Η μαμά μου συγκινείται όταν μιλάμε για το παρελθόν.

Η μαμά μου literally means the mom of me, but in natural English it is my mom.

Greek normally uses the definite article much more often than English. So where English just says my mom, Greek usually says the mom my:

• η μαμά = the mom
• μου = my / of me

This is completely normal Greek word order for possession.

In Greek, unstressed possessive forms like μου (my), σου (your), του/της (his/her) usually come after the noun:

• η μαμά μου = my mom
• ο φίλος μου = my friend
• το σπίτι μου = my house

So unlike English, Greek does not usually put my before the noun in this kind of structure.

συγκινείται means she gets emotional, she is moved, or she is touched emotionally.

The verb is συγκινούμαι / συγκινώ. In this sentence, it is used in a form that often corresponds to English expressions like:

• she gets emotional
• she is moved
• she becomes touched

So the sentence suggests an emotional reaction when talking about the past.

The ending -εται is a common third person singular ending in the mediopassive set of verb forms in Modern Greek.

Here:

• συγκινείται = he/she/it gets emotional / is moved

Even though these forms are historically related to passive forms, in Modern Greek many verbs use them with meanings that are not straightforwardly passive in English.

So you do not need to translate it mechanically as is being moved every time. In this sentence, the natural meaning is simply:

• she gets emotional

Because the sentence has two different subjects:

1. Η μαμά μου συγκινείται = My mom gets emotional

   • subject: my mom
   • verb: third person singular

2. όταν μιλάμε για το παρελθόν = when we talk about the past

   • subject: we
   • verb: first person plural

So the meaning is: My mom gets emotional when we talk about the past.

The speaker is included in we.

Yes, but it would mean something different.

• όταν μιλάμε = when we talk
• όταν μιλάει = when she talks

So the original sentence means that my mom gets emotional when we talk about the past together.
If you changed it to μιλάει, the meaning would become my mom gets emotional when she talks about the past.

όταν means when.

It introduces a time clause:

• όταν μιλάμε για το παρελθόν = when we talk about the past

It is the normal word to use for when in this kind of sentence.

The preposition για here means about.

So:

• μιλάμε για... = we talk about...

And:

• το παρελθόν = the past

Together:

• για το παρελθόν = about the past

This is a very common pattern in Greek:

• μιλάω/μιλώ για κάτι = talk about something

Greek often uses the definite article in places where English may or may not use it. Here, το παρελθόν means the past as a general concept.

So:

• παρελθόν = past
• το παρελθόν = the past

In this sentence, the article is the natural choice.

Yes. για takes the accusative case.

In this sentence:

• το παρελθόν is in the accusative

But παρελθόν is one of those nouns whose nominative and accusative forms look the same, so there is no visible change here.

The article το also looks the same in nominative and accusative neuter singular, so the form does not visibly change.

Yes, μιλάμε is present tense.

Greek often uses the present tense in general or repeated situations, just like English does:

• when we talk about the past
• whenever we talk about the past

So the sentence does not refer to one single occasion only. It suggests a usual or repeated reaction.

Yes. It depends on the variety of English:

• in American English: mom
• in British English: mum

So Η μαμά μου could be understood as either my mom or my mum.

It is an everyday, familiar word, not a formal one.

The given word order is natural:

• Η μαμά μου συγκινείται όταν μιλάμε για το παρελθόν.

Greek word order is more flexible than English, so some rearrangement is possible for emphasis. But the original order is the most neutral and straightforward.

For example, Greek could move things around for focus, but a learner should treat the original sentence as the standard pattern:

• subject + verb + time clause

A rough pronunciation is:

ee ma-MA moo see-gee-NEE-teh O-tan mee-LA-meh ya to pa-rel-THON

A few helpful points:

• η sounds like ee
• για sounds like ya
• θ sounds like th in think
• stress matters:
  • μαμά
  • συγκινείται
  • μιλάμε
  • παρελθόν

The structure is:

• Η μαμά μου = subject
• συγκινείται = main verb
• όταν μιλάμε για το παρελθόν = subordinate time clause

So the pattern is:

[subject] + [main verb] + όταν + [another verb clause]

In natural English: My mom gets emotional when we talk about the past.