Learn Hardcore Greek: Η δασκάλα μας είναι αυστηρή αλλά υπεύθυνη και δεν μας αφήνει να μένουμε στάσιμοι. - Our teacher is strict but responsible and doesn’t let us stay stagnant.

Putting μας before the noun (μας η δασκάλα) is not the normal way to say our teacher. You would only change the order (and usually stress it: εμάς) if you were emphasizing us in contrast to someone else, e.g. εμάς η δασκάλα μας είναι αυστηρή – our teacher is strict (unlike other people’s).

So in neutral sentences, use η δασκάλα μας.

Why is the article η used with δασκάλα?

Greek nouns have grammatical gender. δασκάλα (female teacher) is feminine, so it takes the feminine article η in the nominative singular:

η δασκάλα = the (female) teacher
ο δάσκαλος = the (male) teacher

The subject of the sentence is η δασκάλα μας (our teacher), so η must agree with δασκάλα in gender (feminine), number (singular), and case (nominative).

Why are the adjectives αυστηρή and υπεύθυνη in the feminine form?

Adjectives in Greek must agree with the noun they describe in gender, number, and case.

Noun: η δασκάλα – feminine, singular, nominative
So the adjectives must also be: feminine, singular, nominative

Hence:

αυστηρή (strict) – feminine form
υπεύθυνη (responsible) – feminine form

The masculine would be αυστηρός, υπεύθυνος, and the neuter αυστηρό, υπεύθυνο, but here they have to match η δασκάλα.

How is the structure αυστηρή αλλά υπεύθυνη working? Do I need to repeat είναι?

The pattern is:

είναι αυστηρή αλλά υπεύθυνη
literally: she is strict but responsible

Greek often omits the second είναι when two adjectives share the same subject and verb:

Η δασκάλα μας είναι αυστηρή αλλά υπεύθυνη.
You could say είναι αυστηρή αλλά είναι υπεύθυνη, but it sounds heavier and is usually unnecessary.

So one είναι is enough for both adjectives.

What is the role of μας in δεν μας αφήνει?

Here μας is an object pronoun meaning us:

δεν = not
μας = us
αφήνει = lets / allows

So δεν μας αφήνει means she doesn’t let us / doesn’t allow us.

Earlier in η δασκάλα μας, μας is possessive (our). So in this sentence μας appears twice with two different roles:

η δασκάλα μας = our teacher (possessive)
δεν μας αφήνει = she doesn’t let us (direct object pronoun)

Why is the word order δεν μας αφήνει and not μας δεν αφήνει?

Greek has a fairly fixed order for the negative + object pronoun + verb:

δεν μας αφήνει = not + us + lets
δεν μου το δίνει = not + to me + it + gives

The clitic pronoun (μας) normally comes after the negative particle δεν and before the verb.

μας δεν αφήνει would sound wrong in neutral speech. You could say something like εμάς δεν μας αφήνει to strongly emphasize us, but then εμάς is a stressed form used for contrast, and you still keep δεν μας αφήνει together.

What does αφήνει να μένουμε literally mean, and why is there να?

αφήνει να μένουμε literally is (she) lets (us) to stay / to remain.

In Greek, after many verbs like αφήνω (let, allow), θέλω (want), πρέπει (must), προσπαθώ (try), you use να + verb instead of an infinitive (since Greek doesn’t have a true infinitive in modern usage).

So:

δεν μας αφήνει να μένουμε
= she doesn’t let us (to) stay / remain

Here να μένουμε is a subjunctive construction, roughly like an English to + verb / that we stay.

Why is μένουμε used instead of another tense, for example να μείνουμε?

μένουμε (present) in να μένουμε στάσιμοι focuses on an ongoing or repeated state – to keep staying / to remain (over time) stagnant.

If you said να μείνουμε στάσιμοι (aorist subjunctive), it would sound more like to end up stagnant / to become stagnant (at some point).

Here the idea is continuous lack of progress, so the present subjunctive (να μένουμε) is natural: she doesn’t let us keep being stagnant.

Why is στάσιμοι masculine plural when the teacher is feminine?

στάσιμοι (stagnant, not moving forward) agrees not with the teacher, but with the implied subject of μένουμε:

(εμείς) μένουμε στάσιμοι = we stay stagnant

The group described by μας (us) is grammatically plural. Greek uses:

masculine plural as the default for groups that:
- are all male, or
- are mixed male and female, or
- gender is unknown / irrelevant

So στάσιμοι is masculine plural to agree with an implied εμείς (we). If the group were only women and you wanted to mark that, you could say να μένουμε στάσιμες.

What does στάσιμοι mean here? Is it literal (not moving) or figurative?

στάσιμος literally means stationary, not moving, but very often it is used figuratively as not progressing, not developing, stagnant.

In this sentence, να μένουμε στάσιμοι means:

to remain at the same level
not to make progress / not to improve

So the idea is: she pushes us to improve and not stay stuck where we are.

What is the nuance of αυστηρή αλλά υπεύθυνη? Is it positive or negative?

αυστηρή (strict) can sound negative by itself: tough, demanding, not easy-going.
υπεύθυνη (responsible) is clearly positive: conscientious, reliable, takes her duties seriously.

Putting them together with αλλά (but):

αυστηρή αλλά υπεύθυνη = strict but responsible

implies a balanced, ultimately positive picture: she is not just strict for no reason; her strictness is guided by a sense of responsibility and care for her students’ progress.

Can I say η δική μας δασκάλα instead of η δασκάλα μας? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say:

η δασκάλα μας = our teacher (neutral)
η δική μας δασκάλα = our teacher, with emphasis on our

δική μας is the emphatic possessive. You use it when you want to contrast with others:

Η δασκάλα μας είναι αυστηρή. = Our teacher is strict.
Η δική μας δασκάλα είναι αυστηρή. = Our teacher (as opposed to another class’s teacher) is strict.

In this sentence, η δασκάλα μας is perfectly natural and more common.

How would you transliterate and roughly pronounce the whole sentence in Latin letters?

One common transliteration with stress marks would be:

Η δασκάλα μας είναι αυστηρή αλλά υπεύθυνη και δεν μας αφήνει να μένουμε στάσιμοι.
I daskála mas íne afstirí allá ipéfthini ke den mas afíni na ménume stásimi.

Approximate pronunciation (English-based):

ee dahs-KA-la mahs EE-neh ahf-stee-REE ah-LA ee-PEF-thee-nee keh then mahs ah-FEE-nee nah MEH-noo-meh STÁ-see-mee.