Η δασκάλα μας ανακοινώνει στην τάξη ότι την άλλη εβδομάδα δεν θα έχουμε μάθημα.

Breakdown of Η δασκάλα μας ανακοινώνει στην τάξη ότι την άλλη εβδομάδα δεν θα έχουμε μάθημα.

έχω
to have
δεν
not
θα
will
σε
in
ότι
that
η δασκάλα
the female teacher
μας
our
το μάθημα
the lesson
η τάξη
the class
ανακοινώνω
to announce
την άλλη εβδομάδα
next week
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Questions & Answers about Η δασκάλα μας ανακοινώνει στην τάξη ότι την άλλη εβδομάδα δεν θα έχουμε μάθημα.

What exactly does μας mean in Η δασκάλα μας, and why does it go after δασκάλα?

Μας here is a weak possessive pronoun meaning our.

  • Η δασκάλα μας = our teacher
  • Literally: the teacher our

In Greek, these short possessive pronouns (μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους) normally come after the noun:

  • το βιβλίο μου = my book
  • ο φίλος σου = your friend
  • η δασκάλα μας = our teacher

So μας is not the object of the verb; it just shows that the teacher belongs to "us" (our class, our group).


Could the sentence be Η δασκάλα ανακοινώνει… without μας? What would change?

Yes, you can say Η δασκάλα ανακοινώνει στην τάξη…

The difference is:

  • Η δασκάλα μας… = our teacher (the one who teaches us)
  • Η δασκάλα… = the teacher (some teacher already known from context, but not necessarily "ours")

In a school context, η δασκάλα μας clearly means the specific teacher of our class. Without μας, it’s less personal and could be any teacher that everyone already knows about.


Why is ανακοινώνει in the present tense when in English we might say “announced”?

Greek very often uses the present tense for actions that are:

  • happening right now (as she is speaking), or
  • described in a neutral way, without focusing on whether they’re finished.

Here Η δασκάλα μας ανακοινώνει… means:

  • Either Our teacher is announcing… (right now)
  • Or a more general style: Our teacher announces to the class that next week we won’t have class (reported as a present-time event).

If you wanted to match English past simple “announced”, you could say:

  • Η δασκάλα μας ανακοίνωσε στην τάξη… = Our teacher announced to the class…

So:

  • ανακοινώνει = is announcing / announces
  • ανακοίνωσε = announced

What does στην τάξη literally mean, and is it “in class” or “to the class”?

Στην = σε + την (a contraction)

  • σε can mean in, at, or to depending on context.
  • την τάξη = the class / the classroom

So στην τάξη can mean:

  • in the classroom (location)
  • to the class (as a group of students, the audience)

In this sentence, ανακοινώνει στην τάξη is understood as:

  • announces to the class (i.e., she tells the students in class)

Both the idea of location (in class) and recipient (to the class) are wrapped into στην τάξη here, but functionally it matches English to the class.


What is the role of ότι here, and how is it different from τι and πως?

Ότι in this sentence is a conjunction meaning that, introducing indirect speech:

  • ανακοινώνει … ότι … = announces … that …

So the structure is:

  • Η δασκάλα μας ανακοινώνει στην τάξη ότι…
    = Our teacher announces to the class that

Differences:

  • ότι = that (introduces a statement)

    • Μου είπε ότι θα αργήσει. = He told me that he’ll be late.
  • πως can often replace ότι in spoken Greek with the same meaning:

    • Μου είπε πως θα αργήσει. (same as with ότι)
  • τι = what (used for questions, not for indirect “that”):

    • Τι είπε; = What did he say?
    • Μου είπε τι έγινε. = He told me what happened. (different meaning from ότι)

So in this sentence you could also hear:

  • …ανακοινώνει στην τάξη πως την άλλη εβδομάδα δεν θα έχουμε μάθημα.

with no real change in meaning.


Why is it την άλλη εβδομάδα and not something like η άλλη εβδομάδα?

Την άλλη εβδομάδα is in the accusative case, because it functions as a time expression answering “when?”:

  • πότε; (when?) → την άλλη εβδομάδα (next week)

Structure:

  • την (feminine singular accusative article)
  • άλλη (feminine singular accusative of άλλος, agreeing with the noun)
  • εβδομάδα (feminine noun, accusative)

So:

  • η άλλη εβδομάδα (nominative) = the other / next week (as subject of a sentence)
  • την άλλη εβδομάδα (accusative) = (on) next week as a time phrase

In this sentence you need the accusative την άλλη εβδομάδα to say next week as a time adverbial.

You could also say:

  • την επόμενη εβδομάδα = the following / the next week

Can την άλλη εβδομάδα go in a different place in the sentence?

Yes. Greek word order is flexible, especially for time expressions. All of these are normal:

  • Η δασκάλα μας ανακοινώνει στην τάξη ότι την άλλη εβδομάδα δεν θα έχουμε μάθημα.
  • Την άλλη εβδομάδα η δασκάλα μας ανακοινώνει στην τάξη ότι δεν θα έχουμε μάθημα. (less common style)
  • Η δασκάλα μας ανακοινώνει στην τάξη ότι δεν θα έχουμε μάθημα την άλλη εβδομάδα.

The most natural/neutral version is usually the original one or the last one.
Moving την άλλη εβδομάδα can slightly change emphasis, but not the core meaning.


Why is the negative future δεν θα έχουμε and not θα δεν έχουμε?

In Greek, δεν (not) normally comes before the verb or particle θα:

Word order pattern:

  • δεν + θα + verb

So:

  • δεν θα έχουμε = we will not have
  • δεν θα πάω = I will not go
  • δεν θα έρθουν = they will not come

θα δεν έχουμε is incorrect.

Think of θα like a small future marker that sticks closely to the verb, and δεν comes in front of that whole future form.


Why is it θα έχουμε μάθημα (we will have class) and not something like θα είναι μάθημα (there will be class)?

Greek typically expresses “having a class/lesson” with the verb έχω (to have):

  • Έχουμε μάθημα. = We have class / we have a lesson.
  • Δεν έχουμε μάθημα. = We don’t have class.

So the future is naturally:

  • Θα έχουμε μάθημα. = We will have class.
  • Δεν θα έχουμε μάθημα. = We will not have class.

Θα είναι μάθημα would sound like “it will be a lesson”, which doesn’t match the usual way of talking about scheduled classes. The idiomatic pattern is έχω μάθημα, not είναι μάθημα.


Is there any difference between δεν θα έχουμε μάθημα and δεν θα κάνουμε μάθημα?

Both are common and both mean that class will not take place, but there is a small nuance:

  • Δεν θα έχουμε μάθημα.

    • Literally: “We won’t have a lesson.”
    • Focus on the existence/scheduling of the class. (There simply won’t be class that week.)
  • Δεν θα κάνουμε μάθημα.

    • Literally: “We won’t do a lesson.”
    • Focus more on the activity of doing the lesson.

In practice, in this context they are almost interchangeable, and both would be understood as “There will be no class next week.”


Why is there no word for “we” in δεν θα έχουμε μάθημα?

Greek is a pro-drop language: subject pronouns (εγώ, εσύ, αυτός, εμείς, etc.) are often left out because the verb ending shows the person and number.

  • έχουμε = we have
  • θα έχουμε = we will have
  • δεν θα έχουμε = we will not have

The ending -ουμε already tells you the subject is “we” (εμείς), so εμείς is optional:

  • Εμείς δεν θα έχουμε μάθημα. (with emphasis on “we”)
  • Δεν θα έχουμε μάθημα. (neutral: we won’t have class)

In your sentence, the subject “we” is understood from the verb form and from context (the students).