Accusative After Prepositions | Greek Grammar

If you learn one rule about Greek prepositions, learn this one: in everyday Modern Greek, a preposition is followed by the accusative. Not sometimes, not depending on whether there is motion — always. Ancient Greek had prepositions that switched case to switch meaning, and German learners will recognise the "accusative for motion, dative for location" game. Modern Greek threw all of that away. One preposition, one case.

This is genuinely good news, and it is worth pausing to appreciate how much work it saves you. The only thing left to learn is which form the article takes, plus one contraction rule.

The everyday prepositions

These are the prepositions that carry the language. Every one of them governs the accusative.

Preposition	Core meaning	Example
σε	to, at, in, on	στο σπίτι — at/to the house
από	from, of, by, than	από την Αθήνα — from Athens
με	with, by (means)	με τον φίλο μου — with my friend
για	for, about, to	για τη δουλειά — for/about work
μέχρι / ως / έως	until, as far as	μέχρι τις πέντε — until five
χωρίς / δίχως	without	χωρίς ζάχαρη — without sugar
προς	toward	προς την παραλία — toward the beach
παρά	despite; minus (in time)	οχτώ παρά τέταρτο — quarter to eight
μετά	after	μετά το μάθημα — after the lesson
κατά	around (approximately), during, according to	κατά τις τρεις — around three o'clock

κατά appears in that list only in its accusative senses: κατά τις τρεις (around three), κατά τη διάρκεια του μαθήματος (during the lesson), κατά τη γνώμη μου (in my opinion). When κατά means against, it is a different animal and takes the genitive — κατά της πρότασης. That split is dealt with at the end of this page.

Ήρθα από την Αθήνα με το τρένο και πέρασα υπέροχα.

írtha apó tin Athína me to tréno ke pérasa ipérocha

I came from Athens by train and had a great time.

Το πήρα για τον αδερφό μου, έχει γενέθλια την Πέμπτη.

to píra ya ton adherfó mu, échi yenéthlia tin Pémbti

I got it for my brother — it's his birthday on Thursday.

Θα σε περιμένω μέχρι τις έντεκα και μετά φεύγω.

tha se periméno méchri tis éndeka ke metá févgho

I'll wait for you until eleven and then I'm off.

Look at what stayed constant across those three sentences: τον αδερφό, την Αθήνα, τις έντεκα — accusative articles every time, exactly the same forms you use for a direct object. There is nothing new to memorise. The preposition simply takes the case you already know.

σε fuses with the article: στον, στη(ν), στο

The one place Greek makes you do extra work is σε, by far the most frequent preposition in the language. It does not stand next to a definite article — it merges with it, and the merged form is obligatory, not optional or colloquial.

σε +	Contraction	Example
τον	στον	στον γιατρό — at/to the doctor's
τη(ν)	στη(ν)	στην Ελλάδα, στη θάλασσα
το	στο	στο σπίτι
τους	στους	στους φίλους μου
τις	στις	στις πέντε — at five
τα	στα	στα παιδιά

Note that the feminine keeps the same -ν rule as the bare article: στην before a vowel or before κ, π, τ, ξ, ψ, μπ, ντ, γκ, τσ, τζ; στη otherwise. So στην Αθήνα, στην πόρτα, στην Κρήτη — but στη θάλασσα, στη δουλειά, στη Μαρία.

Πάμε στο σπίτι της γιαγιάς την Κυριακή.

páme sto spíti tis yayás tin Kiriakí

We're going to grandma's on Sunday.

Αύριο πρέπει να πάω στην τράπεζα και μετά στη δουλειά.

ávrio prépi na páo stin trápeza ke metá sti dhuliá

Tomorrow I have to go to the bank and then to work.

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Do not translate σε as "in" and στο as "to" — that is not the distinction. σε covers to, at, in and on all at once, and Greek leaves it to context to sort out which one English would pick. Είμαι στο σπίτι = "I'm at home"; Πάω στο σπίτι = "I'm going home". The preposition is identical; only the verb changes. See σε in depth.

With the indefinite article, σε does not fuse but drops its own vowel before the following one: σ' ένα, σ' έναν, and likewise σ' αυτόν, σ' εμένα. The elision only happens before a vowel, so σε μία stays intact. Both σε ένα and σ' ένα are perfectly standard; the clipped spelling is (informal) in writing but neutral in speech.

Μένω σ' ένα μικρό διαμέρισμα στο κέντρο.

méno s' éna mikró dhiamérizma sto kéndro

I live in a small flat downtown.

The same clipping happens optionally with από in casual speech: απ' το σπίτι, απ' την αρχή. This is (informal) but extremely widespread; the full από το is (neutral) and always safe.

No article? The accusative is still there

An English speaker sometimes assumes the case only "happens" when there is an article to carry it. Not so. A bare noun after a preposition is still accusative — it is just that many nouns look the same in the nominative and accusative singular when nothing precedes them.

Δεν μπορώ να ζήσω χωρίς καφέ το πρωί.

dhen boró na zíso chorís kafé to proí

I can't survive without coffee in the morning.

Μετά το μάθημα πάμε για καφέ;

metá to máthima páme ya kafé;

Shall we go for a coffee after class?

Here καφέ is the accusative of ο καφές — the -ς is gone precisely because the noun is in the accusative. The case is doing its job silently.

Pronouns after a preposition: use the strong forms

This is where English intuitions cause real damage. A pronoun after a preposition must be an accusative strong pronoun — never the subject pronoun, and never a clitic.

