Η μαμά μου έβαλε τα φρούτα σε μια μεγάλη πιατέλα.

Η is the definite article meaning the for a feminine singular noun in the nominative case.

Here it goes with μαμά:

• η μαμά = the mom / mom

Because μαμά is the subject of the sentence, it appears in the nominative, and the article matches it:

• feminine
• singular
• nominative

In Greek, possessive words like μου usually come after the noun, not before it.

So:

• η μαμά μου = my mom
• literally, this is closer to the mom of me

This is very normal Greek word order. English says my mom, but Greek often says the mom my.

Μου is a weak possessive pronoun, and it means my here.

Formally, it is the genitive form of εγώ (I), and Greek uses this genitive form to express possession.

Examples:

• η μαμά μου = my mom
• ο φίλος μου = my friend
• το σπίτι μου = my house

The form μου does not change for masculine, feminine, or neuter nouns, so it is very useful.

Έβαλε is the aorist tense, which is usually used for a completed action in the past.

So έβαλε means:

• put
• placed

It refers to one complete action: your mom put the fruit onto/into the platter.

Grammatically, it is:

• 3rd person singular
• aorist
• active
• indicative

So it matches η μαμά μου = my mom / she.

The dictionary form is βάζω = I put / I place.

The aorist of βάζω is irregular enough that learners should memorize it:

• βάζω = I put
• έβαλα = I put (past, 1st person singular)
• έβαλε = he/she/it put

So in this sentence:

• η μαμά μου έβαλε = my mom put

That έ- is called the augment, a common feature in past tenses in Greek.

In many verbs, when you form the past tense, Greek adds ε- to the beginning:

• γράφω → έγραψα
• παίζω → έπαιξα
• βάζω → έβαλα / έβαλε

It is one of the signals that the verb is in a past tense.

Τα φρούτα is the direct object of the verb, meaning it is the thing that was put somewhere.

• το φρούτο = the fruit (singular)
• τα φρούτα = the fruits / the fruit (plural items)

Here:

• τα = neuter plural definite article
• φρούτα = neuter plural noun

So the article and noun agree in:

• gender: neuter
• number: plural

It is plural.

The singular is:

• το φρούτο = the fruit

The plural is:

• τα φρούτα = the fruits

This is a very common neuter pattern in Greek:

• singular in -ο
• plural in -α

For example:

• το μήλο → τα μήλα
• το βιβλίο → τα βιβλία (different plural ending, but still neuter)
• το φρούτο → τα φρούτα

This is a prepositional phrase telling you where the fruit was put.

• σε = in / into / on / onto, depending on context
• μια = a / one
• μεγάλη = large / big
• πιατέλα = platter / serving plate

After σε, Greek normally uses the accusative case. So μια μεγάλη πιατέλα is in the accusative.

In this sentence, the phrase means something like:

• onto a large platter
• in a large platter
• on a large serving plate

The natural English choice depends on context, but the Greek structure is straightforward: σε + accusative.

Both spellings exist, but μια is the very common modern spelling for the feminine form of one / a in everyday Greek.

Here it works as an indefinite article:

• μια πιατέλα = a platter

You may also see μία, especially when someone wants to mark the stress more clearly or in more careful writing, but μια is completely normal.

Μεγάλη has to agree with πιατέλα.

Since πιατέλα is:

• feminine
• singular
• accusative

the adjective must match it:

• μια μεγάλη πιατέλα

The basic adjective is μεγάλος (big / large), and its forms include:

• μεγάλος = masculine singular
• μεγάλη = feminine singular
• μεγάλο = neuter singular

So Greek adjectives change form to match the noun they describe.

Good question. In this case, πιατέλα is indeed in the accusative, but many feminine nouns in -α look the same in the nominative and accusative singular.

So:

• nominative: η πιατέλα
• accusative: την πιατέλα

The form of the noun itself stays the same, but the article changes:

• η → nominative
• την → accusative

In your sentence, the noun is indefinite:

• σε μια μεγάλη πιατέλα

So you do not see την, but the phrase is still accusative after σε.

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

The neutral order here is:

• Η μαμά μου έβαλε τα φρούτα σε μια μεγάλη πιατέλα.

But other orders are possible for emphasis, for example:

• Τα φρούτα έβαλε η μαμά μου σε μια μεγάλη πιατέλα.
• Σε μια μεγάλη πιατέλα έβαλε τα φρούτα η μαμά μου.

These all keep basically the same core meaning, but the focus changes:

• fronting τα φρούτα emphasizes the fruit
• fronting σε μια μεγάλη πιατέλα emphasizes the location/result

Greek uses endings, articles, and context to help show grammatical roles, so it is less dependent on fixed word order than English.

Yes.

• η μαμά μου = my mom (more everyday, warm, informal)
• η μητέρα μου = my mother (more formal or neutral)

So the sentence could become:

• Η μητέρα μου έβαλε τα φρούτα σε μια μεγάλη πιατέλα.

That sounds correct, just a bit less casual.

A πιάτο is a plate/dish in the ordinary sense.

A πιατέλα is usually a larger serving platter or serving dish, often used for bringing food to the table.

So if the fruit was arranged nicely for serving, πιατέλα makes very good sense.

Because the sentence is talking about a large platter, not the large platter.

Compare:

• σε μια μεγάλη πιατέλα = on/into a large platter
• στη μεγάλη πιατέλα = on/into the large platter

Notice that:

• στη = contraction of σε + τη(ν)

So:

• σε μια μεγάλη πιατέλα = indefinite
• στη μεγάλη πιατέλα = definite

The sentence you have uses the indefinite form, so it means a large platter, not a specific already-known platter.