Breakdown of Ο γιατρός κοιτάει το αυτί μου και τη μύτη μου και λέει ότι δεν υπάρχει σοβαρό πρόβλημα.
Questions & Answers about Ο γιατρός κοιτάει το αυτί μου και τη μύτη μου και λέει ότι δεν υπάρχει σοβαρό πρόβλημα.
Γιατρός is a masculine noun in Greek meaning doctor. In the nominative singular (the form used for the subject of the sentence), masculine nouns take the definite article ο.
So:
- ο γιατρός = the doctor (subject)
- If it were the object, it would be τον γιατρό (accusative), e.g. Βλέπω τον γιατρό – I see the doctor.
Κοιτάει is 3rd person singular, present tense, of the verb κοιτάω (to look at / to examine).
Modern Greek verbs in -άω often have two parallel forms in the present:
- κοιτάω / κοιτάω → he/she looks:
- κοιτάει (more “full” form)
- κοιτά (shorter, very common in speech)
Both κοιτάει and κοιτά are correct and mean the same thing: he looks (at).
Κοιτάζει is from another verb, κοιτάζω, which is very close in meaning and often interchangeable here:
- Ο γιατρός κοιτάει το αυτί μου…
- Ο γιατρός κοιτά το αυτί μου…
- Ο γιατρός κοιτάζει το αυτί μου…
All three are natural and mean The doctor looks at/examines my ear…
Greek usually expresses possession with definite article + noun + unstressed possessive pronoun:
- το αυτί μου = the ear my → my ear
- η μητέρα μου = the mother my → my mother
Using just a possessive like English (μου αυτί) is not standard. The pronoun μου is a clitic, and the normal position is after the noun.
So the default pattern is:
[article] + [noun] + [μου].
In this sentence:
- το αυτί μου – my ear
- τη μύτη μου – my nose
The feminine accusative singular article is την in its full form, but in everyday modern Greek the final -ν is often dropped before many consonants.
Common rule of thumb: keep the -ν before
- vowels and
- the consonants κ, π, τ, μπ, ντ, γκ, ξ, ψ
In μύτη, the word starts with μ, so it’s very common to drop the ν:
- τη μύτη (very natural in speech and writing)
- την μύτη (more careful/formal; still correct)
So you will see both, but τη μύτη is completely normal.
In Greek, κοιτάω / κοιτάζω already include the idea of looking at something, so they take a direct object:
- κοιτάει το αυτί μου = he looks at my ear
(no preposition needed)
If you added a preposition like σε (κοιτάει σε το αυτί μου), it would be wrong. The grammar is:
- κοιτάω + accusative object
- κοιτάω το βιβλίο – I look at the book
- κοιτάει τη μύτη μου – he looks at my nose
Both are possible, but the meaning changes slightly:
το αυτί μου και τη μύτη μου
- Clearly both ear and nose belong to me.
- Very explicit and natural.
το αυτί και τη μύτη μου
- Grammatically possible, but it can sound a bit less clear in isolation.
- In context, it will normally still be understood as my ear and my nose, but the possessive is attached only to μύτη.
Repeating μου is the clearest and most neutral choice, especially in a simple sentence like this.
Λέει ότι… introduces a reported statement, like English “he says that…”:
- λέει ότι δεν υπάρχει σοβαρό πρόβλημα
= he says that there is no serious problem
You can also say:
- λέει πως δεν υπάρχει σοβαρό πρόβλημα
Here ότι and πως are both conjunctions meaning “that” (introducing a clause), and they are largely interchangeable in this use.
Be careful not to confuse ότι (that) with ό,τι (whatever / anything that), which has a comma and a different meaning.
Greek uses the verb υπάρχω (to exist, to be present) for existential sentences:
- υπάρχει πρόβλημα = there is a problem
- δεν υπάρχει πρόβλημα = there is no problem
So:
- δεν = not
- υπάρχει = there is / exists
- σοβαρό πρόβλημα = a serious problem
Altogether:
δεν υπάρχει σοβαρό πρόβλημα = there is no serious problem.
This is the standard way to say there is / there are in many contexts in Greek.
Adjectives in Greek must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.
- πρόβλημα is neuter, singular, accusative:
- nominative: το πρόβλημα
- accusative: το πρόβλημα (same form)
The adjective σοβαρός has these key forms:
- masculine: σοβαρός (nom.), σοβαρό (acc.)
- feminine: σοβαρή
- neuter: σοβαρό
Since πρόβλημα is neuter, the adjective must also be neuter:
- σοβαρό πρόβλημα = serious problem
Σοβαρή πρόβλημα would be wrong because σοβαρή is feminine, but πρόβλημα is neuter.
You could say δεν υπάρχει πρόβλημα σοβαρό, but:
- δεν υπάρχει σοβαρό πρόβλημα is the normal, most natural order.
- δεν υπάρχει πρόβλημα σοβαρό sounds more marked, almost poetic or emphatic, as if you are contrasting σοβαρό with some other kind of problem.
In everyday speech and writing, adjective + noun (σοβαρό πρόβλημα) is the standard neutral order.
Greek has two common negatives: δεν and μην.
δεν is used with indicative verbs (factual statements, questions, etc.):
- δεν υπάρχει – there is not
- δεν λέει – he does not say
μην is used mainly with subjunctive forms or after certain verbs/expressions (wishes, commands, purpose clauses, etc.):
- να μην πάει – that he not go
- Μην πας! – Don’t go!
In δεν υπάρχει σοβαρό πρόβλημα, we simply have an indicative statement (there is no serious problem), so δεν is the correct negative.
Yes, there is a difference:
Ο γιατρός κοιτάει το αυτί μου
= The doctor is looking at my ear
(no information about whose doctor he is)Ο γιατρός μου κοιτάει το αυτί
= My doctor is looking at the ear
(now γιατρός belongs to me)
In the original sentence, μου is used as a possessive for the parts of the body, not to say “my doctor”. To say my doctor, you put μου after γιατρός:
- Ο γιατρός μου κοιτάει το αυτί μου και τη μύτη μου…
= My doctor looks at my ear and my nose…
Yes. Using και … και is like saying “both … and” in English and can add a bit of emphasis:
Ο γιατρός κοιτάει το αυτί μου και τη μύτη μου
= The doctor looks at my ear and my nose.Ο γιατρός κοιτάει και το αυτί μου και τη μύτη μου
= The doctor looks at both my ear and my nose.
Both are correct; the second just highlights the fact that both are being examined.