Breakdown of Έστειλα πρόσκληση σε όλους τους συγγενείς για τη γιορτή.
Questions & Answers about Έστειλα πρόσκληση σε όλους τους συγγενείς για τη γιορτή.
In Greek, the subject pronoun is usually dropped because the verb ending already shows the person.
- Έστειλα = “I sent”
The -α ending here clearly marks 1st person singular (I).
You would add Εγώ only for emphasis or contrast, for example:
- Εγώ έστειλα πρόσκληση… = I sent an invitation (not someone else).
Έστειλα is the aorist (simple past) of στέλνω (“to send”).
- Έστειλα πρόσκληση… = I sent an invitation (completed action in the past).
- Στέλνω πρόσκληση… = I am sending / I send an invitation (present, ongoing or habitual).
The aorist is used here because the speaker is talking about one completed event in the past, not an ongoing process.
Σε is a preposition that usually corresponds to “to” or “at / in / on”, depending on context.
In this sentence:
- σε όλους τους συγγενείς = to all the relatives
Modern Greek no longer uses a separate dative case, so σε + accusative does the job of “to someone”:
- σε μένα = to me
- σε εσένα = to you
- σε όλους τους συγγενείς = to all the relatives
Greek normally requires the article with nouns that are specific or known, especially after words like όλους (“all”).
- όλους τους συγγενείς = literally “all the relatives”
- όλους = all (masc. acc. pl.)
- τους = the (masc. acc. pl. article)
- συγγενείς = relatives (masc. acc. pl.)
Leaving out the article (σε όλους συγγενείς) sounds wrong or at least very unnatural in standard Greek in this context.
Greek can drop the article when talking about an indefinite singular object in a general or neutral way, similar to English “I sent an invitation.”
So all of these are possible, with small nuance differences:
Έστειλα πρόσκληση…
→ I sent (an) invitation. Neutral, simple statement; common in everyday speech.Έστειλα μια πρόσκληση…
→ I sent one/ a single invitation (slightly emphasizes the “one”).Έστειλα την πρόσκληση…
→ I sent the invitation (a specific one that both speaker and listener know about).
Here the speaker is not stressing “one” vs “the”; just the action, so no article is natural.
Όλους is the accusative plural masculine form of “all,” and it must agree with the case, gender, and number of the noun συγγενείς.
- Nominative (subject): όλοι οι συγγενείς = all the relatives (as subject)
- Accusative (object / after σε): σε όλους τους συγγενείς = to all the relatives
Because the phrase is the object of the preposition σε, it must be in the accusative, so we use όλους, not όλοι.
Οι and τους are both forms of the definite article “the,” but in different cases:
- οι συγγενείς = the relatives (nominative plural, used for subjects)
- τους συγγενείς = the relatives (accusative plural, used for direct objects and after prepositions)
Because σε όλους τους συγγενείς is the object of the verb (or of the preposition σε), the noun must be in the accusative, so we use τους.
The full form of the article is την (feminine accusative singular). Before many consonants, especially γ, κ, π, τ, μπ, ντ, ξ, ψ, everyday spelling often drops the final -ν:
- την → τη γιορτή
- τον → το πατέρα (in informal writing)
So:
- Grammatically: την γιορτή
- Common spelling and pronunciation: τη γιορτή
Both are correct in principle; modern usage often omits the final -ν except where needed for clarity or sound (e.g. before vowels or some consonant combinations).
Για is a preposition that often means “for”.
- για τη γιορτή = for the celebration / for the party
Here it shows the purpose of sending the invitation:
- I sent an invitation for the celebration.
Γιορτή is a general word for celebration / festivity and can refer to:
- a name day celebration (very common in Greek culture)
- a holiday / festival (e.g. η γιορτή του Πάσχα = the Easter celebration)
- a party / event in general, depending on context
If you specifically mean an informal modern-style “party,” Greek often also uses πάρτι (borrowed from English):
- Έστειλα πρόσκληση για το πάρτι. = I sent an invitation for the party.
Yes. Greek word order is relatively flexible, and all of these are correct, with slight differences in emphasis:
Έστειλα πρόσκληση σε όλους τους συγγενείς για τη γιορτή.
Neutral, straightforward order.Σε όλους τους συγγενείς έστειλα πρόσκληση για τη γιορτή.
Emphasis on all the relatives (as opposed to just some people).Για τη γιορτή έστειλα πρόσκληση σε όλους τους συγγενείς.
Emphasis on the celebration as the reason.
Meaning stays the same; the part moved to the beginning gets more focus.
η πρόσκληση (invitation) → feminine
Ends in -ση, a common feminine ending.η γιορτή (celebration) → feminine
Ends in -ή, also a common feminine ending.ο συγγενής / οι συγγενείς (relative / relatives) → masculine
Singular ends in -ής, plural in -είς, a common masculine pattern.
You see this reflected in the articles and modifiers:
- πρόσκληση → (μια) πρόσκληση, την πρόσκληση
- γιορτή → τη γιορτή
- συγγενείς → όλους τους συγγενείς (masc. acc. pl.: όλους, τους)
Yes, that is perfectly correct and slightly more literal if you mean separate invitations:
Έστειλα πρόσκληση…
→ I sent an invitation (possibly one, possibly generic).Έστειλα προσκλήσεις…
→ I sent invitations (clearly more than one).
In everyday speech, even if multiple invitations are implied, many speakers still use the singular generically; context usually makes it clear.
You just add the possessive pronoun after συγγενείς:
- σε όλους τους συγγενείς μου = to all my relatives
- σε όλους τους συγγενείς μας = to all our relatives
Full sentence examples:
- Έστειλα πρόσκληση σε όλους τους συγγενείς μου για τη γιορτή.
- Έστειλα πρόσκληση σε όλους τους συγγενείς μας για τη γιορτή.