Learn Hardcore Greek: Χωρίς πρωτοβουλία δεν προχωράμε στα ελληνικά, όσο κι αν διαβάζουμε. - Without initiative we don't make progress in Greek, no matter how much we study.

The preposition χωρίς (without) always takes the accusative.
The noun is η πρωτοβουλία (nominative), την πρωτοβουλία (accusative). In this word, nominative and accusative look the same in writing; you tell the case from the grammar (after χωρίς → accusative).

Why is there no article before πρωτοβουλία? Why not χωρίς την πρωτοβουλία?

Here χωρίς πρωτοβουλία means “without (any) initiative, without initiative in general.”

In Greek, when you talk about:

an idea in general, or
something non‑specific / abstract

you often omit the article, especially after με (with) and χωρίς (without):

με υπομονή – with patience
χωρίς φόβο – without fear
χωρίς πρωτοβουλία – without initiative

If you say χωρίς την πρωτοβουλία, you are pointing to a specific initiative, e.g.:

Χωρίς την πρωτοβουλία του Γιάννη, δεν θα τα καταφέρναμε.
Without John’s initiative, we wouldn’t have made it.

So: no article here = generic “initiative”, not a particular one.

What exactly does πρωτοβουλία mean, and what kind of noun is it?

Πρωτοβουλία means initiative (the ability or act of taking the first step, acting on your own).

Gender: feminine
Basic forms:
- η πρωτοβουλία – the initiative (nom. sg.)
- της πρωτοβουλίας – of the initiative (gen. sg.)
- την πρωτοβουλία – the initiative (acc. sg.)

In this sentence it refers to personal initiative in learning Greek: making your own effort, taking active steps, not just passively following along.

What tense and person is δεν προχωράμε, and what does it literally mean?

Δεν προχωράμε is:

present tense,
active voice,
first person plural → “we (do not) go forward / move on / progress.”

Literally: “we do not move forward”.

In context, it means “we don’t make progress / we don’t advance” (in Greek).

Could we say δεν προοδεύουμε instead of δεν προχωράμε? Is there a difference?

You can say δεν προοδεύουμε στα ελληνικά, and it’s correct. Both verbs can mean “we don’t make progress”, but there’s a nuance:

προχωράω / προχωρώ: literally “go forward, move ahead”. It’s very common and a bit more informal/neutral.
προοδεύω: “progress, advance, make progress”, sometimes a little more formal or “bookish”.

In everyday speech about language learning, δεν προχωράμε στα ελληνικά sounds very natural and idiomatic.

What does στα ελληνικά literally mean, and why is ελληνικά plural?

Στα ελληνικά is σε + τα + ελληνικά:

σε – in / at
τα – the (neuter plural article)
ελληνικά – neuter plural form of the adjective ελληνικός (Greek)

Literally it’s something like “in the Greek (things/words)”, but idiomatically it means “in Greek (language)”.

Why plural?

Greek often uses the neuter plural of the adjective to refer to a language:

τα ελληνικά – Greek (language)
τα αγγλικά – English
τα γαλλικά – French

So στα ελληνικά = “in Greek” (when speaking, writing, thinking in Greek).

What’s the difference between ελληνικά, ελληνική, and ελληνική γλώσσα here?

All can relate to the Greek language, but they’re used differently:

τα ελληνικά = Greek (the language), using the neuter plural adjective as a noun.
- στα ελληνικά = in Greek
η ελληνική on its own usually does not mean “Greek language”; it’s just the feminine singular adjective:
- η ελληνική γλώσσα – the Greek language
- η ελληνική λέξη – the Greek word
η ελληνική γλώσσα is the full, explicit phrase.
- You could say χωρίς πρωτοβουλία δεν προχωράμε στην ελληνική γλώσσα, but it sounds more formal and less idiomatic than στα ελληνικά in everyday speech.

What does the expression όσο κι αν mean in this sentence?

Όσο κι αν διαβάζουμε means roughly:

“no matter how much we study”, or
“however much we may study”, or
“as much as we may study”.

So the whole idea is: Without initiative we don’t progress in Greek, *no matter how much we study.
*Όσο κι αν introduces a concessive clause: it concedes a situation (we study a lot) but says it doesn’t change the main result (we still don’t progress).

What is κι in όσο κι αν? Why not όσο και αν?

Κι is just a shortened, phonetic form of και (and).

και αν → κι αν
και εγώ → κι εγώ

Greek very often uses κι instead of και before vowels or certain consonant sounds, to make pronunciation smoother. It doesn’t change the meaning at all.

So:

όσο και αν διαβάζουμε and
όσο κι αν διαβάζουμε

mean exactly the same. The second is the more natural spoken form.

Why is διαβάζουμε translated as “we study”? I thought it meant “we read.”

Διαβάζω does mean “to read”, but in modern Greek it also very commonly means “to study” (for school, exams, language learning, etc.).

So:

Διαβάζω ένα βιβλίο. – I’m reading a book.
Διαβάζω για τις εξετάσεις. – I’m studying for the exams.
Διαβάζουμε ελληνικά. – We study Greek.

In this sentence, όσο κι αν διαβάζουμε is clearly about studying/working on Greek, not just casually reading.

Why is there a comma before όσο κι αν διαβάζουμε? Can we change the word order?

Όσο κι αν διαβάζουμε is a subordinate concessive clause (“no matter how much we study”), so Greek normally separates it with a comma from the main clause:

Χωρίς πρωτοβουλία δεν προχωράμε στα ελληνικά, όσο κι αν διαβάζουμε.

You can change the word order and keep the same meaning, e.g.:

Χωρίς πρωτοβουλία, όσο κι αν διαβάζουμε, δεν προχωράμε στα ελληνικά.
Όσο κι αν διαβάζουμε, χωρίς πρωτοβουλία δεν προχωράμε στα ελληνικά.

All are grammatical. The changes mostly affect emphasis (what you foreground first: lack of initiative, or the amount of studying), not the basic meaning.