Breakdown of Ο φίλος μου λέει πάντα ένα αστείο όταν όλοι είναι κουρασμένοι.
Questions & Answers about Ο φίλος μου λέει πάντα ένα αστείο όταν όλοι είναι κουρασμένοι.
In Greek, when you use a possessive pronoun like μου (my), you almost always also use the definite article:
- ο φίλος μου = my friend
- η μητέρα μου = my mother
- το σπίτι μου = my house
So ο φίλος μου literally looks like “the friend of mine,” but it’s the normal way to say my friend.
Saying φίλος μου without ο is possible, but it sounds more poetic, very informal, or used in set expressions. In standard everyday speech, ο φίλος μου is what you want.
No, μου (my) normally comes after the noun it belongs to. It’s an enclitic pronoun – a little unstressed word that “leans” on the word before it:
- ο φίλος μου (my friend)
- η αδελφή σου (your sister)
- το βιβλίο του (his book)
Putting it before the noun (ο μου φίλος) is not standard modern Greek; it either sounds archaic or simply wrong in contemporary everyday use.
So the order is:
article + noun + possessive pronoun
ο φίλος μου
You cannot say μιλάει ένα αστείο here; that’s ungrammatical.
- λέω = to say / to tell
- μιλάω / μιλάω = to speak / to talk
In this sentence, λέει ένα αστείο means he tells a joke. When you tell a specific thing (a joke, a story, a sentence), you use λέω.
Examples:
- λέω ένα αστείο = I tell a joke
- λέει μια ιστορία = he tells a story
You use μιλάω more for speaking in general or speaking to someone:
- μιλάει πολύ = he talks a lot
- μιλάω με τον φίλο μου = I talk with my friend
- μιλάω ελληνικά = I speak Greek
So in your sentence you must keep λέει.
Yes, you have some flexibility with πάντα (always). Common, natural options:
- Ο φίλος μου λέει πάντα ένα αστείο...
- Ο φίλος μου πάντα λέει ένα αστείο...
Both mean “My friend always tells a joke…” and are fine in everyday Greek. The difference is mainly in rhythm and light emphasis, not basic meaning.
Less usual but still possible with different focus:
- Πάντα ο φίλος μου λέει ένα αστείο... – more emphasis on πάντα (“It’s always my friend who tells a joke …”).
As a beginner, the easiest neutral pattern to stick to is:
subject + verb + πάντα + object
Ο φίλος μου λέει πάντα ένα αστείο...
In this sentence, ένα αστείο means a (single) joke. Greek uses an indefinite article (ένα, μια, ένας) similarly to English a/an:
- λέει ένα αστείο = he tells a joke
- λέει αστεία = he tells jokes (plural, no article)
So:
- ένα αστείο (singular, “a joke”)
- αστεία (plural, “jokes”)
If you completely drop the article in the singular (λέει αστείο) it sounds odd or incomplete here. You normally either use:
- ένα αστείο (one joke), or
- αστεία (jokes, in general, plural)
Our sentence describes a typical habit: he usually tells one joke, so ένα αστείο fits well.
όταν means when (in the sense of whenever / at the time that).
In Greek, for general or habitual actions in time clauses, you often use the present tense, even if in English you might think about it as “when they are tired” or “when they get tired”:
- Όταν όλοι είναι κουρασμένοι, ο φίλος μου λέει ένα αστείο.
When everyone is tired, my friend tells a joke. (every time that happens)
Notice:
- όταν
- present (είναι) can describe a repeated, general situation.
- For hypothetical if you would use αν, not όταν:
- Αν όλοι είναι κουρασμένοι... = If everyone is tired...
So όταν introduces the time clause “when everyone is tired” and the present tense shows this is a recurring situation.
όλοι means everyone / all (people) and it is grammatically plural. So the verb and the adjective must also be in the 3rd person plural and plural form:
- όλοι είναι κουρασμένοι
- όλοι = all (they) → plural subject
- είναι = are → 3rd person plural form (same shape as singular in modern Greek, but here it functions as plural)
- κουρασμένοι = tired → masculine plural nominative
If you said κουρασμένος (singular), it would be he is tired, not they are tired.
Some variations:
- όλοι είναι κουρασμένοι = everyone is tired (group with at least one male, or mixed / default)
- όλες είναι κουρασμένες = they are all tired (all-female group)
- όλα είναι κουρασμένα = they are all tired (things, not people; neuter plural)
κουρασμένος, -η, -ο is an adjective meaning tired.
Adjectives in Greek agree with the noun (or pronoun) in gender, number, and case. Here the subject is όλοι (implied “all people”) in the masculine plural, so the adjective must be masculine plural nominative:
- masculine singular: κουρασμένος
- feminine singular: κουρασμένη
neuter singular: κουρασμένο
- masculine plural: κουρασμένοι
- feminine plural: κουρασμένες
- neuter plural: κουρασμένα
So:
- Οι άντρες είναι κουρασμένοι. – The men are tired.
- Οι γυναίκες είναι κουρασμένες. – The women are tired.
- Τα παιδιά είναι κουρασμένα. – The children are tired.
In your sentence:
- όλοι είναι κουρασμένοι → by default masculine plural (mixed group or unspecified people).
Greek is a pro‑drop language: subject pronouns (εγώ, εσύ, αυτός, αυτή, αυτό etc.) are often omitted because the verb form and/or the context make the subject clear.
In your sentence, the subject is explicitly ο φίλος μου (“my friend”), so there is no need for an extra pronoun like αυτός:
- Ο φίλος μου λέει πάντα ένα αστείο...
My friend always tells a joke…
Using Αυτός ο φίλος μου λέει... would sound like you’re strongly contrasting this friend with others; it’s not the neutral way.
In other sentences, the subject can be only implied:
- Λέει ένα αστείο. = He/She is telling a joke.
(subject is understood from context, no pronoun needed)
Greek present tense covers both:
An action happening now
- Τώρα λέει ένα αστείο. = He is telling a joke now.
A habitual / repeated action (like English “he always tells…”)
- Λέει πάντα ένα αστείο όταν όλοι είναι κουρασμένοι.
He always tells a joke when everyone is tired.
- Λέει πάντα ένα αστείο όταν όλοι είναι κουρασμένοι.
Context and words like πάντα (always) show that here it’s a habitual present: something that happens regularly, not just once at this moment.