Learn Hardcore Greek: Είναι δική μου ευθύνη να διαβάζω, κανείς άλλος δεν μπορεί να το κάνει για εμένα. - It is my own responsibility to study; no one else can do it for me.

«η ευθύνη μου να διαβάζω…»
= neutral: my responsibility is to study…
«είναι δική μου ευθύνη να διαβάζω…»
= more emphatic: it is *my responsibility (and not someone else’s) to study…*

Using δικός/δική/δικό μου tends to highlight exclusivity or contrast: mine (as opposed to someone else’s).
That fits the second part of the sentence: «κανείς άλλος δεν μπορεί…» – no one else can…

Why is it «δική» (feminine) and not «δικό» or «δικός»?

The word δικός behaves like an adjective and agrees in gender, number, and case with the noun it modifies.

The noun ευθύνη (responsibility) is:
- feminine
- singular
- nominative

So you must use the corresponding form of δικός:

ο δικός μου φίλος – my friend (masc.)
η δική μου ευθύνη – my responsibility (fem.)
το δικό μου σπίτι – my house (neut.)

That’s why you get «δική μου ευθύνη» and not «δικό μου ευθύνη» or «δικός μου ευθύνη».

I’ve seen «δικιά μου» instead of «δική μου». Could we say «Είναι δικιά μου ευθύνη…»?

Yes, you will often hear «δικιά μου» in spoken Greek:

δική μου – more standard / formal written form
δικιά μου – very common in everyday speech

So:

«Είναι δική μου ευθύνη…» – fully standard
«Είναι δικιά μου ευθύνη…» – perfectly natural in speech, slightly more colloquial in writing

Meaning and grammar are the same; it’s mainly a stylistic choice.

Why is it «να διαβάζω» and not «να διαβάσω»?

Greek makes a strong distinction between:

να + present (imperfective) → ongoing, repeated, or general action
- να διαβάζω = to study in general / as a habit
να + aorist (perfective) → single, whole, or one‑off action
- να διαβάσω = to study (once / at some point / complete the act)

In «Είναι δική μου ευθύνη να διαβάζω» the speaker is talking about studying as an ongoing duty, not about doing it once. So the present (imperfective) form διαβάζω is the natural choice.

If you said:

«Είναι δική μου ευθύνη να διαβάσω αυτό το βιβλίο σήμερα.»
you’d be talking about one specific act of studying/reading (finishing that book).

Does «διαβάζω» mean “to read” or “to study” here?

«διαβάζω» can mean both:

to read (literally):
- Διαβάζω ένα βιβλίο. – I’m reading a book.
to study / do homework / prepare for school:
- Πρέπει να διαβάσω για το διαγώνισμα. – I have to study for the test.

In the sentence «Είναι δική μου ευθύνη να διαβάζω…», in a school or learning context, it is naturally understood as “to study / do my work” rather than just “to read words on a page.” Context tells you which meaning is intended.

What is the role of «να» in «να διαβάζω»? Is it like English “to”?

Greek doesn’t have an infinitive form like English “to read / to study.”
Instead, it uses να + verb for many of those functions.

Here, «να διαβάζω» is a subordinate clause functioning like an infinitive:

Είναι δική μου ευθύνη να διαβάζω.
≈ It is my responsibility *to study.*

να marks a kind of subjunctive / non‑finite verb form. You generally cannot omit it; you can’t say ✗ «Είναι δική μου ευθύνη διαβάζω».

Why do we say «κανείς άλλος δεν μπορεί…» and not just «άλλος δεν μπορεί…»?

κανείς is an indefinite/negative pronoun meaning “no one / nobody” in negative sentences.

κανείς δεν μπορεί… – nobody can…
κανείς άλλος δεν μπορεί… – nobody else can…

Using just «άλλος δεν μπορεί…» would be ungrammatical or at best very odd in standard Greek; you need κανείς (or κανένας) to express “no one.”

Also note the double negative pattern in Greek:

κανείς
- δεν = nobody… not…
  → translates as a single negative in English:
  - Κανείς δεν μπορεί… = Nobody can…

What’s the difference between «κανείς» and «κανένας»? Could I say «Κανένας άλλος δεν μπορεί…»?

Yes, you can also say:

«Κανένας άλλος δεν μπορεί να το κάνει…»

Both κανείς and κανένας are used for “no one/nobody” in negative sentences:

κανείς άλλος δεν μπορεί…
κανένας άλλος δεν μπορεί…

Differences:

κανείς
- slightly more neutral / standard, especially in writing
κανένας
- very common in speech, can sound a bit more colloquial in some contexts

In everyday conversation you will hear both. In this sentence, either choice is fine.

What does «το» refer to in «δεν μπορεί να το κάνει», and is it necessary?

In «δεν μπορεί να το κάνει», the «το» is a clitic object pronoun meaning “it.”
It refers back to the whole idea of “studying / doing the studying” mentioned before.

κανείς άλλος δεν μπορεί να το κάνει
= no one else can do *it.*

In Greek, when the object is understood from context, you still normally include the object pronoun in this kind of sentence.
If you simply said «κανείς άλλος δεν μπορεί να κάνει», it would sound incomplete, as if something’s missing: no one else can do… [what?]

So yes, «το» is both meaningful and expected here.

What’s the difference between «για εμένα» and «για μένα»? Which should I use?

Both mean “for me”:

για μένα – more common, slightly more informal / neutral; very frequent in speech.
για εμένα – a bit more emphatic / careful; you may see it more in writing or when you want to stress me in contrast to others.

In this sentence:

«…δεν μπορεί να το κάνει για εμένα.»
«…δεν μπορεί να το κάνει για μένα.»

Both are correct. για μένα would probably be the most natural in everyday conversation, but για εμένα is not wrong and gives a slightly stronger emphasis on me.

Could we say «…δεν μπορεί να το κάνει αντί για εμένα» instead of «για εμένα»?

You can say it, but the meaning changes slightly:

για εμένα / για μένα
= for me, on my behalf (doing the task so that I benefit)
αντί για εμένα / αντί για μένα
= instead of me (in my place, as a substitute)

Your original sentence has the idea:

No one else can do the studying *for me / on my behalf.*

If you say:

«κανείς άλλος δεν μπορεί να το κάνει αντί για εμένα»

you emphasize substitution:
No one else can do it *in my place, as my replacement.*

Both are close, but «για εμένα» is the more neutral, natural choice for the idea “others can’t take over my personal responsibility.”