Learn Hardcore Greek: Όταν γράφαμε διαγώνισμα στο γυμνάσιο, έπρεπε να έχουμε μόνο ένα στυλό και ένα μολύβι πάνω στο θρανίο μας. - When we wrote a test in middle school, we had to have only one pen and one pencil on our desk.

Here, the idea is:
Όταν γράφαμε διαγώνισμα στο γυμνάσιο…
= When we were taking a test in middle school / whenever we took a test in middle school…

So it refers to a general rule or repeated situation from that period of life, not one single, completed event.

If you said Όταν γράψαμε διαγώνισμα, with the aorist, it would suggest one particular exam at one specific time, which doesn’t fit the “whenever we had exams back then” meaning.

What does γράφαμε διαγώνισμα literally mean, and is that how Greeks normally say “take a test”?

Literally:

γράφαμε διαγώνισμα = we were writing a test/exam.

In English you more often say “take a test”, but in Greek the normal expression is:

γράφω διαγώνισμα / έγραψα διαγώνισμα = (lit.) I write/wrote a test
meaning I am taking / I took a written test.

So γράφω + διαγώνισμα is the standard natural way to talk about doing a test at school in Greek. It does not sound odd or overly literal to Greek ears.

Why do we say στο γυμνάσιο with an article, when in English we just say “in middle school” without the?

Στο γυμνάσιο is σε + το γυμνάσιο:

σε = in / at
το γυμνάσιο = the middle school / the junior high

In Greek, when you refer to places like school, office, hospital, church etc., you normally keep the definite article, even when English drops it:

στο σχολείο = at school
στο γραφείο = at the office
στο γυμνάσιο = at (the) middle school

So στο γυμνάσιο is the natural way to say “in (middle) school” in Greek, even though English doesn’t use the.

What exactly is a γυμνάσιο in Greece? Is it like a gym or a gymnasium in English?

Γυμνάσιο in modern Greek is:

the lower secondary school / junior high school
usually ages ~12–15, immediately after primary school.

It has nothing to do with a gym for sports in everyday usage, despite the shared root with gymnasium in older/academic English.

The next stage (upper secondary / high school) is λύκειο:

γυμνάσιο = junior high / lower secondary
λύκειο = high school / upper secondary

Why do we use έπρεπε να έχουμε instead of simply είχαμε or something like έπρεπε να είχαμε?

The verb πρέπει means it is necessary / one must, and its past form έπρεπε means it was necessary / we had to.

In Greek, verbs like πρέπει, μπορώ, θέλω, προσπαθώ etc. are usually followed by να + subjunctive:

πρέπει να έχουμε = we must have
έπρεπε να έχουμε = we had to have / it was necessary that we have

So:

έπρεπε (past of “must”) carries the past time.
να έχουμε is in the subjunctive (mood), which here just expresses the obligatory action (having something), not its time. The time is understood from έπρεπε.

Έπρεπε να είχαμε does exist, but it’s different: it usually expresses regret or an unrealized obligation (“we should have had … but we didn’t”).
Here we are talking about an actual rule that was followed, so έπρεπε να έχουμε is the correct form.

Why is it να έχουμε (present subjunctive) and not something like a past form after έπρεπε?

In Greek, after να, the subjunctive form itself usually does not show tense in the same way English does. The main verb (έπρεπε) gives you the time reference (past), and the subjunctive shows:

aspect (ongoing vs single), and
the fact that the action is dependent / not simply stated as a fact.

So:

έπρεπε να έχουμε = we had to have (habitual/ongoing rule in the past)

If you used the aorist subjunctive, e.g. έπρεπε να έχουμε vs έπρεπε να έχουμε is actually the same form here because έχω has the same stem; a more obvious contrast is with other verbs, but in general:

present subjunctive after έπρεπε → something ongoing or general in that past period
the past-ness itself → carried by έπρεπε

In practice, for “we had to have X” as a past rule, Greek uses exactly έπρεπε να έχουμε.

