Breakdown of Κάνουμε βιντεοκλήση με τη φίλη μου, αλλά η κάμερα και το μικρόφωνο δεν δουλεύουν καλά.
Questions & Answers about Κάνουμε βιντεοκλήση με τη φίλη μου, αλλά η κάμερα και το μικρόφωνο δεν δουλεύουν καλά.
Κάνουμε is the 1st person plural of the verb κάνω = to do / to make.
Literally, Κάνουμε βιντεοκλήση means We do/make a video call, but in Greek κάνω is used in many everyday expressions where English would use have:
- κάνω μπάνιο = I have a bath / I take a shower
- κάνω διάλειμμα = I take a break
- κάνω πάρτυ = I have a party
- κάνω τηλεφώνημα = I make a phone call
So Κάνουμε βιντεοκλήση is the natural way to say We’re having / We’re doing a video call. The Greek present tense covers both we do and we are doing.
Βιντεοκλήση is a single compound noun:
- βίντεο = video
- κλήση = call (in the sense of a phone/online call)
When combined, they form one word: βιντεοκλήση (feminine noun). Greek often creates such compounds:
- τηλεφωνική κλήση → phone call
- βιντεοκλήση → call using video
Stress is on -κλή-: βιντεοΚΛΗση. In practice you will see and say it as one word, not two separate words.
The preposition με (with) in Greek is followed by the accusative case, not the nominative.
- Nominative (used for the subject): η φίλη (the friend – subject)
- Accusative (used after με): τη φίλη (the friend – object/after a preposition)
So:
- η φίλη μου = my friend (as subject):
- Η φίλη μου μιλάει. = My friend is speaking.
- με τη φίλη μου = with my friend (after a preposition):
- Μιλάω με τη φίλη μου. = I talk with my friend.
Therefore, με η φίλη μου is ungrammatical. You must change η to the accusative τη after με.
The feminine accusative article has two forms:
- τη
- την
Modern spelling rules (and common usage) allow dropping the final -ν before many consonants. Rough guide:
- Before vowels and certain consonants (π, τ, κ, μπ, ντ, γκ, ξ, ψ), you often keep the -ν:
- την ώρα, την κόρη, την πόρτα
- Before many other consonants, everyday writing often drops it:
- τη φίλη, τη μητέρα
So you can see:
- με τη φίλη μου (common in modern writing)
- με την φίλη μου (more conservative / always correct in speech)
Both are understood; learners can safely write την everywhere if they prefer consistency, and then gradually adopt the more natural dropping pattern.
Greek marks the gender of nouns:
- φίλος (masculine) = a male friend
- φίλη (feminine) = a female friend
In the sentence, τη φίλη μου clearly refers to a female friend. If you were talking about a male friend, you would say:
- Κάνουμε βιντεοκλήση με τον φίλο μου.
- τον φίλο = masculine accusative: ο φίλος → τον φίλο
Μου is the unstressed (clitic) form of the pronoun εγώ used to show possession: my.
- η φίλη = the friend
- η φίλη μου = my friend
- τη φίλη μου = my friend (in the accusative after με)
Other possessive clitics:
- σου = your
- του / της / του = his / her / its
- μας = our
- σας = your (plural/formal)
- τους = their
They usually come after the noun in Greek:
- το βιβλίο μου = my book
- ο φίλος σου = your friend
- η μητέρα του = his mother
Because κάμερα and μικρόφωνο have different grammatical genders:
- η κάμερα: feminine → takes the feminine article η
- το μικρόφωνο: neuter → takes the neuter article το
So:
- η κάμερα = the camera
- το μικρόφωνο = the microphone
- η κάμερα και το μικρόφωνο = the camera and the microphone
Greek articles agree in gender (and number and case) with the noun they modify.
In Greek, the verb must agree in number with the subject. The subject here is η κάμερα και το μικρόφωνο (two items → plural), so the verb must be 3rd person plural:
- δουλεύει = it works (3rd singular)
- δουλεύουν = they work (3rd plural)
Since η κάμερα και το μικρόφωνο = they, we must say:
- η κάμερα και το μικρόφωνο δεν δουλεύουν καλά.
= the camera and the microphone are not working well.
Δεν is the usual negation word for verbs in Greek; it corresponds roughly to not / do not / does not / are not before a verb.
Placement rule: δεν comes immediately before the verb:
- δουλεύουν = they work
- δεν δουλεύουν = they do not work / they are not working
In your sentence:
- η κάμερα και το μικρόφωνο δεν δουλεύουν καλά.
- δεν is directly in front of δουλεύουν.
You almost never split δεν from its verb; they form a tight unit.
Both can be used, but there is a nuance:
- δουλεύω literally = to work (as in to labor), but colloquially also to function / to be working for machines and devices.
- Η κάμερα δεν δουλεύει. = The camera doesn’t work / is not working.
- λειτουργώ = to function, to operate (more formal/technical-sounding).
- Η κάμερα δεν λειτουργεί σωστά. = The camera is not functioning properly.
In everyday speech, δουλεύω is more common and natural.
In more formal or technical contexts, you may prefer λειτουργώ.
Καλά here is an adverb, modifying the verb δουλεύουν. It answers how they are working → well.
- καλός / καλή / καλό = good (adjective – describes a noun)
- καλή κάμερα = a good camera
- καλά = well (adverb – describes a verb or an adjective)
- δουλεύει καλά = it works well
So:
- δεν δουλεύουν καλά = they are not working well
Using καλός / καλή / καλό would be describing a noun, not how they function, so καλά is the correct form here.
Yes. Greek word order is relatively flexible, especially for emphasis, as long as the relationships (articles, pronouns, prepositions) stay attached to their words.
All of these are grammatically fine, with slightly different emphasis:
Κάνουμε βιντεοκλήση με τη φίλη μου, αλλά η κάμερα και το μικρόφωνο δεν δουλεύουν καλά.
– Neutral: we’re having a video call with my friend, but the camera and mic aren’t working well.Με τη φίλη μου κάνουμε βιντεοκλήση, αλλά η κάμερα και το μικρόφωνο δεν δουλεύουν καλά.
– Emphasis on με τη φίλη μου (it’s with my friend, not someone else).Κάνουμε βιντεοκλήση με τη φίλη μου, αλλά δεν δουλεύουν καλά η κάμερα και το μικρόφωνο.
– More emphasis on η κάμερα και το μικρόφωνο as the things not working.
But you cannot separate things like:
- με … φίλη (you must keep με τη φίλη together)
- δεν … δουλεύουν (you must keep δεν δουλεύουν together)
The original sentence has natural, neutral word order.