Learn Hardcore Greek: Ο τεχνικός της εταιρείας λέει ότι η βλάβη στον εκτυπωτή είναι σοβαρή. - The technician of the company says that the fault in the printer is serious.

In Ο τεχνικός της εταιρείας, does της εταιρείας mean “of the company” and does it belong to τεχνικός? Could it also mean “the printer of the company”?

Της εταιρείας is a genitive phrase meaning “of the company”, and here it clearly modifies ο τεχνικός:

ο τεχνικός της εταιρείας = the company’s technician / the technician of the company

It does not modify εκτυπωτή in this sentence, because:

It comes immediately after τεχνικός, so by default it attaches to that noun.
If you wanted to say “the company’s printer”, you would normally put the genitive right after εκτυπωτή:
- η βλάβη στον εκτυπωτή της εταιρείας είναι σοβαρή
  = The malfunction in the company’s printer is serious.

Why do we need the articles Ο and η in Ο τεχνικός and η βλάβη? In English we might just say “a technician” or “malfunction” without the.

Modern Greek uses definite articles much more often than English, especially:

with professions:
- ο τεχνικός, ο γιατρός, η δασκάλα
with specific, known things:
- η βλάβη (the particular malfunction we’re talking about)

So:

Ο τεχνικός της εταιρείας
literally: the technician of the company
but can correspond to English the or a depending on context.
η βλάβη is the malfunction, the one everyone in the context already knows about.

Leaving the article out (τεχνικός, βλάβη) would sound incomplete or ungrammatical here in standard Greek.

Why is it βλάβη and not something like πρόβλημα? What exactly does βλάβη mean compared to other words for “problem” or “damage”?

Βλάβη is a fairly technical word and usually refers to:

a fault, malfunction, or damage in a machine or device.

Compare:

βλάβη στον εκτυπωτή
= a fault/malfunction in the printer (something is not working properly)
πρόβλημα με τον εκτυπωτή
= a problem with the printer (can be anything, even user error or lack of paper)
ζημιά στον εκτυπωτή
= physical damage to the printer (it’s broken, dented, burnt, etc.)

So βλάβη suggests a technical fault that prevents normal operation, which makes sense with a technician and a printer.

Why is βλάβη feminine, and why do we say η βλάβη and σοβαρή (feminine) instead of σοβαρός?

Noun gender in Greek is mostly grammatical and must be memorized:

η βλάβη is feminine.
Feminine singular nominative articles and endings:
- article: η
- many feminine nouns: -η, -α
- adjectives agreeing with them: -η, -α

So:

η βλάβη (fem.)
η βλάβη είναι σοβαρή
- σοβαρή is the feminine form of σοβαρός (serious), agreeing with βλάβη in:
- gender (feminine)
- number (singular)
- case (nominative, as subject complement)

Masculine would be σοβαρός (e.g. ο γιατρός είναι σοβαρός), neuter σοβαρό (το θέμα είναι σοβαρό).

How does λέει work here? What tense is it, and what is the difference from είπε?

Λέει is:

3rd person singular
present tense
of the verb λέω (to say, to tell).

So:

Ο τεχνικός της εταιρείας λέει ότι…
= The company technician says that… / is saying that… (now, in general or at this moment)

Είπε is the aorist (simple past) form:

Ο τεχνικός της εταιρείας είπε ότι η βλάβη…
= The company technician said that the malfunction… (at some specific time in the past)

What’s the difference between ότι and πως in λέει ότι η βλάβη…? Can I use πως instead?

After verbs of saying or thinking, ότι and πως are usually interchangeable:

λέει ότι η βλάβη στον εκτυπωτή είναι σοβαρή
λέει πως η βλάβη στον εκτυπωτή είναι σοβαρή

Both mean: He says that the malfunction in the printer is serious.

Nuances:

ότι is slightly more neutral/standard.
πως can sound a bit more colloquial, depending on style and region.

Be careful not to confuse:

ότι (that, conjunction) with
ό,τι (whatever, anything that), which has a comma in writing and a slightly different rhythm.

Could we drop ότι and just say Ο τεχνικός της εταιρείας λέει η βλάβη στον εκτυπωτή είναι σοβαρή?

No, not in standard Greek. With λέω, you normally need a conjunction (ότι or πως) to introduce the content clause:

✅ Ο τεχνικός της εταιρείας λέει ότι η βλάβη…
✅ Ο τεχνικός της εταιρείας λέει πως η βλάβη…
❌ Ο τεχνικός της εταιρείας λέει η βλάβη… (ungrammatical)

In very colloquial speech some conjunctions get dropped after verbs like μου είπε (he told me), but with bare λέει this kind of omission does not sound right.

What is going on with στον εκτυπωτή? Why στον and not σε τον, and why is εκτυπωτή ending in -η?

