Learn Hardcore Greek: Στα γενέθλιά της θέλει μόνο ένα βιβλίο, αλλά εγώ της παίρνω και ένα μικρό δώρο για το όνειρό της. - For her birthday she wants only one book, but I also get her a small gift for her dream.

Why “στα” and not “σε τα”?
Spoken and written Greek almost always contracts σε + article:
- σε + το → στο
- σε + τα → στα
- σε + την → στην So σε τα γενέθλια της becomes στα γενέθλιά της.
Why are “γενέθλια” plural?
Greek uses the neuter plural τα γενέθλια for “birthday” as a fixed expression.
So:
- τα γενέθλιά μου = my birthday
- στα γενέθλιά της = on/for her birthday
Meaning of “στα γενέθλιά της”
Depending on context, this can be translated as:
- on her birthday
- for her birthday
- at her birthday (party)

The Greek construction with σε + accusative (στα γενέθλιά της) is the normal way to say “on her birthday” in everyday speech.

Why is γενέθλιά written with two accents?

You’ll often see γενέθλιά written with two accent marks when it is followed by an enclitic pronoun like της:

τα γενέθλια (dictionary form; accent on -νέ-)
τα γενέθλιά της (accents on -νέ- and -λιά)

What’s going on?

Enclitic pronouns
Words like μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους can be enclitics – unstressed little words that “lean” on the previous word.
Accent rule with enclitics
When a polysyllabic word is followed by an enclitic, Greek spelling often adds a second accent on the last syllable of that word.
So:
- γενέθλια → γενέθλιά της
- όνειρο → όνειρό της
Pronunciation
In speech, you still clearly stress the original stressed syllable (-νέ- in γενέθλια). The extra written accent on the last syllable mainly:
- shows you that an enclitic is attached, and
- reflects the extra “weight” the whole phrase gets.

So, γενέθλιά της has two accents because of the enclitic της following the noun.

There are three της in the sentence. Are they all the same word, and what do they each mean?

Yes, all three της are the same pronoun (genitive singular of αυτή = she), but they play different roles:

Στα γενέθλιά της
- της = possessive: her
- Meaning: her birthday (the birthday of her)
εγώ της παίρνω…
- της = indirect object pronoun: to her / for her
- Literally: I to‑her get… → I get her… / I buy her…
- This is like “I give her a present” (not “I give a present of her”).
το όνειρό της
- της = again possessive: her dream

So:

1st της = her (of her birthday)
2nd της = to/for her (indirect object: I get her something)
3rd της = her (of her dream)

Grammatically, all three are the same form: genitive singular feminine; context tells you whether it’s possessive or indirect object.

Why is it της παίρνω and not παίρνω της?

In standard modern Greek, clitic object pronouns (like τον, την, το, του, της, τους, τους etc.) normally go before the conjugated verb:

της παίρνω ένα δώρο = I get her a gift
του δίνω το βιβλίο = I give him the book
τους γράφω ένα γράμμα = I write them a letter

Putting them after the finite verb, like παίρνω της, is incorrect in normal statements.

There are only a few main situations where clitics follow the verb:

Affirmative imperative:
- Πάρε της ένα δώρο. = Get her a present.
  (here πάρε της is correct)
Some fixed expressions or older/literary styles (less relevant for learners).

So in your sentence, because παίρνω is just a normal present‑tense verb, the pronoun must go before it:

✅ εγώ της παίρνω…
❌ εγώ παίρνω της…

What exactly does παίρνω mean here? Doesn’t it usually mean “take”?

Basic meaning of παίρνω is indeed “to take”, but in everyday Greek it has a broader use, including:

to take / pick up
- Παίρνω το λεωφορείο. = I take the bus.
to get, buy (especially for someone)
- Της παίρνω ένα δώρο. = I get/buy her a gift.

In your sentence:

…αλλά εγώ της παίρνω και ένα μικρό δώρο…

Here της παίρνω is best understood as:

I get her / I buy her a small present,

not as “I take from her”. The context (δώρο) makes the “buy/get for someone” meaning clear.

You could also say:

…αλλά εγώ της αγοράζω ένα μικρό δώρο…

but παίρνω is more casual and very common in this “buy (as a present)” sense.

What nuance does μόνο add in θέλει μόνο ένα βιβλίο, and could it go in other positions?

μόνο means “only”. Its position shows what is being limited.

In your sentence:

θέλει μόνο ένα βιβλίο
= she wants only one book / she only wants a book
(She doesn’t want anything else besides a book.)

Other possible positions:

Μόνο θέλει ένα βιβλίο.
- Less common and a bit marked; it sounds like:
  - All she does is want a book
    (focusing more on the verb “want” than on what she wants.)
Θέλει ένα μόνο βιβλίο.
- Emphasizes the “one-ness”:
  - She wants just one single book (not more than one).

In everyday speech, for your meaning, θέλει μόνο ένα βιβλίο is the most natural: she wants only a book, nothing more.

