Learn Hardcore Greek: Στο πάρτι η φίλη μου φόρεσε κόκκινο φόρεμα και μαύρα παπούτσια. - At the party my friend female wore a red dress and black shoes.

After σε / στο, the noun is in the accusative case, so το πάρτι here is accusative (though nominative and accusative look the same for this indeclinable word).

Why does the sentence start with Στο πάρτι instead of Η φίλη μου? Does the word order change the meaning?

Greek word order is quite flexible, and speakers often move parts of the sentence to the front for emphasis or to set the scene.

Στο πάρτι η φίλη μου φόρεσε…
Puts emphasis on where/when this happened. It’s like saying:
At the party, my friend wore… (setting the scene first).
Η φίλη μου φόρεσε… στο πάρτι.
Presents η φίλη μου as the starting topic:
My friend wore… at the party.

The basic meaning is the same. The difference is nuance and focus, not grammar—both orders are correct.

Why do we say η φίλη μου and not μου η φίλη? Where does the μου go?

Possessive pronouns like μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους (my, your, his, etc.) are weak forms and normally come after the noun:

η φίλη μου = my (female) friend
το σπίτι σου = your house
ο αδελφός του = his brother

Putting μου before the noun (μου η φίλη) is not normal modern Greek; it sounds archaic or poetic and is used in special stylistic contexts only.

So the natural everyday order is: article + noun + possessive pronoun → η φίλη μου.

Why is there an article in η φίλη μου but no article in κόκκινο φόρεμα or μαύρα παπούτσια?

Greek uses the definite article much more than English, but it still distinguishes between definite and indefinite, especially in the singular:

η φίλη μου = my friend (a specific, known person)
φόρεσε κόκκινο φόρεμα = she wore a red dress (not some particular, previously known dress; it’s new information).

In singular, if you add an article:

το κόκκινο φόρεμα = the red dress (a specific one).

In plural, there is no real indefinite article, so:

μαύρα παπούτσια = black shoes / some black shoes
τα μαύρα παπούτσια = the black shoes.

Here the speaker simply describes what she wore, not referring to specific, already-identified clothes, so no article is used with φόρεμα and παπούτσια.

Why is it η φίλη but κόκκινο φόρεμα and μαύρα παπούτσια? How do genders work here?

Greek has three grammatical genders: feminine, masculine, and neuter.

η φίλη (friend, female)
- Feminine noun; nominative singular; article η.
το φόρεμα (dress)
- Neuter noun; nominative/accusative singular; article το.
τα παπούτσια (shoes)
- Neuter noun; nominative/accusative plural; article τα.

Adjectives must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case:

κόκκινο φόρεμα
- κόκκινο = neuter singular accusative (to match φόρεμα).
μαύρα παπούτσια
- μαύρα = neuter plural accusative (to match παπούτσια).

So we do not say κόκκινη φόρεμα, because φόρεμα is neuter, not feminine.

Why is κόκκινο before φόρεμα and μαύρα before παπούτσια? Can the adjective come after the noun?

The normal and very common order is:

adjective + noun
- κόκκινο φόρεμα = a red dress
- μαύρα παπούτσια = black shoes

You can sometimes put the adjective after the noun, usually with the article repeated, to give a different nuance or a more specific meaning, for example:

το κόκκινο φόρεμα / το φόρεμα το κόκκινο
τα μαύρα παπούτσια / τα παπούτσια τα μαύρα

In everyday speech, for plain descriptions, adjective before noun is by far the most common pattern.

What tense is φόρεσε, and why isn’t it φοράει or φορούσε?

Φόρεσε is the aorist (simple past) of φορώ / φοράω (to wear or to put on).

Roughly:

φόρεσε → she wore / she put on (a single, completed action)
φορούσε → she was wearing / she used to wear (ongoing or habitual in the past)
φοράει (also φορεί) → she wears / she is wearing (present).

In this sentence, we describe what she wore once for a specific event (the party), so the aorist φόρεσε is the natural choice: a single completed action in the past.

Is φόρεσε more like “put on” or “wore”? Which nuance is stronger here?

Φόρεσε can mean both, depending on context:

put on: the act of getting dressed
wore: the state of being dressed in something at the event

In Στο πάρτι η φίλη μου φόρεσε κόκκινο φόρεμα και μαύρα παπούτσια, most listeners will understand something like:

For the party, my friend wore a red dress and black shoes.

There is usually a slight sense of “she chose to wear / she got dressed in these for the party”, but Greek often doesn’t need to distinguish as sharply as English between “put on” and “wore.”

Why is φίλη in this form? What case is it in?

Φίλη is in the nominative feminine singular:

η φίλη = the friend (female)

In this sentence, η φίλη μου is the subject of the verb:

η φίλη μου (subject)
φόρεσε (verb)
κόκκινο φόρεμα και μαύρα παπούτσια (objects)

Subjects normally appear in the nominative case in Greek, so η φίλη is nominative.

What case are φόρεμα and παπούτσια in?

They are in the accusative, because they are direct objects of the verb φόρεσε.

φόρεσε κόκκινο φόρεμα
- φόρεμα: neuter singular accusative
και μαύρα παπούτσια
- παπούτσια: neuter plural accusative

The accusative is used for the thing that is directly affected by the action, i.e., what she wore.

What about πάρτι? Does it change form, and what gender is it?

Πάρτι is a loanword (from English party) and is typically indeclinable in modern Greek, meaning its form doesn’t change across cases.

το πάρτι (nominative/accusative singular)
στο πάρτι (σε + το πάρτι) = at the party

It is treated as neuter by convention, so we use το (singular) and τα (plural), e.g.:

το πάρτι = the party
τα πάρτι (or τα πάρτις informally for some speakers) = the parties

In this sentence, πάρτι is in accusative after the preposition σε (inside στο), but its form is the same as the nominative.

How would I say “a red dress” explicitly in Greek? Is ένα κόκκινο φόρεμα correct?

Yes:

ένα κόκκινο φόρεμα = a red dress

Ένα is the neuter singular form of the indefinite article ένας / μία / ένα (a/an/one).

In your sentence, Greek omits it because in many contexts a bare noun with an adjective is understood as indefinite:

φόρεσε κόκκινο φόρεμα
≈ she wore a red dress.

Using ένα (ένα κόκκινο φόρεμα) is also possible and can slightly emphasize “one dress” or make the “a” more explicit, but it’s usually not needed.

Why is there και only once, before μαύρα παπούτσια? Can I repeat και?

Και means and, and it can link two (or more) items:

κόκκινο φόρεμα και μαύρα παπούτσια
= a red dress and black shoes

This single και is standard and natural.

You can repeat και in some styles for emphasis or rhythm:

κόκκινο φόρεμα και μαύρα και παπούτσια (here it sounds awkward)
και κόκκινο φόρεμα και μαύρα παπούτσια (emphatic: both a red dress and black shoes)

But in neutral speech, one και between the two items is exactly what you want.

Could I say Στο πάρτι η φίλη μου φορούσε κόκκινο φόρεμα και μαύρα παπούτσια instead? What changes?

Yes, that sentence is grammatically correct, but the aspect changes:

φόρεσε (aorist)
- A single, complete action or overall fact:
- At the party, my friend wore a red dress and black shoes. (fact, completed)
φορούσε (imperfect)
- Emphasizes the ongoing nature in the past:
- At the party, my friend was wearing a red dress and black shoes.
- Or: she used to be wearing… if part of a longer description.

In many contexts, English might still translate both as wore, but in Greek, φόρεσε sounds more like a self-contained event, while φορούσε fits better into a continuous past description or background narrative.