Breakdown of Στις διακοπές βγάζω πολλές φωτογραφίες με τη φίλη μου.
Questions & Answers about Στις διακοπές βγάζω πολλές φωτογραφίες με τη φίλη μου.
στις is a contraction of σε + τις.
- σε = in / at / on (general preposition)
- τις = the (feminine plural, accusative)
So literally στις διακοπές means “in the holidays”, but in English we usually say “on vacation” / “on holiday”.
You cannot say σε διακοπές in this sentence; you need the article in Greek, so σε + τις διακοπές → στις διακοπές.
In Greek, οι διακοπές (fem. plural) is the normal word for vacation / holidays. It’s almost always used in the plural:
- Πάω διακοπές. = I’m going on vacation.
- Πότε έχεις διακοπές; = When do you have holidays / vacation?
There is a singular η διακοπή, but that means interruption / break, not vacation. So διακοπές is plural because that’s just how “vacation” is usually expressed in Greek.
βγάζω is present tense, 1st person singular (I). It’s the imperfective aspect, used for:
- habits
- repeated actions
- general statements
So Στις διακοπές βγάζω πολλές φωτογραφίες means:
- “On vacation, I (usually) take a lot of photos.”
(a regular habit whenever I’m on vacation)
If you wanted to talk about a specific vacation in the past, you’d use the past tense:
- Στις διακοπές έβγαλα πολλές φωτογραφίες.
= On vacation I took a lot of photos.
In Greek, the standard verb for taking pictures is βγάζω:
- βγάζω φωτογραφίες = I take photos
- literally: “I bring out / take out photos” (from the camera)
Other verbs:
- παίρνω = take (in the sense of receive, pick up, take a bus, etc.),
but not for photos. - κάνω = do / make, and you might hear κάνω μια φωτογραφία sometimes,
but βγάζω φωτογραφίες is the natural, common phrase.
So you should memorize βγάζω φωτογραφίες as a fixed collocation.
πολλές is an adjective meaning many, and it must agree with the noun in:
- gender: feminine (like φωτογραφίες)
- number: plural
- case: accusative (because it’s the object of the verb)
Forms:
- η φωτογραφία (singular) → οι φωτογραφίες (plural)
- πολλή (fem. sing.) → πολλές (fem. pl.)
So:
- πολλές φωτογραφίες = many photos (fem. pl. acc.)
That’s why you can’t say πολύ φωτογραφίες here; πολύ is the neuter form and doesn’t agree with φωτογραφίες.
The preposition με (with) in modern Greek is followed by the accusative case:
- με + τη φίλη (accusative) = with the (female) friend
So:
- τη φίλη = the friend (feminine, singular, accusative)
- της φίλης would be genitive (“of the friend”), which is wrong after με.
The order is:
- με (preposition)
- τη (article, fem. sg. acc.)
- φίλη (noun, fem. sg. acc.)
- μου (possessive pronoun “my”)
Hence: με τη φίλη μου = with my (female) friend.
The full feminine accusative article is την. In modern Greek, the final -ν is often dropped when the next word starts with certain consonants.
You usually keep the -ν before:
- vowels (α, ε, η, ι, ο, υ, ω)
- and consonants: κ, π, τ, ξ, ψ, μπ, ντ, γκ, τσ, τζ
You often drop it before other consonants, like φ, χ, θ, etc.
Since φίλη starts with φ, the -ν is normally dropped in speech and writing:
- την φίλη → τη φίλη
Both can be understood, but τη φίλη is the standard modern spelling here.
Both are correct, but there’s a small nuance:
- η φίλη μου = my (female) friend, with the article;
this is the most neutral, complete way to say it. - φίλη μου (without η) is also common, especially in conversation.
It can sound:- more informal, or
- more “vocative-like” (when talking about or to someone close), depending on context.
In this sentence:
- με τη φίλη μου is perfectly natural.
- με φίλη μου would sound incomplete or unusual here; you normally keep the article after με in this type of phrase.
Yes. Adding μου makes it “my vacation”:
- Στις διακοπές μου βγάζω πολλές φωτογραφίες με τη φίλη μου.
= On my vacation I take many photos with my friend.
Grammar:
- οι διακοπές μου = my vacation(s)
- στις διακοπές μου = in/on my vacation (literally “in the vacations of me”)
Both with and without μου are correct; μου just adds the idea that we’re talking specifically about your vacations.
Yes. Greek word order is fairly flexible. All of these are possible and natural:
- Στις διακοπές βγάζω πολλές φωτογραφίες με τη φίλη μου.
- Βγάζω πολλές φωτογραφίες στις διακοπές με τη φίλη μου.
- Βγάζω πολλές φωτογραφίες με τη φίλη μου στις διακοπές.
The basic meaning is the same. Changes in order can slightly shift emphasis:
- Starting with Στις διακοπές emphasizes the time frame (“When I’m on vacation…”).
- Starting with Βγάζω emphasizes the action (“I take many photos…”).
But for a learner, you can treat them as equivalent.
βγάζω is pronounced approximately: [V-GAH-zo].
Breakdown:
- β = like English v in “very”
- γ before α = a voiced sound made at the back of the mouth,
similar to a softer g in “go,” but more fricative - βγ together = a quick blend: start with v, then go immediately into the γ sound
- ά = “a” as in “father” (stressed syllable)
- ζ = like English z in “zoo”
- ω = like English “o” in “not” / “off” (short o)
So: βγΑ-ζω, stress on the first syllable.
Yes, φίλη is female friend (feminine):
- η φίλη μου = my (female) friend
- ο φίλος μου = my (male) friend
So the sentence Στις διακοπές βγάζω πολλές φωτογραφίες με τη φίλη μου clearly indicates you’re with a female friend. If it were a male friend, you’d say:
- …με τον φίλο μου. (or με το φίλο μου in modern spelling, dropping ν before φ)
Yes, but it changes the nuance:
- η φίλη μου = my (female) friend (can be platonic)
- η κοπέλα μου = usually means my girlfriend (romantic partner)
So:
- με τη φίλη μου = with my female friend
- με την κοπέλα μου = with my girlfriend
If you say Στις διακοπές βγάζω πολλές φωτογραφίες με την κοπέλα μου, most listeners will understand you mean your romantic partner, not just any female friend.