Learn Hardcore Greek: Έχω μια ιδιαίτερη σχέση με αυτή τη γλώσσα, γιατί με βοηθάει να νιώθω πιο κοντά στην Ελλάδα. - I have a special relationship with this language because it helps me feel closer to Greece.

In Έχω μια ιδιαίτερη σχέση why do we use έχω (“I have”) instead of something like είμαι (“I am”), since in English we often say “I am in a special relationship”?

In Greek the natural expression is έχω σχέση (με κάτι/κάποιον) = “I have a relationship (with something/someone).”

So:

Έχω μια ιδιαίτερη σχέση με αυτή τη γλώσσα
literally = I have a special relationship with this language.

Using είμαι here (e.g. είμαι σε μια ιδιαίτερη σχέση με…) would sound strange or calqued from English. The idiomatic verb for “having a relationship” (romantic, emotional, symbolic, etc.) is έχω + σχέση in Greek.

Why is it μια ιδιαίτερη σχέση and not just ιδιαίτερη σχέση without the article?

Both are possible, but they feel a bit different:

Έχω μια ιδιαίτερη σχέση…
This is the most natural here. The indefinite article μια makes it sound like “a particular kind of relationship” that you define or describe.
Έχω ιδιαίτερη σχέση…
Without μια, it sounds a bit more like a general statement or a characteristic: “I have (a) special relationship…” (slightly more abstract or emphatic, sometimes more formal).

In everyday speech, Έχω μια ιδιαίτερη σχέση… is the default, neutral choice.

Why is ιδιαίτερη in the feminine form, and why does it come before σχέση?

σχέση is a feminine noun (η σχέση).
The adjective ιδιαίτερη agrees with it in gender, number, and case:
- feminine (because σχέση is feminine)
- singular
- accusative (because it’s the object of έχω)

So we get: μια ιδιαίτερη σχέση.

As for position: in Greek, the most usual pattern is:

article – adjective – noun
μια ιδιαίτερη σχέση

You can say μια σχέση ιδιαίτερη, but that sounds more poetic or emphatic, like “a relationship that is special (in a marked way).” The normal, neutral order is adjective before noun.

What’s going on with με αυτή τη γλώσσα? Why αυτή τη and not something like αυτήν την γλώσσα?

First, grammar:

με = with (preposition)
αυτή = this (feminine, accusative, singular)
τη = short form of την, the feminine accusative article
γλώσσα = language (feminine noun)

Because of the preposition με, the noun phrase is in the accusative:
με αυτή τη γλώσσα = with this language.

About the forms:

τη is the everyday short form of την.
The final -ν on αυτή(ν) and την is often dropped in modern Greek before many consonants:
- αυτή τη γλώσσα (very common in writing and speech)
- αυτήν τη γλώσσα (also correct, a bit more careful/formal)

αυτή τη γλώσσα is completely standard and natural.

Why is it με αυτή τη γλώσσα and not σ’ αυτή τη γλώσσα or σε αυτή τη γλώσσα?

Different prepositions:

με = with → “I have a relationship with this language.”
σε (contracted to σ’ before vowels, στη(ν) before feminine nouns) = in / to / at / on / near depending on context.

Here we want the idea of being “in a relationship with” something, so Greek uses με (with), not σε.

σε αυτή τη γλώσσα would mean “in this language” (as in “I speak in this language”), which is a different meaning.

In the second με (in γιατί με βοηθάει), is με the same word as the first με (in με αυτή τη γλώσσα)?

They are written the same but function differently:

με αυτή τη γλώσσα
Here με is a preposition = with.
γιατί με βοηθάει
Here με is the unstressed object pronoun = me.
Literally: “because it helps me.”

So:

First με = “with”
Second με = “me”

Why με βοηθάει and not βοηθάει με, like English “helps me”?

