Learn Hardcore Greek: Ο καθηγητής μιλάει κυρίως ελληνικά στην τάξη. - The professor mostly speaks Greek in class.

Ο is the definite article in Greek, meaning “the” for masculine singular nouns in the nominative case (the basic “dictionary form” of a noun, usually used for the subject).

Ο καθηγητής = the (male) professor / teacher
Ο is used because:
- καθηγητής is masculine
- It’s singular
- It’s the subject of the sentence (so nominative case)

Other forms of “the” in Greek are:

Η (feminine nominative singular) – e.g. η πόρτα (the door)
Το (neuter nominative singular) – e.g. το βιβλίο (the book)

So we use Ο because καθηγητής is masculine.

What exactly does καθηγητής mean, and how is it different from δάσκαλος?

Καθηγητής (masc.) means teacher, but with a flavor more like:

professor, instructor, or
a teacher at middle school, high school, university, or in a more specialized / formal context.

Δάσκαλος (masc.) is also teacher, but is usually:

a primary school (elementary) teacher
or used in a more general, sometimes affectionate sense (“my teacher”).

So:

Ο καθηγητής μιλάει κυρίως ελληνικά στην τάξη.
→ Suggests a teacher/professor in a class, especially older students.
Ο δάσκαλος μιλάει κυρίως ελληνικά στην τάξη.
→ Sounds more like a primary school teacher talking to children.

Both are “teacher,” but καθηγητής is more “professor / secondary+ education teacher.”

What form is μιλάει, and why does it end in -ει?

Μιλάει is a verb from the infinitive-like form μιλάω / μιλώ = “to speak”.

In this sentence:

Person: 3rd person singular (“he/she/it”)
Tense: Present
Mood: Indicative
Meaning: “(he) speaks / is speaking”

For verbs like μιλάω (ending in -άω in the 1st person), there are two common patterns in the 3rd singular:

μιλάει
μιλά

Both are correct in modern Greek:

Ο καθηγητής μιλάει ελληνικά.
Ο καθηγητής μιλά ελληνικά.

They mean exactly the same: “The teacher speaks Greek.”
-ει is just one of the standard endings for 3rd person singular verbs in the present.

What does κυρίως mean, and where can it go in the sentence?

Κυρίως is an adverb meaning “mainly, mostly, chiefly, primarily”.

In the sentence:

Ο καθηγητής μιλάει κυρίως ελληνικά στην τάξη.
→ The teacher mainly/mostly speaks Greek in class.

Position:

It is naturally placed right before the word/phrase it modifies, or near the verb:
- Ο καθηγητής μιλάει κυρίως ελληνικά στην τάξη.
- Ο καθηγητής κυρίως μιλάει ελληνικά στην τάξη. (more emphasis on “mainly”)
- Κυρίως, ο καθηγητής μιλάει ελληνικά στην τάξη. (as a sentence adverb: “Mainly, the teacher speaks Greek in class.”)

The most neutral and common in everyday speech here is the original:

…μιλάει κυρίως ελληνικά…

Why is ελληνικά used without an article, and does it literally mean “Greeks”?

Ελληνικά here means “Greek (language)”.

Grammatically:

It is neuter plural: το ελληνικό (singular) → τα ελληνικά (plural)
But in practice, τα ελληνικά or just ελληνικά is used to mean “Greek” as a language.

In everyday speech:

You often drop the article when speaking about languages in a general sense:
- Μιλάω ελληνικά. = I speak Greek.
- Μιλάει αγγλικά. = He/She speaks English.

So ελληνικά here does not mean “Greeks (people).”
It means “Greek (the language)”, and dropping the article τα is natural and very common.

If you say:

Μιλάει τα ελληνικά.
it sounds odd in this context, as if you’re focusing on the specific Greek (words) he speaks, not on language ability in general.

Why isn’t it την ελληνική or την ελληνική γλώσσα instead of ελληνικά?

You can say:

Μιλάει την ελληνική γλώσσα. = He speaks the Greek language.

But:

It sounds formal or unnecessarily long in everyday speech.
For languages, Greek strongly prefers:
- μιλάω ελληνικά, αγγλικά, γαλλικά, etc.

