Μην δαγκώνεις το μολύβι σου· μασάς ήδη πολύ αργά το μήλο σου.

Because μη(ν) is the normal negative word used for commands, prohibitions, and subjunctive-type forms in Greek.

So:

• Μην δαγκώνεις... = Don’t bite / Don’t be biting...
• Δεν δαγκώνεις... would mean You are not biting..., which is just a statement, not a command.
• Όχι usually means no, not the normal way to negate a verb in a full sentence like this.

Here, the speaker is telling someone not to do something, so Μην is the correct choice.

Greek often uses μη(ν) + subjunctive-looking form to make a negative command.

For many verbs, what learners first notice is:

• positive command: often a true imperative
• negative command: μη(ν) + present or aorist subjunctive form

So:

• Δάγκωσε! = Bite!
• Μην δαγκώσεις! = Don’t bite! (single/complete action)
• Μην δαγκώνεις! = Don’t bite / Don’t keep biting! (ongoing, repeated, habitual)

In this sentence, Μην δαγκώνεις uses the present form, which gives the sense don’t be doing that or stop doing that habitually/right now.

Δαγκώνεις is:

• from the verb δαγκώνω = to bite
• 2nd person singular
• present tense

So by itself it means:

• you bite
• you are biting
• you bite habitually

Greek present forms often cover both simple present and present continuous meanings, depending on context.

With Μην, it becomes a negative command:

• Μην δαγκώνεις = Don’t bite / Don’t be biting

They are two different verbs:

• δαγκώνω = to bite
• μασάω / μασώ = to chew

So the sentence contrasts two actions:

• Μην δαγκώνεις το μολύβι σου = don’t bite your pencil
• μασάς ήδη πολύ αργά το μήλο σου = you are already chewing your apple very slowly

A native English speaker may think of both as mouth-actions, but Greek keeps them clearly separate just like English does:

• bite = use the teeth to clamp/cut
• chew = repeatedly work food in the mouth

Because this verb is commonly used in the contracted form μασάω / μασώ.

Its 2nd person singular present is μασάς.

A simplified pattern is:

• μασάω / μασώ = I chew
• μασάς = you chew
• μασάει / μασά = he/she/it chews

This is a very common verb type in Modern Greek. So μασάς is the normal everyday form.

Greek uses the definite article much more regularly than English.

So:

• το μολύβι σου = your pencil
• το μήλο σου = your apple

Even when English uses just your, Greek often still uses:

• article + noun + possessive pronoun

Literally:

• the pencil your
• the apple your

But in natural English, we translate that simply as your pencil and your apple.

In Modern Greek, weak possessive forms like μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους usually come after the noun.

So:

• το μολύβι σου = your pencil
• το μήλο σου = your apple

This is completely normal Greek word order.

A native English speaker expects your pencil, with the possessive before the noun, but Greek often prefers:

• the pencil your

That does not sound unusual in Greek.

Σου is the weak genitive form of you (singular).

Here it expresses possession:

• το μολύβι σου = your pencil
• το μήλο σου = your apple

So although English uses the possessive adjective your, Greek often uses a clitic/genitive form after the noun.

You will see this pattern everywhere:

• το βιβλίο μου = my book
• η τσάντα σου = your bag
• ο φίλος του = his friend

Because there is no negative particle like μην, and there is no imperative form. It is simply a present-tense statement:

• μασάς = you chew / you are chewing

So the structure is:

1. Μην δαγκώνεις το μολύβι σου
   = a command/prohibition

2. μασάς ήδη πολύ αργά το μήλο σου
   = a statement giving the reason/comment

The overall sense is something like:

• Don’t bite your pencil; you’re already chewing your apple very slowly.

Ήδη means already.

In this sentence:

• μασάς ήδη πολύ αργά το μήλο σου

it modifies the whole idea that you are already chewing your apple very slowly.

Greek word order is fairly flexible, so ήδη can move around more than already sometimes can in English. But the given position is very natural.

For example, Greek might also allow variations such as:

• ήδη μασάς πολύ αργά το μήλο σου
• μασάς πολύ αργά ήδη το μήλο σου
  though this may sound less neutral depending on context

The version in the sentence is a normal, neutral placement.

Literally, πολύ αργά means very slowly / very late, depending on context. Here, with chewing, it means very slowly.

By itself, πολύ means very / much, and αργά means slowly.

So:

• πολύ αργά = very slowly

If the intended English meaning were too slowly, Greek would more clearly use πολύ αργά only in the right context, or sometimes another phrasing depending on nuance. So the exact English choice may depend on the translation you were shown, but grammatically the Greek phrase itself is straightforward: very slowly.

Greek often places adverbs before or after other elements more freely than English.

Here the order is:

• μασάς = verb
• ήδη = adverb
• πολύ αργά = adverbial phrase
• το μήλο σου = direct object

That is a perfectly natural order in Greek.

English often prefers:

• You are already chewing your apple very slowly

But Greek can comfortably say:

• you chew already very slowly your apple

even though the natural English translation would rearrange that.

So this is mainly a matter of Greek word order flexibility, not a special rule of this verb.

Yes, but the meaning would shift slightly.

• Μην δαγκώνεις suggests don’t be biting, stop biting, or don’t do that repeatedly/habitually
• Μην δαγκώσεις suggests don’t bite as a single, complete action

This is part of an important Greek contrast:

• present stem = ongoing, repeated, habitual, in progress
• aorist stem = single, complete event

So in this sentence, Μην δαγκώνεις feels very appropriate if someone is currently nibbling on the pencil or has the habit of doing it.

That mark is the Greek ano teleia.

It is often used somewhat like:

• a semicolon
• a colon
• a strong pause between clauses

So:

• Μην δαγκώνεις το μολύβι σου· μασάς ήδη πολύ αργά το μήλο σου.

means there is a pause stronger than a comma, separating two related thoughts.

It is not the Greek question mark.
The Greek question mark looks like this:

• ;

That often surprises English speakers.

It is informal singular, because of the verb forms:

• δαγκώνεις
• μασάς
• σου

These all show the speaker is talking to one person in an informal way, like English you addressed casually.

If it were plural or formal, you would expect forms like:

• Μην δαγκώνετε...
• μασάτε...
• σας

So the sentence is addressing one person casually.

Sometimes Greek can omit possessives when the meaning is obvious from context, but here σου is natural and useful because it clearly specifies the owner.

So:

• το μολύβι σου
• το μήλο σου

make the sentence more explicit and natural in this context.

Without σου, the meaning would become more general:

• the pencil
• the apple

That may or may not fit the situation.

Yes: Modern Greek always marks the stressed syllable in normal writing.

For example:

• δαγκώνεις → stress on -γκό-
• μολύβι → stress on -λύ-
• μήλο → stress on μή-

This stress is important for correct pronunciation. English speakers often focus first on letters and endings, but in Greek the written accent is a major help.

Also note that μην is often written with an accent as μην only when needed by orthographic rules in lowercase? In normal Modern Greek spelling, the negative particle is usually written μην. At the beginning of a sentence you may see Μην.

So yes, the accent marks are meaningful and should be learned as part of each word.

It is grammatically natural and useful for learning several everyday Greek patterns:

• μην + present form for a negative command
• possessive σου after the noun
• flexible adverb placement
• contrast between two related actions

The exact situation is a bit playful or humorous, because it links biting a pencil with chewing an apple slowly, but grammatically it sounds fine.