Η βεβαίωση γράφει πόσες ώρες μαθήματος έχουμε κάνει.

The certificate says how many hours of class we have done.

Breakdown of Η βεβαίωση γράφει πόσες ώρες μαθήματος έχουμε κάνει.

• έχω: to have
• γράφω: to write
• κάνω: to do
• το μάθημα: the class
• πόσος: how many
• η ώρα: the hour
• η βεβαίωση: the certificate

Questions & Answers about Η βεβαίωση γράφει πόσες ώρες μαθήματος έχουμε κάνει.

What exactly does βεβαίωση mean here? Is it the same as “certificate”?

Βεβαίωση is a formal document that confirms or certifies something. In English it’s usually translated as:

• certificate
• attestation
• written confirmation
• sometimes statement or letter (of confirmation)

It’s often used for things like:

• βεβαίωση σπουδών – certificate of studies / enrollment
• βεβαίωση εργασίας – employment certificate
• βεβαίωση συμμετοχής – certificate of participation

So in this sentence, η βεβαίωση is a formal document that officially states how many hours of classes you have done. It’s close to certificate, but with a “confirmation” feel.

Why is it Η βεβαίωση and not Ο βεβαίωση or Το βεβαίωση?

Because βεβαίωση is a feminine noun in Greek.

• The definite article η is the feminine singular nominative article.
• The noun shape -ωση (e.g. δήλωση, απόφαση, είσπραξη, εξέταση) is very often feminine.

So:

• η βεβαίωση – the certificate
• της βεβαίωσης – of the certificate
• τη βεβαίωση – the certificate (object)

That’s why the sentence starts with Η βεβαίωση.

Why does the sentence use γράφει (“writes”) for a document? Wouldn’t that mean “The certificate writes…”?

In Greek, γράφει with inanimate subjects (like a document, a sign, a message) is very commonly used with the meaning:

• it says / it states / it is written that

So:

• Η βεβαίωση γράφει…
  literally “The certificate writes…”, but idiomatically “The certificate states / says…”

Other similar examples:

• Τι γράφει η ταμπέλα; – What does the sign say?
• Το μήνυμα γράφει ότι… – The message says that…

More formal alternatives would be αναφέρει (“mentions, states”) or δηλώνει (“declares”), but γράφει is totally natural and very common.

Why is γράφει in the present tense? Shouldn’t it be past, like “the certificate wrote / stated”?

Greek (like English) often uses the present tense for things that:

• are still true now, or
• describe the content of something (text, law, rule, schedule, etc.)

So:

• Η βεβαίωση γράφει… – The certificate says / states…
• Ο νόμος λέει ότι… – The law says that…
• Το βιβλίο γράφει πως… – The book says that…

Even if the certificate was created in the past, its content is timeless in this context, so the present γράφει is normal and idiomatic.

What does πόσες mean exactly, and why is it in this form?

Πόσες means “how many” and it’s in the feminine plural accusative form, because it has to agree with:

• ώρες – “hours”, which is feminine plural accusative

Agreement:

• πόσες ώρες; – how many hours?
• πόσοι άνθρωποι; – how many people? (masc. pl.)
• πόσα βιβλία; – how many books? (neut. pl.)

So:

• πόσες ώρες = how many hours

Why is it ώρες μαθήματος and not something like ώρες μάθημα or ώρες μαθημάτων?

Ώρες μαθήματος literally means “hours of lesson”, i.e. class hours / lesson hours. Here:

• ώρες – hours (accusative plural)
• μαθήματος – of lesson (genitive singular)

A few points:

1. Genitive singular for a kind/type

   • ώρες μαθήματος focuses on the type of hours: hours of class, as a category.
   • It’s similar to English “hours of work”, “hours of study” – using a singular noun in English but meaning a type of time.

