Έβαλα το ψαλίδι και την κόλλα στο συρτάρι του γραφείου.

Έβαλα is the aorist form of βάζω (to put).

In this sentence, it means I put in the sense of I placed or I put something somewhere as a completed action.

Grammatically:

• βάζω = I put / I am putting
• έβαλα = I put / I placed

So the sentence is talking about one completed action in the past, not a repeated action and not an ongoing one.

This is one of the most common things Greek learners notice: Greek often distinguishes very clearly between:

• present / ongoing: βάζω
• completed past: έβαλα

Greek often drops the subject pronoun when it is clear from the verb ending.

Here, έβαλα already tells you the subject is I.

So:

• έβαλα = I put
• εσύ έβαλες = you put
• έβαλε = he/she/it put

Because the verb form already shows the person, Greek usually does not need εγώ unless the speaker wants emphasis.

So:

• Έβαλα το ψαλίδι... = I put the scissors...
• Εγώ έβαλα το ψαλίδι... = I put the scissors... (more emphatic)

Because ψαλίδι is grammatically singular in Greek, even though the object has two blades.

So Greek says:

• το ψαλίδι = the scissors

This is just a vocabulary difference between the two languages. English treats scissors as a plural-form noun, but Greek treats ψαλίδι as a singular neuter noun.

That means you get singular agreement in Greek:

• το ψαλίδι είναι εδώ = the scissors are here in English, but literally the scissor is here if translated word-for-word.

Because the two nouns have different grammatical genders.

• το ψαλίδι is neuter
• η κόλλα is feminine

In the sentence, both nouns are direct objects, so they are in the accusative case:

• neuter accusative singular: το ψαλίδι
• feminine accusative singular: την κόλλα

So the articles match each noun’s gender and case:

• το for neuter
• την for feminine

In Greek, when two nouns are joined by και (and), it is very normal to repeat the article if both nouns are definite.

So Greek prefers:

• το ψαλίδι και την κόλλα

rather than trying to use one article for both.

This is especially important here because the nouns have different genders:

• το for ψαλίδι
• την for κόλλα

So repeating the article is the natural and correct thing to do.

Because στο is the normal contraction of:

• σε + το = στο

This is extremely common in Greek.

Other common contractions are:

• σε + την = στην
• σε + τον = στον
• σε + τα = στα

So:

• στο συρτάρι = in / into the drawer

You will see these contracted forms much more often than the fully separate versions.

In Modern Greek, the preposition σε usually takes the accusative case.

So:

• στο συρτάρι
• στο σπίτι
• στην τσάντα

Even when English uses in, into, at, or to, Greek often uses σε + accusative.

Here, στο συρτάρι means the location or destination where the objects were placed.

του γραφείου is a genitive phrase meaning of the desk.

So:

• το συρτάρι = the drawer
• του γραφείου = of the desk

Together:

• το συρτάρι του γραφείου = the drawer of the desk = the desk drawer

This is a very common Greek structure. Instead of putting one noun in front of another the way English does (desk drawer), Greek often uses:

• noun + genitive

Examples:

• η πόρτα του σπιτιού = the door of the house
• το χρώμα του αυτοκινήτου = the color of the car

It can mean both, depending on context.

• γραφείο = desk
• γραφείο = office

In this sentence, because we have the drawer of the desk, the meaning is clearly desk.

Context usually makes the intended meaning obvious.

For example:

• Είμαι στο γραφείο. could mean I’m at the office
• Το βιβλίο είναι πάνω στο γραφείο. usually means The book is on the desk

The dictionary form is η κόλλα.

It means glue in this sentence.

Its forms here are:

• nominative: η κόλλα
• accusative: την κόλλα

So the noun itself stays κόλλα, but the article changes because of case.

A learner should also know that κόλλα can have other meanings in different contexts, but here it clearly means glue.

την is the feminine accusative singular definite article.

It is used because κόλλα is feminine and is the direct object of the verb.

So:

• η κόλλα = the glue
• την κόλλα = the glue as object

As for pronunciation, the final -ν in articles like την is an important topic in Greek. In careful standard Greek, it is commonly kept before certain sounds, including κ, and κόλλα begins with κ. So την κόλλα is perfectly normal.

In everyday speech, some speakers may reduce or vary that final -ν depending on dialect or speaking style, but for learners, την κόλλα is the safe standard form to use.

Yes. Greek word order is often more flexible than English word order.

The sentence as given is neutral and natural:

• Έβαλα το ψαλίδι και την κόλλα στο συρτάρι του γραφείου.

But Greek could also move things around for emphasis, for example:

• Στο συρτάρι του γραφείου έβαλα το ψαλίδι και την κόλλα.
• Το ψαλίδι και την κόλλα τα έβαλα στο συρτάρι του γραφείου.

These variations can shift the focus:

• emphasizing where
• emphasizing what
• sounding more contrastive or more conversational

Still, the original order is a very good standard pattern for learners.

Then Greek would probably not use έβαλα.

Instead, it might use an imperfect form such as έβαζα, depending on the meaning.

Compare:

• Έβαλα το ψαλίδι και την κόλλα... = I put the scissors and the glue... / I placed them... once, as a completed action
• Έβαζα το ψαλίδι και την κόλλα... = I was putting / I used to put the scissors and the glue...

So the choice of tense in Greek is very meaningful:

• aorist = completed event
• imperfect = ongoing, repeated, habitual, or background past action

A simple learner-friendly pronunciation would be:

EV-a-la to psa-LI-thi ke tin KO-la sto sir-TA-ri tu gra-FI-u

A few helpful notes:

• ψ sounds like ps in lapse
• αι is pronounced like e
• ει / οι / υ / η / ι are all pronounced like ee
• δ in ψαλίδι sounds like the th in this
• the stress matters a lot in Greek:
  • Έβαλα
  • ψαλίδι
  • κόλλα
  • συρτάρι
  • γραφείου

Listening to native audio is especially useful here, because Greek rhythm and stress are very important.

In this sentence, English most naturally says in the drawer, but the Greek structure can cover the idea of placement into that location.

Because the verb έβαλα already implies movement and placement, στο συρτάρι works naturally with it.

So Greek does not need a special separate form here to distinguish very sharply between:

• in the drawer
• into the drawer

The combination of the verb and the phrase gives the full meaning:

• Έβαλα ... στο συρτάρι = I put ... in/into the drawer

This sentence is a great example of several very common Greek patterns:

1. Past completed action

   • Έβαλα = aorist, I put

2. No subject pronoun needed

   • Greek often leaves out I

3. Gender and articles

   • το ψαλίδι
   • την κόλλα

4. Repeated article with two nouns

   • το ... και την ...

5. Contraction with σε

   • στο = σε + το

6. Genitive for possession

   • του γραφείου = of the desk

If you understand those patterns, you are learning things that apply to a huge number of Greek sentences, not just this one.