Ο φίλος μου μένει σε άλλη πόλη.

my

Breakdown of Ο φίλος μου μένει σε άλλη πόλη.

• μένω: to live
• σε: in
• η πόλη: the city

Questions & Answers about Ο φίλος μου μένει σε άλλη πόλη.

In the sentence Ο φίλος μου μένει σε άλλη πόλη, what does the article Ο show, and why is it Ο and not something else?

Ο is the masculine singular definite article in the nominative case (the “dictionary form” for subjects).

• φίλος (friend) is a masculine noun.
• It is the subject of the sentence (“the one who lives”), so it must be in the nominative case.
• Therefore it takes the article ο → ο φίλος = the friend.

If the noun were feminine, you would see η (e.g. η πόλη = the city), and if it were neuter, το (e.g. το παιδί = the child).

Why is μου placed after φίλος and not before, like in English “my friend”?

In Greek, the unstressed possessive pronoun (my, your, his, etc.) usually comes after the noun:

• ο φίλος μου = my friend
• literally: the friend my

So:

• ο φίλος μου = my friend
• η μητέρα μου = my mother
• το σπίτι μου = my house

You can use a stressed form δικός μου before or after the noun for emphasis (e.g. ο δικός μου φίλος = my friend, in contrast to someone else’s), but the normal, neutral way is noun + μου.

What exactly does μου mean here? Could it also mean “to me”?