Learn Hardcore Greek: Ο ψυχολόγος που βλέπει η ξαδέρφη μου εξηγεί πώς η ψυχολογία επηρεάζει τη συμπεριφορά μας. - The psychologist my cousin is seeing explains how psychology affects our behavior.

η ξαδέρφη μου = my cousin (subject of the verb βλέπει)
βλέπει = sees
The thing/person she sees is the ψυχολόγος (the psychologist), which is the antecedent of που.

So, in the relative clause (που) βλέπει η ξαδέρφη μου:

Subject = η ξαδέρφη μου
Verb = βλέπει
Object = (τον) ψυχολόγο (understood from context, not repeated)

Greek word order is flexible, so βλέπει η ξαδέρφη μου (V–S) is fine and quite natural.

Why is it Ο ψυχολόγος and not Τον ψυχολόγο if he’s the one being seen? Shouldn’t he be in the accusative?

Ο ψυχολόγος is the subject of the main clause:

Ο ψυχολόγος … εξηγεί …
The psychologist explains …

He is only the object inside the relative clause που βλέπει η ξαδέρφη μου, but the case in a relative clause is determined by that clause’s grammar, not by the main clause.

So we have:

Main clause: Ο ψυχολόγος … εξηγεί … → ο ψυχολόγος = nominative subject.
Relative clause: (τον) βλέπει η ξαδέρφη μου → τον (ψυχολόγο) = accusative object inside the clause, but that τον ψυχολόγο is not repeated because it’s the antecedent of που.

If the psychologist were the direct object of the main verb, you would see Τον ψυχολόγο… instead.

Why do we use που in ο ψυχολόγος που βλέπει η ξαδέρφη μου instead of something like τον οποίο?

που is the default, everyday relative pronoun in Modern Greek. It roughly corresponds to English who / that / which in most relative clauses.

Ο ψυχολόγος που βλέπει η ξαδέρφη μου = The psychologist (that) my cousin sees.

You can say:

Ο ψυχολόγος τον οποίο βλέπει η ξαδέρφη μου

This is more formal/literary. In spoken and informal written Greek, που is far more common and perfectly correct.

In English we say “is seeing a psychologist” for treatment. Does βλέπει here just mean literally “sees”? Or is it also used like “to see a therapist” in English?

βλέπω literally means “to see”, but in this context βλέπει ψυχολόγο is idiomatic Greek for:

“(she) is seeing a psychologist (professionally/as a patient)”

So:

Η ξαδέρφη μου βλέπει ψυχολόγο.
= My cousin is seeing a psychologist (in therapy).

This is a natural way to say it in Greek and not just physical seeing. Context makes the professional/treatment sense clear.

Why is it η ξαδέρφη μου and not μου η ξαδέρφη or η μου ξαδέρφη for “my cousin”? Where does μου go?

In Greek, possessive pronouns normally follow the noun:

η ξαδέρφη μου = my cousin
το βιβλίο σου = your book
οι φίλοι μας = our friends

The usual order is:

article + noun + possessive pronoun

You can say η ξαδέρφη μου in almost all contexts; forms like μου η ξαδέρφη sound marked, poetic, or have special emphasis and are rarely used in everyday speech.

Why is it Ο ψυχολόγος with the masculine article? What if the psychologist is a woman?

The noun ψυχολόγος is one of those “common-gender” nouns: its form doesn’t change between masculine and feminine. Only the article and agreement show the gender:

ο ψυχολόγος = the male psychologist
η ψυχολόγος = the female psychologist

In your sentence:

Ο ψυχολόγος implies we are talking about a man (or using the generic masculine).

If you specifically meant a woman, you’d typically say:

Η ψυχολόγος που βλέπει η ξαδέρφη μου εξηγεί…

Why is there no subject pronoun like αυτός before εξηγεί? In English we’d say “he explains”.

Greek is a pro‑drop language: subject pronouns are usually omitted when the verb ending already shows the person and number.

εξηγεί = he/she/it explains (3rd person singular)
Since the subject ο ψυχολόγος is right before the verb, you don’t need an extra αυτός.

You would only add αυτός / αυτή for emphasis or contrast:

Ο ψυχολόγος, αυτός εξηγεί… = The psychologist, he is the one who explains… (very emphatic)

Why do we say η ψυχολογία with the article? In English we usually say just “psychology affects behavior”, without “the”.

