Learn Hardcore Greek: Έχω να δω τη συμμαθήτριά μου από το γυμνάσιο εδώ και δέκα χρόνια. - I haven’t seen my female classmate from middle school for ten years.

In Modern Greek, «έχω να + subjunctive» is an idiomatic structure that expresses how long it has been since you last did something. It’s inherently negative in meaning, even though there is no δεν.

Έχω να δω τη συμμαθήτριά μου εδώ και δέκα χρόνια.
Literally: I have (time) to see my classmate…
Idiomatic meaning: I haven’t seen my classmate for ten years.

So:

έχω να φάω από το πρωί = I haven’t eaten since the morning / I haven’t eaten all day.
έχει να βρέξει μήνες = It hasn’t rained for months.

You don’t add δεν here. Δεν έχω να δω… would mean something like “I don’t have (reason/occasion) to see …”, which is different.

What tense / form is «δω» in «έχω να δω», and why not «βλέπω»?

«δω» is the aorist subjunctive of the verb βλέπω (to see).

Present: βλέπω – I see / I am seeing
Aorist subjunctive: να δω – to see (once)

In the pattern έχω να + verb, Greek uses the aorist subjunctive, because it refers to a single event (the act of seeing), not an ongoing, repeated action.

So you say:

Έχω να δω τη Μαρία… (one act of seeing) not
✗ Έχω να βλέπω τη Μαρία… (ungrammatical in this meaning)

How is «έχω να δω» different from «δεν έχω δει»? Can I say «Δεν έχω δει τη συμμαθήτριά μου εδώ και δέκα χρόνια» instead?

Both are understandable, but they sound different in Greek.

Έχω να δω τη συμμαθήτριά μου εδώ και δέκα χρόνια.
– Very natural, everyday Greek for “I haven’t seen my classmate for ten years.”
Δεν έχω δει τη συμμαθήτριά μου εδώ και δέκα χρόνια.
– Grammatically possible, but it sounds more awkward and less idiomatic here.
With εδώ και specifically, Greeks strongly prefer έχω να δω in this meaning.

More natural alternatives with δεν έχω δει would be:

Δεν έχω δει τη συμμαθήτριά μου για δέκα χρόνια.
Δεν την έχω δει εδώ και δέκα χρόνια.

So yes, δεν την έχω δει εδώ και δέκα χρόνια is okay, but the original sentence with έχω να δω is more typical and idiomatic.

Why is it «τη συμμαθήτριά μου» and not just «συμμαθήτριά μου»? Do I always need the article with μου?

In Greek, when you have a possessive pronoun like μου (my), you usually also use the definite article:

η φίλη μου – my (female) friend
το βιβλίο μου – my book
τη συμμαθήτριά μου – my (female) classmate

So:

Έχω να δω τη συμμαθήτριά μου… is the normal, natural form.
Έχω να δω συμμαθήτριά μου… is possible in some contexts but sounds more stylistic/poetic or special; in everyday speech, it’s unusual.

In practice, with μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους, you can almost always expect an article before the noun.

Why does «συμμαθήτριά» have that accent on the last syllable: συμμαθήτριά μου? I thought it was συμμαθήτρια.

The base word is indeed:

συμμαθήτρια – classmate (female), accent on the antepenultimate: συ-μα-ΜΗ-τρι-α

When you add the enclitic μου (my), there is a phonological rule:

If a word is accented on the antepenultimate syllable and is followed by an enclitic, it gets a second accent on the last syllable.

So:

συμμαθήτρια
συμμαθήτριά μου (extra accent on the last syllable)

This happens with many nouns and adjectives:

η κόρη → η κόρη μου (accent on the penultimate already, so no change)
η δάσκαλος (hypothetical) → would become η δάσκαλός μου (if it had that pattern)
άσχημος → άσχημός μου (in theory; in practice you rarely say that, but the rule is the same)

So the extra accent is normal and required by Greek accent rules with enclitics.

Why is it «τη συμμαθήτριά μου» (feminine) and not masculine? Does συμμαθητής exist?

Yes:

συμμαθητής = male classmate
συμμαθήτρια = female classmate

In the sentence:

τη συμμαθήτριά μου ⇒ τη = feminine accusative article, so we know the speaker is talking about a female classmate.

If it were a male classmate, it would be:

Έχω να δω τον συμμαθητή μου από το γυμνάσιο εδώ και δέκα χρόνια.

Why do we use «από το γυμνάσιο»? Does it mean “from junior high” in time (since then) or place?

Here «από το γυμνάσιο» refers to time / period in life, not location.

