Learn Hardcore Greek: Η καθημερινή ανάγνωση ελληνικών βοηθάει πολύ τη μνήμη μου. - Daily reading of Greek helps my memory a lot.

In Greek, ανάγνωση is a noun meaning reading. When a noun like ανάγνωση takes another noun that tells us what we’re reading, Greek often uses the genitive case:

η ανάγνωση ελληνικών (κειμένων) = the reading of Greek (texts)
η μελέτη ελληνικών = the study of Greek
η εκμάθηση ελληνικών = the learning of Greek

So ελληνικών is genitive plural (“of Greek [things]”), even though in English we just say “reading Greek”.

If you wanted to avoid the genitive construction and sound more like English, you could say:

Το να διαβάζω ελληνικά βοηθάει πολύ τη μνήμη μου.
Το διάβασμα ελληνικών βοηθάει πολύ τη μνήμη μου. (still genitive, but with διάβασμα)

Both patterns are natural in Greek; in this sentence, ανάγνωση ελληνικών is simply “the reading of Greek [texts]”.

What is the difference between ανάγνωση and διάβασμα?

Both relate to “reading”, but there is a nuance:

ανάγνωση
- More formal, somewhat bookish.
- Common in written language, academic or official contexts.
- Literally “reading” as a noun of action (similar to “perusal”, “reading session”).
διάβασμα
- More everyday and common in spoken Greek.
- Can mean reading or studying (e.g. school homework).
- Sounds more casual and natural in conversation.

Your sentence with διάβασμα:

Το καθημερινό διάβασμα ελληνικών βοηθάει πολύ τη μνήμη μου.

Meaning stays the same, but the style is a bit more informal and “spoken”.

Why is it Η καθημερινή ανάγνωση and not Ο καθημερινός ανάγνωση?

Because ανάγνωση is a feminine noun, and in Greek the article and adjective must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

η ανάγνωση – feminine, singular, nominative
Therefore:
- Article: η (feminine singular nominative)
- Adjective: καθημερινή (feminine singular nominative)

So we get:

Η καθημερινή ανάγνωση = the daily reading

If the noun were masculine, you would see ο καθημερινός … instead, e.g.:

ο καθημερινός ύπνος (masc.) = daily sleep
η καθημερινή ανάγνωση (fem.) = daily reading

Why is the verb βοηθάει and not βοηθά? Are both correct?

Yes, both βοηθάει and βοηθά are correct present tense 3rd person singular forms of βοηθάω (“to help”).

βοηθάει – slightly more “full” and explicit form
βοηθά – slightly shorter, very common in speech and writing

You can say:

Η καθημερινή ανάγνωση ελληνικών βοηθάει πολύ τη μνήμη μου.
Η καθημερινή ανάγνωση ελληνικών βοηθά πολύ τη μνήμη μου.

They are interchangeable in meaning; this is more a matter of style and rhythm than grammar.

What exactly is πολύ doing here, and where can it go in the sentence?

In this sentence, πολύ is an adverb meaning a lot / very much. It modifies the verb βοηθάει:

βοηθάει πολύ = helps a lot / helps very much

Most natural position here is directly after the verb:

… βοηθάει πολύ τη μνήμη μου.

Other possibilities:

… πολύ βοηθάει τη μνήμη μου. – possible, but has a bit of emphasis/contrast: “it really helps my memory.”
… βοηθάει τη μνήμη μου πολύ. – also possible; sounds a bit marked or emphatic in many contexts.

The most neutral, standard word order is the one in your original sentence: βοηθάει πολύ τη μνήμη μου.

Why is it τη μνήμη μου (with article and accusative) and not just μνήμη μου?

Greek uses the definite article much more often than English, especially with body parts, abstract nouns, and things that are clearly “mine/ours/his etc.”.

η μνήμη – the memory (nominative)
τη μνήμη – the memory (accusative, as the object)

In your sentence:

βοηθάει (τι;) τη μνήμη μου. – “it helps (what?) my memory.”

Leaving out the article:

βοηθάει μνήμη μου – sounds wrong/unnatural.

The normal pattern with a possessed noun is:

τη μνήμη μου
το σπίτι σου
τον αδελφό του

So the article is required for natural Greek here.

Why is μου placed after μνήμη and not before it, like “my memory” in English?

In Greek, the unstressed possessive pronouns (μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους) normally come after the noun (and after the article):

η μνήμη μου = my memory
το βιβλίο σου = your book
το σπίτι μας = our house

So the natural order is:

article + noun + possessive

In your sentence:

τη μνήμη μου
- τη – article, accusative feminine
- μνήμη – noun
- μου – possessive pronoun

Putting μου before (e.g. μου η μνήμη) would either sound ungrammatical or belong to a very marked, poetic kind of structure, not normal everyday speech.

Could I say κάθε μέρα instead of καθημερινή? What is the difference?

Yes, you can, but the structure changes slightly:

Original (with adjective + noun):

Η καθημερινή ανάγνωση ελληνικών βοηθάει πολύ τη μνήμη μου.
= The daily reading of Greek helps my memory a lot.

With κάθε μέρα (“every day”), you usually use a verb phrase, not the noun ανάγνωση:

Το να διαβάζω ελληνικά κάθε μέρα βοηθάει πολύ τη μνήμη μου.
Το καθημερινό διάβασμα ελληνικών βοηθάει πολύ τη μνήμη μου. (still adjectival καθημερινό)

Differences:

καθημερινή ανάγνωση – compact, sounds a bit more formal/written.
διαβάζω … κάθε μέρα – more direct and conversational: “I read … every day”.

Both are correct; choice depends on whether you want a more nominal/abstract style (η καθημερινή ανάγνωση) or a more verbal/personal style (διαβάζω κάθε μέρα).

Why is the verb in the present tense βοηθάει when the idea is more like a general fact (“helps”)?

In Greek, the present tense covers both:

actions happening now, and
habitual or general truths, like English present simple.

So βοηθάει here expresses a general truth / repeated effect:

Η καθημερινή ανάγνωση ελληνικών βοηθάει πολύ τη μνήμη μου.
= Daily reading of Greek helps my memory a lot (in general, as a rule).

This is exactly how English uses the present simple (“helps”), so the Greek present is the natural choice.

What is the subject of the sentence? Is it η μνήμη μου or η καθημερινή ανάγνωση ελληνικών?

The subject is Η καθημερινή ανάγνωση ελληνικών.

Breakdown:

Η καθημερινή ανάγνωση ελληνικών – subject (what is doing the helping?)
βοηθάει – verb (3rd person singular)
πολύ – adverb, modifying the verb
τη μνήμη μου – direct object (what is being helped?)

So the structure is:

[Daily reading of Greek] helps [my memory] a lot.

This is why the verb is 3rd person singular: it agrees with η ανάγνωση (singular).

Could I leave out μου and just say τη μνήμη? Would the meaning change?

Grammatically, you can say:

Η καθημερινή ανάγνωση ελληνικών βοηθάει πολύ τη μνήμη.

But the meaning shifts slightly:

τη μνήμη μου – specifically my memory.
τη μνήμη – “the memory” in a general sense (people’s memory, memory as a function).

In most personal contexts, a Greek speaker would normally keep μου to make it clearly personal:

βοηθάει πολύ τη μνήμη μου = it really helps my memory.