Κάθε άτομο στην τάξη μιλάει λίγο ελληνικά.

Each person in the class speaks a little Greek.

Breakdown of Κάθε άτομο στην τάξη μιλάει λίγο ελληνικά.

• μιλάω: to speak
• ελληνικά: in Greek
• λίγο: a little
• σε: in
• κάθε: each
• η τάξη: the class
• το άτομο: the person

Questions & Answers about Κάθε άτομο στην τάξη μιλάει λίγο ελληνικά.

What does κάθε mean here, and how is it different from όλα τα (“all the”)?

Κάθε means each / every and talks about the members of a group one by one (distributive meaning).

• Κάθε άτομο στην τάξη…
  → “Each / every person in the class…” (we think of them individually)

• Όλα τα άτομα στην τάξη…
  → “All the people in the class…” (we see them more as a group)

In everyday Greek these are often interchangeable in meaning, but:

• κάθε emphasizes individuals one by one
• όλα τα emphasizes the group as a whole

Why is there no article before κάθε άτομο? Why not Το κάθε άτομο?

With κάθε in a general statement, Greek normally omits the article:

• Κάθε άτομο στην τάξη μιλάει…
  = “Every person in the class speaks…”

If you say:

• Το κάθε άτομο στην τάξη μιλάει…

this is also correct but slightly different in feel. Το κάθε άτομο:

• is more emphatic / specific, like “each and every person” or
  “each individual person”
• can sound a bit more stylistic or emotional in some contexts

For a neutral, general statement, κάθε άτομο without an article is the default.

Why is άτομο neuter if it means “person”? Isn’t “person” usually masculine or feminine?

In Greek, many words for “person / individual” can be different genders:

• ο άνθρωπος (masculine) – person, human being
• το άτομο (neuter) – person, individual; also “atom” in physics
• το παιδί (neuter) – child
• το άτομο is grammatically neuter, even when referring to a man or a woman.

So in κάθε άτομο, you use neuter forms with it (e.g. το άτομο, ένα άτομο, μικρό άτομο etc.) purely because of grammar, not because the person has no gender in real life. Greek grammatical gender often doesn’t match biological sex directly.

What exactly does στην τάξη mean, and why is it written as one word instead of σε την τάξη?

Στην τάξη literally comes from:

• σε = in / at / to
• την τάξη = the class (feminine, accusative singular)

In speech and writing, σε + την usually contract to στην:

• σε την τάξη → στην τάξη

So:

• στην τάξη can mean:
  • “in the class” (the group of students)
  • “in the classroom” (the physical room), depending on context.

Grammatically:

• σε normally takes the accusative case, so η τάξη (nominative)
  becomes την τάξη (accusative) after σε → στην τάξη.

Why is the verb μιλάει and not something else? What is its base form?

The verb comes from:

• μιλάω / μιλώ = “to speak”

In the present tense, 3rd person singular (“he/she/it speaks”), you have:

• μιλάει (more common in writing and learning materials)
• μιλά (shorter form, very common in speech and also correct)

So:

• μιλάει = “he/she/it speaks”
• In this sentence, the subject is κάθε άτομο, so:
  • Κάθε άτομο … μιλάει = “Each person … speaks”

You could also hear:

• Κάθε άτομο στην τάξη μιλά λίγο ελληνικά.
  This with μιλά is completely natural in modern Greek.

What is the role of λίγο here? Why isn’t it λίγα or λίγη?

Λίγο here is used as an adverb, meaning “a little / a bit”:

• μιλάει λίγο ελληνικά = “speaks a little Greek”

As an adverb, λίγο:

• does not change for gender or number
• does not agree with any noun
• just modifies the verb (μιλάει)

When λίγος / λίγη / λίγο is an adjective, it changes:

• λίγος χρόνος = little time (masc.)
• λίγη ζάχαρη = a little sugar (fem.)
• λίγο νερό = a little water (neuter)

But in the sentence you gave, λίγο is not describing a noun; it’s describing how much they speak, so it stays as the invariable adverb form.