Ελληνική is the feminine singular adjective (“Greek”), used with:

η ελληνική γλώσσα = the Greek language
η ελληνική μουσική = Greek music

In ordinary speech about language skills, you almost always hear:

μιλάω ελληνικά, not μιλάω την ελληνική γλώσσα.

So the sentence uses the most natural, conversational form: ελληνικά.

What exactly is στην, and how is it formed?

Στην is a contraction of:

σε (preposition = “in, at, to”)
την (feminine singular accusative article = “the”)

→ σε την → στην

In the sentence:

στην τάξη = “in the class / in class”

You also see similar contractions:

σε + τον → στον (masc.)
σε + το → στο (neuter)
σε + τις → στις (fem. plural)

So literally:

μιλάει ελληνικά στην τάξη
≈ “he speaks Greek in the class”, but the natural translation is “in class.”

What does τάξη mean here, and what gender and case is it?

Τάξη is a feminine noun.

Common meanings:

class (as a teaching period)
classroom
grade / year in school (depending on context)

In this sentence:

στην τάξη is best understood as:
- “in class” (during lessons)
  or
- “in the classroom.”

Grammatically:

Gender: feminine
Number: singular
Case: accusative (because it follows the preposition σε → στην)

Basic forms:

Nominative: η τάξη (the class – subject)
Accusative: την τάξη (the class – object, or after many prepositions)

So στην τάξη = σε + την τάξη.

Could the word order change, like Ο καθηγητής κυρίως μιλάει ελληνικά στην τάξη or Μιλάει ο καθηγητής κυρίως ελληνικά στην τάξη?

Yes. Greek word order is more flexible than English, because roles are marked by endings and articles.

All of these are grammatically correct:

Ο καθηγητής μιλάει κυρίως ελληνικά στην τάξη.
– Neutral, standard order (Subject–Verb–Object).
Ο καθηγητής κυρίως μιλάει ελληνικά στην τάξη.
– Puts a bit more emphasis on κυρίως (“mainly”).
Μιλάει ο καθηγητής κυρίως ελληνικά στην τάξη.
– Emphasizes “It is the teacher who speaks…”, often contrasting with someone else.
Κυρίως ελληνικά μιλάει ο καθηγητής στην τάξη.
– Strong focus on “mainly Greek” as opposed to other languages.

In English, changing the word order often makes the sentence wrong or very marked; in Greek, it usually just changes the emphasis or focus, not the basic meaning.

If the teacher were female, how would the sentence change?

You would change the article and the noun to the feminine form. The verb stays the same.

Masculine:

Ο καθηγητής μιλάει κυρίως ελληνικά στην τάξη.

Feminine:

Η καθηγήτρια μιλάει κυρίως ελληνικά στην τάξη.
→ The (female) teacher/professor mostly speaks Greek in class.

Changes:

Ο → Η (masc. → fem. nominative singular article)
καθηγητής → καθηγήτρια (masc. → fem. noun)

Everything else stays as it is.

How is μιλάει pronounced, and why is there an accent on the second syllable?

Μιλάει is pronounced approximately:

mee-LÁ-ee or, smoothly: mee-LÁE

Details:

μι- = mee
-λά- = lá (stressed syllable)
-ει = ee sound, often merging with the previous vowel in fast speech.

The accent ´ in Greek marks the stressed syllable of the word:

μιλάει → stress on -λά-

For the base form:

μιλάω / μιλώ: both mean “I speak”; accent also on the last syllable:
- μι-ΛΑ-ω, μι-ΛΌ.

So, the accent shows which syllable is stressed, not tone or pitch; it’s crucial to correct pronunciation and sometimes meaning.

Is there any difference in meaning between μιλάει κυρίως ελληνικά στην τάξη and συνήθως μιλάει ελληνικά στην τάξη?

Yes, there is a subtle difference:

Κυρίως = mainly / mostly / primarily
→ Focus on which language dominates compared to others.
Ο καθηγητής μιλάει κυρίως ελληνικά στην τάξη.
= He uses Greek more than other languages (but might also use some English, etc.).
Συνήθως = usually / generally / as a rule
→ Focus on frequency / habit in time.
Ο καθηγητής συνήθως μιλάει ελληνικά στην τάξη.
= Most of the time he speaks Greek in class, but sometimes he might not (e.g., on special occasions).

So:

κυρίως compares Greek with other languages.
συνήθως compares usual behavior with exceptions in time.