Learn Hardcore Greek: Ξεκινάω τη δουλειά στις έξι το πρωί.

αρχίζω is more neutral “begin”.
ξεκινάω has a slight feeling of “getting going / setting in motion”, but in everyday speech they often overlap and both are fine here.

Why does Greek say τη δουλειά with the article, when English just says “start work”?

In English you often say “start work” with no article, but in Greek it is very common to use the definite article with routine activities:

τη δουλειά = “the work” / “the job”
το σχολείο = “(the) school”
το φαγητό = “(the) food / the meal”

So:

Ξεκινάω τη δουλειά στις έξι ≈ “I start (the) work at six”, i.e. “I start work at six.”

You can drop the article and say:

Ξεκινάω δουλειά στις έξι.

This is also correct, but τη δουλειά sounds more like your regular job/shift.
Without the article it can feel a bit more general or informal, like “I start (doing) work at six.”

What gender and case is δουλειά, and how do I know to use τη here?

δουλειά is a feminine noun.

Basic forms:

Nominative (subject): η δουλειά – the work / the job
Accusative (direct object): τη(ν) δουλειά – the work / the job (object)

In the sentence:

The verb is Ξεκινάω (I start).
The thing you start is τη δουλειά → this is the direct object, so it must be in the accusative case.
The feminine accusative singular article is τη (or την, see a later question).

So:

η δουλειά = subject (“The work is hard.” → Η δουλειά είναι δύσκολη.)
τη δουλειά = object (“I start the work.” → Ξεκινάω τη δουλειά.)

Why is it στις έξι and not σε έξι or something else?

στις is actually a contracted form of σε + τις.

For telling the time in Greek, we usually say:

στις + (number) for most hours.

Why τις (feminine plural)? Because the implied word is ώρες (hours), feminine plural:

στις έξι (ώρες) = at six (hours) → “at six o’clock”

So:

σε έξι on its own would more likely mean “in six …” (e.g. in six days), not clock time.
For clock time you say στις δύο, στις τρεις, στις έξι, etc.

Therefore, στις έξι = “at six” (o’clock).

How would the sentence change if the time were one o’clock or two o’clock?

Greek time expressions change slightly with 1 o’clock:

1:00 → στη μία (η ώρα)
- Ξεκινάω τη δουλειά στη μία (το μεσημέρι).
  “I start work at one (at noon).”

For 2 o’clock and above, use στις:

2:00 → στις δύο
- Ξεκινάω τη δουλειά στις δύο.
3:00 → στις τρεις
4:00 → στις τέσσερις
6:00 → στις έξι, as in your sentence.

Pattern:

στη μία (singular, because ώρα is singular: μία ώρα)
στις δύο / τρεις / τέσσερις / … (plural, because implied ώρες is plural)

Why do we add το πρωί if στις έξι already tells us the time?

στις έξι only says “at six o’clock”; it does not specify a.m. or p.m.
So Greek often adds parts of the day:

το πρωί = in the morning
το μεσημέρι = at noon / around midday
το απόγευμα = in the afternoon
το βράδυ = in the evening
τη νύχτα = at night

So:

Ξεκινάω τη δουλειά στις έξι το πρωί.
→ I start work at six in the morning.
Ξεκινάω τη δουλειά στις έξι το απόγευμα.
→ I start work at six in the afternoon / evening.

Without το πρωί, many people would assume morning from context, but adding it removes any ambiguity.

Can I change the word order, for example: Στις έξι το πρωί ξεκινάω τη δουλειά?

Yes. Greek word order is fairly flexible, and your example is natural:

Στις έξι το πρωί ξεκινάω τη δουλειά.

This version:

Puts more emphasis on the time (“At six in the morning I start work”).
Still means the same thing.

Other possible orders (all correct, just with different emphasis):

Ξεκινάω στις έξι το πρωί τη δουλειά.
Τη δουλειά την ξεκινάω στις έξι το πρωί. (stronger emphasis on τη δουλειά)

The original order:

Ξεκινάω τη δουλειά στις έξι το πρωί. is very neutral and common.

What tense is Ξεκινάω, and does it mean “I start” or “I am starting”?

Ξεκινάω is present tense, active voice, 1st person singular of an imperfective verb.

In English it can correspond to:

“I start work at six” (habit, timetable)
“I am starting work at six” (this time / soon)

Greek present tense covers both simple present and present continuous meanings.
Context decides which English translation feels more natural:

As a general routine: “I start work at six in the morning.”
Talking about today or the near future: “I’m starting work at six in the morning (today / tomorrow).”

Why is it written τη δουλειά and not την δουλειά?

The feminine accusative singular article is historically την.
In modern Greek spelling, there is a rule about dropping the final ν (n):

Before a vowel or certain consonants (κ, π, τ, ξ, ψ, μπ, ντ, γκ, τσ, τζ), we usually keep the ν:
- την ώρα, την πόρτα, την τύχη
Before most other consonants (like δ, λ, ρ, σ, μ), we often drop the ν:
- τη δουλειά, τη μάνα, τη ζωή

So:

την δουλειά is not wrong in older or very careful writing, but
τη δουλειά follows the common modern rule and is what you’ll usually see.

In everyday speech, many people don’t strictly follow the rule and you may hear something close to “tin douliá” anyway. The key point for you is: τη/την are the same article; spelling changes slightly depending on the next sound.

How do you pronounce δουλειά, and why is there an ει in the middle?

δουλειά is pronounced approximately:

/ðu.liˈa/
Roughly: thoo-lee-YA (stress on the last syllable).

Details:

δ = like “th” in “this”, not like English d.
ου = “oo” as in “food”.
λει here is pronounced “li”.
ά has the stress: δουλειά → doo-li-Á.

As for ει:

In modern Greek, ει is just another way to spell the sound /i/ (like ι, η, υ, οι, υι).
So ει does not make an “ey” diphthong like in English; it’s just “i”.

So the spelling δουλειά is historical; the pronunciation is simply /ðuliˈa/.