Learn Hardcore Greek: Η συνάδελφός μου δεν είναι παντρεμένη αλλά έχει σχέση εδώ και πολλά χρόνια. - My colleague female is not married but has been in a relationship for many years.

When you add an enclitic like μου after a word that’s stressed on the antepenultimate syllable (third from the end), Greek spelling rules add a second accent on the last syllable to keep the stress within the last three syllables:

συνάδελφος
συνάδελφός μου

So the extra accent on -φός appears because the enclitic μου follows. You keep the original stress on νά and add another one on the last syllable.

Why is the article Η feminine? Can συνάδελφος be both masculine and feminine?

Yes. συνάδελφος is a common-gender noun: it can refer to either a male or a female colleague.

Ο συνάδελφός μου = my (male) colleague
Η συνάδελφός μου = my (female) colleague

In this sentence we have Η συνάδελφός μου, so it clearly refers to a female colleague. That’s why later we also find παντρεμένη, the feminine form of “married.”

Why does μου come after συνάδελφός and not before, like in English “my colleague”?

μου is an enclitic possessive pronoun. In Greek, these short possessive forms usually come after the noun:

το σπίτι μου = my house
η μητέρα μου = my mother
η συνάδελφός μου = my colleague

You can also use stressed forms (like δικός μου, δική μου) for emphasis, but the neutral, default position for μου is after the noun.

What exactly does δεν είναι παντρεμένη mean, and how is it different from something like δεν παντρεύτηκε?

δεν είναι παντρεμένη = “she is not married” (it describes her current marital status).

είναι = is
παντρεμένη = married (feminine form)

It expresses a state.

δεν παντρεύτηκε means “she didn’t get married” (she never went through the act/ceremony). That talks about a past event (or non-event), not her current status in general.

In this sentence we want to say what her status is now, so δεν είναι παντρεμένη is the natural choice.

What is παντρεμένη grammatically, and why is it in the feminine form?

παντρεμένη is an adjective (historically from a participle) meaning “married.”

It has masculine, feminine, and neuter forms:

παντρεμένος (masculine)
παντρεμένη (feminine)
παντρεμένο (neuter)

Adjectives in Greek agree in gender, number, and case with the noun they describe. Since η συνάδελφός μου is a female person (feminine singular), we use:

(αυτή) είναι παντρεμένη = she is married

If it were a male colleague:

Ο συνάδελφός μου δεν είναι παντρεμένος…

What does αλλά mean here, and could we use another word like όμως or μα instead?

αλλά means “but” and introduces a contrast:

δεν είναι παντρεμένη αλλά έχει σχέση
= she is not married but she is in a relationship.

You could also see:

…δεν είναι παντρεμένη. Όμως έχει σχέση…
…δεν είναι παντρεμένη, μα έχει σχέση…

αλλά is the most neutral, standard conjunction for “but.”
μα is more informal or literary.
όμως behaves more like “however / though” and often starts a new clause or sentence.

In this specific sentence, αλλά is the most straightforward choice.

What does έχει σχέση actually mean? Is it literally “has a relationship”?

Literally, έχει σχέση = “(she) has a relationship.”

Idiomatic meaning: “she is in a (romantic) relationship.”

In modern Greek, έχω σχέση (με κάποιον) is the standard way to say:

έχει σχέση εδώ και πολλά χρόνια
= she has been in a relationship for many years

It usually implies a romantic relationship, not just a general connection or relation.

Why is there no article, like μια, before σχέση? Why not έχει μια σχέση?

έχει σχέση is an established idiomatic expression meaning “is in a relationship”. In this fixed phrase, σχέση is used without an article.

έχει σχέση = is in a (romantic) relationship (generic)

If you say έχει μια σχέση, it’s grammatically correct but sounds more like:

“she has a certain relationship” / “she has one relationship,”

and can feel more specific, less idiomatic for the usual “is in a relationship” idea.

So for the normal “she’s in a relationship,” Greeks typically say έχει σχέση, no article.

Why is the verb έχει in the present tense, when in English we say “has been in a relationship for many years”?

Greek often uses the present tense for states or actions that started in the past and continue up to now, especially with time expressions like εδώ και.

έχει σχέση εδώ και πολλά χρόνια
literally: “she has a relationship here and many years”
idiomatically: “she has been in a relationship for many years.”

Instead of a present perfect, Greek prefers:

present tense + εδώ και + duration

So where English says:

has been in a relationship for many years,

Greek comfortably says:

έχει σχέση εδώ και πολλά χρόνια (present tense).

What does the phrase εδώ και πολλά χρόνια mean, and why use εδώ και?

εδώ και πολλά χρόνια means “for many years now” / “for a long time (up to now).”

εδώ = here
και = and
πολλά χρόνια = many years

As a set phrase, εδώ και + time period means:

“for (this amount of time) now”
e.g. Μένω εδώ και δέκα χρόνια στην Αθήνα.
= I’ve been living in Athens for ten years (now).

It emphasizes that the situation started in the past and continues up to the present.

You can also say:

για πολλά χρόνια = for many years (more general, not necessarily “up to now”)

But εδώ και πολλά χρόνια strongly suggests up to the present.

Why is it πολλά χρόνια and not πολύ χρόνια?

πολλά is the adjective “many” (neuter plural here), and χρόνια is neuter plural of “years.”

πολλά χρόνια = many years

πολύ is usually:

an adverb: πολύ καλά = very well
or an invariable form meaning “a lot” in some contexts.

When you are counting or quantifying plural nouns, you use πολύς / πολλή / πολύ in their inflected forms:

πολλοί άνθρωποι = many people
πολλές μέρες = many days
πολλά χρόνια = many years

So πολλά agrees with χρόνια in gender (neuter) and number (plural).

Why is there no subject pronoun like αυτή (“she”) in the sentence?

Greek is a pro-drop language: subject pronouns (εγώ, εσύ, αυτός, αυτή etc.) are often omitted when the subject is clear from context or from verb endings.

Here, the subject is already identified as Η συνάδελφός μου, so there’s no need to repeat αυτή:

Η συνάδελφός μου δεν είναι παντρεμένη…
= My colleague is not married…

Adding αυτή (Η συνάδελφός μου, αυτή δεν είναι παντρεμένη…) would sound either redundant or emphatic, like “My colleague, she isn’t married…”

Can I change the word order, for example: Η συνάδελφός μου έχει σχέση εδώ και πολλά χρόνια αλλά δεν είναι παντρεμένη? Does it change the meaning?

Yes, you can say:

Η συνάδελφός μου έχει σχέση εδώ και πολλά χρόνια αλλά δεν είναι παντρεμένη.

Greek word order is relatively flexible. Both versions mean the same:

Η συνάδελφός μου δεν είναι παντρεμένη αλλά έχει σχέση εδώ και πολλά χρόνια.
Η συνάδελφός μου έχει σχέση εδώ και πολλά χρόνια αλλά δεν είναι παντρεμένη.

The difference is only in emphasis:

Version 1 first stresses that she is not married, then adds the contrast that she does have a relationship.
Version 2 first stresses that she has been in a relationship for a long time, then adds that she is still not married.

Grammatically, both are correct.