Learn Hardcore Greek: Η φίλη μου λέει ότι δεν αντέχει άλλο την πίεση, αλλά θέλει να κερδίσει την υποτροφία. - My friend says that she can’t stand the pressure anymore, but she wants to win the scholarship.

Greek is a “pro‑drop” language: subject pronouns (εγώ, εσύ, αυτός, αυτή, etc.) are often omitted when the verb form already shows who the subject is.

λέει is 3rd person singular: he/she/it says
The phrase η φίλη μου itself is the subject: my friend (she)

So:

Η φίλη μου λέει ότι… = My friend (she) says that…

You could say Αυτή, η φίλη μου, λέει ότι…, but that adds extra emphasis, like “She, my friend, says that…”, and is not needed in a neutral sentence.

What is the role of ότι in λέει ότι δεν αντέχει…? Is it like “that” in English, and can I use πως instead?

Yes. In this sentence ότι is a subordinating conjunction meaning “that” (introducing reported speech):

Η φίλη μου λέει ότι δεν αντέχει άλλο την πίεση…
= My friend says that she can’t stand the pressure anymore…

You can usually replace ότι with πως (not to be confused with the question word πώς = how):

Η φίλη μου λέει πως δεν αντέχει άλλο την πίεση…

In everyday speech, ότι and πως (as conjunctions) are mostly interchangeable.
You cannot omit ότι/πως here the way you often can drop “that” in English; λέει δεν αντέχει… sounds incomplete or clumsy.

What exactly does αντέχει mean in δεν αντέχει άλλο την πίεση?

The verb αντέχω means:

to endure, bear, stand, tolerate, withstand

So δεν αντέχει is:

she can’t bear / can’t stand / can’t take it (anymore)

Typical uses:

Δεν αντέχω άλλο! = I can’t take it anymore!
Δεν αντέχω τον πόνο. = I can’t stand the pain.
Αντέχεις τη ζέστη; = Can you stand the heat?

What does άλλο add in δεν αντέχει άλλο την πίεση?

Here άλλο means “any more / anymore / further” in a time/extent sense:

δεν αντέχει άλλο την πίεση
≈ she can’t stand the pressure anymore (she has reached her limit)

Compare:

δεν αντέχει άλλο την πίεση
Focus: she can’t continue enduring this existing pressure.
δεν αντέχει άλλη πίεση
Focus: she can’t take any additional pressure (no more extra pressure on top of what there is).

Both are possible, but the original sentence emphasizes that she has reached the end of her tolerance for the current pressure.

Why is the negation δεν placed before αντέχει instead of somewhere else?

In standard modern Greek:

The basic negation particle δεν (δε) goes right before the verb.

So:

δεν αντέχει = she does not endure
δεν θέλει = she does not want
δεν μπορώ = I cannot

You can’t move δεν around the way you sometimes move “not” in English.
For this sentence, δεν αντέχει άλλο την πίεση is the normal word order.

Why does the object την πίεση come after άλλο? Could it be δεν αντέχει την πίεση άλλο?

The most natural word order here is:

δεν αντέχει άλλο την πίεση

= (literally) she doesn’t endure anymore the pressure.

άλλο is modifying αντέχει (enduring), not πίεση directly.
την πίεση is the direct object of αντέχει.

You could say:

Δεν αντέχει την πίεση άλλο.

This is possible and understandable, but it sounds a bit less smooth and slightly more emphatic on την πίεση. The original order is more common and neutral.

What does πίεση mean here? Is it only “pressure” in the physical sense?

πίεση means pressure both literally and figuratively:

physical: η ατμοσφαιρική πίεση = atmospheric pressure
medical: έχω υψηλή πίεση = I have high blood pressure
psychological / social: νιώθω μεγάλη πίεση = I feel a lot of pressure

In this sentence, it clearly means psychological / emotional pressure or stress, not physical pressure.

What does αλλά do in …, αλλά θέλει να κερδίσει την υποτροφία? Could I use όμως instead?

αλλά is the basic conjunction meaning “but / however”, linking two contrasting clauses:

She can’t stand the pressure but she wants to win the scholarship.

Structure:

… , αλλά + [clause]

You can use όμως too, but it behaves more like “however / though” and has different positions:

Η φίλη μου δεν αντέχει άλλο την πίεση, όμως θέλει να κερδίσει την υποτροφία.
Or: Η φίλη μου, όμως, θέλει να κερδίσει την υποτροφία.

αλλά directly joins two clauses; όμως is a more adverb‑like connector and often comes after a comma or inside the second clause. In the given sentence, αλλά is the simplest, most neutral choice.

Why is it θέλει να κερδίσει and not just θέλει κερδίζει?

In Greek, when one verb expresses want, try, plan, start, like etc. and is followed by another action, you usually use:

[verb] + να + [subjunctive form of verb]

So:

θέλει να κερδίσει = she wants to win
προσπαθεί να διαβάσει = he tries to study
άρχισε να κλαίει = she started to cry

You cannot say θέλει κερδίζει to mean “wants to win”. That would sound like two separate statements: she wants, she wins.

So the natural structure is:

θέλω να + [verb in subjunctive]

Why is it να κερδίσει (aorist) and not να κερδίζει (present)? What’s the difference?

Greek has aspect differences in the subjunctive:

να κερδίζει (present subjunctive) → ongoing / repeated / habitual action
να κερδίσει (aorist subjunctive) → single, completed event

Here, winning a scholarship is a single event, not an ongoing process, so the aorist subjunctive is correct:

θέλει να κερδίσει την υποτροφία
= she wants to (successfully) win/get the scholarship (once)

If you said θέλει να κερδίζει την υποτροφία, it would sound like she wants to be winning it repeatedly or regularly, which doesn’t match the usual idea of a scholarship as a one‑off thing.

Why does υποτροφία have the definite article: την υποτροφία instead of just υποτροφία?

Greek uses the definite article more often than English, especially when talking about a specific, known thing.

θέλει να κερδίσει την υποτροφία
= she wants to win the scholarship (some specific one that both speaker and listener know about: e.g. the university scholarship they’ve been discussing)

If you say:

θέλει να κερδίσει μια υποτροφία
= she wants to win a scholarship (any scholarship, not a specific one already in mind)

Saying θέλει να κερδίσει υποτροφία without any article sounds incomplete or wrong in this context. You normally choose between την (definite) and μια (indefinite), depending on whether it’s a particular scholarship or just any scholarship.