Η φίλη μου μού έδωσε κουράγιο πριν από την εξέταση.

In Greek, possessive phrases like my friend, my brother, my car very often use the definite article:

• η φίλη μου = my friend
• ο αδερφός μου = my brother
• το σπίτι μου = my house

So Greek commonly says literally the friend of me, but the natural English translation is simply my friend.

Without the article, φίλη μου can still exist, but it often sounds more direct or emotional, like my dear friend or something used in address.

They are the same word in form, but they do two different jobs:

• Η φίλη μου → μου means my
• μού έδωσε → μού means to me

So:

• η φίλη μου = my friend
• μου/μού έδωσε = gave me

Greek uses these short weak pronouns a lot, and μου can mean either my or to me, depending on context.

The accent helps distinguish the two μου words in writing and also reflects that this one may be heard more clearly as a separate clitic meaning to me.

So in this sentence:

• μου = my
• μού = to me

You will often see this accent used to avoid confusion when two similar clitics appear close together. In everyday writing, accent usage on clitics can vary a little, but here it is very helpful and very common.

έδωσε is the aorist form of δίνω (to give).
It means gave.

Breakdown:

• δίνω = I give
• έδωσε = he/she/it gave

Here it refers to η φίλη μου, so it means:

• Η φίλη μου μού έδωσε... = My friend gave me...

The έ- at the beginning is the usual past-tense augment in Greek.

By itself, έδωσε can mean:

• he gave
• she gave
• it gave

The verb form does not show gender here.
We know it means she gave because the subject is Η φίλη μου (my female friend), which is feminine.

So the subject tells you the gender, not the verb ending.

μού is the indirect object pronoun, meaning to me.

So the structure is:

• Η φίλη μου = subject
• μού = indirect object (to me)
• έδωσε = verb
• κουράγιο = direct object

Literally:

• My friend to-me gave courage

Natural English:

• My friend gave me courage
• or My friend encouraged me

Because Greek often leaves out the article with abstract nouns or in fixed expressions.

Here δίνω κουράγιο is a very natural phrase meaning:

• to give courage
• to encourage
• to give someone strength/heart

So:

• μού έδωσε κουράγιο = she gave me courage
• more naturally: she encouraged me

Adding an article here would usually change the feel or meaning.

Literally, yes: κουράγιο means courage.
But in real usage it often has a broader emotional sense:

• courage
• strength
• heart
• encouragement

So μου έδωσε κουράγιο can mean:

• she gave me courage
• she encouraged me
• she gave me strength before the exam

It’s a very common and natural expression in Greek.

πριν από means before when followed by a noun phrase.

So:

• πριν από την εξέταση = before the exam

This is a standard pattern:

• πριν από το μάθημα = before the lesson
• πριν από το φαγητό = before the meal
• πριν από τη δουλειά = before work

You can think of πριν από as a fixed prepositional phrase.

Because πριν από takes the accusative case, and εξέταση is feminine.

So:

• nominative: η εξέταση = the exam
• accusative: την εξέταση = the exam

That is why the article changes from η to την.

Yes, in modern Greek you may hear or read πριν την εξέταση as well. It is common in everyday language.

However:

• πριν από την εξέταση is very clear and standard
• πριν την εξέταση is also natural in many contexts

For a learner, πριν από + accusative noun is a very safe pattern to use.

Yes, Greek word order is more flexible than English because the grammar is shown more clearly by endings and clitic pronouns.

This sentence is neutral and natural:

• Η φίλη μου μού έδωσε κουράγιο πριν από την εξέταση.

But Greek could also rearrange parts for emphasis, for example:

• Μού έδωσε κουράγιο η φίλη μου πριν από την εξέταση.
• Πριν από την εξέταση, η φίλη μου μού έδωσε κουράγιο.

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

Yes.

• η φίλη = female friend
• ο φίλος = male friend

So this sentence clearly refers to a female friend.

A native speaker would understand from η φίλη μου that the person who gave the encouragement is female.

Potentially, yes. η φίλη μου can mean:

• my female friend
• my girlfriend

Context decides which one is meant.

If the meaning shown to the learner says friend, then that is the intended reading here. But in real life, Greek φίλη μου can absolutely refer to a romantic partner too.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

i FEE-lee moo moo EDH-o-se koo-RA-zhyo preen A-po teen ek-SE-ta-see

A few helpful notes:

• η φίλη → stress on φί-
• μού → like moo
• έδωσε → stress on έ-
• κουράγιο → stress on -ρά-
• εξέταση → stress on -τά-

The γ in κουράγιο is not a hard English g; it sounds more like a soft sound before ι.

The structure is:

• Η φίλη μου = subject = my friend
• μού = indirect object = to me
• έδωσε = verb = gave
• κουράγιο = direct object = courage
• πριν από την εξέταση = time phrase = before the exam

So literally:

My friend to-me gave courage before the exam.

Natural English:

My friend gave me courage before the exam.