Learn Hardcore Greek: Φέτος τον Μάρτιο η δουλειά μου είναι πιο δύσκολη, αλλά θέλω να είμαι ήρεμος. - This March this year my work is more difficult, but I want to be calm.

Greek is fairly flexible with word order; putting Φέτος τον Μάρτιο at the beginning just sets the time frame first, like “This March, my work is more difficult”.

Why do we say τον Μάρτιο and not just Μάρτιο?

Μάρτιος (March) is a masculine noun. In the phrase τον Μάρτιο, it appears in the accusative case, which is commonly used for time expressions meaning “in/during [month]”.

τον Μάρτιο = in March / during March

In everyday speech, Greeks usually include the article here:

τον Μάρτιο, τον Ιούνιο, τον Σεπτέμβριο, etc.

You can sometimes see the article dropped in very telegraphic styles (headlines, notes), but τον Μάρτιο is the normal, natural form in spoken Greek.

Why is τον Μάρτιο in the accusative case for time? There is no preposition like “in”.

Greek often uses the bare accusative to express time, where English uses “in”, “on”, or “during”.

Common patterns:

τον Μάρτιο = in March
την Κυριακή = on Sunday
κάθε μέρα = every day (also accusative)

So in Φέτος τον Μάρτιο, the accusative of Μάρτιος is enough to mean this March / in March this year. No extra preposition is needed.

Why is it η δουλειά μου and not something like μου η δουλειά or η μου δουλειά?

In Greek, possessive pronouns like μου (my), σου (your), του (his), etc. normally come after the noun:

η δουλειά μου = my job / my work
το σπίτι σου = your house
το αυτοκίνητό του = his car

Placing μου before the noun (μου η δουλειά) is not standard modern Greek.

If you want to emphasize my, you use δικός/δική/δικό:

η δική μου δουλειά = my job (as opposed to someone else’s)

But the neutral, normal form is η δουλειά μου.

Why is it η δουλειά and not something like το δουλειά? How do I know the gender?

δουλειά is a feminine noun in Greek, so it takes the feminine article η:

η δουλειά = the job / the work

You simply have to learn the gender of each noun as part of its vocabulary entry. Some rough patterns help:

Nouns ending in -α or -η are often feminine:
η πόρτα, η μέρα, η αγάπη, η δουλειά.
Nouns ending in -ος can be masculine, feminine, or neuter, so they must be memorized with their article.

So you should learn it as: η δουλειά (f.).

What is the difference between δουλειά and εργασία?

Both can mean work, but their usage is different:

δουλειά is the everyday, informal word:
- Έχω πολλή δουλειά. = I have a lot of work.
- Πάω στη δουλειά. = I’m going to work (to my job).
εργασία is more formal and often used in:
- academic or official contexts: γραφική εργασία (written assignment)
- documents, contracts
- specific compounds: ώρα εργασίας (working hour)

In your sentence, η δουλειά μου είναι πιο δύσκολη is the natural, conversational choice.

Why is it είναι πιο δύσκολη and not just είναι δύσκολη?

πιο is the basic way to form the comparative in modern Greek:

δύσκολη = difficult (fem. sg.)
πιο δύσκολη = more difficult

So:

Η δουλειά μου είναι δύσκολη. = My work is difficult.
Η δουλειά μου είναι πιο δύσκολη. = My work is more difficult.

Here, πιο δύσκολη implies a comparison, probably “more difficult than before / than usual”, even though the “than…” part is not stated.

Why is δύσκολη in the feminine form here?

Adjectives agree in gender, number, and case with the noun they describe.

Noun: η δουλειά (feminine, singular, nominative)
Adjective: δύσκολη (feminine, singular, nominative)

So we must say:

η δουλειά μου είναι δύσκολη
η δουλειά μου είναι πιο δύσκολη

If the noun were neuter, for example το έργο, you would say το έργο είναι δύσκολο.

Should there be an από after πιο δύσκολη, like πιο δύσκολη από πέρσι?

You can add από plus what you compare to, but you don’t have to if it’s obvious from context.

Η δουλειά μου είναι πιο δύσκολη.
= My work is more difficult (than before / than usual – implied).
Η δουλειά μου είναι πιο δύσκολη από πέρσι.
= My work is more difficult than last year. (comparison stated clearly)

In your sentence, adding από πέρσι or από πριν would just make the comparison explicit, but the original is already natural and idiomatic.

Why is it αλλά and not όμως? What is the difference?

Both αλλά and όμως can translate as but, but they work differently in the sentence.

αλλά is a coordinating conjunction: it directly links two clauses.
- ...είναι πιο δύσκολη, αλλά θέλω να είμαι ήρεμος.
- ...is more difficult, but I want to be calm.
όμως is more like a conjunctive adverb, often placed after a comma and usually not at the very beginning of a clause in neutral style:
- ...είναι πιο δύσκολη, όμως θέλω να είμαι ήρεμος.

Both are correct here. αλλά is a bit more neutral and is the most straightforward translation of “but”.

Why do we say θέλω να είμαι and not just θέλω είμαι?

In modern Greek, after verbs of wanting, wishing, planning, trying, etc., you almost always need να before the next verb.

θέλω να είμαι = I want to be
πρέπει να είμαι = I have to be
μπορώ να είμαι = I can be

να introduces what is traditionally called the subjunctive form. So θέλω είμαι is ungrammatical; it must be θέλω να είμαι.

Why is ήρεμος masculine? What if the speaker is a woman?

ήρεμος is the masculine singular form of the adjective meaning calm.

It agrees with the (understood) subject, which is εγώ (I). Greek adjectives must match the gender of the person speaking:

A man: Θέλω να είμαι ήρεμος.
A woman: Θέλω να είμαι ήρεμη.
Talking about many people (mixed or all male): Θέλουμε να είμαστε ήρεμοι.
About a group of women: Θέλουμε να είμαστε ήρεμες.

So the form of ήρεμος can change depending on who is speaking or who the subject is.

Could we say θέλω να είμαι ήρεμα instead of ήρεμος? What is the difference?

ήρεμος is an adjective (masculine form) = calm (as a state).
ήρεμα is an adverb = calmly (in a calm way).

Θέλω να είμαι ήρεμος.
= I want to be calm (as a person, in my emotional state).

Θέλω να μιλάω ήρεμα.
= I want to speak calmly (in a calm manner).

So in your sentence, you need the adjective (ήρεμος / ήρεμη) because you are describing what you are like, not how you do something.

Why does the sentence use present είναι (“is”) for something about this March? Could we use θα είναι (“will be”) instead?

Both are possible, but they have different nuances:

Φέτος τον Μάρτιο η δουλειά μου είναι πιο δύσκολη...
Suggests we are in March already, or speaking as if this March is part of the current situation.
Φέτος τον Μάρτιο η δουλειά μου θα είναι πιο δύσκολη...
Means This March my work will be more difficult..., clearly talking about the future (March has not come yet).

So which one you choose depends on whether March is already happening or you’re talking about a future March.