Learn Hardcore Greek: Η οδοντίατρος μου λέει να βουρτσίζω τα δόντια μου τρεις φορές την ημέρα. - The dentist female tells me to brush my teeth three times a day.

In Greek, the ending -ος is usually masculine, but not always. Some professions and a few other nouns can be “common gender”: they keep the same form, and the article shows the gender.

ο οδοντίατρος = the (male) dentist
η οδοντίατρος = the (female) dentist

The noun οδοντίατρος itself does not change; you change only the article (and any adjectives) to show whether the person is male or female.

So η οδοντίατρος here means “the (female) dentist.” If it were a male dentist, the sentence would be:

Ο οδοντίατρος μου λέει να βουρτσίζω…

Why is it Η οδοντίατρος μου and not μου η οδοντίατρος or η δική μου οδοντίατρος?

The little word μου is a weak (clitic) pronoun meaning “my / to me.” In Greek, these weak pronouns normally go after the noun they belong to:

η οδοντίατρος μου = my dentist
το βιβλίο μου = my book
η αδελφή μου = my sister

You can say η δική μου οδοντίατρος, but it sounds like you are emphasizing “my (own) dentist” (for contrast: not someone else’s dentist). In normal, neutral speech η οδοντίατρος μου is the standard and most natural form.

Putting μου before the noun (μου η οδοντίατρος) is not natural modern Greek.

What exactly is the function of μου in Η οδοντίατρος μου and τα δόντια μου? Is it the same as English “my”?

Yes, μου in both places means “my”, but grammatically it is a genitive pronoun (“of me”) that behaves like a weak clitic, not like an English possessive adjective.

η οδοντίατρος μου = the dentist of me → my dentist
τα δόντια μου = the teeth of me → my teeth

Differences from English:

In Greek, you almost always keep the definite article:
- τα δόντια μου (literally “the teeth my”)
- not just δόντια μου
In many contexts, especially with body parts, Greek can drop μου if it is obvious whose body part it is:
- Βούρτσισα τα δόντια. = I brushed (my) teeth.
  But adding μου is still very common and clear.

Why does Greek use λέει να βουρτσίζω instead of something like “says to brush” with an infinitive?

Modern Greek does not use infinitives the way English and many European languages do. Instead, it uses:

να
- subjunctive verb form

So where English says “says to brush”, Greek says:

λέει να βουρτσίζω

Some common patterns:

θέλω να… = I want to…
πρέπει να… = I must / I have to…
μου λέει να… = she tells me to…

In older Greek there were infinitives, but in modern spoken Greek they have been replaced by να + subjunctive.

What tense or mood is βουρτσίζω here, and why does it look just like the present tense?

The form βουρτσίζω is 1st person singular, present subjunctive, but in many verbs the present subjunctive looks identical to the present indicative.

Present indicative: (εγώ) βουρτσίζω = I brush
Present subjunctive: να βουρτσίζω = (that) I brush / (for me) to brush

We know it’s subjunctive here because of the particle να:

να βουρτσίζω → subjunctive
βουρτσίζω (alone) → indicative

The present (imperfective) subjunctive is used here because it refers to an ongoing or repeated action: brushing regularly, as a habit, three times a day.

Why is it να βουρτσίζω and not να βουρτσίσω?

Greek has two main types of subjunctive:

Imperfective (continuous) subjunctive – ongoing, repeated, or habitual actions
- να βουρτσίζω = to be brushing / to brush regularly
Aorist (simple) subjunctive – one-time, whole action
- να βουρτσίσω = to brush (once, as a single act)

In this sentence the dentist is giving a habitual instruction: you should make a regular habit of brushing, three times each day. For a habitual action, να βουρτσίζω is the natural choice.

If the dentist were telling you to brush your teeth right now, once, you might hear:

Βούρτσισε τα δόντια σου! (imperative)
Να βουρτσίσεις τα δόντια σου τώρα. (aorist subjunctive, one-time action)

Why is it τα δόντια μου and not μου τα δόντια?

