Questions & Answers about Οι συμφοιτητές μου, των οποίων οι σημειώσεις είναι πάντα τακτοποιημένες, με βοηθούν πολύ πριν από την εξέταση.
What does Οι συμφοιτητές μου mean, and why is οι used?
Οι συμφοιτητές μου means my classmates / my fellow students.
- συμφοιτητές = classmates / fellow students
- μου = my
- οι = the masculine plural nominative definite article
Greek usually uses the definite article more often than English does. So where English says my classmates, Greek normally says the classmates my = οι συμφοιτητές μου.
Because συμφοιτητές is the subject of the sentence and is plural, the article is οι.
What case is συμφοιτητές in?
It is in the nominative plural.
That is because it is the subject of the main verb βοηθούν (help).
So:
- Οι συμφοιτητές μου = the people doing the helping
- με = the person receiving the help
What exactly is των οποίων doing here?
των οποίων means whose in this sentence.
It introduces a relative clause:
- των οποίων οι σημειώσεις είναι πάντα τακτοποιημένες
- whose notes are always organized
Literally, των οποίων is closer to of whom.
So the structure is:
- Οι συμφοιτητές μου = my classmates
- των οποίων... = whose...
This is a more formal way to say whose in Greek.
Why is it των οποίων and not some form agreeing with σημειώσεις?
Because των οποίων refers back to συμφοιτητές, not to σημειώσεις.
The meaning is the classmates, the notes of whom are always organized.
So των οποίων is in the genitive plural because it expresses possession: the notes of them.
Even though σημειώσεις is feminine plural, των οποίων depends on the owners, not on the thing owned.
Is των οποίων common in everyday Greek?
It is correct, but it sounds more formal and written than everyday speech.
In casual spoken Greek, many people would more naturally say something like:
- Οι συμφοιτητές μου, που οι σημειώσεις τους είναι πάντα τακτοποιημένες, ...
or often they would restructure the sentence entirely.
So you should recognize των οποίων easily, but you do not need to use it all the time in conversation.
Why is there another οι in οι σημειώσεις?
Because οι σημειώσεις is the subject of the relative clause.
Inside that clause:
- οι σημειώσεις = the notes
- είναι = are
- τακτοποιημένες = organized
Greek normally uses the article here, just as it often does with nouns in general. So οι σημειώσεις is perfectly normal Greek.
Why is σημειώσεις feminine plural?
Because the singular noun is:
- η σημείωση = the note
Its plural is:
- οι σημειώσεις = the notes
This noun is feminine, so anything agreeing with it, such as adjectives, must also be feminine plural.
Why is τακτοποιημένες in that form?
Because it agrees with σημειώσεις.
- σημειώσεις = feminine plural
- therefore τακτοποιημένες must also be feminine plural
So:
- οι σημειώσεις είναι τακτοποιημένες = the notes are organized
This is the feminine plural form of the adjective/participle.
What does με βοηθούν mean exactly, and why is it με?
με βοηθούν means they help me.
- με = me (weak object pronoun)
- βοηθούν = they help
The subject is οι συμφοιτητές μου, so the verb is plural.
The object is me, so Greek uses the clitic pronoun με before the verb.
Why is the verb βοηθούν and not a singular form?
Because the subject is plural:
- Οι συμφοιτητές μου = my classmates
So the verb must also be 3rd person plural:
- βοηθούν = they help
If the subject were singular, for example Ο συμφοιτητής μου, the verb would be singular:
- Ο συμφοιτητής μου με βοηθά = My classmate helps me
What is the role of πολύ here?
πολύ here is an adverb, meaning a lot / very much.
So:
- με βοηθούν πολύ = they help me a lot
It modifies the verb βοηθούν, not a noun or adjective.
Why does the sentence use πριν από την εξέταση?
This means before the exam.
- πριν από = before
- την εξέταση = the exam (accusative singular)
Greek often uses πριν από before a noun phrase. It is a standard and very natural way to say before in this context.
You may also hear πριν την εξέταση in modern Greek, especially in less formal usage, but πριν από την εξέταση is very clear and standard.
Why is εξέταση in the accusative?
Because it comes after the preposition-like expression πριν από, which is followed by the accusative.
So:
- η εξέταση = nominative
- την εξέταση = accusative
That is why the article is την, not η.
Why are there commas around the middle part?
The commas show that των οποίων οι σημειώσεις είναι πάντα τακτοποιημένες is a non-restrictive relative clause.
That means it is giving extra information about my classmates, not identifying which classmates.
So the sentence means something like:
- My classmates, whose notes are always organized, help me a lot before the exam.
If there were no commas, the meaning could feel more restrictive, like you are talking only about the classmates whose notes are organized.
Can the word order be changed?
Yes, Greek word order is fairly flexible, although not completely free.
The given sentence is natural and clear. But Greek can often move parts around for emphasis. For example, πολύ or πριν από την εξέταση could appear in slightly different positions.
Still, the original version is a good standard model:
- subject
- relative clause
- verb + object + adverb
- time expression
So it is a very useful sentence pattern to learn from.
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