Learn Hardcore Greek: Βλέπω ότι η προσπάθειά σου στα ελληνικά γίνεται όλο και μεγαλύτερη κάθε μήνα, και αυτό μου δίνει χαρά. - I see that your effort in Greek is getting bigger every month, and that gives me joy.

When you attach a short unstressed pronoun like μου, σου, του after it, Greek treats the whole thing (προσπάθεια σου) as one phonological word. Greek has a rule that the stress must fall within the last three syllables of this whole unit.

προσπάθεια has 4 syllables: προ–σπά–θει–α
Adding σου gives 5: προ–σπά–θει–α–σου

If the stress stayed on σπά, it would now be on the 4th syllable from the end, which is not allowed. So the stress shifts towards the end. In this word it ends up on the last syllable of προσπάθεια, written as προσπάθειά σου.

This kind of stress shift is normal when a word stressed early (like προσπάθεια) is followed by an enclitic pronoun (μου, σου, του etc.).

What exactly is σου in η προσπάθειά σου? Is it like the English word your?

σου here is an unstressed (clitic) pronoun in the genitive case. It’s roughly equivalent to your, but grammatically it’s closer to of you.

η προσπάθειά σου
literally: the effort of you → your effort

Greek doesn’t have separate possessive adjectives like my / your / his. Instead, it uses genitive pronouns:

μου – my
σου – your
του / της / του – his, her, its
μας – our
σας – your (plural / polite)
τους – their

They usually go after the noun: το βιβλίο σου (your book), η ιδέα μου (my idea).

What does στα ελληνικά literally mean, and why do we use στα?

στα ελληνικά literally means in Greek (in the Greek language).

σε = in / at / to
τα = the (neuter plural definite article)
σε + τα → στα (a standard contraction)

So:

στα ελληνικά = in the Greek (language) → in Greek

Greek often talks about languages with a neuter plural adjective and the definite article:

στα ελληνικά – in Greek
στα αγγλικά – in English
στα γαλλικά – in French

You almost always use this στα + [language] structure when you mean “in [language]”.

Why is ελληνικά written in lower case here and not Ελληνικά with a capital letter?

In modern Greek, language names used in this στα ελληνικά structure are normally written in lowercase, because they behave like adjectives turned into nouns:

ελληνικός (Greek, adjective) → ελληνικά (Greek, as a language)
αγγλικός → αγγλικά
γαλλικός → γαλλικά

You would usually capitalize Έλληνας / Ελληνίδα / Ελληνικός when they are proper adjectives or demonyms (Greek person, Greek state, Greek army), but for the language phrase στα ελληνικά the standard is lowercase.

Why is it γίνεται and not είναι in η προσπάθειά σου στα ελληνικά γίνεται όλο και μεγαλύτερη?

είναι = is (describes a state)
γίνεται (from γίνομαι) = becomes / is getting / is becoming

In the sentence, the idea is that your effort in Greek is changing over time, it is increasing. So Greek prefers γίνεται to show development:

η προσπάθειά σου … γίνεται όλο και μεγαλύτερη
= your effort … is becoming greater and greater

If you said:

η προσπάθειά σου … είναι μεγάλη
= your effort … is big

that would just describe a static fact, without the idea of gradual growth.

What does the phrase όλο και μεγαλύτερη mean exactly?

όλο και μεγαλύτερη is a fixed pattern that means more and more bigger, or more idiomatically: greater and greater / bigger and bigger.

μεγάλη = big, great (feminine)
μεγαλύτερη = bigger, greater (comparative, feminine)
όλο και before a comparative → more and more [adjective]

Examples:

όλο και καλύτερα – better and better
όλο και πιο δύσκολο – more and more difficult
όλο και γρηγορότερα – faster and faster

So γίνεται όλο και μεγαλύτερη = it is becoming greater and greater.

Why is it μεγαλύτερη (feminine) and not μεγαλύτερο or μεγαλύτερος?

