Breakdown of Στο δελτίο ειδήσεων ανακοινώνουν ότι θα αλλάξει ο νόμος για την παιδεία.
Questions & Answers about Στο δελτίο ειδήσεων ανακοινώνουν ότι θα αλλάξει ο νόμος για την παιδεία.
Στο is a contraction of σε + το.
- σε = in / at / on (a very general preposition)
- το = the (neuter, singular)
So στο δελτίο ειδήσεων literally is in/at the news bulletin.
In modern Greek, these combinations are almost always written as one word in everyday writing:
- σε + το → στο
- σε + τον → στον
- σε + την → στην
- σε + τους → στους
- σε + τις → στις
You can think of στο as meaning “in the / on the / at the”, depending on context.
δελτίο ειδήσεων literally means “bulletin of news”.
- το δελτίο = the bulletin, the report
- οι ειδήσεις = the news (plural in Greek)
- των ειδήσεων = of the news (genitive plural)
In noun–noun phrases like this, Greek often uses the genitive to show possession or content:
- δελτίο ειδήσεων = bulletin of news
- κούπα καφέ = cup of coffee
- βιβλίο ιστορίας = book of history
So δελτίο ειδήσεων is literally a bulletin that contains news → news bulletin / news program.
Both can be translated as “on the news”, but there is a nuance:
- στο δελτίο ειδήσεων = on the news bulletin / the news program (more specific, sounds a bit more formal or precise)
- στις ειδήσεις = on the news (more general, what people often say in everyday speech)
Examples:
Το άκουσα στο δελτίο ειδήσεων.
I heard it on the news bulletin (on the news program).Το είπαν στις ειδήσεις.
They said it on the news.
Both are correct; δελτίο ειδήσεων emphasizes the broadcast/program itself.
Greek is a “pro-drop” language: it usually omits subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows the person and number.
- ανακοινώνουν = they announce / they are announcing
(3rd person plural, from ανακοινώνω)
Possible understood subjects:
- A specific group: Οι δημοσιογράφοι ανακοινώνουν… (The journalists announce…)
- An indefinite “they”, like English “they say”, “they’re announcing”, where we don’t care exactly who.
In this sentence, ανακοινώνουν is used in that impersonal “they” sense:
Στο δελτίο ειδήσεων ανακοινώνουν… ≈ On the news, they are announcing… (i.e. “it is being announced on the news”).
Greek often uses the present tense to talk about what is currently happening in a broadcast or report, similar to English:
- On the news, they are announcing that… (present continuous)
→ Στο δελτίο ειδήσεων ανακοινώνουν ότι…
It can also function as a kind of “reporting present”, giving a sense of immediacy:
- Η εφημερίδα γράφει ότι… = The newspaper writes that… (i.e. “says that…”)
If you wanted to talk about a completed past announcement, you’d use the past:
- Στο δελτίο ειδήσεων ανακοίνωσαν ότι…
On the news, they announced that…
But as written, the sentence presents it as something being announced now (or habitually).
Yes, you could say:
- Στο δελτίο ειδήσεων ανακοινώνεται ότι…
= It is announced on the news that…
Difference:
ανακοινώνουν (active, 3rd person plural)
→ literally “they announce”, often used with an indefinite “they” (they say/announce)ανακοινώνεται (present passive)
→ literally “it is announced”
Both are common ways to express impersonal reporting.
Stylistically:
- ανακοινώνουν feels like “they are announcing” (a bit more direct, conversational).
- ανακοινώνεται is slightly more formal/passive, typical of written language or official announcements.
In this sentence, ότι is a conjunction meaning “that”, introducing a reported clause:
- ανακοινώνουν ότι θα αλλάξει ο νόμος…
= they announce that the law will change…
In modern Greek, both ότι and πως can introduce indirect statements:
- Μου είπε ότι θα έρθει.
- Μου είπε πως θα έρθει.
He told me that he will come.
In most everyday contexts:
- ότι and πως are interchangeable as “that”.
- ότι is a bit more neutral/standard; πως can sound a bit more informal or “spoken” in some regions.
