Learn Hardcore Greek: Είναι προτιμότερο να κάνω λίγη εξάσκηση κάθε μέρα παρά να διαβάζω μόνο το Σαββατοκύριακο. - It is preferable to do a bit of practice every day rather than study only on the weekend.

Είναι προτιμότερο literally means “it is more preferable” or simply “it is preferable”.
In normal English we’d say “it’s better to …”, and that’s exactly how this Greek structure works.

It’s a very natural, fairly neutral/slightly formal way to express preference about actions, and it’s normally followed by να + verb:

Είναι προτιμότερο να φύγουμε νωρίς. = It’s better to leave early.
Είναι προτιμότερο να ρωτήσεις. = It’s better to ask.

You can think of it as a set phrase: είναι προτιμότερο να + [verb].

Why does the sentence use να κάνω λίγη εξάσκηση instead of a single verb like “to practice”?

Greek often uses κάνω + noun to express activities that in English are a single verb.
Here, κάνω εξάσκηση literally means “I do practice” = “I practice”.

Some similar patterns:

κάνω μπάνιο = I have/take a bath/shower
κάνω διάλειμμα = I take a break
κάνω γυμναστική = I exercise / work out

There is a verb εξασκούμαι (“I practise, I train”), but in everyday speech κάνω εξάσκηση is very common and sounds a bit more natural in this kind of sentence.

Why is it λίγη εξάσκηση and not λίγο εξάσκηση or λίγος εξάσκηση?

Λίγη is the feminine singular form of λίγος (“a little / a small amount of”) and it has to agree in gender and number with the noun εξάσκηση, which is feminine singular.

εξάσκηση → feminine singular
so we use λίγη (feminine singular accusative) → λίγη εξάσκηση

Compare:

λίγος χρόνος (masc.) = a little time
λίγη υπομονή (fem.) = a little patience
λίγο νερό (neuter) = a little water

Λίγο can also be an adverb (“a little”), for example:

Θέλω να εξασκούμαι λίγο. = I want to practise a little.

But when you put it directly with a feminine noun like εξάσκηση, you need λίγη.

Why is it να κάνω and να διαβάζω (present tense) and not να κάνω / να διαβάσω (aorist)? What’s the difference here?

Greek uses aspect (present vs aorist) to show whether an action is seen as ongoing/repeated or single/completed.

να κάνω / να διαβάζω (present subjunctive) → ongoing, repeated, habitual actions.
να κάνω / να διαβάσω (aorist subjunctive) → one whole action, viewed as a single event.

In this sentence, we’re talking about habits:

να κάνω λίγη εξάσκηση κάθε μέρα = to do some practice every day (repeated)
να διαβάζω μόνο το Σαββατοκύριακο = to study only on weekends (regular pattern)

So the present subjunctive is the natural choice.
If you said να διαβάσω μόνο το Σαββατοκύριακο, it would sound more like “(once) this weekend”, not about your general study habit.

What is the role of παρά in this sentence, and how does it compare to από in comparisons?

Here παρά means “rather than / instead of / as opposed to”.
With this kind of structure, the pattern is:

Είναι προτιμότερο να X παρά να Y.
= It’s preferable to X rather than Y.

So in the sentence:

Είναι προτιμότερο να κάνω … παρά να διαβάζω …
= It’s better to do some practice every day than to study only at the weekend.

With adjectives like καλύτερος, Greek often uses από for comparisons (καλύτερος από = better than), but with this fixed pattern προτιμότερο να … παρά να …, παρά is the natural, idiomatic choice. You can see από το να in similar structures, but παρά is shorter and very common here.

Why does διαβάζω mean “study” here? I thought it just meant “read”.

Διαβάζω basically means “to read”, but in many contexts, especially with school or exams, it also means “to study”.

Διαβάζω ένα βιβλίο. = I’m reading a book.
Διαβάζω για τις εξετάσεις. = I’m studying for the exams.
Πρέπει να διαβάσω μαθηματικά. = I have to study maths.

