μπ, ντ, γκ, τσ, τζ
It is often dropped before other consonants:
- So την γραμματική → τη γραμματική (before γ).

Both την γραμματική and τη γραμματική are understood; τη γραμματική is the common modern spelling here.

Why does Greek say τη γραμματική with the article, but English just says “grammar”?

Greek uses the definite article more broadly than English, especially with abstract nouns and general concepts.

τη γραμματική literally = “the grammar”
But in English, we normally just say “grammar” with no article.

So:

κάνει τη γραμματική ευχάριστη
→ literally: “she makes the grammar pleasant”
→ natural English: “she makes grammar pleasant.”

This is a very common pattern:

Μου αρέσει η μουσική.
→ literally: “I like the music.”
→ English: “I like music.”

Why does ευχάριστη end in -η, and why doesn’t it have an article?

Ending in -η
ευχάριστη is an adjective meaning “pleasant, enjoyable.”
It must agree with the noun it describes in gender, number, and case.
- γραμματική is feminine singular accusative
- So the adjective also takes feminine singular accusative: ευχάριστη
Example of agreement:
- η ευχάριστη γραμματική = the pleasant grammar (attributive use)
- κάνει τη γραμματική ευχάριστη = makes grammar pleasant (predicative use)
No article
Here ευχάριστη is in predicative position:
It is not “the pleasant grammar” but “(she) makes grammar pleasant.”
In Greek, adjectives in predicative position usually do not take an article:
- Η ταινία είναι καλή. = The movie is good.
- Κάνει τη δουλειά εύκολη. = He/She makes the job easy.
- Κάνει τη γραμματική ευχάριστη. = She makes grammar pleasant.

How does κάνει ... ευχάριστη mean “make … pleasant”? Isn’t κάνω just “do”?

κάνω is a very flexible verb in Greek. It usually means “do” or “make” depending on context.

In this pattern:

κάνω + direct object + adjective
It means “to make [something] [adjective]”

Examples:

Κάνει τη ζωή δύσκολη. = He/She makes life difficult.
Κάνεις τα πράγματα περίπλοκα. = You make things complicated.
Κάνει τη γραμματική ευχάριστη. = She makes grammar pleasant.

You could also say more explicitly:

Κάνει τη γραμματική να είναι ευχάριστη.
(literally: “makes grammar to be pleasant”)
But the shorter form in the original sentence is more elegant and more natural.

What cases are used for η δασκάλα, πολλή ενέργεια, and τη γραμματική?

Η δασκάλα
- Nominative feminine singular
- It is the subject of the sentence (“the teacher”).
πολλή ενέργεια
- ενέργεια: accusative feminine singular
- πολλή: adjective agreeing with ενέργεια
- This is the direct object of έχει (she has what? energy).
τη γραμματική
- γραμματική: accusative feminine singular
- τη: feminine accusative singular article
- This is the direct object of κάνει (she makes what? grammar).

So the pattern is:

[Nominative subject] έχει [accusative object] και κάνει [accusative object] [adjective].

Can the word order be changed, for example Η δασκάλα έχει ενέργεια πολλή?

Greek word order is more flexible than English, but changes in order can affect emphasis or sound a bit unusual.

Η δασκάλα έχει πολλή ενέργεια.
- Most natural, neutral emphasis.
Η δασκάλα έχει ενέργεια πολλή.
- Grammatically possible, but sounds more poetic or marked in modern speech.
- Emphasis falls more on πολλή as a kind of afterthought: “she has energy, a lot.”

For everyday modern Greek, you should use:

πολλή ενέργεια (adjective before noun) as in the original sentence.

Can πολλή be used only with uncountable nouns like ενέργεια, or also with countable nouns?

πολλή is the feminine singular form of “much / a lot of” and can be used with any feminine singular noun, whether the concept is countable or not.

Examples:

πολλή δουλειά = a lot of work
πολλή υπομονή = a lot of patience
πολλή βροχή = a lot of rain
πολλή ώρα = a long time (many hours / much time)

For plural countable nouns, you usually use the plural forms πολλές, πολλοί, πολλά:

πολλές ασκήσεις = many exercises
πολλοί μαθητές = many students
πολλά βιβλία = many books

So πολλή ενέργεια fits the same general pattern: feminine singular noun → πολλή.