Greek usually places unstressed object pronouns (με, σε, τον, την, το, μας, σας, τους, τις, τα) before the verb in simple tenses:

με βοηθάει = “it helps me”
σε βλέπω = “I see you”
τον ξέρω = “I know him”

Putting the pronoun after the verb (βοηθάει με) is wrong in standard modern Greek (except in some special cases with imperatives or certain dialects).

So με βοηθάει is the correct normal order.

What is the difference between βοηθά and βοηθάει? Could I say γιατί με βοηθά να νιώθω…?

Yes, both are correct:

βοηθά
βοηθάει

They are just two present-tense forms of the same verb (βοηθάω). In modern usage:

με βοηθάει is slightly more colloquial/longer.
με βοηθά sounds a bit shorter, sometimes more formal/literary, but it’s also used in speech.

In this sentence, both:

γιατί με βοηθάει να νιώθω…
γιατί με βοηθά να νιώθω…

are fine and natural.

Why is it να νιώθω (imperfective) and not να νιώσω (perfective)?

Greek has an aspect contrast:

νιώθω (imperfective)
– ongoing, repeated, or general feeling/state
νιώσω (perfective)
– one-time or completed event of “feeling/realizing”

Here the idea is:

“It helps me (generally / continuously) feel closer to Greece.”

So the imperfective (να νιώθω) matches a durative, ongoing state.
να νιώσω would sound more like “to (come to) feel” closer once, which doesn’t fit as well with “helps me feel” in a general, lasting way.

How does πιο κοντά work? Is κοντά an adjective or an adverb here?

In this sentence, κοντά functions like an adverb of manner/degree (“close, nearby”).

κοντά = close/near
πιο κοντά = closer (literally “more close”)

Greek usually forms comparatives of many adjectives and adverbs using πιο + base form:

ωραίος → πιο ωραίος (more beautiful)
συχνά → πιο συχνά (more often)
κοντά → πιο κοντά (closer)

So να νιώθω πιο κοντά = “to feel closer.”

Why is it στην Ελλάδα and not something like σε Ελλάδα or στη Ελλάδα?

στην is a contraction of σε + την:

σε = in / to / at
την = feminine accusative singular article (“the”)

So:

σε + την Ελλάδα → στην Ελλάδα

You normally must use the article with country names in Greek:

στην Ελλάδα (to/in Greece)
στη Γαλλία (to/in France)
στην Ιταλία (to/in Italy)

σε Ελλάδα (without article) sounds wrong in standard Greek, except in special expressions or headlines.

Also, σε την Ελλάδα without contraction is very unusual in modern Greek; speakers virtually always contract it to στην Ελλάδα.

What does γιατί mean here, and could I use επειδή instead?

Here γιατί means “because” (not “why”).

Έχω μια ιδιαίτερη σχέση με αυτή τη γλώσσα, γιατί με βοηθάει…
= “…because it helps me…”

You can replace it with επειδή:

…, επειδή με βοηθάει να νιώθω…

Both are correct. Very broadly:

γιατί is the more everyday, common spoken form for both “why” and “because.”
επειδή is only “because” and can sound a bit more formal or explicit, but it’s also used in speech.

In this sentence, γιατί is perfectly natural and perhaps slightly more conversational.

Is the word order in the whole sentence fixed, or could I move things around for emphasis?

Greek word order is fairly flexible, though some orders are more neutral than others.

Original: > Έχω μια ιδιαίτερη σχέση με αυτή τη γλώσσα, γιατί με βοηθάει να νιώθω πιο κοντά στην Ελλάδα.

You could, for example, say:

Με αυτή τη γλώσσα έχω μια ιδιαίτερη σχέση, γιατί…
(Fronting “with this language” for emphasis.)
Έχω με αυτή τη γλώσσα μια ιδιαίτερη σχέση…
(Also possible, slightly marked, emphasizing “with this language”.)

But some things are less flexible, such as:

keeping με βοηθάει (pronoun before the verb),
keeping the article–adjective–noun structure (μια ιδιαίτερη σχέση, αυτή τη γλώσσα).

Changing the word order mainly affects emphasis, not basic meaning.