Adjectives in Greek must agree with the noun in:

gender (masculine / feminine / neuter)
number (singular / plural)
case

The noun here is η προσπάθεια, which is:

feminine
singular
nominative

So the adjective must match:

μεγαλύτερη – feminine, singular, nominative

If the noun were neuter, e.g. το ενδιαφέρον (the interest), you would say:

το ενδιαφέρον σου γίνεται όλο και μεγαλύτερο

For a masculine noun like ο κόπος (the effort, toil):

ο κόπος σου γίνεται όλο και μεγαλύτερος

Why is it κάθε μήνα and not κάθε μήνες?

With κάθε (each / every), Greek normally uses the singular:

κάθε μήνα – every month
κάθε μέρα – every day
κάθε χρόνο – every year

So κάθε μήνα literally means each month, not every months.

If you want a plural idea with a number, you drop κάθε and use the plural:

κάθε δύο μήνες – every two months
κάθε τρεις μέρες – every three days

But κάθε + simple noun = noun in the singular.

In και αυτό μου δίνει χαρά, why is the pronoun μου placed before δίνει?

Unstressed object pronouns in Greek (like μου, σου, του, μας, σας, τους) normally come before the verb in ordinary affirmative sentences:

μου δίνει χαρά – it gives me joy
σου λέω – I’m telling you
τους βλέπω – I see them

They come after the verb mainly in:

positive imperatives: δώσε μου (give me)
some fixed expressions and certain constructions

So και αυτό μου δίνει χαρά is the standard word order.
και αυτό δίνει μου χαρά sounds incorrect or at least very unnatural in modern standard Greek.

Why is there no article in μου δίνει χαρά? Why not μου δίνει τη χαρά?

Greek can omit the article when speaking about an abstract feeling in general, not a specific, identified instance of it.

μου δίνει χαρά
= it gives me joy / it makes me happy (general feeling)

If you say:

μου δίνει τη χαρά
it sounds like a very specific, almost technical or ceremonious “joy” that both speaker and listener already know about. It’s possible in certain contexts, but not the natural choice here.

So:

χαρά without article = joy as a general emotion
with article (η χαρά / τη χαρά) = a specific joy, “that joy”

What is the difference between ότι and πως in sentences like Βλέπω ότι η προσπάθειά σου…?

Both ότι and πως can introduce a that-clause in modern Greek, similar to English that:

Βλέπω ότι η προσπάθειά σου…
Βλέπω πως η προσπάθειά σου…

In this use, they are usually interchangeable in everyday speech.

Some nuances:

ότι is considered slightly more neutral/standard in writing.
πως often sounds a bit more colloquial or conversational in this function.

Be careful not to confuse:

ότι (conjunction = that)
with
ό,τι (with a comma; pronoun = whatever / anything that)

In your sentence, ότι is the conjunction: I see that your effort…

Could the word order be different, like Βλέπω η προσπάθειά σου στα ελληνικά γίνεται… without ότι?

No, that would be ungrammatical in standard Greek.
After verbs like βλέπω, νομίζω, ξέρω, πιστεύω etc., when you introduce a full clause, you normally need ότι or πως:

Βλέπω ότι η προσπάθειά σου… – I see that your effort…
Ξέρω πως προσπαθείς. – I know that you are trying.

You cannot normally drop ότι/πως the way English often drops that:

English: I think you’re right.
Greek: Νομίζω ότι έχεις δίκιο. (not Νομίζω έχεις δίκιο in standard Greek)

So in your sentence, ότι is required.

Why is there a comma before και αυτό in …κάθε μήνα, και αυτό μου δίνει χαρά?

Here the comma marks a slight pause and separates two related but distinct ideas:

Βλέπω ότι η προσπάθειά σου στα ελληνικά γίνεται όλο και μεγαλύτερη κάθε μήνα
και αυτό μου δίνει χαρά

You could also write it without the comma:

…κάθε μήνα και αυτό μου δίνει χαρά.

Both are acceptable. With the comma, the speaker slightly emphasizes the second part, “and THIS gives me joy,” as an almost separate comment on what was just said.

So the comma here is more about style and rhythm, not a strict grammatical requirement.