Η φίλη μου συνεχίζει τη δουλειά μέχρι αργά το βράδυ.

My friend (female) continues the work until late at night.

Breakdown of Η φίλη μου συνεχίζει τη δουλειά μέχρι αργά το βράδυ.

• η δουλειά: the work
• η φίλη: the female friend
• μου: my
• το βράδυ: in the evening
• μέχρι: until
• αργά: late
• συνεχίζω: to continue

Questions & Answers about Η φίλη μου συνεχίζει τη δουλειά μέχρι αργά το βράδυ.

Why is it Η φίλη μου and not something like η μου φίλη?

In Greek, possessive pronouns like μου (my) normally come after the noun they modify and are unstressed (enclitic).

• Η φίλη μου = my (female) friend
• η μου φίλη is ungrammatical in modern Greek.

So the pattern is:
article + noun + possessive pronoun
Examples:

• το βιβλίο μου = my book
• ο αδελφός σου = your brother

Does Η φίλη μου mean my friend or my girlfriend?

Literally, η φίλη μου means my (female) friend.

Context decides whether it is:

• just a female friend, or
• a romantic partner (girlfriend).

If someone wants to make it clearly romantic, they might say:

• η κοπέλα μου = my girlfriend (much more clearly romantic).

What exactly is μου grammatically?

Μου is the weak (unstressed) genitive form of the first‑person pronoun. It corresponds to my / (to) me and functions as a possessive here.

Forms you might see:

• εγώ = I
• μου = my / (to) me
• εμένα = me (stressed form, used for emphasis or after prepositions)

In possessive use, the weak form μου always follows the noun:

• η μητέρα μου = my mother
• το σπίτι μου = my house

What person and tense is συνεχίζει, and where is the subject?

Συνεχίζει is:

• 3rd person singular
• present tense
• active voice

The subject is η φίλη μου (my friend), so the verb agrees with it:

• η φίλη μου συνεχίζει = my friend continues

Greek doesn’t need a separate subject pronoun (she) because it’s already clear from the noun and the verb ending.

Why is it συνεχίζει τη δουλειά instead of something like συνεχίζει να δουλεύει?

Both structures exist and are correct, but they mean slightly different things:

• συνεχίζει τη δουλειά

  • Literally: she continues the work.
  • Focus on continuing a specific task/job that was already in progress.

• συνεχίζει να δουλεύει

  • Literally: she continues to work / she keeps working.
  • Focus on the ongoing action of working, more general.

In many contexts they can overlap, but τη δουλειά points more to the work as a thing, while να δουλεύει points to the activity of working.

What case is τη δουλειά, and why τη and not η?

Τη δουλειά is in the accusative case, used here as the direct object of the verb συνεχίζει.

Feminine noun δουλειά:

• η δουλειά = the work (nominative, subject)
• τη δουλειά = the work (accusative, object)

So:

• Η δουλειά είναι δύσκολη. = The work is difficult. (subject)
• Κάνει τη δουλειά. = He/She does the work. (object)

The article changes from η to τη in the accusative singular.

Why is it written τη δουλειά and not την δουλειά?

Both spellings appear in practice, but the more standard modern spelling here is τη δουλειά because δουλειά begins with a consonant other than π, τ, κ, μπ, ντ, γκ, ξ, ψ.

Traditional rule (often followed in writing):

• Use την before vowel and certain consonants (π, τ, κ, μπ, ντ, γκ, ξ, ψ).
• Use τη before most other consonants.

So you’ll see:

• την ώρα (vowel)
• την πόρτα (π)
• την κυβέρνηση (κ)
  but
• τη δουλειά
• τη γυναίκα

In everyday speech, people often pronounce a final -ν more freely, but in spelling today τη δουλειά is the more common form.

Is δουλειά the only word for work, or can I use εργασία instead?

Both exist, but they differ in tone and usage:

• δουλειά

  • Very common, everyday word.
  • Means work, job, task, business.
  • Used in casual speech: Έχω πολλή δουλειά. = I have a lot of work.

• εργασία

  • More formal / technical.
  • Used in contexts like employment, academic assignment, scientific work.
  • Example: πτυχιακή εργασία = thesis.

In this sentence, συνεχίζει τη δουλειά feels natural and colloquial. Συνεχίζει την εργασία would sound more formal and a bit stiff in everyday conversation.

What is μέχρι doing here, and how is it different from ως / έως?

Μέχρι means until / up to and introduces a time limit:

• μέχρι αργά το βράδυ = until late in the evening / late at night.

Μέχρι, ως, and έως are often interchangeable when followed by a time expression:

• μέχρι τις πέντε
• ως τις πέντε
• έως τις πέντε

All can mean until five o’clock. Differences:

• μέχρι is the most common in everyday speech.
• ως and especially έως sound more formal or literary.

There is also μέχρι να + verb = until (someone) does something:

• Δούλευε μέχρι να τελειώσει. = He/She worked until he/she finished.
  In your sentence, μέχρι is followed by a noun phrase (a time expression), not a verb.

What is αργά grammatically, and how is it different from αργός?

In μέχρι αργά το βράδυ, αργά is an adverb meaning late.

• αργά (adverb) = late (in time):

  • Ξύπνησα αργά. = I woke up late.

• αργός (adjective) = slow:

  • αργός ρυθμός = slow pace.

So:

• αργά το βράδυ = late in the evening / at night.
  It describes when the work continues.

Why do we say αργά το βράδυ without a preposition like στο?

In Greek, time expressions often use article + time word without a preposition to mean in/at [that time]:

• το πρωί = in the morning
• το μεσημέρι = at noon
• το απόγευμα = in the afternoon
• το βράδυ = in the evening / at night

So αργά το βράδυ literally looks like late the evening, but it is understood as late in the evening. No extra preposition (like σε / στο) is needed here.

Why is there a το before βράδυ? Why not just μέχρι αργά βράδυ?

Βράδυ (evening/night) is a neuter noun, and in this time expression it normally takes the neuter singular article το:

• το βράδυ = in the evening / at night

Leaving out the article (αργά βράδυ) is not idiomatic in standard Greek. The natural pattern is:

• αργά το βράδυ
• νωρίς το πρωί
• κάθε βράδυ (no article here because κάθε = every already modifies it).

Can the word order change? For example, could I say Η φίλη μου συνεχίζει μέχρι αργά το βράδυ τη δουλειά?

Greek word order is relatively flexible. Variants like these are possible:

• Η φίλη μου συνεχίζει τη δουλειά μέχρι αργά το βράδυ.
  (Most neutral, very natural.)

• Η φίλη μου συνεχίζει μέχρι αργά το βράδυ τη δουλειά.
  (Also possible; slightly more emphasis on the time span.)

• Τη δουλειά συνεχίζει η φίλη μου μέχρι αργά το βράδυ.
  (Emphasizes τη δουλειά.)

All are grammatical, but the original order is the most straightforward and natural in everyday speech.