Learn Hardcore Greek: Το προσωπικό μου συμπέρασμα είναι ότι είναι καλύτερα να κάνω λίγη εξάσκηση κάθε μέρα παρά πολύ μόνο μία φορά. - My personal conclusion is that it is better to do a little practice every day than a lot only once.

First είναι = links Το προσωπικό μου συμπέρασμα with the clause starting with ότι.
Second είναι = verb of the subordinate clause (ότι είναι καλύτερα…).

You could avoid the second είναι only by changing the structure, e.g.:

Το προσωπικό μου συμπέρασμα είναι: καλύτερα να κάνω…

But with ότι, Greek keeps the second είναι.

What form is καλύτερα, and why is it not καλύτερο or καλύτερη here?

Καλύτερα here is an adverb meaning “better” (how? in what way?).

Είναι καλύτερα να κάνω… = It is better (in general) to do…

Compare:

καλύτερος / καλύτερη / καλύτερο = adjective, used with nouns
- Είναι καλύτερο σχέδιο. – It is a better plan.
καλύτερα = adverb, used with verbs or whole clauses
- Περνάω καλύτερα. – I’m having a better time.

In this sentence you could also say:

Το προσωπικό μου συμπέρασμα είναι ότι είναι καλύτερο να κάνω…

That’s grammatically fine, but είναι καλύτερα να… is the most usual, idiomatic pattern for giving advice or general conclusions.

Why do we say να κάνω here? Is that like an infinitive? What tense/aspect is it?

Modern Greek doesn’t really use an infinitive the way English does; instead it uses να + subjunctive:

να κάνω ≈ to do / (that) I do

After adjectives of evaluation like καλύτερα, Greek normally uses να + verb:

Είναι καλό να διαβάζω κάθε μέρα. – It’s good to study every day.
Είναι καλύτερα να κάνω… – It’s better to do…

Here κάνω is in the present subjunctive form, which is used for repeated or general actions (habit):

να κάνω λίγη εξάσκηση κάθε μέρα = to do a bit of practice every day (regularly)

So να κάνω is the normal way to say “to do” after είναι καλύτερα.

Why is it λίγη εξάσκηση and not λίγο εξάσκηση?

Because λίγη is an adjective that agrees in gender, number and case with εξάσκηση:

εξάσκηση = feminine, singular, accusative
matching form of λίγος = λίγη
→ λίγη εξάσκηση = a little (bit of) practice

If you used λίγο there, it would normally be:

the neuter form used adverbially (να εξασκούμαι λίγο – to practise a bit), or
a pronoun (θέλω λίγο – I want a little (of it)).

So:

λίγη εξάσκηση = a small amount of practice (as a noun phrase)
να εξασκούμαι λίγο = to practise a little (adverb modifying the verb)

In this sentence the structure chosen is the noun phrase: να κάνω λίγη εξάσκηση.

What’s the difference between εξάσκηση, άσκηση, and πρακτική?

All three can relate to “practice”, but they’re used a bit differently:

εξάσκηση – practice in the sense of training / exercising a skill
- Κάνω εξάσκηση στα ελληνικά. – I practise Greek.
- Very natural for language practice, instruments, skills.
άσκηση – an exercise (often a specific task)
- Κάνω τις ασκήσεις του βιβλίου. – I do the exercises in the book.
- Also means “exercise” in the physical/fitness sense.
πρακτική – practical training / internship or practice in a more formal/professional sense
- Κάνω πρακτική σε μια εταιρεία. – I’m doing an internship in a company.

In your sentence, εξάσκηση is the natural choice for everyday “practice” of a skill.

How does κάθε μέρα work? Could we also say κάθε ημέρα or καθημερινά?

Κάθε μέρα is the normal, everyday way to say “every day”:

κάθε = “each / every” (invariable)
μέρα = “day” (colloquial form of ημέρα)

Alternatives:

κάθε ημέρα – same meaning, but a bit more formal / written.
καθημερινά – adverb meaning “daily / every day”.
- Κάνω λίγη εξάσκηση καθημερινά.

So you could rewrite the sentence as:

…να κάνω λίγη εξάσκηση κάθε ημέρα… (more formal)
…να κάνω λίγη εξάσκηση καθημερινά… (using an adverb instead of “every day” + noun)

All are correct; κάθε μέρα is the most neutral spoken choice.

What exactly is παρά doing here? Why not από for “than”?

Greek has two common ways to say “than” in comparisons: από and παρά, but they’re used in different structures.

With nouns/pronouns, you normally use από:
- Είναι καλύτερο από το προηγούμενο. – It’s better than the previous one.
With “να + verb” (comparing actions or situations), you usually use παρά:
- Είναι καλύτερα να κάνω λίγη εξάσκηση κάθε μέρα παρά (να κάνω) πολύ μόνο μία φορά.
  = It’s better to do a little practice every day rather than (to do) a lot only once.

So here παρά introduces the alternative action: “(doing) a lot only once”.
Using από before a να‑clause would sound wrong or at least very unnatural.

Should there be another να κάνω after παρά? Is παρά να κάνω πολύ μόνο μία φορά better Greek?

The full, “complete” form would be:

…είναι καλύτερα να κάνω λίγη εξάσκηση κάθε μέρα παρά να κάνω πολύ μόνο μία φορά.

However, Greek very often omits repeated words when it’s clear from context. Since να κάνω is already used once, it can be left out after παρά:

…παρά (να κάνω) πολύ μόνο μία φορά.

