Breakdown of Η ανιψιά μου παίζει στην παιδική χαρά, εκτός αν είναι άρρωστη ή πρέπει να διαβάσει.
Questions & Answers about Η ανιψιά μου παίζει στην παιδική χαρά, εκτός αν είναι άρρωστη ή πρέπει να διαβάσει.
Η is the feminine singular definite article in the nominative case; it means the.
- η ανιψιά = the niece
- With a possessive like μου, Greek normally still uses the article:
- η ανιψιά μου = my niece (literally the niece my)
With family members, Greek usually keeps the article:
- η μητέρα μου (my mother)
- ο αδερφός μου (my brother)
So η is both grammatically required and completely natural here.
In Greek, unstressed possessive pronouns (my, your, his, etc.) go after the noun and act like clitics:
- η ανιψιά μου = my niece
- ο φίλος σου = your friend
- το σπίτι μας = our house
So the pattern is:
article + noun + possessive pronoun
If you want to emphasize my, you use a different form:
- η δική μου ανιψιά = my niece (as opposed to someone else’s)
But the neutral, everyday way is η ανιψιά μου.
Yes, ανιψιά is feminine and means niece.
- η ανιψιά μου = my niece
For nephew, you use the masculine form ανιψιός:
- ο ανιψιός μου = my nephew
Plurals:
- οι ανιψιές μου = my nieces
- οι ανιψιοί μου = my nephews / my nieces and nephews
Παίζει is:
- Present tense
- Active voice
- 3rd person singular (he/she/it plays)
The dictionary form (1st person singular) is:
- παίζω = I play
So:
- παίζω = I play
- παίζεις = you (sg) play
- παίζει = he/she/it plays
In the sentence, παίζει refers to η ανιψιά μου (my niece).
Στην is a contraction of:
- σε (in, at, to)
- την (the, feminine accusative singular)
So:
- σε + την = στην
Examples:
- στην παιδική χαρά = at the playground
- στην πόλη = in the city
Similar contractions:
- σε + το = στο (στο πάρκο = in/at the park)
- σε + τον = στον (στον δρόμο = in/on the street)
Literally:
- παιδική = children’s / child-related (feminine form of παιδικός)
- χαρά = joy
So παιδική χαρά literally means children’s joy, but idiomatically it means playground.
In modern Greek, παιδική χαρά almost always refers to a children’s playground (usually an outdoor public one with swings, slides, etc.).
Εκτός αν means unless or except if.
- Παίζει στην παιδική χαρά, εκτός αν είναι άρρωστη.
= She plays at the playground, unless she is sick.
Differences:
- εκτός αν = unless / except if
- introduces an exception condition
- μόνο αν = only if
- introduces a strict condition (she plays only if X is true)
- εκτός από = except for / apart from
- used with nouns, not with a whole condition
- εκτός από την Παρασκευή = except for Friday
So here εκτός αν is the correct choice, because you are giving a condition under which the main statement is not true.
Εκτός αν is built with αν, which takes a normal finite verb (indicative), not να with the subjunctive.
So you say:
- εκτός αν είναι άρρωστη = unless she is sick
- εκτός αν βρέχει = unless it is raining
You would use να if the particle να itself is present:
- ελπίζω να είναι καλά = I hope (her) to be well
In this sentence, εκτός αν introduces an ordinary condition, so είναι (indicative) is correct.
Greek is a pro‑drop language: subject pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.) are usually omitted when the verb form already shows the person and number.
- είναι can mean he is / she is / it is / they are (depending on context)
- πρέπει να διαβάσει can mean he/she must study
We understand that she is the subject because:
- The subject η ανιψιά μου has already been mentioned.
- The most natural reading is that the same person is sick or must study.
You can say εκτός αν αυτή είναι άρρωστη, but that sounds very emphatic or contrastive (as in unless she is the one who is sick), not neutral.
The adjective for sick/ill agrees with the noun in gender, number, and case.
Forms (singular, nominative):
- Masculine: άρρωστος (for ο ανιψιός – the nephew)
- Feminine: άρρωστη (for η ανιψιά – the niece)
- Neuter: άρρωστο (for το παιδί – the child)
Since the subject is η ανιψιά (feminine), you must use the feminine form:
- η ανιψιά μου είναι άρρωστη = my niece is sick
Both are grammatically possible, but they express different aspects:
πρέπει να διαβάσει (aorist subjunctive)
- Focus on the whole action as a unit: she has to do her studying / get it done.
- Typical when talking about a task or obligation to be completed.
πρέπει να διαβάζει (present subjunctive)
- Focus on the ongoing/habitual nature of the action: she must be studying (right now) / she must study regularly.
In your sentence, we are talking about a specific obligation that stops her from going to the playground, so πρέπει να διαβάσει (get her studying done) is the natural choice.
The verb διαβάζω can mean both:
- to read (a book, a newspaper, etc.)
- to study (for school, exams, homework)
Context decides:
- A child not going to the playground because they πρέπει να διαβάσει strongly suggests has to study / do homework.
If you want to make read explicit, you can add an object:
- πρέπει να διαβάσει το βιβλίο = she has to read the book
- πρέπει να διαβάσει για το σχολείο = she has to study for school
Yes. You can say:
- Εκτός αν είναι άρρωστη ή πρέπει να διαβάσει, η ανιψιά μου παίζει στην παιδική χαρά.
The meaning is the same: Unless she is sick or has to study, my niece plays at the playground.
Starting with the εκτός αν clause can sound a bit more formal or stylistically marked, but it is correct.
In Greek, a comma is normally used before εκτός αν when it introduces a subordinate clause that gives an exception to the main statement:
- Η ανιψιά μου παίζει στην παιδική χαρά, εκτός αν είναι άρρωστη.
If you put the εκτός αν clause first, you do not put a comma after it:
- Εκτός αν είναι άρρωστη, η ανιψιά μου παίζει στην παιδική χαρά.
So, in the original word order, the comma before εκτός αν is standard and correct.