Μπορείς να μου το εξηγήσεις στο τηλέφωνο;

Μπορείς is the 2nd person singular form of μπορώ, meaning I can.

So:

• μπορώ = I can
• μπορείς = you can

In this sentence, Μπορείς ...; is being used the same way English uses Can you ...? to make a request.

So it is not just about ability; it can also mean a polite request:

• Μπορείς να με βοηθήσεις; = Can you help me?

Modern Greek normally does not use an infinitive the way English does.

In English, you say:

• Can you explain

In Greek, after verbs like μπορώ, you usually need:

• μπορώ + να + finite verb

So:

• Μπορείς να εξηγήσεις = Can you explain

Think of να as a particle that introduces the following verb form. It is extremely common in Greek and often appears where English would use an infinitive such as to explain, to go, to say, etc.

Because Modern Greek does not normally use an infinitive here. Instead, it uses a subjunctive form after να.

So:

• να εξηγήσεις = that you explain / for you to explain / to explain depending on context

In this sentence, εξηγήσεις is the form that matches you.

This is one of the biggest differences from English:

• English: Can you explain it?
• Greek: Μπορείς να το εξηγήσεις;

Greek object pronouns like μου and το usually come before the verb in this kind of structure.

So the normal order is:

• να μου το εξηγήσεις

not:

• να εξηγήσεις μου το

Here:

• μου = to me
• το = it

These are weak pronouns (clitics), and they have preferred positions in the sentence. After να, they normally come before the verb.

So the pattern is:

• να + pronoun(s) + verb

They are both object pronouns:

• μου = to me
• το = it

So:

• να μου το εξηγήσεις literally = to me it explain

Natural English order is:

• explain it to me

Greek often places these little pronouns before the verb, whereas English puts them after the verb.

When Greek uses both an indirect-object pronoun and a direct-object pronoun together, the usual order is:

• indirect object first
• direct object second

So:

• μου το = to me it
• σου το = to you it
• μας το = to us it

That is why μου το εξηγήσεις is correct, while το μου εξηγήσεις is not.

μου is historically/genetically the genitive form, but in Modern Greek it is also used as a clitic pronoun for the indirect object:

• μου = to me / my
• σου = to you / your
• του = to him / his

So in:

• να μου το εξηγήσεις

μου means to me, even though English uses a separate word to.

Modern Greek no longer has a distinct dative case, so forms like μου do this job.

στο τηλέφωνο means on the phone or over the phone.

It is made from:

• σε = in/on/at/to
• το = the

These combine into:

• στο = σε + το

So:

• στο τηλέφωνο literally = on the phone

In this sentence it means:

• Can you explain it to me over the phone?

Depending on context, it can mean:

• by phone rather than in person
• during a phone call

Yes. Μπορείς is singular informal, used when speaking to one person you address as you informally.

For formal speech, or when speaking to more than one person, you would use:

• Μπορείτε να μου το εξηγήσετε στο τηλέφωνο;

So:

• Μπορείς ... = informal singular
• Μπορείτε ... = formal singular or plural

Because Greek often omits subject pronouns when they are already clear from the verb ending.

Here, Μπορείς already tells you the subject is you:

• the ending -εις shows 2nd person singular

So Greek does not need to say εσύ.

You could add εσύ for emphasis:

• Εσύ μπορείς να μου το εξηγήσεις στο τηλέφωνο;

But that would sound more emphatic, like:

• Can you explain it to me over the phone?

Because in Greek, the question mark is written as ;

So:

• Greek ; = English ?

This is completely normal in Greek punctuation.

So:

• Μπορείς να μου το εξηγήσεις στο τηλέφωνο; is a question, even though to an English speaker the punctuation may look unusual.

Grammatically, Greek can contrast different aspects here, but να μου το εξηγήσεις is the natural choice.

Why?

• να εξηγήσεις uses the aorist stem and presents the action as a whole, complete act
• να εξηγείς would suggest a more ongoing/repeated sense

When you ask someone to explain something, you usually mean give me the explanation as one complete action, so εξηγήσεις sounds right.

That is why:

• Μπορείς να μου το εξηγήσεις; is the normal phrasing

Greek word order is more flexible than English, but not every change sounds equally natural.

The neutral, standard order here is:

• Μπορείς να μου το εξηγήσεις στο τηλέφωνο;

Some parts can move for emphasis, but the pronouns μου το are not very free. For example:

• Μπορείς στο τηλέφωνο να μου το εξηγήσεις;
  possible, but more marked

But:

• Μπορείς να το μου εξηγήσεις;
  not correct

So yes, Greek allows some movement, but the placement and order of short object pronouns are much more fixed.