2. Possible alternatives:

   • ώρες μάθημα (accusative) – also heard in speech, a bit more casual/colloquial.
   • ώρες μαθημάτων (genitive plural) – sounds more like “hours of individual lessons”; less standard in this exact phrase, more natural in other contexts.

3. Very common and close synonyms:

   • ώρες διδασκαλίας – teaching hours
   • διδακτικές ώρες – (formal term) teaching hours

So ώρες μαθήματος is a natural way to say “class hours / lesson hours” in this kind of official context.

Why is μαθήματος singular if in English we might say “hours of lessons” (plural)?

Greek doesn’t always match English in singular/plural choices with these “of X” phrases.

• ώρες μαθήματος – hours of lesson (type of time), but understood as class hours in general.
• English tends to say “hours of lessons” or “hours of classes”.

Using μαθήματος (singular) treats μάθημα more abstractly, as lesson-time / class-time, not as individual countable lessons. That’s why singular is natural here, even though the English translation often ends up plural.

What does έχουμε κάνει literally mean, and why not just κάνουμε or κάναμε?

Έχουμε κάνει is the present perfect of κάνω (“to do/make”):

• κάνω – I do
• έκανα – I did
• έχω κάνει – I have done
• έχουμε κάνει – we have done

In this sentence it means “we have done / we have completed” so far, up to now.

Comparisons:

• έχουμε κάνει – we have done (focus on the result / total up to now)
• κάναμε – we did (simple past; in many real-life contexts, Greeks might also say:)
  Η βεβαίωση γράφει πόσες ώρες μάθημα κάναμε.
• κάνουμε – we do / we are doing (present; would mean something else, more like an ongoing habit, not a completed total)

Using έχουμε κάνει underlines that these hours have been completed and the total result is what the certificate states.

Why is the verb κάνω used for lessons/hours? Wouldn’t “study” or “attend” be more logical?

In Greek, κάνω is very often used in idiomatic expressions with lessons, subjects, and classes. Some common ones:

• κάνω μάθημα – have a lesson / do a class
• κάνω αγγλικά / κάνω γαλλικά – I take English / French (lessons)
• κάνω μάθημα σε κάποιον – teach someone a lesson / give a lesson

So in πόσες ώρες μαθήματος έχουμε κάνει, the idea is:

• “how many hours of lessons we have done / have had”

A closer English equivalent would be:

• “how many hours of classes we have taken”
• or “we have had”

Could the sentence also be said as Η βεβαίωση αναφέρει πόσες ώρες μαθήματος έχουμε κάνει? Is that different?

Yes, that’s absolutely correct and quite natural.

• γράφει – says / (literally) writes
• αναφέρει – mentions, states, reports

Η βεβαίωση αναφέρει πόσες ώρες μαθήματος έχουμε κάνει.
sounds a bit more formal or official, whereas γράφει is neutral and very common in everyday speech and writing.

Meaning-wise, there’s essentially no difference here.

What would be a good, natural English translation of the whole sentence?

Several natural options, depending on register and context:

• The certificate states how many hours of lessons we have done.
• The certificate states how many hours of classes we’ve had.
• The certificate shows how many teaching hours we’ve completed.

All of these capture the meaning of:

Η βεβαίωση γράφει πόσες ώρες μαθήματος έχουμε κάνει.

Is the word order πόσες ώρες μαθήματος έχουμε κάνει fixed, or can it be changed?

Greek word order is relatively flexible. In this case, you could also hear:

• Η βεβαίωση γράφει πόσες ώρες μαθήματος έχουμε κάνει εμείς.
  (adding εμείς for emphasis on we)
• Η βεβαίωση γράφει πόσες ώρες μαθήματος κάναμε.
  (changing the verb form)

But inside the phrase:

• πόσες ώρες μαθήματος should stay together as a unit.
• Splitting it much (e.g. πόσες έχουμε κάνει ώρες μαθήματος) would sound awkward or wrong.

So the current order πόσες ώρες μαθήματος έχουμε κάνει is the normal and most natural one.