Το μάθημα αρχίζει μετά το διάλειμμα.

Because there are two separate noun phrases:

• το μάθημα = the lesson / the class
• το διάλειμμα = the break

Both μάθημα and διάλειμμα are singular neuter nouns, and the singular neuter definite article is το.

So Greek is not repeating the by mistake; each noun gets its own article, just as in English you would say the lesson and the break.

το μάθημα is the subject, so it is in the nominative case.

το διάλειμμα comes after μετά, so it is in the accusative case.

The reason they look the same is that in Modern Greek, neuter singular nominative and accusative are usually identical. So:

• nominative: το μάθημα
• accusative: το μάθημα

and

• nominative: το διάλειμμα
• accusative: το διάλειμμα

This is very common with neuter nouns.

In Modern Greek, μετά meaning after normally takes the accusative.

So you get:

• μετά το διάλειμμα = after the break

That is the normal construction. You may also hear:

• μετά από το διάλειμμα

which means the same thing here and is also very common in everyday Greek.

αρχίζει is:

• 3rd person singular
• present tense
• from the verb αρχίζω = to begin / to start

So literally it means:

• it begins
• it starts

The it here is το μάθημα.

Greek often uses the present tense for scheduled events, just like English does in sentences such as The class starts after the break.

It can mean either, depending on context.

Common meanings of μάθημα include:

• lesson
• class
• school subject

In this sentence, lesson or class is the most natural translation.

A useful comparison:

• μάθημα = the lesson / subject itself
• τάξη = the class as a group of students, or the classroom, or a grade level, depending on context

So το μάθημα αρχίζει is about the lesson beginning, not the room or the group of students.

Yes. Both are natural:

• μετά το διάλειμμα
• μετά από το διάλειμμα

In many everyday situations they mean the same thing: after the break.

The shorter version, μετά το διάλειμμα, is very common and perfectly standard.

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

For example, these are both natural:

• Το μάθημα αρχίζει μετά το διάλειμμα.
• Μετά το διάλειμμα αρχίζει το μάθημα.

The meaning stays basically the same, but the emphasis changes:

• Το μάθημα αρχίζει μετά το διάλειμμα = neutral statement
• Μετά το διάλειμμα αρχίζει το μάθημα = stronger focus on after the break

Because Greek uses articles and case patterns, it can often move words around more freely than English.

Normally, yes.

In standard Greek, you would usually say:

• Το μάθημα αρχίζει μετά το διάλειμμα.

Leaving out the articles:

• Μάθημα αρχίζει μετά διάλειμμα

would sound unnatural in ordinary speech.

Greek uses the definite article more often than English does, especially with concrete, specific things like the lesson and the break.

A rough English-friendly pronunciation is:

to MA-thi-ma ar-KHEE-zee me-TA to THYA-lee-ma

A few sound notes:

• θ sounds like th in thin
• δ sounds like th in this
• χ before ι is a soft, breathy sound with friction; English does not have an exact match
• stress falls on:
  • μά in μάθημα
  • χί in αρχίζει
  • τά in μετά
  • διά in διάλειμμα

So the rhythm is:

• ΤΟ μάθημα αρΧΙζει μεΤΑ το ΔΙΑλειμμα

Because -μα is a very common ending for neuter nouns in Greek.

Many nouns of this type are related historically to actions, results, or states. As a learner, a very useful shortcut is:

• if a noun ends in -μα, it is very often neuter

So when you see:

• μάθημα
• διάλειμμα

it is not surprising that they both take το.

In normal Modern Greek pronunciation, you usually do not hold it as a long double m the way you might expect from the spelling.

So in practice, just pronounce it with a normal m sound.

The double consonant is mostly a matter of spelling/history, not a sign that you need to make a strong doubled consonant in everyday speech.