Subject (nominative)	After a preposition (accusative)
εγώ	(ε)μένα
εσύ	(ε)σένα
αυτός / αυτή / αυτό	αυτόν / αυτήν / αυτό
εμείς	εμάς
εσείς	εσάς
αυτοί / αυτές / αυτά	αυτούς / αυτές / αυτά

Αυτό είναι για σένα, το διάλεξα μόνη μου.

aftó íne ya séna, to dhiáleksa móni mu

This is for you — I picked it out myself.

Χωρίς εσάς δεν θα τα καταφέρναμε ποτέ.

chorís esás dhen tha ta kataférname poté

Without you we'd never have managed it.

Details and the ε-/no-ε alternation are on Pronouns after prepositions.

The exception: a few learned prepositions take the genitive

Honesty matters here. The "preposition → accusative" rule is a rule about the living, everyday prepositions. Greek also inherited a set of learned (λόγιες) prepositions from Ancient Greek and from the formal Katharevousa register, and those take the genitive: μεταξύ, εναντίον, υπέρ, κατά (in its "against" sense), εκτός, λόγω, εξαιτίας, μέσω, αντί.

Ψήφισαν υπέρ της πρότασης, παρά τις αντιρρήσεις.

psífisan ipér tis prótasis, pará tis andirísis

They voted in favour of the proposal, despite the objections.

Notice the mixed sentence: υπέρ takes the genitive (της πρότασης) while παρά takes the accusative (τις αντιρρήσεις), inside the same clause. That is exactly how the two systems coexist.

These genitive prepositions belong overwhelmingly to (formal) and (academic) registers — news reports, contracts, parliamentary language. You will read them long before you need to produce them, and none of them is required for ordinary conversation. Their full list lives on Genitive after learned prepositions.

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Rule of thumb that will serve you for a year: if you can imagine saying it to a friend in a café, the preposition takes the accusative. If it sounds like a newsreader, check whether it takes the genitive.

Two-word (compound) prepositions

Many everyday spatial expressions are an adverb + από or σε, and it is the little preposition at the end that assigns the case — again, accusative.

Compound	Meaning	Example
μπροστά από	in front of	μπροστά από το σπίτι
πίσω από	behind	πίσω από την πόρτα
δίπλα σε	next to	δίπλα στο σχολείο
κοντά σε	near	κοντά στη θάλασσα
μέσα σε	inside, within	μέσα στο σπίτι
έξω από	outside	έξω από την πόλη
πριν από	before	πριν από τον πόλεμο
μαζί με	together with	μαζί με τους φίλους μου

Παρκάρισα μπροστά από το φούρνο, δεν βρήκα αλλού θέση.

parkárisa brostá apó to fúrno, dhen vríka alú thési

I parked in front of the bakery — I couldn't find a space anywhere else.

Μένουν σε ένα χωριό κοντά στη Θεσσαλονίκη.

ménun se éna chorió kondá sti Thesaloníki

They live in a village near Thessaloniki.

Common Mistakes

1. Writing σε and the article separately. The contraction is obligatory with the definite article.

❌ Πάω σε το σχολείο.

Incorrect — σε + το must contract to στο.

✅ Πάω στο σχολείο.

páo sto scholío

I'm going to school.

2. Using a subject pronoun after a preposition. Prepositions demand the accusative form.

❌ Θα έρθεις με εγώ;

Incorrect — after με you need the accusative μένα / εμένα.

✅ Θα έρθεις με μένα;

tha érthis me ména;

Will you come with me? (μαζί μου is the more idiomatic everyday alternative.)

3. Leaving the noun in the nominative after από or για. The article has to change too.

❌ Είμαι από η Ολλανδία.

Incorrect — από governs the accusative: από την Ολλανδία.

✅ Είμαι από την Ολλανδία.

íme apó tin Olandhía

I'm from the Netherlands.

4. Putting a genitive after an everyday preposition. Learners who have met μεταξύ or λόγω sometimes over-generalise the genitive.

❌ Ήρθα χωρίς του φίλου μου.

Incorrect — χωρίς takes the accusative: χωρίς τον φίλο μου.

✅ Ήρθα χωρίς τον φίλο μου.

írtha chorís ton fílo mu

I came without my friend.

5. Getting στη vs στην wrong. The -ν survives before vowels and before κ, π, τ, ξ, ψ, μπ, ντ, γκ, τσ, τζ.

❌ Μένω στη Κρήτη.

Incorrect — before κ the -ν stays: στην Κρήτη.

✅ Μένω στην Κρήτη.

méno stin Kríti

I live in Crete.

Key Takeaways

Every everyday preposition governs the accusative: σε, από, με, για, μέχρι/ως, χωρίς, προς, παρά, μετά, κατά (in its "around / during / according to" senses). There is no case alternation for motion vs location.
σε contracts obligatorily with the definite article: στον, στη(ν), στο, στους, στις, στα — and the feminine follows the same final -ν rule as the plain article.
A bare noun after a preposition is still accusative (χωρίς καφέ, not καφές).
Pronouns after prepositions take the strong accusative forms: για σένα, χωρίς εσάς, με αυτόν.
Compound prepositions (μπροστά από, δίπλα σε, μαζί με) pass the accusative on through their final little word.
A small (formal) set — μεταξύ, υπέρ, εναντίον, λόγω, εξαιτίας, μέσω — takes the genitive instead; it is read far more often than it is spoken.

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