Learn Hardcore Greek: Την Κυριακή πάω στο γήπεδο με τον φίλο μου. - On Sunday I go to the field with my friend.

Την Κυριακή = literally “the Sunday” (accusative), but it means “on Sunday”.
The nominative would be η Κυριακή (“Sunday” as the subject of a sentence).
Dropping the article (Κυριακή πάω...) is possible in casual speech, but Την Κυριακή is the most natural, standard way here.

So the article + accusative is just how Greek typically says “on Sunday” in this kind of sentence.

Why is it Την Κυριακή (accusative) and not Η Κυριακή (nominative)? What does the accusative do here?

Κυριακή is feminine, so:

Nominative: η Κυριακή
Accusative: την Κυριακή

In this sentence, την Κυριακή is a time expression. Greek often uses the accusative case to express time when something happens:

Την Δευτέρα – on Monday
Τον Ιούνιο – in June
Κάθε μέρα – every day (accusative)

So την Κυριακή is accusative because it functions as “on Sunday” (time), not as the subject.

Why don’t we say στην Κυριακή for “on Sunday”, like we say στο γήπεδο for “to the stadium / at the stadium”?

The preposition σε (σε, στον, στην, στο...) is not used for days of the week in this sense.

For time with days, Greek normally uses just the article + accusative:
- Την Κυριακή, την Παρασκευή, την Τρίτη.
Σε is used for places (and some other things):
- στο γήπεδο – to/at the stadium
- στο σπίτι – to/at home
- στην Αθήνα – in/to Athens

So στην Κυριακή is incorrect here; την Κυριακή is the standard way to say “on Sunday”.

Why is Κυριακή capitalized? Is it a proper noun in Greek?

Yes. In Greek, days of the week and months are normally written with a capital letter, just like in English:

Δευτέρα, Τρίτη, Τετάρτη, Πέμπτη, Παρασκευή, Σάββατο, Κυριακή
Ιανουάριος, Φεβρουάριος, etc.

So Κυριακή is capitalized because it is the name of the day (a proper noun), and Την is capitalized because it is the first word in the sentence.

What exactly does πάω mean here? Is it present or future? Could it mean “I go” as a habit?

Πάω is the present tense of the verb πηγαίνω (colloquial form). Literally it means “I go / I am going”.

In Greek, the present tense is also often used for a near future plan or arrangement, especially with a time word:

Την Κυριακή πάω στο γήπεδο.
– On Sunday I am going to the stadium. / I’m going to the stadium on Sunday.

Context decides whether it’s:

habitual: “On Sundays I (usually) go...” → more likely Κάθε Κυριακή πάω...
specific future plan: “This Sunday I’m going...” → that’s how it’s usually understood with Την Κυριακή.

If you want to make the future clearly explicit, you can say:

Την Κυριακή θα πάω στο γήπεδο. – On Sunday I will go to the stadium.

What is the difference between πάω and πηγαίνω?

Both mean “I go”, but:

πάω is the short, very common, colloquial form.
πηγαίνω is the full form, a bit more formal or neutral.

In everyday speech you hear πάω all the time:

Πάω στο γήπεδο.
Πάω στη δουλειά.

You can usually replace πάω with πηγαίνω without changing the meaning:

Την Κυριακή πηγαίνω στο γήπεδο με τον φίλο μου.

Both are correct; πάω just sounds more natural in casual conversation.

What does στο mean in στο γήπεδο? Is it one word or two?

Στο is a contraction of two words:

σε (preposition: in, to, at)
το (neuter singular definite article: the)

So:

σε + το = στο

This contraction is obligatory in natural speech and writing. Other common contractions are:

σε + τον = στον
σε + την = στην
σε + τα = στα

So στο γήπεδο literally is “in/to the stadium”, and depending on context we translate it as “to the stadium” or “at the stadium”.

Why is it στο γήπεδο and not στον γήπεδο or στην γήπεδο?

Because γήπεδο is a neuter noun.