Important: ό,τι (with a comma) is different; it means “whatever / anything that”, not “that”.
Both come from αλλάζω (to change), but the aspect is different.
θα αλλάξει = it will change (single, complete change, “one event”)
→ future simple (aorist aspect)θα αλλάζει = it will be changing / it will keep changing / it will change repeatedly or for some time
→ future continuous (imperfective aspect)
In this sentence, the law will be changed once (or at least treated as a single reform), so θα αλλάξει is the natural choice:
- ότι θα αλλάξει ο νόμος = that the law will be (re)changed (as an event).
Yes, that word order is normal in Greek. Greek has flexible word order; the subject can appear before or after the verb.
Both are correct:
- Ο νόμος για την παιδεία θα αλλάξει.
- Θα αλλάξει ο νόμος για την παιδεία.
The second version (verb first) can sound a bit more neutral or can place slight emphasis on the event (the fact of changing). The first one slightly emphasizes which law.
Context and intonation usually determine the nuance more than strict order.
Here ο νόμος = the law, referring to a specific law (or the body of law) about education.
- ο νόμος = the particular law
- νόμος (without article) would sound like “a law / law (in general)”, and in this specific sentence it would be odd.
Greek uses definite articles much more than English, even with abstract or general nouns:
- Ο άνθρωπος είναι θνητός. = Man is mortal.
- Η μουσική είναι τέχνη. = Music is an art.
Here, ο νόμος για την παιδεία means “the law concerning education”, understood as a definite, known legal framework.
Both για and the genitive can sometimes express relations, but the nuance and idiomatic usage differ.
- ο νόμος για την παιδεία
literally: the law for/about education
→ standard, idiomatic way to say “the education law / the law regarding education”.
Saying ο νόμος της παιδείας would sound more like “the law of education itself”, as if education “possessed” the law. It’s grammatically possible but not idiomatic for this meaning.
In practice, for “a law about X”, Greek usually prefers:
- νόμος για την υγεία = law about health
- νόμος για το περιβάλλον = law about the environment
- νόμος για την παιδεία = law about education
Both relate to education, but they have different shades:
η παιδεία
- broader, more formal concept
- includes education as culture, upbringing, general formation
- in public/political contexts, often means the whole education system (schools, universities, policy)
η εκπαίδευση
- more like instruction / training / schooling
- closer to the process of teaching and learning
In the phrase ο νόμος για την παιδεία, παιδεία refers to the education system and policy (ministry of education, school system, etc.), which is why it’s the standard word in that context.
Greek frequently uses the definite article with abstract nouns, especially when you mean:
- a particular sphere or system (e.g. the education system, the health system), or
- a concept in a specific, concrete context.
Examples:
- Η υγεία είναι σημαντική. = Health is important.
- Ο τουρισμός είναι βασικός τομέας της οικονομίας. = Tourism is a key sector of the economy.
Here, την παιδεία points to the organized system of education, not just the abstract idea of “education” in general. So:
- ο νόμος για την παιδεία ≈ the law on (the) education (system).
Yes, that is also correct:
- Ο νόμος για την παιδεία θα αλλάξει.
- Θα αλλάξει ο νόμος για την παιδεία.
They mean the same thing. The difference is focus / emphasis:
Ο νόμος για την παιδεία θα αλλάξει.
Slightly more focus on which law (the education law is the topic).Θα αλλάξει ο νόμος για την παιδεία.
Slightly more focus on the fact of change (the change is the news).
In neutral speech, both are fine; the difference is mostly one of nuance and intonation.
Grammatically, yes:
- Ανακοινώνουν ότι θα αλλάξει ο νόμος για την παιδεία στο δελτίο ειδήσεων.
This still means “They announce on the news bulletin that the law on education will change.”
However:
- Placing στο δελτίο ειδήσεων at the beginning (Στο δελτίο ειδήσεων ανακοινώνουν…) makes it very clear right away that we’re talking about something happening on the news bulletin.
- Putting it at the end is also possible, but in a longer sentence it risks sounding slightly heavier or, in other contexts, can attach ambiguously to the nearest phrase.
In your example, the original order is the most natural and clear.