Breakdown of Ο γάμος της ξαδέρφης μου έγινε σε μια μικρή εκκλησία στην παλιά γειτονιά.
Questions & Answers about Ο γάμος της ξαδέρφης μου έγινε σε μια μικρή εκκλησία στην παλιά γειτονιά.
Greek shows possession mainly by putting the possessor in the genitive case after the thing possessed.
- Ο γάμος = the wedding (nominative, subject)
- της ξαδέρφης = of the cousin (genitive, possessive)
- μου = my (genitive weak pronoun, attached after the noun)
So the pattern is:
ο γάμος + της ξαδέρφης + μου
the wedding + of the cousin + my = my cousin’s wedding
You can’t say της ξαδέρφη because ξαδέρφη has to change form in the genitive singular:
- nominative: η ξαδέρφη (cousin)
- genitive: της ξαδέρφης (of the cousin)
And μου always comes after the noun it belongs to:
- η ξαδέρφη μου = my cousin
- της ξαδέρφης μου = of my cousin
Έγινε is the simple past (aorist) of the verb γίνομαι (to become / to happen / to take place).
In this sentence:
- Ο γάμος … έγινε = The wedding took place / was held
You use γίνομαι for events that take place, happen at a certain time:
- Το πάρτι έγινε χτες. = The party took place yesterday.
- Η συνάντηση έγινε στις 5. = The meeting took place at 5.
Ήταν is the past of είμαι (to be) and describes a state, not the occurrence of an event:
- Ο γάμος ήταν ωραίος. = The wedding was nice. (description)
- Ο γάμος έγινε το Σάββατο. = The wedding took place on Saturday. (event/time)
So here έγινε is correct because we’re saying when/where it took place, not what it was like.
Γάμος can mean both, depending on context:
Wedding (the ceremony/event):
- Ο γάμος της ξαδέρφης μου έγινε σε μια μικρή εκκλησία.
= My cousin’s wedding took place in a small church.
- Ο γάμος της ξαδέρφης μου έγινε σε μια μικρή εκκλησία.
Marriage (the state/relationship):
- Ο γάμος τους κράτησε πολλά χρόνια.
= Their marriage lasted many years.
- Ο γάμος τους κράτησε πολλά χρόνια.
In this sentence, because we’re talking about happening in a church, at a place, it clearly means wedding (the event).
Greek usually forms “X’s Y” with genitive:
- Ο γάμος της ξαδέρφης μου = The wedding of my cousin
- Literally: the wedding of (the cousin my)
Structure:
- ο γάμος = the wedding (subject)
- της ξαδέρφης μου = of my cousin (possessor phrase in genitive)
If you only said η ξαδέρφη μου, that means simply my cousin, not my cousin’s. To show possession, you must:
- Put the possessor (η ξαδέρφη μου) in genitive: της ξαδέρφης μου
- Place it after the noun owned: ο γάμος της ξαδέρφης μου
So “my cousin’s wedding” always needs that genitive possessor phrase.
Both start from the same preposition: σε (= in, at, to). What changes is the article after it.
σε + μια (indefinite article, feminine, accusative)
- σε μια μικρή εκκλησία = in a small church
- μια is the indefinite article (a/an).
σε + την → στην (definite article, feminine, accusative)
- στην παλιά γειτονιά = in the old neighborhood
- στην is just a common contraction of σε την.
So:
- σε μια = in a …
- στην = in the …
Greek almost always contracts σε + τον/την/το to στον / στην / στο in speech and writing.
English sometimes uses no article (“in town”, “at school”), but Greek is much more consistent about using the definite article.
- στην παλιά γειτονιά = in the old neighborhood
Here we’re talking about a specific, known neighborhood (the old one you and I know), so Greek uses the definite article:
- σε + την παλιά γειτονιά → στην παλιά γειτονιά
If you dropped the article (σε παλιά γειτονιά), it would sound odd or at least very marked/poetic. In ordinary speech, with a specific place like “the old neighborhood”, you use the article.
The normal word order in Greek is:
[article] + [adjective] + [noun]
So:
- μια μικρή εκκλησία
- μια = a
- μικρή = small
- εκκλησία = church
This is the standard way to say “a small church”.