από το γυμνάσιο = since junior high (school days) / from when we were in junior high

So the full idea is:

I haven’t seen my classmate from our junior-high days for ten years.

In another context, από το γυμνάσιο could also be spatial (from the junior high school as a building), but here it’s clearly the school period.

What does «εδώ και δέκα χρόνια» literally mean, and how is it different from «για δέκα χρόνια»?

«εδώ και δέκα χρόνια» is a very common expression meaning “for ten years (up to now)”.

Literally, you might break it as:

εδώ – here / up to this point
και δέκα χρόνια – and ten years

But as a phrase, εδώ και + time period means:

for X time now / for the past X time (continuing up to the present)

Examples:

Μένω εδώ και πέντε χρόνια στην Αθήνα. – I’ve been living in Athens for five years (up to now).
Έχω να δω τη Μαρία εδώ και δέκα χρόνια. – I haven’t seen Maria for ten years (up to now).

«για δέκα χρόνια» is broader and doesn’t automatically imply up to now:

Έζησα στην Αθήνα για δέκα χρόνια. – I lived in Athens for ten years (but not anymore).
Θα μείνω εδώ για δέκα χρόνια. – I will stay here for ten years.

So:

With present tense and meaning “up to now”: εδώ και δέκα χρόνια is more idiomatic.
για δέκα χρόνια often sounds like a bounded period (past and finished, or future).

Why is «γυμνάσιο» with το, and what gender is it?

«το γυμνάσιο» is a neuter noun:

το γυμνάσιο – the junior high school
του γυμνασίου – of the junior high school
στο γυμνάσιο – at/in junior high school

So in the phrase:

από το γυμνάσιο
– από (from) + το (neuter article) + γυμνάσιο (neuter noun)

You always use the appropriate definite article with school names in Greek:

το δημοτικό (σχολείο) – primary school
το γυμνάσιο – junior high
το λύκειο – (senior) high school

Can I change the word order? For example: «Εδώ και δέκα χρόνια έχω να δω τη συμμαθήτριά μου από το γυμνάσιο.»

Yes. Greek word order is relatively flexible, and your alternative is perfectly acceptable:

Εδώ και δέκα χρόνια έχω να δω τη συμμαθήτριά μου από το γυμνάσιο.

All of these are possible and natural, with small differences in emphasis:

Έχω να δω τη συμμαθήτριά μου από το γυμνάσιο εδώ και δέκα χρόνια.
Έχω να δω τη συμμαθήτριά μου εδώ και δέκα χρόνια από το γυμνάσιο. (less usual; the school phrase belongs closer to συμμαθήτριά μου)
Εδώ και δέκα χρόνια δεν έχω δει τη συμμαθήτριά μου από το γυμνάσιο. (using δεν έχω δει)

The original word order is very natural and commonly used.

What case are «τη συμμαθήτριά μου» and «δέκα χρόνια» in?

Both are in the accusative case:

τη συμμαθήτριά μου
- Feminine singular accusative, direct object of να δω (to see whom?).
δέκα χρόνια
- Neuter plural accusative of το χρόνο / ο χρόνος (here from ο χρόνος = year).
- Accusative is the normal case for duration expressions:
  - Δούλεψα δύο ώρες. – I worked for two hours.
  - Περίμενα μία μέρα. – I waited one day.
  - Εδώ και δέκα χρόνια… (still accusative χρόνια)

So the sentence uses accusative both for the object (classmate) and the time span (ten years).

Could I replace «τη συμμαθήτριά μου από το γυμνάσιο» with a pronoun, and where would it go?

Yes, you can replace it with a clitic pronoun, and in Greek it usually goes before the verb in this construction:

Έχω να τη δω εδώ και δέκα χρόνια.
– I haven’t seen her for ten years.

Compare:

Full noun phrase: Έχω να δω τη συμμαθήτριά μου από το γυμνάσιο εδώ και δέκα χρόνια.
With pronoun: Έχω να τη δω εδώ και δέκα χρόνια.

You wouldn’t say:

✗ Έχω να δω τη εδώ και δέκα χρόνια. (wrong order)

Clitic object pronouns (τον, τη(ν), το, τους, τις, τα) normally come before a simple verb form like έχω in such sentences.

Is «έχω να δω» formal, informal, or neutral? Is it used in written Greek too?

«Έχω να δω» is neutral and very common in everyday spoken Greek. It’s also acceptable in informal writing (emails, messages, narratives, etc.).

In very formal or bureaucratic writing, you might instead see constructions with δεν έχω δει or other more “standard-looking” formulations, but:

In normal spoken Greek and most writing, Έχω να δω… is perfectly standard and idiomatic.

So you can safely use this structure in ordinary conversation and informal writing.