Learn Hardcore Greek: Στο θέατρο ο θείος μου κάθεται πάντα κοντά στη σκηνή. - At the theatre my uncle always sits near the stage.

στο θέατρο usually means at the theater (a specific or known one, or theaters in general as a place you go).
σε θέατρο (without an article) would sound incomplete or unusual in this context. It might work in special cases (e.g. in headings or poetic style), but not in normal everyday speech.

If you really wanted to say at a theater (indefinite), you’d normally say:

σε ένα θέατρο = at a theater

So the natural phrase for this sentence is στο θέατρο.

What is the grammatical role and form of «ο θείος μου»?

«ο θείος μου» means my uncle.

ο = the (masculine, singular, nominative)
θείος = uncle (masculine noun, nominative singular)
μου = my (unstressed possessive pronoun, literally “of me”)

So:

ο θείος = the uncle
ο θείος μου = the uncle of me → my uncle

Grammatically:

It is the subject of the sentence.
It is in the nominative case (the form used for subjects).
μου comes after the noun in Greek, unlike English (uncle my → “my uncle”).

Why is «μου» after the noun instead of before, like in English?

In Greek, the common possessive pronouns μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους usually come after the noun:

ο θείος μου = my uncle
η μητέρα σου = your mother
το βιβλίο του = his book

They are clitics: short, unstressed words that lean on the noun before them.

If you put a possessive word before the noun, you usually use a different form, for emphasis:

ο δικός μου θείος = my own uncle / my uncle (as opposed to someone else’s)

So the neutral, normal way to say my uncle is ο θείος μου with μου after the noun.

Why is it «κάθεται» and not something like «κάθομαι» or «κάθετε»?

The verb here is κάθομαι = to sit, to be sitting (middle‑voice verb).

Present tense of κάθομαι:

(εγώ) κάθομαι = I sit / I am sitting
(εσύ) κάθεσαι = you sit
(αυτός/αυτή/αυτό) κάθεται = he/she/it sits
(εμείς) καθόμαστε = we sit
(εσείς) κάθεστε / καθόσαστε = you (pl.) sit
(αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά) κάθονται / κάθονται = they sit

Our subject is ο θείος μου = my uncle → third person singular, so we use:

κάθεται = he sits / he is sitting

Is «κάθεται» more like “sits” or “is sitting” in English?

In Greek, the present tense κάθεται can correspond to both:

He sits near the stage (habitual action, especially with πάντα)
He is sitting near the stage (right now)

In this sentence, because of πάντα (always), the meaning is clearly habitual:

(Ο θείος μου) κάθεται πάντα κοντά στη σκηνή.
→ He always sits near the stage.

What does «πάντα» mean, and where can it go in the sentence?

«πάντα» means always.

Typical positions:

Ο θείος μου πάντα κάθεται κοντά στη σκηνή.
Ο θείος μου κάθεται πάντα κοντά στη σκηνή.

Both are natural:

Putting πάντα right before the verb (πάντα κάθεται) is very common.
Putting it right after the verb (κάθεται πάντα) is also common and sounds fine.

What you generally don’t do is move it far away from the verb in a sentence like this. It should stay close to the verb whose frequency it describes.

What does «κοντά στη σκηνή» literally mean, and how is it constructed?

«κοντά στη σκηνή» literally means near the stage / close to the stage.

Breakdown:

κοντά = near, close (adverb)
σε = in/at/to
τη(ν) = the (feminine, singular, accusative)
σκηνή = stage

So:

κοντά σε + τη σκηνή → κοντά στη σκηνή

Like στο, στη is a contraction:

σε + την → στη(ν)
(the final ν often drops in front of consonants like σ, κ, π, etc.)

So κοντά στη σκηνή = near to the stage → near the stage.

Why is it «σκηνή» and not «σκηνήν» or something else? What case is it?

«σκηνή» is a feminine noun:

η σκηνή = the stage

In this sentence it comes after σε (in στη σκηνή), which uses the accusative case.

For feminine nouns like σκηνή, the nominative and accusative forms are identical in the singular:

Nominative: η σκηνή (subject)
Accusative: τη σκηνή (object / after prepositions)

Older or more formal Greek may write σκηνήν, but in modern spelling the final -ν is generally dropped, so you normally see just σκηνή.

Why is the article feminine «στη» before «σκηνή»?

Greek articles agree with the gender, number, and case of the noun they modify.

σκηνή is feminine, singular.
After σε, we need the accusative case:
- Feminine accusative singular article: την, which contracts to τη → στη when combined with σε.

So:

σε + την σκηνή → στη σκηνή

The article has to be feminine because σκηνή is feminine.

Could the word order be «Ο θείος μου στο θέατρο κάθεται πάντα κοντά στη σκηνή»? How flexible is the word order?

Greek word order is much more flexible than English. You can change the order to shift emphasis without changing the basic meaning.

Some possibilities:

Στο θέατρο ο θείος μου κάθεται πάντα κοντά στη σκηνή.
– Neutral; slight emphasis on at the theater (setting).
Ο θείος μου στο θέατρο κάθεται πάντα κοντά στη σκηνή.
– More focus on my uncle as topic; στο θέατρο feels like extra setting info.
Ο θείος μου κάθεται πάντα κοντά στη σκηνή στο θέατρο.
– Now the focus is more on where he sits.

All are grammatical; the given sentence is just one natural, slightly “scene‑setting” order.

Why isn’t there a separate word for “he” in the sentence?

Greek often omits subject pronouns (I, you, he, etc.) because the verb ending already shows the person:

κάθεται tells you it’s he/she/it.

Here, we do have a full noun as the subject:

ο θείος μου = my uncle

So there is no need for an extra αυτός (he). Saying:

Ο θείος μου αυτός κάθεται…

would usually sound either emphatic or redundant. The natural way is just Ο θείος μου κάθεται…

What are the genders of «θέατρο», «θείος», and «σκηνή», and how can I tell?

το θέατρο = the theater → neuter
- Typical neuter ending: -ο, article το
ο θείος = the uncle → masculine
- Typical masculine ending: -ος, article ο
η σκηνή = the stage → feminine
- Typical feminine endings: -η, -α, article η

These patterns (ο -ος, η -η/‑α, το -ο) are very common and a good first rule of thumb for guessing gender.

What is the difference between «κοντά στη σκηνή» and something like «μπροστά στη σκηνή»?

Both describe position relative to the stage, but with different nuances:

κοντά στη σκηνή = near/close to the stage
- Focus on distance (short distance from the stage), but not necessarily specifying direction (could be in front, to the side, etc.).
μπροστά στη σκηνή = in front of the stage
- Focus on position in front, on the audience side, regardless of exact distance.

In a theater context, κοντά στη σκηνή usually implies seats in the front rows, very close to the stage.

How do you pronounce the main words in this sentence?

Approximate pronunciation with stress marked by bold:

Στο θέατρο → /sto THÉ‑a‑tro/
- θέατρο: THÉ‑a‑tro (3 syllables)
ο θείος μου → /o THÍ‑os mu/
- θείος: THÍ‑os (like English “THEE‑os”)
κάθεται → /KÁ‑the‑te / (or KÁ‑the‑te / KÁ‑the‑te depending on accent; commonly 3 syllables)
πάντα → /PÁN‑da/
κοντά → /ko‑NDÁ/ (stress on the second syllable)
στη σκηνή → /sti ski‑NÍ/
- σκηνή: ski‑NÍ

So the whole sentence:

Στο ΘΈ‑α‑τρο ο THÍ‑os mu KÁ‑the‑te PÁN‑da ko‑NDÁ sti ski‑NÍ.