Why is ελληνικά in the neuter plural, and why is there no article like τα ελληνικά?

In Greek, language names often appear as adjectives in the neuter plural:

• (τα) ελληνικά = Greek (language)
• (τα) αγγλικά = English (language)
• (τα) γαλλικά = French (language)

1. Why neuter plural?
   Historically, these come from things like “Greek words / Greek things”, which were neuter plural. Over time, the neuter plural form of the adjective came to mean “the language”.

2. Why no article here?
   Both are possible:

   • μιλάει ελληνικά
   • μιλάει τα ελληνικά

   In practice:

   • μιλάει ελληνικά is more common and neutral: “speaks Greek”
   • μιλάει τα ελληνικά can sound slightly more emphatic or specific (e.g. “speaks the Greek language well”), but context decides.

So μιλάει λίγο ελληνικά is the most natural everyday way to say “speaks a little Greek”.

Can I change the word order, like Κάθε άτομο μιλάει λίγο ελληνικά στην τάξη? Does it change the meaning?

You can change the word order; Greek is flexible as long as the structure stays clear.

Some common variants:

• Κάθε άτομο στην τάξη μιλάει λίγο ελληνικά.
  (neutral; focuses on the people in that class)

• Κάθε άτομο μιλάει λίγο ελληνικά στην τάξη.
  (still correct; may sound like “each person speaks a little Greek in class”, slightly more focus on “in class” as the place where they speak)

• Στην τάξη, κάθε άτομο μιλάει λίγο ελληνικά.
  (emphasis on “In the class, …” as a setting)

The basic meaning doesn’t really change, but the focus can shift slightly depending on what comes first. Your original sentence is the most straightforward and typical ordering.

What do the accent marks (´) show in words like κάθε, άτομο, τάξη, μιλάει, ελληνικά?

The accent mark in Greek shows which syllable is stressed when you pronounce the word.

In your sentence:

• κάθε → ΚΆ-θε (stress on the first syllable)
• άτομο → Ά-το-μο
• τάξη → ΤΆ-ξη
• μιλάει → μι-ΛΆ-ει
• ελληνικά → ε-λλη-νι-ΚΆ

Basic modern rule:

• Each word normally has one accent mark
• The stress must fall on one of the last three syllables of the word

The accent is important because:

• It changes pronunciation
• In some cases, it can even differentiate meanings between otherwise identical words.

Is there any difference in meaning between κάθε άτομο στην τάξη and ο καθένας στην τάξη?

They are close, but not identical.

• κάθε άτομο στην τάξη
  = “each person in the class”
  – slightly more neutral and literal.

• ο καθένας στην τάξη
  = “everyone in the class / each and every one in the class”
  – often a bit more colloquial or emphatic, more like “every single one”.

Example:

• Κάθε άτομο στην τάξη μιλάει λίγο ελληνικά.
  (neutral statement)

• Ο καθένας στην τάξη μιλάει λίγο ελληνικά.
  (feels a bit more like “everyone in that class does, without exception”)

Grammatically, ο καθένας behaves like a singular masculine form and the verb still stays in 3rd person singular: ο καθένας μιλάει…

How can I tell that τάξη is feminine, and how does that affect the rest of the sentence?

Τάξη is a noun that is grammatically feminine. You usually learn the gender of each noun with its article:

• η τάξη = the class (nominative, feminine singular)
• της τάξης = of the class (genitive)
• την τάξη = the class (accusative)

In the sentence, σε + την τάξη contracts to στην τάξη, and την is feminine accusative singular. This shows:

• the noun is feminine
• the preposition σε is followed by the accusative

The gender of τάξη mainly affects:

• which article you use (η / της / την)
• how any adjectives would agree:
  
  • η μεγάλη τάξη (the big class)
  • στην καινούρια τάξη (in the new class)

In your sentence there’s no adjective modifying τάξη, but the feminine gender is still visible in στην.