Breakdown of Ο ξάδερφός μου κάνει δίαιτα και αποφεύγει τα γλυκά, τη σοκολάτα και τα αλμυρά σνακ.
Questions & Answers about Ο ξάδερφός μου κάνει δίαιτα και αποφεύγει τα γλυκά, τη σοκολάτα και τα αλμυρά σνακ.
In Greek, possessives like μου almost always go together with the definite article:
- Ο ξάδερφός μου = literally “the cousin my” → my (male) cousin
- Η αδερφή μου = “the sister my” → my sister
- Το σπίτι μου = “the house my” → my house
So you normally keep the article: ο/η/το + noun + μου.
Dropping the article (ξάδερφός μου without ο) is possible only in some very specific, fixed expressions; here it would sound wrong or at least very odd.
The basic word is ξάδερφος (stress on the first syllable).
When you add the enclitic μου, Greek stress rules change the position of the accent:
- Without μου: ο ξάδερφος (accent on ξά)
- With μου: ο ξάδερφός μου (accent shifts to -φός)
This happens because words stressed on the third syllable from the end (like ξάδερφος) are not allowed to keep that stress when an enclitic is added; the stress must move closer to the end.
So ο ξάδερφός μου is the correct written form; ο ξάδερφος μου is incorrect.
They are the same word, meaning male cousin.
- ξάδερφος is the more colloquial, very common everyday spelling and pronunciation.
- ξάδελφος is a bit more formal / standard, and is what you’ll usually see in dictionaries and in more formal writing.
In speech, most people say ξάδερφος. Both forms are acceptable.
μου means “my” / “of me”, and it has a few important properties:
- It comes after the noun: ο ξάδερφός μου, η μητέρα μου, το παιδί μου.
- It doesn’t change for gender or number: it’s always μου, whether the noun is masculine, feminine, neuter, singular, or plural.
- It’s unstressed (an enclitic), so it normally does not carry its own accent; instead, it affects the accent of the preceding word (as in ξάδερφός).
So you don’t say “η ξάδερφή μου” with some different form of μου; it stays μου in all cases.
Greek is a “pro-drop” language: subject pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.) are often omitted because the verb ending already shows the subject.
- κάνει = “he/she/it does / is doing”
- From context (Ο ξάδερφός μου … κάνει), we know the subject is he (my male cousin).
So you normally do not say Αυτός ο ξάδερφός μου κάνει δίαιτα in neutral style; you just say Ο ξάδερφός μου κάνει δίαιτα.
You would include αυτός only for emphasis or contrast (e.g. “this cousin of mine, he is on a diet”).
In Greek there isn’t a simple everyday verb that directly corresponds to English “to diet.”
Instead, the common expression is:
- κάνω δίαιτα = literally “I do diet” → “I’m on a diet / I’m dieting”.
- κάνει δίαιτα = “he/she is on a diet”.
This structure κάνω + noun is very typical in Greek:
- κάνω μπάνιο = I have a bath / I take a swim
- κάνω γυμναστική = I exercise
You can find verbs like διαιτώμαι in very formal or medical contexts, but in everyday speech people say κάνω δίαιτα.
Here δίαιτα is used in a general, activity-like sense: “to be on a diet (in general).”
In Greek, when you talk about regular activities or states with κάνω + noun, you often omit the article:
- κάνει δίαιτα = he is on a diet
- κάνει γυμναστική = he works out / exercises
- κάνει μπάνιο = he is taking a bath / swimming
If you say κάνει τη δίαιτα, you usually mean a specific diet that has already been defined in the context (e.g. “He is following that diet we talked about”).
αποφεύγει comes from the verb αποφεύγω (“to avoid”).
- It is present tense, 3rd person singular: “he/she/it avoids / is avoiding”.
- In this sentence: (Ο ξάδερφός μου) … αποφεύγει τα γλυκά… = “(My cousin) avoids sweets…”
Compared with something like δεν τρώει (“doesn’t eat”), αποφεύγει suggests a conscious effort, an intention to stay away from those foods.
Ο ξάδερφός μου is the subject of the sentence and is in the nominative case (who is doing the action).
The things he avoids (τα γλυκά, τη σοκολάτα, τα αλμυρά σνακ) are direct objects, so they take the accusative case:
- Masculine / nominative subject: ο ξάδερφος
- Neuter plural / accusative objects: τα γλυκά, τα αλμυρά σνακ
- Feminine singular / accusative object: τη σοκολάτα
The articles change form to show this:
- ο (nom. masc. sg.) → subject
- τα (acc. neut. pl.) → objects
- τη(ν) (acc. fem. sg.) → object
The full form of the feminine accusative singular article is την.
In modern Greek, the final -ν is often dropped before many consonants, especially in informal writing:
- Before σ, ζ, ξ, ψ, etc., people often say and write τη instead of την.
- So την σοκολάτα → τη σοκολάτα.
Both are understood, and you will see both in writing.
Many style guides recommend keeping the ν before vowels and certain consonants, and allowing it to drop elsewhere. Here, τη σοκολάτα is perfectly normal modern usage.
γλυκό literally means “sweet” (as a noun: a sweet thing, a dessert).
- το γλυκό (singular) = a dessert / the dessert (one specific item)
- τα γλυκά (plural) = sweets, desserts, candy in general
In this sentence, τα γλυκά is used in a generic, plural sense, covering all kinds of sweet things.
You could say το γλυκό if you were talking about a single dessert (e.g. “He is on a diet and avoids the dessert”), but that is not the meaning here.
In Greek, it is very common and natural to repeat the article with each coordinated noun:
- τα γλυκά, τη σοκολάτα και τα αλμυρά σνακ
This makes the list sound clearer and more balanced.
You can omit some articles (τα γλυκά, σοκολάτα και αλμυρά σνακ), and people will understand you, but it often sounds more casual or slightly less natural, depending on context.
As a learner, it’s safer and more idiomatic to repeat the article before each separate item in a list.
σνακ is a borrowed English word (“snack”). In Greek:
- It is treated as neuter, and
- It is indeclinable (it does not change form for singular/plural or case).
The adjective and article must still agree in gender, number, and case:
- Neuter, plural, accusative: τα αλμυρά σνακ
- τα (neuter plural article)
- αλμυρά (neuter plural form of the adjective “salty / savoury”)
- σνακ (indeclinable noun, looks the same in all forms)
You would not say οι αλμυροί σνακ, because οι / αλμυροί are masculine plural forms, and σνακ is treated as neuter.
Yes, you could say:
- …αποφεύγει γλυκά, σοκολάτα και αλμυρά σνακ.
This is understandable and might appear in very informal speech or headlines, but:
- Without the articles, it sounds more like a bare list of substances.
- With the articles (τα γλυκά, τη σοκολάτα και τα αλμυρά σνακ), it sounds more natural and complete in normal conversation or writing.
For standard, neutral Greek, keeping the articles is the better choice.