Learn Hardcore Greek: Λαμβάνω πολλά μηνύματα στο κινητό μου κάθε μέρα. - I receive many messages on my mobile phone every day.

Λαμβάνω ends in -ω, which indicates 1st person singular: I receive.
So Λαμβάνω πολλά μηνύματα… already means I receive many messages… without needing εγώ.

You would normally add εγώ only for emphasis, e.g.

Εγώ λαμβάνω πολλά μηνύματα, όχι αυτός. – I receive many messages, not him.

What does λαμβάνω mean exactly, and is it formal?

Λαμβάνω means I receive, I get (in the sense of receive). It’s:

Common in written, more formal Greek (emails, announcements, instructions).
Less common in very casual speech, where people may prefer other verbs.

Some examples:

Λαμβάνω το μήνυμά σας. – I receive your message.
Λάβαμε την αίτησή σας. – We received your application.

In your sentence, Λαμβάνω πολλά μηνύματα στο κινητό μου κάθε μέρα, it sounds quite neutral or slightly formal, not slangy.

Can I say Παίρνω πολλά μηνύματα instead of Λαμβάνω πολλά μηνύματα?

Yes, and Παίρνω πολλά μηνύματα is actually more common in everyday speech.

Λαμβάνω πολλά μηνύματα – sounds a bit more formal / written.
Παίρνω πολλά μηνύματα – very natural in casual conversation.

Both mean roughly: I get/receive many messages.

For text messages specifically, you might also hear:

Δέχομαι πολλά μηνύματα. – I receive many messages (slightly more “receive” than “get” in tone).

Why is there no article before πολλά μηνύματα (no τα)?

In Greek, when you talk about something in a general, indefinite way with a quantifier like πολλά (many), you normally don’t use the definite article.

Πολλά μηνύματα = many messages (in general, not specific ones).
If you said τα πολλά μηνύματα, it would sound like “the many messages”, referring to some particular, already-known group of many messages.

So:

Λαμβάνω πολλά μηνύματα – I receive many messages (general fact).
Λαμβάνω τα πολλά μηνύματα που μου στέλνεις. – I receive the many messages that you send me. (more specific).

What is the grammar of πολλά μηνύματα?

Πολλά μηνύματα is a neuter plural noun phrase in the accusative case, used as the direct object of the verb.

μήνυμα (message) – neuter, singular:
- nominative: το μήνυμα
- accusative: το μήνυμα
μηνύματα – neuter, plural:
- nominative: τα μηνύματα
- accusative: τα μηνύματα

Here πολλά is the neuter plural form of πολύς / πολλή / πολύ (much / many) and must agree with the noun:

πολλά μηνύματα (many messages)
- πολλά – neuter plural
- μηνύματα – neuter plural, accusative

Because it is the direct object of λαμβάνω, it appears in the accusative case.

What exactly does στο mean in στο κινητό μου?

Στο is a contraction of:

σε (in, at, on, to) + το (the, neuter singular)

So:

στο κινητό μου = σε το κινητό μου → στο κινητό μου
Meaning: on my mobile, on my phone.

Other contractions like this:

σε + τον → στον (στον φίλο μου – to my friend)
σε + την → στην (στην πόλη – in the city)

Why does μου come after κινητό instead of before it, like “my mobile”?

In Greek, possessive pronouns (my, your, his…) usually come after the noun and are clitic (unstressed):

το κινητό μου – my mobile (literally: the mobile my)
το σπίτι σου – your house
η μητέρα του – his mother

You don’t say μου κινητό for “my mobile” in standard Greek; the normal order is article + noun + possessive:

το κινητό μου
στο κινητό μου – on my mobile
από το κινητό μου – from my mobile

What does κινητό mean here, and is it always understood as “mobile phone”?

Yes. In modern Greek, (το) κινητό used by itself almost always means mobile phone / cell phone.

Full form: κινητό τηλέφωνο – mobile telephone
Everyday speech: people just say κινητό.

Examples:

Πού είναι το κινητό μου; – Where is my phone?
Μου έστειλε μήνυμα στο κινητό. – He/she sent me a message on my mobile.

If you wanted to say simply “phone” in general, you could say τηλέφωνο or σταθερό for a landline.

Is there any difference between κάθε μέρα and κάθε ημέρα?

They mean the same thing: every day.

κάθε μέρα – the normal, everyday, more colloquial form.
κάθε ημέρα – slightly more formal / written, because ημέρα is more formal than μέρα.

In most spoken contexts, you’ll hear:

κάθε μέρα – every day

Your sentence is perfectly natural as is:
Λαμβάνω πολλά μηνύματα στο κινητό μου κάθε μέρα.

Can I say καθημερινά instead of κάθε μέρα?

Yes, you can. Καθημερινά is an adverb meaning daily / every day.

So, you could say:

Λαμβάνω πολλά μηνύματα στο κινητό μου καθημερινά. – I receive many messages on my mobile daily.

The meaning is almost the same. Differences:

κάθε μέρα – more literal, “every day,” very common.
καθημερινά – slightly more compact, maybe a bit more formal in some contexts.

Can I change the word order, for example: Κάθε μέρα λαμβάνω πολλά μηνύματα στο κινητό μου?

Yes, Greek allows fairly flexible word order. You can say:

Λαμβάνω πολλά μηνύματα στο κινητό μου κάθε μέρα.
Κάθε μέρα λαμβάνω πολλά μηνύματα στο κινητό μου.
Πολλά μηνύματα λαμβάνω στο κινητό μου κάθε μέρα. (emphasizes many messages)

All are grammatically correct. The basic meaning stays the same, but the emphasis can shift slightly:

Starting with Κάθε μέρα highlights the frequency.
Starting with Πολλά μηνύματα highlights the large number of messages.