Το σπίτι των γονιών μου είναι μακριά από το πανεπιστήμιο.

to be

Breakdown of Το σπίτι των γονιών μου είναι μακριά από το πανεπιστήμιο.

• το σπίτι: the home
• μου: my
• από: from

Questions & Answers about Το σπίτι των γονιών μου είναι μακριά από το πανεπιστήμιο.

Why is it των γονιών μου and not των γονείς μου?

Γονείς is the nominative plural form (the one used for the subject: Οι γονείς μου είναι εδώ – My parents are here).

In this sentence we need the genitive plural to show possession (of my parents), and that form is γονιών. So:

• nominative plural: οι γονείς (the parents)
• genitive plural: των γονιών (of the parents)

That is why we say των γονιών μου, not των γονείς μου. The article των also shows that we are in the genitive plural.

What grammatical case is των γονιών μου, and what does it do here?

Των γονιών μου is in the genitive case, plural.

Here the genitive is used to show possession or a close relationship, just like of my parents or the ’s in my parents’ house in English.

Literally the structure is:

• Το σπίτι των γονιών μου ≈ The house of my parents

So το σπίτι (the house) is being specified by των γονιών μου (of my parents).

Does μου belong to γονιών or to σπίτι? Is it “my house of the parents” or “house of my parents”?