Learn Hardcore Greek: Η απόσταση από το σπίτι μου μέχρι την εταιρεία είναι μικρή, οπότε πηγαίνω με τα πόδια. - The distance from my house to the company is small, so I go on foot.

Here, Η απόσταση = the distance. In English, you might say “distance from my house to the company” without the, but in Greek you almost always use the article with a specific, known thing:

Η απόσταση από το σπίτι μου… = the particular distance we’re talking about.

Leaving out the article (Απόσταση από το σπίτι μου…) sounds incomplete or like a title/heading, not a normal sentence.

Why is μικρή (feminine) and not μικρό or μικρός?

The adjective must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

απόσταση is a feminine noun (you can tell from the article η and ending -η).
So the adjective μικρός (small) must also be feminine:
- masculine: μικρός
- feminine: μικρή
- neuter: μικρό

Because the subject is η απόσταση, you must say:

Η απόσταση … είναι μικρή.
literally: The distance is small (feminine).

What exactly do από and μέχρι do here? Are there other ways to say “from … to …”?

In this sentence:

από = from
μέχρι = up to / until / to

So από το σπίτι μου μέχρι την εταιρεία = from my house to the company.

Other common combinations with similar meaning:

από … μέχρι … – very common and neutral
από … ως … or από … έως … – a bit more formal or written
από … μέχρι και … – emphasizes “all the way up to”

All of these can describe spatial, temporal, or abstract ranges (place, time, amounts, etc.). In everyday speech, από … μέχρι … is probably the most frequent.

Why is it το σπίτι μου and not just σπίτι μου for “my house”?

Greek normally keeps the definite article even when there is a possessive:

το σπίτι μου = my house
το βιβλίο σου = your book
η μητέρα του = his mother

The usual pattern is:

article + noun + possessive clitic
το σπίτι μου, η δουλειά σου, ο φίλος μας

Leaving out the article (σπίτι μου) is possible in very specific, often poetic or very informal contexts, but in standard speech το σπίτι μου is the normal, correct form.

Why does the possessive come after the noun (σπίτι μου) and not before, like in English (“my house”)?

Greek possessive pronouns are clitics and they normally follow the noun:

το σπίτι μου = literally the house my
η τσάντα σου = the bag your
τα παιδιά τους = the children their

So the standard order is:

article – noun – possessive

If you want to strongly emphasize who it belongs to, you can use a strong pronoun before or after:

το δικό μου σπίτι = my own house
το σπίτι το δικό μου = the house, mine

But the neutral, everyday way is το σπίτι μου.

Why is it μέχρι την εταιρεία with την εταιρεία in the accusative? Do Greek prepositions take a specific case?

In modern Greek, almost all prepositions are followed by the accusative case. So:

μέχρι την εταιρεία
- μέχρι = preposition
- την εταιρεία = feminine singular accusative (article την
  - noun εταιρεία)

This is true for most common prepositions:

για τον φίλο μου – for my friend
χωρίς νερό – without water
με το αυτοκίνητο – with/by car

So you don’t have to choose between different cases after prepositions the way you might in older stages of Greek; accusative is the default.

What’s the difference between εταιρεία, δουλειά, and γραφείο when talking about “going to work”?

They all relate to work, but they’re not identical:

η εταιρεία = the company / the firm
- Refers to the actual business entity, usually a private company.
η δουλειά = work, job
- More general: your job, your work in general, or sometimes your workplace.
- Πάω στη δουλειά. = I’m going to work.
το γραφείο = office
- Can be the physical office or an “office” as a business unit.

In your sentence, την εταιρεία focuses on the company as a place you go to. Many people would also naturally say:

Η απόσταση από το σπίτι μου μέχρι τη δουλειά είναι μικρή…
(The distance from my house to work is short…)

What does οπότε mean exactly, and how is it different from γι’ αυτό or άρα?

οπότε is a conjunction that, in modern everyday Greek, usually means so / so then / therefore and introduces a consequence:

…είναι μικρή, οπότε πηγαίνω με τα πόδια.
= it’s short, so I go on foot.

Rough comparison:

οπότε – very common, relatively informal, “so / so then”.
γι’ αυτό (το λόγο) – literally “for this (reason)”, like “that’s why / therefore”.
άρα – “therefore / thus”; common in speech, sometimes more “logical” in tone.

All three would be understandable here. For instance:

… είναι μικρή, γι’ αυτό πηγαίνω με τα πόδια.
… είναι μικρή, άρα πηγαίνω με τα πόδια.

οπότε feels very natural in casual conversation.

Why is there no εγώ (“I”) in πηγαίνω με τα πόδια? How do we know the subject?

Greek is a “pro-drop” language: it normally omits subject pronouns when they’re clear from the verb ending.

πηγαίνω is the 1st person singular form of “to go” → it can only mean I go.
So (εγώ) πηγαίνω με τα πόδια is understood as I go on foot.

You only add εγώ when you want to emphasize the subject:

Εγώ πηγαίνω με τα πόδια, όχι εσύ.
I go on foot, not you.

Could I say πάω instead of πηγαίνω? Are they the same?

Yes, in this sentence you can replace πηγαίνω with πάω:

…οπότε πάω με τα πόδια.

πάω is the short, very common colloquial form.
πηγαίνω is the full form, slightly more neutral/formal, but also very common.

In the present, they’re usually interchangeable in everyday speech, with only small differences in style or rhythm. Learners are safe using either here.

Why do we say με τα πόδια (“with the feet”) to mean “on foot”?

με τα πόδια is a fixed expression meaning on foot / walking.

Literally:

με = with / by
τα πόδια = the feet (neuter plural)

So literally with the feet, but idiomatically it answers the question “how do you go?” (by what means of transport):

με τα πόδια – on foot
με το αυτοκίνητο – by car
με το λεωφορείο – by bus

So the pattern is με + (means of transport), and τα πόδια is treated as the “means” of moving.

Can the parts of this sentence be moved around, or does the word order have to stay exactly like this?

Greek word order is fairly flexible, especially compared to English. You can move elements for emphasis or style, as long as you keep them grammatically connected.

For example, all of these are grammatical, though not equally neutral:

Η απόσταση από το σπίτι μου μέχρι την εταιρεία είναι μικρή, οπότε πηγαίνω με τα πόδια. (neutral)
Πηγαίνω με τα πόδια, γιατί η απόσταση από το σπίτι μου μέχρι την εταιρεία είναι μικρή.
Επειδή η απόσταση από το σπίτι μου μέχρι την εταιρεία είναι μικρή, πηγαίνω με τα πόδια.

You should generally:

keep prepositions with their objects (από το σπίτι μου, μέχρι την εταιρεία, με τα πόδια),
keep the verb close to its subject and main complements,

but you can move clauses like επειδή…, οπότε…, etc., more freely for emphasis.

Why is there a comma before οπότε? Is that required?

In Greek punctuation, οπότε usually starts a result clause that is separate enough from the first clause to be divided by a comma.

The structure is:

[Main fact], οπότε [result].
- Η απόσταση … είναι μικρή, οπότε πηγαίνω με τα πόδια.

Using a comma here:

makes the sentence clearer,
matches how you’d naturally pause in speech.

In most cases where οπότε links two full clauses, you should use a comma before it.