Both:

with repeated να κάνω, and
with να κάνω omitted

are grammatically correct. The version in your sentence (without the second να κάνω) is natural and not “incorrectly shortened”.

What does πολύ refer to here, and why isn’t there a noun after it? Why not πολλή εξάσκηση?

In the sentence:

…παρά πολύ μόνο μία φορά.

Πολύ is used adverbially, meaning “a lot / a great deal”. The noun εξάσκηση is understood from the first part of the comparison:

a little practice every day vs a lot (of practice) only once

You could say πολλή εξάσκηση (with πολλή = feminine adjective), but then you’d repeat εξάσκηση:

…παρά πολλή εξάσκηση μόνο μία φορά.

Both are fine. The original version is just more compact and sounds very natural in speech.

Key point:

πολλή εξάσκηση – explicit “a lot of practice” (noun phrase)
πολύ (only once) – “a lot (of it) only once”; “of it” is understood.

Can we change the word order of πολύ μόνο μία φορά? For example, μόνο πολύ μία φορά or μόνο μία φορά πολύ?

The natural, clear order is the one in the sentence:

πολύ μόνο μία φορά – literally a lot, only one time.

Most idiomatic alternatives keep μόνο very close to μία φορά:

πολύ μία μόνο φορά
πολύ μόνο μία φορά

Putting μόνο before πολύ (μόνο πολύ μία φορά) would sound awkward and risk being misread as modifying πολύ instead of μία φορά.

The main thing is that μόνο should directly qualify μία φορά (only once), so you generally don’t split them far apart.

Why is it μία φορά instead of ένα φορά? And what’s the difference between μία and μια?

Φορά (time/occurrence) is feminine: η φορά.
The feminine form of “one / a” is μία (or μια in spelling), not ένα (neuter/masculine accusative).

So:

μία φορά / μια φορά = one time / once

Μία vs μια:

In modern Greek, in speech they are the same word.
μια is the more common everyday spelling.
μία (with accent) is sometimes chosen to emphasize “one single” time/thing or in more careful writing.

In μόνο μία φορά, using μία supports the idea of “only one single time”.

Why is the possessive μου placed after προσωπικό (Το προσωπικό μου συμπέρασμα) instead of after συμπέρασμα (Το προσωπικό συμπέρασμά μου)? Are both correct?

Both are grammatically correct; the difference is mostly stylistic.

Possible patterns:

Το προσωπικό μου συμπέρασμα
- article + adjective + possessive + noun
- very common with adjectives like προσωπική μου άποψη, καλή μου φίλη.
Το προσωπικό συμπέρασμά μου
- article + adjective + noun + possessive
- also natural; maybe a bit more neutral/“textbook” in feel.

In this sentence:

Το προσωπικό μου συμπέρασμα sounds smooth and idiomatic, like η προσωπική μου γνώμη (my personal opinion).

The meaning is the same either way: “my personal conclusion”.

What nuance does προσωπικό add? Could we just say Το συμπέρασμά μου είναι ότι…?

Yes, you can absolutely say:

Το συμπέρασμά μου είναι ότι… – My conclusion is that…

Adding προσωπικό emphasizes that this is a personal, subjective conclusion, as opposed to something officially agreed, proven, or universally accepted.

So:

Το συμπέρασμά μου… – neutral “my conclusion”
Το προσωπικό μου συμπέρασμα… – “my personal conclusion”, highlighting that it’s based on your own experience or opinion.

It matches the idea of giving personal study advice: “From my own experience, I’ve concluded that…”.

Could we say είναι καλύτερα να εξασκούμαι instead of να κάνω εξάσκηση? Is there any difference?

Yes, you could say:

Το προσωπικό μου συμπέρασμα είναι ότι είναι καλύτερα να εξασκούμαι λίγο κάθε μέρα…

Να εξασκούμαι = “to practise” (reflexive/mediopassive form), so this is slightly more compact.

Nuance:

να κάνω εξάσκηση – literally to do practice; very common and straightforward.
να εξασκούμαι – to practise (myself); also common, maybe a bit more “verb‑like” and less noun‑heavy.

Both sound natural; in everyday speech κάνω εξάσκηση is extremely frequent, especially for learners talking about “doing practice”.

Why is ότι used and not πως? Are they interchangeable here?

In this sentence, ότι and πως are practically interchangeable:

Το προσωπικό μου συμπέρασμα είναι ότι είναι καλύτερα…
Το προσωπικό μου συμπέρασμα είναι πως είναι καλύτερα…

Both mean “that” introducing a statement.

Differences:

ότι is a bit more neutral/formal in writing.
πως is often a bit more colloquial.

Just be careful not to confuse ότι (conjunction “that”) with ό,τι (“whatever / anything that”), which has a comma.

Here, ότι is correct because it simply introduces the clause explaining what the conclusion is.

Do we need any commas in this sentence, for example before ότι or before παρά?

As written, the sentence is correct without commas:

Το προσωπικό μου συμπέρασμα είναι ότι είναι καλύτερα να κάνω λίγη εξάσκηση κάθε μέρα παρά πολύ μόνο μία φορά.

Possible but optional:

A writer might insert a comma after the main subject for clarity in a longer text:
- Το προσωπικό μου συμπέρασμα είναι, ότι είναι καλύτερα…
  In modern style, that comma is usually omitted, especially with short clauses.

Before παρά you generally don’t put a comma when it simply introduces the comparison (rather than…), as here.

So the punctuation in the original sentence is fully standard.