You might see εκκλησία μικρή in poetry or for emphasis, but it sounds marked. For a learner, it’s safest to stick with:
- μια μικρή εκκλησία (a small church)
- η μικρή εκκλησία (the small church)
All three words are feminine, singular, accusative, so they must agree:
- μια – feminine singular indefinite article in the accusative
- μικρή – feminine singular adjective in the accusative
- εκκλησία – feminine singular noun in the accusative
Patterns:
Article:
- nominative: μια (same form)
- accusative: μια (also μία in more careful writing)
Adjective μικρός, μικρή, μικρό (small)
- masculine nom.: μικρός
- feminine nom./acc.: μικρή
- neuter nom./acc.: μικρό
Noun η εκκλησία (church)
- nominative: η εκκλησία
- accusative: την εκκλησία
After σε, the noun phrase goes into the accusative, so the forms are:
- σε μια μικρή εκκλησία (all accusative feminine singular)
Again we have a feminine singular accusative phrase:
- στην = σε + την (in the)
- παλιά = old (fem. sing. acc.)
- γειτονιά = neighborhood (fem. sing. acc.)
Adjective:
- παλιός, παλιά, παλιό (old)
- masculine: παλιός
- feminine: παλιά
- neuter: παλιό
Noun:
- η γειτονιά (the neighborhood)
- nominative: η γειτονιά
- accusative: τη(ν) γειτονιά
So after σε, you get accusative:
- στην παλιά γειτονιά = in the old neighborhood
(all feminine singular accusative, so they match).
Μου is the weak (clitic) genitive form of “I”, and it usually corresponds to “my” or “of mine”.
- η ξαδέρφη μου = my cousin
- το βιβλίο μου = my book
- το σπίτι μου = my house
In της ξαδέρφης μου, the μου belongs to ξαδέρφης:
- η ξαδέρφη μου = my cousin
- της ξαδέρφης μου = of my cousin
Literally: της (of the) + ξαδέρφης μου (cousin my)
So μου always comes after the noun or phrase it modifies, and it doesn’t change for gender or number of the noun:
- ο φίλος μου = my (male) friend
- η φίλη μου = my (female) friend
- οι φίλοι μου = my friends
The word order is flexible in Greek; both are grammatically correct.
Ο γάμος της ξαδέρφης μου έγινε σε μια μικρή εκκλησία…
(neutral statement: My cousin’s wedding took place in a small church…)Έγινε ο γάμος της ξαδέρφης μου σε μια μικρή εκκλησία…
(slight emphasis on the fact that it took place – the verb)
Greek relies more on endings (cases, verb endings) than on word order to show function, so you can move parts around for emphasis or style.
For beginners, the original order (Subject – Verb – Rest) is the safest pattern.
Stress is always on the vowel with the accent mark.
ξαδέρφης → xa-DÉR-fis
- ξ = like ks in “fox”
- δ = like English th in “this” (voiced)
- φ = f
- final -ης = roughly -is
εκκλησία → e-kli-SÍ-a
- κκ = like a single k
- λ = clear l
- σ = s
- ια at the end is like -ia
γειτονιά → yi-to-NYÁ
- γ before ει / ι / η / υ / οι is like the y in “yes” (soft g / y sound)
- τ = t
- νι (ν + ι) here sounds like ny
- ά = stressed a as in “father”
So: ξαΔÉΡφης – εκκλιΣÍα – γειτονΥÁ (with the capitals only indicating stress).
You can say that, and it will be understood, but it’s less natural for talking about where an event took place.
Ο γάμος της ξαδέρφης μου έγινε σε μια μικρή εκκλησία.
= My cousin’s wedding took place / was held in a small church.
(This is the normal, idiomatic way.)Ο γάμος της ξαδέρφης μου ήταν σε μια μικρή εκκλησία.
Literally: My cousin’s wedding was in a small church.
(Understandable, but sounds more like describing a state than the occurrence.)
Native speakers overwhelmingly prefer έγινε for events:
- Η συναυλία έγινε στο πάρκο. = The concert took place in the park.
- Το πάρτι έγινε στο σπίτι μου. = The party took place at my house.
So in this sentence, έγινε is the best choice.