What does μόνο do here, and can its position in the sentence change?

Μόνο means only.

In the sentence:

… έπρεπε να έχουμε μόνο ένα στυλό και ένα μολύβι…
= we had to have only one pen and one pencil…

Here μόνο limits what you are allowed to have: nothing else on the desk.

Its usual position is immediately before the word or phrase it is limiting:

μόνο ένα στυλό = only one pen
μόνο ένα μολύβι = only one pencil

You could move it slightly, but the most natural and clear version is the one in the sentence. If you said:

έπρεπε να έχουμε ένα μόνο στυλό

this is also correct and means the same: “we had to have just one pen” (emphasis on one). Word order can change nuance, but μόνο will always sit close to what it restricts.

Why is it ένα στυλό and ένα μολύβι, not έναν? What are the genders of these nouns?

In Greek, ένα and έναν are different forms:

ένα = neuter accusative singular (and can also be masculine in casual speech)
έναν = masculine accusative singular (standard form)

In this sentence:

στυλό = neuter noun (indeclinable foreign word, normally το στυλό)
μολύβι = neuter noun (το μολύβι)

Since both nouns are neuter, you must use ένα:

ένα στυλό = one/a pen
ένα μολύβι = one/a pencil

Using έναν would be wrong here because that is the masculine form, and these nouns are not masculine.

What does πάνω στο θρανίο μας literally mean, and why do we need πάνω and στο?

Literally:

πάνω = on / on top (physically higher)
στο = σε + το = in/on/at the
θρανίο μας = our desk (school desk)

So πάνω στο θρανίο μας = on our desk / on top of our desk.

Why both?

στο θρανίο gives you the basic place: at/on the desk.
πάνω adds the idea of on the surface, not under it or beside it.

In everyday Greek, πάνω σε / πάνω στο is the usual way to say “on (a surface)”:

πάνω στο τραπέζι = on the table
πάνω στο κρεβάτι = on the bed

You could technically say στο θρανίο μας alone and context might still be clear, but πάνω στο θρανίο μας is the normal, precise phrasing for “on (top of) our desk”.

What is the difference between θρανίο and γραφείο?

Both can be translated as desk, but they are used differently:

θρανίο
- specifically a school desk, usually the kind students sit at in a classroom.
- typical context: θρανίο στο σχολείο / θρανίο στην τάξη.
γραφείο
- office (the place): δουλεύω σε γραφείο = I work in an office.
- desk (especially an adult’s work desk): κάθομαι στο γραφείο μου = I sit at my desk.

In this sentence, we are talking about students in a classroom, so θρανίο is the correct and natural word.

Why is it θρανίο μας (desk our) and not μας θρανίο, and how does possession normally work in Greek noun phrases?

In Greek, possessive pronouns like μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους normally come after the noun they modify:

το βιβλίο μου = my book
ο φίλος σου = your friend
το θρανίο μας = our desk

So θρανίο μας is just the standard noun–possessive order: desk our (literally), which corresponds to our desk in English.

You cannot say μας θρανίο; that word order is ungrammatical.

You can add emphasis with δικός/δική/δικό:

στο δικό μας θρανίο = on our own desk (stressing that it was ours, not someone else’s)

Can the word order of the two clauses be changed, or must Όταν γράφαμε διαγώνισμα… come first?

The given order is:

Όταν γράφαμε διαγώνισμα στο γυμνάσιο, έπρεπε να έχουμε…

This is very natural: “When we took tests in middle school, we had to…”

But you can also put the main clause first:

Έπρεπε να έχουμε μόνο ένα στυλό και ένα μολύβι πάνω στο θρανίο μας, όταν γράφαμε διαγώνισμα στο γυμνάσιο.

Both orders are grammatically correct. Changing the order shifts the focus slightly:

Starting with Όταν… highlights the situation/time frame.
Starting with Έπρεπε… highlights the rule/obligation first and then explains when it applied.

In everyday speech and writing, both patterns are used. The original one is perhaps a bit more story-like and natural.