Greek uses the definite article much more often than English, even with abstract nouns.

η ψυχολογία = literally the psychology, but often translated just as psychology.

In this sentence:

…εξηγεί πώς η ψυχολογία επηρεάζει τη συμπεριφορά μας.
= …explains how psychology affects our behavior.

Leaving the article out (ψυχολογία επηρεάζει…) is technically possible but sounds incomplete or unusual. The article with abstract nouns is very standard in Greek.

What’s the difference between πώς and πως? Why is there an accent here?

πώς and πως are two different words:

πώς (with accent) = how
- Used in questions and indirect questions.
- Example: Μου εξηγεί πώς λειτουργεί αυτό. = He explains to me how this works.
πως (without accent) = roughly that (a conjunction, like ότι)
- Example: Ξέρω πως έχεις δίκιο. = I know that you are right.

In your sentence:

…εξηγεί πώς η ψυχολογία επηρεάζει τη συμπεριφορά μας.

We are explaining how psychology affects our behavior, so we must use πώς with an accent.

Why is it τη συμπεριφορά and not την συμπεριφορά? When is the final -ν dropped?

The full, underlying form is την. In everyday spelling and speech, the final -ν is often dropped before certain consonants.

Common rule (in practice): την → τη and τον → το are usually written without ν before most consonants, and especially before:

π, τ, κ, φ, θ, χ, σ, ξ, ψ

In συμπεριφορά, the next sound is σ, so we write and say:

τη συμπεριφορά (not την συμπεριφορά)

You’ll also see people write την συμπεριφορά; that’s not “wrong”, but τη συμπεριφορά follows the modern orthographic convention.

Why is it τη συμπεριφορά μας and not just συμπεριφορά μας? Could we leave out the article?

In Greek, definite nouns almost always take an article, even with possessive pronouns:

τη συμπεριφορά μας = our behavior
- article τη (fem. acc. sg.)
- noun συμπεριφορά
- possessive μας (our)

Leaving out the article (συμπεριφορά μας) is possible only in very specific, stylistic or telegraphic contexts (headlines, labels, some poetic uses). In ordinary sentences, you normally say:

η/τη συμπεριφορά μας, το σπίτι μου, η δουλειά σου, etc.

Could we also say Ο ψυχολόγος που η ξαδέρφη μου βλέπει εξηγεί…? Is that wrong?

It’s not grammatically wrong, but it sounds less natural. Greek allows flexible word order, but there are preferences.

Inside the relative clause:

που βλέπει η ξαδέρφη μου (V–S) is quite common and fluent.
που η ξαδέρφη μου βλέπει (S–V) is also possible, but here it feels a bit heavier and more marked.

Native speakers would typically choose:

Ο ψυχολόγος που βλέπει η ξαδέρφη μου…

or, with clitic doubling for extra clarity/emphasis:

Ο ψυχολόγος που τον βλέπει η ξαδέρφη μου…

Your version isn’t ungrammatical, but it’s not the most idiomatic choice.

Why is the object (the psychologist) not repeated with a pronoun in the relative clause? Could we say που τον βλέπει η ξαδέρφη μου?

Both options exist:

without clitic pronoun:
- Ο ψυχολόγος που βλέπει η ξαδέρφη μου…
  → perfectly correct and quite normal.
with clitic pronoun (clitic doubling):
- Ο ψυχολόγος που τον βλέπει η ξαδέρφη μου…
  → also correct; used for emphasis, clarity, or in some regional styles.

In standard, neutral Greek, dropping the pronoun (as in your sentence) is very common in relative clauses where the antecedent (here ο ψυχολόγος) is clear.

All three verbs are in the present tense: βλέπει, εξηγεί, επηρεάζει. Does this correspond to English “is seeing / explains / affects” or to “sees / explains / affects”? How should I think about the present in Greek here?

Greek present tense often covers both the English simple present and present progressive/continuous. Context decides the best English translation.

In your sentence:

βλέπει → is seeing / sees (regularly)
εξηγεί → explains / is explaining
επηρεάζει → affects / is affecting

A natural English translation would be something like:

The psychologist my cousin is seeing explains how psychology affects our behavior.

But grammatically, the Greek present here is just present indicative, with no separate form for continuous vs simple aspect as in English. Context gives the nuance of “currently in therapy / generally explains / generally affects”.