Learn Hardcore Greek: Η φίλη μου έχει να γράψει άρθρο στα ελληνικά από πέρσι, γι’ αυτό νιώθει λίγο ανασφαλής. - My friend hasn’t written an article in Greek since last year, so she feels a bit insecure.

Έχει να γράψει is a very common Greek structure that literally looks like “she has to write”, but in this sentence it actually means “it’s been a long time since she wrote / she hasn’t written for a long time.”

Pattern:

έχω να + subjunctive (present) → “I haven’t done X for [a period of time]”

Examples:

Έχω να πάω στη θάλασσα από πέρσι.
= I haven’t been to the sea since last year.
Έχουμε να μιλήσουμε μήνες.
= We haven’t spoken for months.

So η φίλη μου έχει να γράψει άρθρο… ≈ my friend hasn’t written an article…

You could also say:

Η φίλη μου δεν έχει γράψει άρθρο στα ελληνικά από πέρσι.
Same meaning, but έχει να γράψει is very idiomatic and conversational.

Why is από πέρσι used with a present form (έχει) to mean “since last year”?

In Greek, από + time expression often means “since …” (starting point in the past that continues up to now).

So:

από πέρσι = since last year / from last year (onwards)
από το πρωί = since this morning
από το 2010 = since 2010

When you combine από with a verb referring to an ongoing situation or a gap in time, it naturally translates as “since” in English.

In our sentence:

έχει να γράψει … από πέρσι
= she hasn’t written … since last year.

Why do we say στα ελληνικά and not στην ελληνική or just ελληνικά?

Greek usually talks about languages with the neuter plural and article:

τα ελληνικά = Greek (the language)
μιλάω ελληνικά = I speak Greek
μιλάω στα ελληνικά = I speak in Greek

In this sentence, στα ελληνικά is an adverbial phrase:

γράφει άρθρο στα ελληνικά = she writes an article in Greek.

Why not στην ελληνική?

η ελληνική γλώσσα = the Greek language (formal)
You can say:
γράφει στην ελληνική γλώσσα (very formal / written style)
but in everyday speech you almost always say στα ελληνικά.

Why not just ελληνικά (without στα)?

γράφω ελληνικά sounds more like “I write Greek (words)” in a more bare way.
γράφω στα ελληνικά clearly means “I write in the Greek language”, very natural and common.

Why is there no word for “a” before άρθρο? Why not ένα άρθρο?

Greek can drop the equivalent of “a/an” (the indefinite article ένας / μία / ένα) much more often than English.

γράφει άρθρο can mean “she writes an article” or “she is writing an article”, when the context doesn’t need to specify which one.
γράφει ένα άρθρο is also correct, and slightly more specific: one particular article.

In this sentence, άρθρο is understood as “an article” in general, so the indefinite article ένα is optional and naturally omitted:

Η φίλη μου έχει να γράψει άρθρο στα ελληνικά από πέρσι…
= My friend hasn’t written an article in Greek since last year…

What is the function of μου in η φίλη μου? Is it like saying “my friend”?

Yes. μου here is a weak possessive pronoun, functioning like “my”.

Pattern:

ο φίλος μου = my (male) friend
η φίλη μου = my (female) friend
το βιβλίο μου = my book

The possessive usually comes after the noun in Greek:

η φίλη μου, not normally η μου φίλη.
You only put it before for special emphasis or very literary style (η καλή μου φίλη “my dear friend”).

So η φίλη μου = my friend (female).

Why is φίλη feminine, and how do I know when to use φίλη vs φίλος?

Greek nouns have grammatical gender. For this word:

ο φίλος = (male) friend
η φίλη = (female) friend

The article also shows the gender:

ο → masculine
η → feminine
το → neuter

Here we know the friend is female, so we use η φίλη.
Then we add the possessive: η φίλη μου = my (female) friend.

What does γι’ αυτό mean, and why is it written with an apostrophe?

γι’ αυτό means “for this reason / that’s why / so”.

It comes from:

για αυτό → for this (reason)

In natural speech, the vowel α in για drops before a word starting with a vowel (αυτό), and you get:

γι’ αυτό (elision, shown by the apostrophe)

So:

… από πέρσι, γι’ αυτό νιώθει λίγο ανασφαλής.
= … since last year, that’s why she feels a bit insecure.

Spelling note: in modern Greek this is one word γι’ αυτό, not γιαυτό.

Is there a difference between νιώθει and αισθάνεται for “feels”?

Both can mean “feels” in the emotional or physical sense:

νιώθω = to feel
αισθάνομαι = to feel

In everyday speech:

νιώθω is more common, a bit shorter and more casual.
αισθάνομαι can sound a bit more formal or “careful”, but is also used in speech.

Here, νιώθει λίγο ανασφαλής is completely natural.
You could also say αισθάνεται λίγο ανασφαλής with the same meaning, maybe a touch more formal.

Why is the adjective ανασφαλής not changing form to something like ανασφαλή or ανασφαλήν?

Ανασφαλής belongs to a group of adjectives that have this pattern:

masculine / feminine: -ης
neuter: -ες

So:

ένας ανασφαλής άντρας = an insecure man
μία ανασφαλής γυναίκα = an insecure woman
ένα ανασφαλές παιδί = an insecure child

In our sentence, the subject is η φίλη μου (feminine singular), so the correct form is:

η φίλη μου είναι/νιώθει ανασφαλής.

It does agree in gender and number; it just looks the same in masculine and feminine.

Could the sentence also be Η φίλη μου δεν έχει γράψει άρθρο… instead of έχει να γράψει άρθρο…? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can say:

Η φίλη μου δεν έχει γράψει άρθρο στα ελληνικά από πέρσι.

Meaning:

She hasn’t written an article in Greek since last year.

Difference in nuance:

δεν έχει γράψει = straightforward present perfect-type meaning, like English “has not written”.
έχει να γράψει focuses more on the length of the time gap: “it’s been a long time since she wrote…”, “she hasn’t written for ages”.

Both are correct; έχει να γράψει is very idiomatic and slightly more colloquial.

Why is it λίγο ανασφαλής and not something like λίγη ανασφάλεια?

Both structures exist but they’re different grammatically:

λίγο ανασφαλής
- λίγο = a little (adverb)
- ανασφαλής = insecure (adjective)
  → She feels a bit insecure (describing her directly).
λίγη ανασφάλεια
- λίγη = a little (feminine adjective)
- ανασφάλεια = insecurity (noun)
  → She has a little insecurity / there is a bit of insecurity.

In everyday speech about feelings, Greek prefers the adjective structure:

νιώθει λίγο κουρασμένη = she feels a bit tired
νιώθει λίγο αγχωμένος = he feels a bit stressed
νιώθει λίγο ανασφαλής = she feels a bit insecure.

Why is there a comma before γι’ αυτό?

The comma separates two clauses:

Η φίλη μου έχει να γράψει άρθρο στα ελληνικά από πέρσι,
– statement of fact / situation.
γι’ αυτό νιώθει λίγο ανασφαλής.
– result / consequence: “that’s why she feels a bit insecure.”

In Greek, as in English, conjunctions like γι’ αυτό, οπότε, επομένως that introduce a result clause are usually preceded by a comma when they connect two full clauses.