Ο φίλος μου μένει σε άλλη πόλη.

My (male) friend lives in another city.

Breakdown of Ο φίλος μου μένει σε άλλη πόλη.

• μου: my
• μένω: to live
• σε: in
• η πόλη: the city
• άλλος: another
• ο φίλος: the boyfriend

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”?

μου is a clitic pronoun that can play two roles in Greek:

1. Possessive (genitive) – as in this sentence

   • ο φίλος μου = my friend
     Here, μου = my (belonging to me).

2. Indirect object (“to me”) in other contexts

   • Μου έδωσε ένα βιβλίο. = He/She gave me a book.
     Here, μου = to me.

In Ο φίλος μου μένει σε άλλη πόλη, the position (right after a noun) and the meaning tell you it is possessive: “my friend”.

Why is the verb μένει used, and what form of the verb is it?

μένει is the 3rd person singular, present tense, active voice of the verb μένω.

• μένω = I stay / I live (somewhere)
• μένεις = you (sg.) live
• μένει = he / she / it lives
• μένουμε = we live
• μένετε = you (pl./formal) live
• μένουν(ε) = they live

In the sentence:

• ο φίλος μου = my friend → 3rd person singular
• so the verb must be μένει: Ο φίλος μου μένει = My friend lives.

What is the difference between μένει and ζει? Could I say Ο φίλος μου ζει σε άλλη πόλη?

Both are possible, but there is a nuance:

• μένω = to stay / to reside / to live (in the sense of where someone lives).

  • Ο φίλος μου μένει σε άλλη πόλη. = My friend lives (resides) in another city.

• ζω = to live (to be alive, or in a broader sense “to live one’s life”).

  • Ο φίλος μου ζει σε άλλη πόλη. also means “My friend lives in another city,” and is natural too.

In everyday speech, both are used for “to live (somewhere)”, but:

• μένω focuses more on place of residence.
• ζω is slightly broader, but with a place can still mean “resides.”

What does the preposition σε mean here, and why is it used with πόλη?

σε is a very common Greek preposition that usually corresponds to in / at / to in English, depending on context.

• With places, σε + accusative often means in or at:
  • σε άλλη πόλη = in another city
  • σε ένα σπίτι = in a house
  • στο σχολείο (σε + το σχολείο) = at school

Here:

• σε
  • άλλη πόλη (accusative) → σε άλλη πόλη = in another city. The preposition σε governs the accusative case, which is why πόλη and άλλη appear in accusative forms.

Why is it άλλη πόλη and not άλλος πόλη or άλλο πόλη?

In Greek, adjectives must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

• πόλη (city) is:
  • gender: feminine
  • number: singular
  • case: accusative (because it follows σε)

The adjective άλλος (other/another) has forms:

• masculine: άλλος (nom.), άλλον (acc.)
• feminine: άλλη (nom./acc.)
• neuter: άλλο (nom./acc.)

So to match πόλη (feminine singular accusative), we use:

• άλλη πόλη = another city / other city

άλλος πόλη or άλλο πόλη would be ungrammatical, because the genders would not match.

Why is πόλη in this form and not πόλης or πόλην?

πόλη is the word πόλη (city) in the accusative singular form.

Basic forms:

• Nominative: η πόλη = the city (subject)
• Genitive: της πόλης = of the city
• Accusative: την πόλη = the city (object)

In modern spelling and pronunciation, nominative and accusative often look the same for many feminine nouns (like πόλη), especially without the article:

• With article:
  • η πόλη (nom.)
  • την πόλη (acc.)
• Without article, both nominative and accusative appear as πόλη.

After σε, the noun must be accusative, so here it is (σε) πόλη = in a city.

Could we also say στην άλλη πόλη instead of σε άλλη πόλη? What is the difference?

Yes, but it changes the meaning slightly.

• σε άλλη πόλη = in another city (unspecified “another”)
• στην άλλη πόλη = in the other city

στην is the contraction of:

• σε + την → στην

So:

• στην άλλη πόλη literally = in the other city, referring to a specific city already known from context.
• σε άλλη πόλη = some other city, not specified which.

Both are grammatically correct; you choose based on what you mean.

Is the word order fixed? Can I say Ο φίλος μου σε άλλη πόλη μένει or Μένει ο φίλος μου σε άλλη πόλη?

Greek word order is relatively flexible compared to English, because meaning is largely shown by endings (cases, verb forms), not position.

The most neutral order is:

• Ο φίλος μου μένει σε άλλη πόλη. (Subject–Verb–Rest)

Other orders are possible, often for emphasis:

• Μένει ο φίλος μου σε άλλη πόλη. (emphasis on the fact he lives there)
• Ο φίλος μου σε άλλη πόλη μένει. (can sound poetic or emphatic in speech)

They are grammatically correct, but the original order sounds the most natural and neutral.

How do you pronounce μένει and πόλη, and where is the stress?

• μένει: pronounced roughly MEH-nee

  • Stress on the first syllable: μέ-νει
  • The ει is pronounced like i in “machine”.

• πόλη: pronounced roughly POH-lee

  • Stress on the first syllable: πό-λη
  • η is also pronounced like i in “machine”.

In modern Greek, ει, η, ι, υ, οι are all pronounced the same vowel sound /i/. The accent mark (΄) shows where the stress falls in the word.