What does και mean before ένα μικρό δώρο? Isn’t και just “and”?

και is primarily “and”, but it is very often used as “also / too / as well / even”, depending on context.

In your sentence:

…αλλά εγώ της παίρνω και ένα μικρό δώρο…

Here και means “also / as well”:
- but I also get her a small present
  (on top of the book she wants)

You could paraphrase it as:

…αλλά εγώ της παίρνω επίσης ένα μικρό δώρο…

But:

και is more natural and more common in speech.
επίσης is a bit more formal or emphatic, and often comes earlier in the clause.

So in this position, και = “also/as well”, not just simple “and”.

Why is it ένα μικρό δώρο and not μια μικρή δώρο?

Because δώρο has neuter gender, and adjectives and articles must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun.

το δώρο = the gift (neuter singular)
ένα δώρο = a gift
μικρό δώρο = small gift

So:

ένα μικρό δώρο is:
- ένα (neuter singular)
- μικρό (neuter singular adjective)
- δώρο (neuter singular noun)

Forms like μια μικρή are feminine:

μια μικρή τσάντα (feminine noun)
μια μικρή γάτα

Since δώρο is neuter, you must use neuter forms:

✅ ένα μικρό δώρο
❌ μια μικρή δώρο

The same pattern applies to βιβλίο and όνειρο, which are also neuter:

ένα βιβλίο, το όνειρό της, etc.

Why do we say για το όνειρό της and not something like του ονείρου της?

Two points here: the preposition and the case.

The preposition “για”
για usually means:
- for (purpose/benefit)
- about (topic)
- because of
It is followed by the accusative case:
- για το όνειρό της (accusative) = for her dream
In your sentence, it means the present is for the sake of / in support of her dream (e.g. something that helps her achieve it).
Why not “του ονείρου της”?
- του ονείρου της is genitive = of her dream.
  This is used mostly to modify another noun:
- ο τίτλος του ονείρου της = the title of her dream
- η πραγματοποίηση του ονείρου της = the realization of her dream
But after για, you cannot use genitive:
- ❌ για του ονείρου της (ungrammatical)

So:

για το όνειρό της = for her dream (purpose/benefit, with accusative)
του ονείρου της = of her dream (possessive/genitive, after another noun)

Why is there a definite article in το όνειρό της? English just says “her dream”.

Greek uses the definite article + noun + possessive pattern much more than English.

Typical structure:

το βιβλίο μου = my book
η μητέρα της = her mother
το σπίτι μας = our house
το όνειρό της = her dream

So το όνειρό της is the normal way to say “her dream”.
Leaving out the article:

όνειρό της (without το) is possible in some contexts (poetic, very emphatic, or in specific syntactic positions), but it’s not the default.

Therefore:

English: her dream
Greek default: το όνειρό της (with article)

The article does not add “the” in the English sense here; it’s just how possessive noun phrases are usually formed.

Can I leave out εγώ? When do Greeks actually say the subject pronoun?

Yes, you can leave out εγώ:

…θέλει μόνο ένα βιβλίο, αλλά της παίρνω και ένα μικρό δώρο…

Greek is a “pro‑drop” language: the verb ending tells you the subject:

θέλει → 3rd person singular = he/she/it wants
παίρνω → 1st person singular = I get / I buy

So subject pronouns (εγώ, εσύ, αυτός/αυτή…) are often omitted unless you want to stress who is doing the action.

In your sentence, εγώ is useful because it creates a contrast:

(Αυτή) θέλει μόνο ένα βιβλίο, αλλά εγώ της παίρνω…
- She only wants a book, but I (on my side) also get her a small present.

So:

With εγώ → emphasis/contrast: she vs I.
Without εγώ → still grammatical, but the contrast is a bit less explicit.

Could the sentence be reordered? For example, can I say Θέλει μόνο ένα βιβλίο στα γενέθλιά της?

Yes, Greek word order is fairly flexible, especially with adverbial phrases like στα γενέθλιά της.

Your two versions are both correct:

Στα γενέθλιά της θέλει μόνο ένα βιβλίο…
- Slight emphasis on the occasion (as for her birthday…).
Θέλει μόνο ένα βιβλίο στα γενέθλιά της…
- Slight emphasis on what she wants; the birthday phrase feels more like extra information at the end.

Other common, still natural orders:

Μόνο ένα βιβλίο θέλει στα γενέθλιά της…
(= Only one book is what she wants for her birthday.)
Στα γενέθλιά της μόνο ένα βιβλίο θέλει…
(stronger stress on “only one book”.)

Things you can’t do:

You can’t break up fixed chunks like στα γενέθλιά της:
- ❌ γενέθλιά στα της
You can’t separate μόνο too far from the word it limits, or the meaning becomes odd.

So yes, Θέλει μόνο ένα βιβλίο στα γενέθλιά της… is perfectly fine — the difference is mostly one of emphasis and style, not grammar.