Ξαφνιάζομαι κάθε φορά που το παιδί μιλάει τόσο καθαρά για την ηλικία του.

Ξαφνιάζομαι means I am surprised or I get surprised.

It has a middle/passive form in Greek, but here it is not really a true passive in the English sense. This is very common in Greek: some verbs are used in these endings even when the meaning is active or natural.

• ξαφνιάζω = I surprise
• ξαφνιάζομαι = I am surprised / I get surprised

So in this sentence, the speaker is saying that they themselves feel surprise.

κάθε φορά που means every time that / whenever.

Breakdown:

• κάθε = every
• φορά = time / occasion
• που = that / when

So:

• κάθε φορά που το παιδί μιλάει...
  = every time the child speaks... = whenever the child speaks...

This is a very common Greek structure.

παιδί (child) is a neuter noun in Greek, so it takes the neuter article το.

• το παιδί = the child

Even if the child is a boy or a girl, the noun παιδί itself is grammatically neuter.

That is why you get:

• το παιδί
• του παιδιού = of the child

This is grammatical gender, not biological gender.

Because the subject is το παιδί = the child, which is singular.

So:

• το παιδί μιλάει = the child speaks / is speaking

Even though παιδί is neuter, Greek still uses the normal 3rd person singular verb form with it.

Yes. In Modern Greek, both μιλάει and μιλά are used.

They both mean:

• he/she/it speaks
• is speaking

So these are both possible:

• το παιδί μιλάει
• το παιδί μιλά

μιλάει is often a bit fuller-sounding in everyday speech, but both are standard and correct.

The present tense is used because this is describing something repeated or habitual.

The sentence says:

• I am surprised every time the child speaks so clearly for his age.

This is not about one single completed event. It means this happens repeatedly, or it is generally true whenever that situation occurs.

That is why the present fits naturally here.

τόσο καθαρά means so clearly.

Breakdown:

• τόσο = so / so much / to such a degree
• καθαρά = clearly

Here καθαρά is an adverb, describing how the child speaks.

Compare:

• καθαρός = clean / clear (adjective)
• καθαρά = clearly (adverb)

So:

• μιλάει τόσο καθαρά = speaks so clearly

Here it means clearly.

With speech, καθαρά usually means:

• clearly
• distinctly
• in an easy-to-understand way

So the sentence is talking about the child's speech being surprisingly articulate or distinct.

Yes, για often means for or about, and here it means for, in the sense of considering his age.

So:

• για την ηλικία του = for his age

This is an idiomatic and very natural Greek expression. It does not mean the child is speaking clearly about his age. It means he speaks clearly considering how old he is.

So the meaning is:

• The child speaks very clearly for his age.

That is probably one of the most important things to notice in the sentence.

Greek often uses the definite article where English may not emphasize it as much.

• η ηλικία = the age
• την ηλικία = the age (accusative singular)
• του = his

So:

• την ηλικία του = his age
  literally: the age of him

Greek possessives often work like this:

• το σπίτι μου = my house
• η μητέρα της = her mother
• την ηλικία του = his age

Yes. του here is the genitive weak pronoun meaning his.

Literally:

• την ηλικία του = the age of him

But in natural English, that becomes:

• his age

This is a normal Greek way to express possession.

την ηλικία is in the accusative case.

Why? Because the preposition για normally takes the accusative in Modern Greek.

So:

• για + accusative

That gives:

• για την ηλικία του

You can see the accusative from the feminine article:

• nominative: η ηλικία
• accusative: την ηλικία

Here που introduces the clause το παιδί μιλάει τόσο καθαρά για την ηλικία του.

In this structure, που works like when / that after κάθε φορά.

So:

• κάθε φορά που... = every time that... / whenever...

It is not translating word-for-word in a neat way; it is just the normal Greek connector in this expression.

Yes, Greek word order is fairly flexible.

The given sentence:

• Ξαφνιάζομαι κάθε φορά που το παιδί μιλάει τόσο καθαρά για την ηλικία του.

A different order could be:

• Κάθε φορά που το παιδί μιλάει τόσο καθαρά για την ηλικία του, ξαφνιάζομαι.

Both are correct. The original version starts with Ξαφνιάζομαι, which gives immediate focus to the speaker’s reaction: I’m surprised...

Yes. Several parts are very natural Greek:

• Ξαφνιάζομαι κάθε φορά που... = I’m surprised every time...
• μιλάει τόσο καθαρά = speaks so clearly
• για την ηλικία του = for his age

So although the sentence is straightforward grammatically, the phrase για την ηλικία του is especially worth learning as a chunk because it may not be immediately obvious to an English speaker.

A very literal translation would be:

I am surprised every time that the child speaks so clearly for his age.

A more natural English version might be:

I’m surprised every time the child speaks so clearly for his age.

or

It surprises me every time the child speaks so clearly for his age.