Learn Hardcore Greek: Ο σύμβουλος μας ρωτάει αν προτιμάμε διάλεξη στο αμφιθέατρο ή μικρή ομάδα σε άλλο τμήμα. - The advisor asks us whether we prefer a lecture in the lecture hall or a small group in another department.

ο σύμβουλος μας ρωτάει can mean:
- “The advisor asks us” (μας = “us”), or
- “Our advisor asks (something)” (μας = “our”).
In careful written Greek you’d normally see:
- Ο σύμβουλος μάς ρωτάει = The advisor asks us (accent on μάς to show it’s an object pronoun)
- Ο σύμβουλός μας ρωτάει = Our advisor asks (us) (accent on σύμβουλος to show it’s the subject).

In everyday writing, accents on these short words are often omitted, and context gives the meaning. In most classroom contexts, the intended meaning is “our advisor asks us if…”.

Why is μας placed between σύμβουλος and ρωτάει and not after the verb, like in English?

Greek weak object pronouns (like μου, σου, του, μας, σας, τους) usually go before the verb, not after it:

Ο σύμβουλος μας ρωτάει ≈ “The advisor us asks” literally.
You cannot say: ✗ Ο σύμβουλος ρωτάει μας in standard modern Greek (except in very marked, poetic, or dialectal use).

So the pattern is typically: [subject] + [weak pronoun] + [verb] → Ο σύμβουλος μας ρωτάει.

What’s the difference between ρωτάει and ρωτά?

Both ρωτάει and ρωτά are correct 3rd person singular forms of the verb ρωτάω / ρωτώ (to ask):

ρωτάει is slightly more colloquial / everyday.
ρωτά sounds a bit more formal or written.

Meaning-wise, they are the same here: Ο σύμβουλος μας ρωτάει = Ο σύμβουλος μας ρωτά = “The advisor asks us…”.

Why is αν used here, and does it mean “if” or “whether”?

In this sentence, αν introduces an indirect question and means “if / whether”:

…μας ρωτάει αν προτιμάμε… = “(he) asks us if / whether we prefer…”

So this αν is not the “if” of a conditional (“If it rains, I’ll stay home”) but the “if” that introduces a reported question (“He asked if I was tired”).
Greek uses αν for both if and whether in these reported-question contexts.

What tense or aspect are ρωτάει and προτιμάμε? Is it like English present simple or continuous?

Both ρωτάει and προτιμάμε are in the present tense of the imperfective aspect:

ρωτάει = “is asking / asks”
προτιμάμε = “we prefer / we are preferring (in this situation)”

Greek present imperfective usually covers both English present simple and present continuous, so “The advisor is asking us” and “The advisor asks us” are both valid translations depending on context.

Why is there no article before διάλεξη? Shouldn’t it be μια διάλεξη or τη διάλεξη?

Greek often omits the article when you talk about options or things in a generic / non‑specific way:

προτιμάμε διάλεξη στο αμφιθέατρο
→ literally: “we prefer lecture in the amphitheater”

You could say μια διάλεξη στο αμφιθέατρο (“a lecture in the amphitheater”), but leaving out μια here is very natural because it’s about choosing type of teaching rather than some specific, individual lecture.

What is στο exactly?

στο is a contraction of:

σε + το → στο

So:

διάλεξη στο αμφιθέατρο = “lecture in the amphitheater”

Contractions like σε + τον = στον, σε + την = στην, σε + τους = στους, etc., are extremely common in modern Greek.

What does αμφιθέατρο mean here? Is it the same as “amphitheater” in English?

Το αμφιθέατρο literally is “the amphitheater”, but in many Greek university contexts it simply means:

a large lecture hall, a big teaching room with many seats.

So διάλεξη στο αμφιθέατρο is best understood as “a lecture in the big lecture hall”, not necessarily an open‑air ancient-style amphitheater.

Why is there no article before μικρή ομάδα? Could it be μια μικρή ομάδα?

Yes, grammatically you could say μια μικρή ομάδα (“a small group”), but:

In choices like διάλεξη στο αμφιθέατρο ή μικρή ομάδα σε άλλο τμήμα, Greek often omits the article to talk about types of arrangement:
- διάλεξη (lecture) vs μικρή ομάδα (small group)

So it’s more like “lecture in the amphitheater, or (a) small group in another section,” with the article dropped for brevity and generality.

What does σε άλλο τμήμα mean? Is τμήμα “department”, “section”, or “class”?

Το τμήμα is quite flexible and can mean:

a department (e.g. university department)
a section / group of students within a course
a class group or section in school timetables.

In context, μικρή ομάδα σε άλλο τμήμα usually means a small group in a different class/section (not in the big amphitheater group). The exact English word (“section”, “group”, “class”, “department”) depends on the specific educational setting.

Could the word order be different, like Ο σύμβουλος ρωτάει αν προτιμάμε… μας?

No, that would be ungrammatical in standard modern Greek. For weak object pronouns:

Normal position in statements: before the verb
- μας ρωτάει, ο σύμβουλος μας ρωτάει, ο σύμβουλος μάς ρωτάει
After the verb only in certain cases (mainly positive imperatives and some fixed expressions):
- Ρώτα με! = “Ask me!”

So the pronoun μας must stay in its clitic position (before ρωτάει), not after it.

Is ή always “or”? Do I ever need είτε … είτε instead?

ή by itself is the normal everyday word for “or”:

διάλεξη στο αμφιθέατρο ή μικρή ομάδα σε άλλο τμήμα = “lecture … or small group …”

είτε … είτε is a bit more formal or emphatic and is often used in pairs:

είτε διάλεξη στο αμφιθέατρο είτε μικρή ομάδα σε άλλο τμήμα → “either a lecture … or a small group …”

In most spoken contexts, simple ή is perfectly natural and more common.

How do you pronounce ρωτάει and προτιμάμε?

ρωτάει: pronounced [ro-TÁ-i], two syllables in practice, like “ro-TÁi” (the -ει is usually one sound, like -i). Stress on τά.
προτιμάμε: pronounced [pro-ti-MÁ-me], four syllables, stress on μά.

In Greek, the accent mark (´) always shows you exactly where the stress falls in the word.