Masculine: ο φίλος → τον φίλο → στον φίλο
Feminine: η πόλη → την πόλη → στην πόλη
Neuter: το γήπεδο → το γήπεδο → στο γήπεδο

So for το γήπεδο the correct contraction is σε + το = στο, giving στο γήπεδο.

What exactly does γήπεδο mean? Is it the same as “stadium”? Are there other Greek words?

Γήπεδο is a general word for a sports ground / pitch / field / stadium area, especially where games are played (football, basketball, etc.).

στο γήπεδο – to the sports ground / stadium

Other related words:

στάδιο – stadium (often a larger, more formal facility)
γήπεδο ποδοσφαίρου – football pitch/stadium
γήπεδο μπάσκετ – basketball court

In everyday speech, γήπεδο is very common for “the place where we go to watch or play sports”, so translating it as “stadium” is usually fine.

Why isn’t the word for “I” (εγώ) included? How do we know it means “I go”?

Greek verbs are conjugated, and the ending shows the subject person:

πάω – I go
πας – you go (singular)
πάει – he/she/it goes
πάμε – we go
πάτε – you go (plural/formal)
πάνε / πάν’ – they go

Because the person is clear from the verb form, Greek usually omits the subject pronoun.

So:

Πάω στο γήπεδο. – I’m going to the stadium.
Εγώ πάω στο γήπεδο. – I’m going to the stadium (with extra emphasis on “I”).

In your sentence, πάω already tells us the subject is “I”.

Why is it με τον φίλο μου and not με ο φίλος μου or just με φίλος μου?

A few things are happening here:

με (“with”) is a preposition that requires the accusative case.
φίλος is masculine:
- Nominative: ο φίλος
- Accusative: τον φίλο
With a possessive pronoun (μου, “my”) you normally keep the article:
- ο φίλος μου – my friend (subject)
- τον φίλο μου – my friend (object, after a preposition)

So:

με + τον φίλο μου = with my friend (correct)
με ο φίλος μου – wrong case (should be τον)
με φίλος μου – sounds incomplete/unnatural; you normally keep the article in this structure.

Thus με τον φίλο μου is the correct form.

Why does φίλος change to φίλο in this sentence?

This is a case change:

Nominative (subject): ο φίλος – “the friend”
Accusative (object, after prepositions): τον φίλο – “the friend”

After prepositions like με (“with”), Greek uses the accusative case, so:

με τον φίλο μου – with my friend.

The -ος → -ο change in φίλος → φίλο is the usual masculine -ος noun pattern in Greek.

Where does μου (“my”) go in Greek? Can I say μου φίλος or ο μου φίλος?

In Greek, possessive pronouns like μου (“my”) are clitics that usually come after the noun (and its article):

ο φίλος μου – my friend
το βιβλίο μου – my book
η μητέρα μου – my mother

You don’t say:

ο μου φίλος ✗
μου φίλος ✗

In your sentence, because of the preposition and case:

με τον φίλο μου – with my friend
(article τον
- noun φίλο
  - possessive μου)

So the normal pattern is article + noun + μου.

Can I change the word order? For example, can I say Πάω στο γήπεδο την Κυριακή με τον φίλο μου?

Yes. Greek word order is flexible, and many variations are possible while keeping the same basic meaning. For example:

Την Κυριακή πάω στο γήπεδο με τον φίλο μου.
Πάω την Κυριακή στο γήπεδο με τον φίλο μου.
Πάω στο γήπεδο την Κυριακή με τον φίλο μου.

All are understandable. The differences are mainly in emphasis and rhythm:

Putting Την Κυριακή first highlights when it happens.
Putting πάω first is more neutral in spoken flow.

Your original version is very natural Greek.

How would I say “On Sundays I go to the stadium with my friend” (every Sunday, a habit)?

To express a repeated habit on Sundays, you normally use the plural of Κυριακή:

Τις Κυριακές πάω στο γήπεδο με τον φίλο μου.
– On Sundays I go to the stadium with my friend.

You can also use κάθε (“every”):

Κάθε Κυριακή πάω στο γήπεδο με τον φίλο μου.
– Every Sunday I go to the stadium with my friend.

Both clearly show it’s a habit, not just one specific upcoming Sunday.