Breakdown of Το κτίριο της εταιρείας έχει δέκα ορόφους και εγώ δουλεύω στον έκτο όροφο.
Questions & Answers about Το κτίριο της εταιρείας έχει δέκα ορόφους και εγώ δουλεύω στον έκτο όροφο.
Της εταιρείας is in the genitive case, which is used here to show possession or belonging.
- Το κτίριο της εταιρείας = the building of the company / the company’s building
- Literally: the building of-the company
Breakdown:
- το – neuter singular article, nominative (for κτίριο)
- κτίριο – neuter singular noun, nominative (subject)
- της – feminine singular article, genitive
- εταιρείας – feminine singular noun, genitive
So της εταιρείας answers the question “Whose building?” → the company’s.
In Greek, this “of X” relationship is usually shown with the genitive, not with of as in English.
Both κτίριο and εταιρεία have typical endings that strongly suggest their gender:
το κτίριο
- Ends in -ο → very often neuter in Modern Greek
- Article: το (neuter singular)
η εταιρεία (dictionary form)
- Ends in -α / -εια → very often feminine
- Article: η in nominative, της in genitive
Basic pattern (singular):
- Masculine: ο μαθητής, του μαθητή
- Feminine: η εταιρεία, της εταιρείας
- Neuter: το κτίριο, του κτιρίου
You usually learn a noun together with its article (το κτίριο, η εταιρεία) so you remember its gender and its main pattern for cases.
In Greek, just like in English, you normally use “have” for possession or for parts of something:
- Το κτίριο έχει δέκα ορόφους.
The building has ten floors.
Using είναι (to be) would change the meaning:
- Το κτίριο είναι δέκα ορόφους. – this is incorrect Greek.
- You might say: Το κτίριο είναι δεκαώροφο.
Literally: The building is ten-floored (an adjective).
So to say something has a certain number of floors, you use έχει + object in the accusative.
Because δέκα ορόφους is the direct object of the verb έχει (has).
- (Ποιο πράγμα) έχει το κτίριο;
Τι έχει; → δέκα ορόφους.
In Greek, direct objects take the accusative case, and there is no article here:
- Singular: έχει έναν όροφο – it has one floor
- Plural: έχει δέκα ορόφους – it has ten floors
If you said δέκα όροφοι, that would be nominative plural, which is the form normally used for subjects, not objects.
So δέκα όροφοι could be the subject of a sentence, like:
- Δέκα όροφοι καταστράφηκαν.
Ten floors were destroyed.
Yes, here is όροφος (floor) in the singular and plural for the main cases:
Singular
- Nominative: ο όροφος – the floor (subject)
- Genitive: του ορόφου – of the floor
- Accusative: τον όροφο – the floor (object)
- Vocative: όροφο – used for direct address (rare here)
Plural
- Nominative: οι όροφοι – the floors (subject)
- Genitive: των ορόφων – of the floors
- Accusative: τους ορόφους – the floors (object)
- Vocative: όροφοι
In the sentence:
- δέκα ορόφους → accusative plural (direct object)
- στον έκτο όροφο → accusative singular (after σε)
Several things are happening here:
Preposition σε + article
- σε + τον → στον
- στον is the normal contracted form, so you almost always say στον έκτο όροφο, not σε τον έκτο όροφο.
Ordinal numbers (first, second, third, etc.) in Greek almost always take the definite article when they refer to something specific:
- ο πρώτος όροφος – the first floor
- στον πρώτο όροφο – on the first floor
- ο έκτος όροφος – the sixth floor
- στον έκτο όροφο – on the sixth floor
Why not στο έκτο όροφο?
- στο = σε + το (neuter article)
- But όροφος is masculine, so its article is ο / τον, not το.
- Therefore we need σε + τον → στον.
So:
- σε + τον έκτο όροφο → στον έκτο όροφο
literally: in/on the sixth floor
Έξι is the cardinal number = six.
Έκτος / έκτη / έκτο is the ordinal number = sixth.
You use:
- έξι when you are counting: ένα, δύο, τρία, τέσσερα, πέντε, έξι (one, two, three, four, five, six)
- έκτος when you say which in order: πρώτος, δεύτερος, τρίτος, …, έκτος (first, second, third, …, sixth)
In our sentence:
- έκτο agrees with όροφο in gender, number, case:
- όροφος = masculine, singular, accusative
- Masculine accusative singular of έκτος is έκτο
- So: στον έκτο όροφο.