The normal, neutral order in Greek is:

article + noun + weak pronoun
→ τα δόντια μου

Putting μου before the noun (μου τα δόντια) is not natural in standard modern Greek; it sounds wrong.

With weak pronouns like μου, σου, του, etc., for possession, the pattern is:

το σπίτι μου = my house
οι φίλοι μου = my friends
τα δόντια μου = my teeth

So τα δόντια μου is the correct everyday form.

Why is it τρεις φορές and not τρία φορές?

The numeral must agree in gender with the noun it counts.

φορά (time, occurrence) is a feminine noun:
- η φορά = the time (occurrence)
The feminine plural is φορές.

The number three in Greek:

Masculine: τρεις
Feminine: τρεις
Neuter: τρία

Since φορές is feminine plural, you use the feminine form of “three”:

τρεις φορές = three times

You would use τρία with neuter nouns, e.g.:

τρία παιδιά = three children (παιδί is neuter)

What does την ημέρα literally mean, and why do we use the definite article here?

Literally, την ημέρα is “the day” in the accusative singular:

η ημέρα = the day (subject / dictionary form)
την ημέρα = the day (object form)

In this expression τρεις φορές την ημέρα, the accusative την ημέρα is a time expression meaning “per day / a day”:

τρεις φορές την ημέρα = three times a day

Greek uses the definite article in many time and frequency expressions where English does not, for example:

δύο φορές την εβδομάδα = twice a week
μία φορά τον μήνα = once a month

So την ημέρα here is a standard idiomatic way to say “per day.”

What is the difference between ημέρα and μέρα? Could I say τρεις φορές τη μέρα instead?

Yes, you can absolutely say:

τρεις φορές τη μέρα

The difference:

ημέρα is the more formal / complete form, used in writing, formal speech, or when you want to sound a bit more “careful”.
μέρα is the colloquial, everyday form.

Meaning-wise, ημέρα and μέρα are the same word. In normal conversation you will hear τη μέρα much more often than την ημέρα.

Why is δόντια in that form? What is its case and number?

Δόντια is:

plural
neuter
here it is in the accusative case

The noun το δόντι (tooth) declines like this (simplified):

Singular:
- το δόντι (nom./acc.) – the tooth
Plural:
- τα δόντια (nom./acc.) – the teeth

In the sentence, τα δόντια μου is the direct object of the verb να βουρτσίζω:

να βουρτσίζω τι; → τα δόντια μου

So it must be in the accusative plural, which for this noun is τα δόντια.

How would the word order change if I also wanted to say “my dentist tells me to brush my teeth…” – where does the extra me go in Greek?

You’d add another weak pronoun μου for “to me” attached to λέει:

Η οδοντίατρος μου μου λέει να βουρτσίζω τα δόντια μου τρεις φορές την ημέρα.

Here:

First μου (after οδοντίατρος) = my dentist
Second μου (after λέει) = tells me

Greek allows multiple weak pronouns, but they have specific positions:

Possessive μου goes after the noun: η οδοντίατρος μου
Indirect object μου goes after the verb: μου λέει

So the order Η οδοντίατρος μου μου λέει… is correct and natural, even though there are two μου in a row.

How do you pronounce the whole sentence?

Approximate pronunciation (in Latin characters, with stress marked by ´):

Η οδοντίατρος μου λέει να βουρτσίζω τα δόντια μου τρεις φορές την ημέρα.

→ i othondíatros mu léi na vurtsízo ta thóndia mu tris for*és tin imé*ra

Notes:

η = like English “ee” in “see”
ου = “oo” in “food”
αι in λέει is pronounced like “e” in “say” (it sounds like léi or léi̯)
δ (in δόντια, οδοντίατρος) is like the th in “this”
ντ often sounds like d (here δόντια ≈ dhóndia)
τσ in βουρτσίζω is like “ts” in “cats”

Stress falls on:

οδοντίατρος
λέει
βουρτσίζω
δόντια
φορές
ημέρα