In your sentence, because we’re talking about practice every day vs. only weekends, the context is clearly about studying, not just casual reading.
There is also σπουδάζω, but that usually means “I am doing a degree / I major in …”, not “I sit down and study”.

Why do we say μόνο το Σαββατοκύριακο with the article το? Could we leave it out?

Greek very often uses the definite article with time expressions like days, parts of the day, and time periods.

το πρωί = in the morning
το βράδυ = in the evening / at night
την Κυριακή = on Sunday
το καλοκαίρι = in the summer
το Σαββατοκύριακο = on/at the weekend

So μόνο το Σαββατοκύριακο is the natural way to say “only on the weekend(s)”.

Leaving out the article (μόνο Σαββατοκύριακο) is possible but sounds more abrupt or headline-like; in a normal sentence, Greek strongly prefers το Σαββατοκύριακο here.

Can the word order around κάθε μέρα and λίγη εξάσκηση change, or is it fixed?

The word order is fairly flexible. All of these are grammatical and natural, with only slight differences in emphasis:

να κάνω λίγη εξάσκηση κάθε μέρα
να κάνω κάθε μέρα λίγη εξάσκηση
κάθε μέρα να κάνω λίγη εξάσκηση

Roughly:

Putting κάθε μέρα earlier tends to highlight the frequency (“every day”).
Keeping λίγη εξάσκηση together keeps the noun phrase “a bit of practice” more compact.

But in everyday speech, all three would be understood the same way; your original order is perfectly standard.

How is προτιμότερο, εξάσκηση, and Σαββατοκύριακο pronounced, and where is the stress?

Stress in Greek is always written with an accent mark, and it’s important for pronunciation.

προτιμότερο → pro-ti-MO-te-ro
Phonetically (approx.): pro-tee-MO-te-ro
εξάσκηση → e-XA-ski-si
Approx.: e-KSA-skee-see
Σαββατοκύριακο → sa-va-to-KY-ri-a-ko
Approx.: sa-va-to-KEE-ria-ko

Only one syllable in each word is stressed, exactly where you see the written accent: ό, ά, ύ.

Why is the verb είναι here without a clear subject? Who or what “is preferable”?

This is an impersonal structure, similar to English “It is better to …” where the “it” doesn’t refer to anything specific.

In Greek:

Είναι προτιμότερο να κάνω…
Literally: “Is preferable to do…” (no real subject, just a general statement)

You could add a more explicit subject if you wanted, for example:

Το να κάνω λίγη εξάσκηση κάθε μέρα είναι προτιμότερο…
But in everyday speech, the impersonal Είναι προτιμότερο να… is much more natural and less heavy.

What exactly does μόνο modify here? Could we move it somewhere else in the sentence?

In να διαβάζω μόνο το Σαββατοκύριακο, the word μόνο (“only”) modifies το Σαββατοκύριακο:

μόνο το Σαββατοκύριακο = only on the weekend

So the meaning is: study only on weekends (and not on weekdays).

If you change the position, you change the emphasis or even the meaning:

να διαβάζω το Σαββατοκύριακο μόνο – could sound like “on the weekend only” (slightly odd word order, but similar meaning).
μόνο να διαβάζω το Σαββατοκύριακο – more like “to only be studying at the weekend (and doing nothing else)”, which is a different idea.

The original placement, να διαβάζω μόνο το Σαββατοκύριακο, is the most natural for “to study only on weekends”.

Is είναι προτιμότερο formal? Are there more colloquial ways to say the same thing?

Είναι προτιμότερο is neutral but can feel a bit bookish / careful in everyday speech.

Very common alternatives:

Είναι καλύτερα να κάνω… παρά να διαβάζω…
= It’s better to do … than to study …
Καλύτερα να κάνω λίγη εξάσκηση κάθε μέρα παρά να διαβάζω μόνο το Σαββατοκύριακο.
(drop the είναι – very colloquial and natural)

More directly, you can also say:

Προτιμώ να κάνω λίγη εξάσκηση κάθε μέρα παρά να διαβάζω μόνο το Σαββατοκύριακο.
= I prefer to…

So for everyday spoken Greek, καλύτερα να… παρά να… is extremely common.