Yes, you can absolutely say:
- Το κτίριο της εταιρείας έχει δέκα ορόφους και δουλεύω στον έκτο όροφο.
In Greek, the subject pronoun (εγώ, εσύ, etc.) is usually optional because the verb ending shows who the subject is:
- δουλεύω → the ending -ω already tells us I (first person singular).
You include εγώ mainly for:
- Emphasis: … και εγώ δουλεύω στον έκτο όροφο. (I, as opposed to someone else)
- Contrast: Οι άλλοι είναι στον πέμπτο, και εγώ δουλεύω στον έκτο όροφο.
Without εγώ, the sentence is more neutral and completely correct.
Both mean to work, but there is a difference in tone and usage:
δουλεύω
- More informal / everyday
- Very common in spoken Greek
- Can also mean to function / to be working (machines)
- Το μηχάνημα δουλεύει. – The machine is working.
εργάζομαι
- More formal and often used in written language, official contexts
- Often used in CVs, official statements, job descriptions, etc.
- Example: Εργάζομαι σε μια μεγάλη εταιρεία. – I work at a large company.
In this sentence, εγώ δουλεύω στον έκτο όροφο sounds natural, conversational, and neutral.
The preposition σε is very flexible in Greek and covers meanings that in English are split between in, at, on, to depending on context:
- σε ένα σπίτι – in a house
- στο σχολείο – at school
- στο τραπέζι – on the table
- στον έκτο όροφο – on the sixth floor
For floors, Greek usually uses σε + (article + floor):
- στον πρώτο όροφο – on the first floor
- στον δεύτερο όροφο – on the second floor
- στον έκτο όροφο – on the sixth floor
So, σε does not only mean on; the exact English equivalent depends on the noun and the situation.
κτίριο / κτήριο
- Both forms are accepted; they mean building in general.
- κτίριο with -ι- is very common in everyday writing.
- κτήριο with -η- is a spelling variant you may also see; it is considered more etymological.
πολυκατοικία
- Specifically: apartment building / block of flats (a multi-storey residential building).
- Literally related to πολλοί (many) + κατοικώ (to reside).
In this sentence, Το κτίριο της εταιρείας suggests the company’s office building in general, not necessarily a residential block, so κτίριο is appropriate.
Two different things are going on:
Cardinal with a plural noun as a quantity
- When you say “ten floors” as just a number of things the building has, you can normally omit the article:
- Το κτίριο έχει δέκα ορόφους. – The building has ten floors.
- Greek often drops the article in such “number + plural noun” quantity expressions.
- When you say “ten floors” as just a number of things the building has, you can normally omit the article:
Ordinal with a specific object
- έκτος όροφος refers to one specific floor in an ordered series.
- In this use, Greek almost always adds the definite article:
- ο έκτος όροφος – the sixth floor
- στον έκτο όροφο – on the sixth floor
So:
- δέκα ορόφους – just “ten floors” as a quantity (no article needed)
- στον έκτο όροφο – a specific floor, so it takes the article.
Yes, that sentence is also grammatically correct. Greek word order is relatively flexible, although S–V–O (subject–verb–object) is the most neutral.
Both of these are fine:
- Το κτίριο της εταιρείας έχει δέκα ορόφους και εγώ δουλεύω στον έκτο όροφο.
- Εγώ δουλεύω στον έκτο όροφο και το κτίριο της εταιρείας έχει δέκα ορόφους.
The main difference is what you present first and therefore what you emphasize slightly more in context. The grammar (cases, articles, verb forms) does not change.
Εταιρεία is usually translated as company or firm in modern everyday Greek:
- μια μεγάλη εταιρεία – a large company
- η εταιρεία που δουλεύω – the company I work for
It can also be used for:
- business enterprises, including corporations, firms, etc.
In older or more technical/legal contexts, it can also mean partnership or society, but in normal modern usage when you say η εταιρεία, people think of a commercial company.
So Το κτίριο της εταιρείας is naturally understood as the (office) building of the company.