Η μαμά μου δεν θέλει σέλινο στο ρύζι, αλλά τρώει πάντα μπιζέλια με κοτόπουλο.

Μου means my here, but in Greek possessive words like μου, σου, του usually come after the noun.

So:

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

Literally, it feels like the mom of me, but in natural English we translate it as my mom.

Greek often uses the definite article where English does not. So η μαμά μου literally includes the:

• η μαμά μου = my mom
• ο αδερφός μου = my brother

In many contexts, especially in everyday speech, Greek prefers the article with family nouns and many other nouns.

Θέλει literally means wants. In food sentences, though, Greek often uses θέλω in a way that can sound like want / like / care for, depending on context.

So here δεν θέλει σέλινο στο ρύζι is naturally understood as something like:

• she doesn’t want celery in the rice
• or more idiomatically, she doesn’t like celery in rice

Greek uses θέλω more broadly than English sometimes does in these situations.

Because σέλινο is being used in a general, uncountable / ingredient sense.

So Greek often leaves out the article when talking about a substance or ingredient in general:

• δεν θέλει σέλινο = she doesn’t want celery
• τρώω ψωμί = I eat bread
• πίνει καφέ = he/she drinks coffee

If you added the article, it could sound more specific, like a particular celery.

Στο is a contraction of σε + το:

• σε = in, at, to
• το = the
• στο = in the / into the / on the, depending on context

So:

• στο ρύζι = in the rice

Here it means the celery is part of the rice dish.

Because they express different relationships.

• στο ρύζι = in the rice
  This means the celery is inside or mixed into the rice.

• με κοτόπουλο = with chicken
  This means the peas are eaten together with chicken, or as part of a chicken dish.

So:

• σε / στο often shows location or inclusion
• με means with

Yes, μπιζέλια is plural because peas are normally thought of as multiple small items, just like in English.

• singular: μπιζέλι = pea
• plural: μπιζέλια = peas

Greek often uses the plural for foods that naturally come in many small pieces.

For the same general reason as with σέλινο: it is being used as food in a general sense, not as a specific chicken.

So:

• με κοτόπουλο = with chicken
• με ψάρι = with fish
• με κρέας = with meat

If you used the article, it would usually sound more specific.

Αλλά means but. It connects two contrasting ideas:

• Η μαμά μου δεν θέλει σέλινο στο ρύζι
• αλλά
• τρώει πάντα μπιζέλια με κοτόπουλο

So the contrast is:

• she does not want one thing
• but she does eat another thing

Πάντα means always, and adverbs like this often come before the main item or phrase they modify.

So:

• τρώει πάντα μπιζέλια = she always eats peas

Its position is natural in Greek. You may see some flexibility in word order, but this placement is very common.

Not completely. Greek word order is more flexible than English because noun endings and verb forms carry a lot of grammatical information.

This sentence is very natural as written:

• Η μαμά μου δεν θέλει σέλινο στο ρύζι, αλλά τρώει πάντα μπιζέλια με κοτόπουλο.

But Greek can move things around for emphasis. For example, πάντα could shift position in some contexts. Even so, the original version is the most neutral and natural for a learner to use.

Because the subject is she: my mom.

The verb τρώω means I eat in its dictionary form. Its forms change by person:

• τρώω = I eat
• τρώς = you eat
• τρώει = he/she/it eats
• τρώμε = we eat
• τρώτε = you (plural) eat
• τρώνε / τρώνουν = they eat

So η μαμά μου τρώει = my mom eats.

Because the verb ending already tells you the person.

• τρώει already means he/she/it eats
• θέλει already means he/she/it wants

Greek often drops subject pronouns when they are not needed. Since η μαμά μου is already the subject, adding αυτή would usually be unnecessary unless you wanted emphasis.

In Modern Greek, μπ is usually pronounced like b at the beginning of a word.

So:

• μπιζέλια sounds roughly like bee-ZEL-ya

Inside a word, μπ can sound more like mb or b, depending on the speaker and context.

It is technically a weak genitive form, which is how Greek commonly expresses possession.

So in:

• η μαμά μου

the μου is the form meaning of me / my.

You do not need to memorize all the terminology right away, but it helps to know that Greek possession is often built this way:

• noun + weak genitive pronoun

Yes, μαμά is the everyday word mom / mum. It is warm and natural in normal conversation.

Μητέρα means mother and sounds much more formal or neutral.

So:

• η μαμά μου = my mom
• η μητέρα μου = my mother

In this sentence, μαμά sounds much more natural.