Στον is a contraction of the preposition σε (in, at, on, to) plus the masculine singular article τον:

σε + τον = στον
σε + την = στην
σε + το = στο

So:

στον εκτυπωτή = in the printer / on the printer

About εκτυπωτή:

The nominative (dictionary form) is ο εκτυπωτής (printer).
In the accusative singular (used after σε), many masculine nouns in -ης change to -η:
- ο μαθητής → στον μαθητή
- ο οδηγός → στον οδηγό (no change, different pattern)
- ο εκτυπωτής → στον εκτυπωτή

So στον εκτυπωτή is correct accusative after the preposition σε.

Why is it η βλάβη στον εκτυπωτή and not η βλάβη του εκτυπωτή? What is the difference between σε and του here?

The choice changes the nuance:

η βλάβη στον εκτυπωτή
= the malfunction *in the printer*
Focus: where the fault occurs (location inside the printer, as the affected device).
η βλάβη του εκτυπωτή
= the printer’s malfunction / the malfunction *of the printer
Focus: the malfunction *belongs to the printer (genitive of possession).

In everyday speech, βλάβη στον Χ is very common with machines and infrastructure:

βλάβη στο αυτοκίνητο – a fault in the car
βλάβη στο δίκτυο – a fault in the network

Του εκτυπωτή is not wrong, but it slightly shifts the perspective to possession rather than location.

Why don’t we see a subject pronoun like αυτός (he) before λέει?

Greek is a pro-drop language: subject pronouns are omitted when the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

λέει is 3rd person singular (he/she/it says).
The subject Ο τεχνικός της εταιρείας is explicit, so there’s no need for αυτός.

You would use αυτός only for emphasis or contrast:

Αυτός ο τεχνικός της εταιρείας λέει ότι…
= This technician from the company (not someone else) says that…

Could we reorder the sentence and say Η βλάβη στον εκτυπωτή είναι σοβαρή, λέει ο τεχνικός της εταιρείας?

Yes, that is perfectly correct and quite natural:

Η βλάβη στον εκτυπωτή είναι σοβαρή, λέει ο τεχνικός της εταιρείας.
= The malfunction in the printer is serious, says the company technician.

Greek word order is relatively flexible. Changing the order usually changes emphasis, not grammaticality:

Original: emphasis starts from who says something (the technician).
Reordered: emphasis starts from what is serious (the malfunction), and the part with λέει ο τεχνικός… adds the source.

Could we also express the idea as Ο τεχνικός της εταιρείας λέει ότι ο εκτυπωτής έχει βλάβη? Is that equivalent?

Yes, that’s also natural and very common:

Ο εκτυπωτής έχει βλάβη = The printer has a fault/malfunction.

So:

Ο τεχνικός της εταιρείας λέει ότι ο εκτυπωτής έχει βλάβη.

Meaning is practically the same as:

…λέει ότι η βλάβη στον εκτυπωτή είναι σοβαρή.

Subtle nuance:

έχει βλάβη states that a fault exists.
η βλάβη είναι σοβαρή additionally qualifies the fault as serious (stronger emphasis on the severity).

How is each word in Ο τεχνικός της εταιρείας λέει ότι η βλάβη στον εκτυπωτή είναι σοβαρή pronounced, especially λέει and εταιρείας?

Approximate pronunciations (stressed syllable in CAPS):

Ο – /o/ (o as in not, short)
τεχνικός – teh-chni-KOS (teh-xni-KOS)
της – tis
εταιρείας – e-te-RI-as (stress on -ρι-)
λέει – LE-i (two sounds: λε-ει, pronounced like LE-ee, often flowing together)
ότι – O-ti
η – i (like English ee)
βλάβη – VLA-vi
στον – ston
εκτυπωτή – ek-ty-po-TI
είναι – I-ne
σοβαρή – so-va-RI

So the overall rhythm is:

o teh-xni-KOS tis e-te-RI-as LE-i O-ti i VLA-vi ston ek-ty-po-TI I-ne so-va-RI

Could we say της εταιρίας instead of της εταιρείας? Are both correct?

Yes, both forms exist:

η εταιρεία / της εταιρείας (more formal, traditional spelling)
η εταιρία / της εταιρίας (simplified, also very common)

In practice:

You’ll see εταιρεία a lot in official names and formal writing.
εταιρία is also widely used and understood.

They are pronounced the same in everyday speech. In your sentence, switching to της εταιρίας does not change the meaning.

What exactly does σοβαρή mean here? Is it closer to “serious”, “severe”, or “big”?

Σοβαρή (fem. of σοβαρός) in this context is closest to:

serious, severe, meaning:
- the fault is not minor,
- it might be difficult or costly to repair,
- it significantly affects the printer’s operation.

So:

η βλάβη στον εκτυπωτή είναι σοβαρή
= the malfunction in the printer is serious / severe,
implying it’s not a trivial issue.