Learn Hardcore Greek: Ο νέος μου διευθυντής είναι πολύ έξυπνος αλλά και ήρεμος. - My new manager is very smart but also calm.

Ο νέος μου διευθυντής emphasizes “my new director (as a unit).”
Ο διευθυντής μου είναι νέος emphasizes “my director is (a) new/young (person).”

Both are correct, but they’re used in slightly different ways.

Why does μου come after νέος and before διευθυντής? Could it be ο νέος διευθυντής μου?

Yes, both are possible:

Ο νέος μου διευθυντής
Ο νέος διευθυντής μου

They’re both understood as “my new director,” and in most everyday contexts there is no big difference.

However, some nuances:

Ο νέος μου διευθυντής sounds a bit more compact/formal, often used in written or careful speech.
Ο νέος διευθυντής μου is very common in spoken Greek and is maybe slightly more natural in conversation.

In both cases:

μου must stay close to διευθυντής, because it belongs to the noun phrase and shows possession: “my director.”

What is the difference between μου and δικός μου here?

In this sentence we use μου, the weak (unstressed) form of “my”:

Ο νέος μου διευθυντής = my new director

Δικός μου is the strong (stressed) form and is used for emphasis or when the noun is omitted:

Ο νέος διευθυντής είναι δικός μου.
“The new director is mine (i.e. my director, not someone else’s).”

Using δικός μου inside ο νέος δικός μου διευθυντής is grammatically possible but sounds heavy and overly emphatic, like “my very own new director.” Normal Greek just uses μου.

Why are νέος, έξυπνος, and ήρεμος all in the same form?

They all agree in:

Gender: masculine
Number: singular
Case: nominative

They must match the noun διευθυντής, which is masculine, singular, nominative in this sentence (it’s the subject).

So we get:

ο νέος διευθυντής (new director)
είναι πολύ έξυπνος (is very intelligent)
αλλά και ήρεμος (but also calm)

If the director were a woman (διευθύντρια), everything would change to feminine:

Η νέα μου διευθύντρια είναι πολύ έξυπνη αλλά και ήρεμη.

What does αλλά και mean here? Why not just αλλά or just και?

αλλά = but
και = and / also

When you say αλλά και together, it usually means “but also”, adding a second positive quality:

είναι πολύ έξυπνος αλλά και ήρεμος
“He is very intelligent but also calm.”

Nuance:

αλλά alone would sound a bit more like a contrast (almost “but on the other hand…”).
και alone would just join two adjectives with no contrast:
είναι πολύ έξυπνος και ήρεμος = “he is very intelligent and calm.”

αλλά και keeps the positive tone and emphasizes “on top of that, he is also calm.”

Why is it πολύ έξυπνος and not είναι πολύ έξυπνος πολύ or something similar?

In Greek, adverbs like πολύ (very) normally come before the adjective they modify:

πολύ έξυπνος = very intelligent
πολύ ήρεμος = very calm

The typical order with είναι (is) is:

[subject] + είναι + [adverb] + [adjective]

So:

Ο νέος μου διευθυντής είναι πολύ έξυπνος.

You cannot put πολύ after the adjective in this case (είναι έξυπνος πολύ sounds odd or poetic). The normal, neutral way is πολύ έξυπνος.

Why don’t we say Αυτός ο νέος μου διευθυντής or put a word for “he” in the Greek sentence?

Greek normally drops subject pronouns when the verb ending already shows the subject. In this sentence:

είναι = he/she/it is (3rd person singular)

From context, we know we’re talking about ο νέος μου διευθυντής. Adding αυτός (he/this) is usually unnecessary unless you want to:

contrast: Αυτός είναι έξυπνος, όχι ο άλλος.
point someone out: Αυτός είναι ο νέος μου διευθυντής.

So the natural Greek sentence is simply:

Ο νέος μου διευθυντής είναι πολύ έξυπνος αλλά και ήρεμος.
No separate word for “he” is needed.

How does είναι work here? Is it conjugated for διευθυντής?

Yes. είναι is the 3rd person singular form of είμαι (to be):

(εγώ) είμαι = I am
(εσύ) είσαι = you are (singular)
(αυτός/αυτή/αυτό) είναι = he/she/it is

Ο νέος μου διευθυντής is a 3rd person singular subject (“he”), so you use είναι:

Ο νέος μου διευθυντής είναι … = My new director is …

What gender is διευθυντής, and how would I say it if the director is female?

διευθυντής is a masculine noun.

For a female director, Greek normally uses the feminine form:

η διευθύντρια = (female) director

So the full feminine version of the sentence is:

Η νέα μου διευθύντρια είναι πολύ έξυπνη αλλά και ήρεμη.

Changes:

Ο → Η (feminine article)
νέος → νέα
διευθυντής → διευθύντρια
έξυπνος → έξυπνη
ήρεμος → ήρεμη

Is νέος here “new” or “young”? How do I know which one it means?

νέος can mean both new and young, depending on context:

νέος διευθυντής can be:
- a new director (recently appointed)
- a young director (young in age)

Usually context or extra words make it clear:

ο καινούριος μου διευθυντής = definitely “my new director” (not old one)
ο νεαρός διευθυντής = definitely “the young director” (in age)

In many real situations, νέος διευθυντής is understood as “new director” unless the conversation is about age.

How do I pronounce έξυπνος and ήρεμος?

Approximate pronunciation (in simple English terms):

έξυπνος: EHKS-eep-nos
- έξ = “eks”
- υπ = “eep” (like “eep” in “sheep”)
- νος = “nos” (like “nos” in “nostril”)
ήρεμος: EE-reh-mos
- ή = long “ee” (like “see”)
- ρε = “reh” (like “reh” in “ready”)
- μος = “mos” (like in “mosque” without the ‘k’)

Stress:

In έξυπνος, the accent marks the first syllable: É-xy-pnos.
In ήρεμος, the accent marks the first syllable: Í-re-mos.