Η δασκάλα μάς λέει να συλλαβίζουμε τις καινούριες λέξεις όταν δεν τις θυμόμαστε καλά.

Η is the feminine singular definite article, so Η δασκάλα means the teacher.

Greek uses the definite article very often, including in places where English might or might not use the. Here it simply identifies a specific teacher.

• η = the
• δασκάλα = female teacher

If the teacher were male, it would be Ο δάσκαλος.

μάς means us.

In Η δασκάλα μάς λέει..., it is the indirect object of λέει, so the sense is:

• The teacher tells us...

You will also very often see it written as μας without an accent. The accented form μάς is usually used for clarity or emphasis, especially to distinguish it visually from the possessive μας meaning our, although in many contexts standard spelling simply uses μας.

After verbs like λέω when giving instructions, orders, or advice, Greek often uses:

• λέω + σε κάποιον + να + verb

So Η δασκάλα μάς λέει να συλλαβίζουμε... literally means something like:

• The teacher tells us to syllabify / sound out...

This is a very common Greek pattern. English often uses an infinitive (to do), but Modern Greek does not have an infinitive in this use, so it uses να + verb instead.

That is a very common learner question. Yes, συλλαβίζουμε is the same form you also see for we syllabify / we are syllabifying in the present tense.

But after να, it functions as a subjunctive-type form. In Modern Greek, the form after να is often identical to the present-tense form.

So here:

• να συλλαβίζουμε = to syllabify / to be syllabifying / that we syllabify

Because the sentence already has μάς = us, the understood subject is we:

• The teacher tells us that we should syllabify...
• more natural English: The teacher tells us to syllabify...

This is about aspect, which is very important in Greek.

• να συλλαβίζουμε = imperfective aspect
• να συλλαβίσουμε = perfective aspect

Here the imperfective συλλαβίζουμε is used because the meaning is more like a repeated or general strategy:

• The teacher tells us to sound out / syllabify the new words whenever...

It is not about one single completed act, but about a habitual method or ongoing practice.

So the imperfective fits very naturally here.

συλλαβίζω comes from συλλαβή = syllable.

So συλλαβίζω means something like:

• to divide into syllables
• to read by syllables
• to sound out syllable by syllable

In a classroom context, it often means helping yourself read or recall a word by breaking it into syllables.

So this is not exactly the same as ordinary spelling letter by letter. It is specifically about syllabifying or sounding out by syllables.

Because this is the direct object of συλλαβίζουμε, and both the article and adjective must agree with λέξεις.

Breakdown:

• τις = the, feminine plural accusative
• καινούριες = new, feminine plural accusative
• λέξεις = words, feminine plural accusative

The basic dictionary form is:

• η λέξη = the word

Plural:

• οι λέξεις = the words

As a direct object:

• τις λέξεις = the words

And the adjective agrees with the noun in gender, number, and case:

• καινούριες λέξεις = new words

Yes.

All of these are possible:

• καινούριες λέξεις
• καινούργιες λέξεις
• νέες λέξεις

A few notes:

• καινούριος / καινούργιος are very common variants meaning new
• νέος also means new, but depending on context it can also mean young

Here καινούριες λέξεις sounds very natural for new words in the sense of words recently learned or unfamiliar words.

That τις is a pronoun meaning them, referring back to τις καινούριες λέξεις.

So:

• τις καινούριες λέξεις = the new words
• δεν τις θυμόμαστε καλά = we do not remember them well

In English, we might say:

• when we don’t remember the new words well or
• when we don’t remember them well

Greek often repeats the object with a clitic pronoun like τις, especially once the noun has already been introduced.

The verb θυμάμαι means I remember.

It is one of those Greek verbs that has middle/passive-style forms but an active meaning. So even though it looks grammatically like a mediopassive form, its meaning is active:

• θυμάμαι = I remember
• θυμόμαστε = we remember

So in this sentence:

• δεν τις θυμόμαστε καλά = we do not remember them well

This is just the normal present-tense form of θυμάμαι for we.

Because this sentence describes a general repeated situation:

• when(ever) we don’t remember them well

Greek commonly uses the present tense for habitual or repeated situations like this.

So the idea is not one specific moment only, but a general classroom rule:

• whenever we do not remember the new words well, the teacher tells us to syllabify them

καλά here means well.

So:

• δεν τις θυμόμαστε καλά = we don’t remember them well

It modifies θυμόμαστε and tells you the quality of the remembering. The meaning is something like:

• we do not remember them clearly
• we do not remember them properly
• we are not remembering them well

Not completely. Greek word order is more flexible than English word order.

The given sentence is very natural:

• Η δασκάλα μάς λέει να συλλαβίζουμε τις καινούριες λέξεις όταν δεν τις θυμόμαστε καλά.

But Greek can move things around for emphasis or style. For example, the όταν clause could sometimes come earlier:

• Όταν δεν τις θυμόμαστε καλά, η δασκάλα μάς λέει να συλλαβίζουμε τις καινούριες λέξεις.

That would still be grammatical. The original version is simply a straightforward neutral order.

Yes:

• Η δασκάλα = the teacher
• μάς λέει = tells us
• να συλλαβίζουμε = to syllabify / to sound out by syllables
• τις καινούριες λέξεις = the new words
• όταν = when
• δεν = not
• τις θυμόμαστε = we remember them
• καλά = well

Structure:

• [The teacher] [tells us] [to syllabify the new words] [when we don’t remember them well].

This is a very good example of several important Greek patterns at once:

• article + noun agreement
• clitic pronouns like μάς and τις
• να
  • verb instead of an infinitive
• the use of the present for habitual situations