Learn Hardcore Greek: Ο Μάρτιος φέτος είναι ήσυχος στο γραφείο.

In Greek, months (and days of the week) normally take the definite article when they are the subject of the sentence or when we are talking about a specific one.

Ο Μάρτιος φέτος είναι ήσυχος.
Literally: The March this year is quiet.

In English we drop the, but in Greek it sounds much more natural to include the article here.

You might see the article omitted:

in titles, headlines, or very telegraphic styles
in combinations like Μάρτιος 2024 (month + year, like a label)

In normal spoken Greek, Ο Μάρτιος is the standard way to say March as a subject.

What gender is Μάρτιος, and do all months have grammatical gender?

Μάρτιος is masculine. You can see this from:

the article ο (masculine singular nominative)
the ending -ος, which is common for masculine nouns

All Greek month names have grammatical gender, almost all of them masculine. For example:

Ο Ιανουάριος – January
Ο Φεβρουάριος – February
Ο Μάρτιος – March
Ο Απρίλιος – April
Ο Μάιος – May
Ο Ιούνιος – June
Ο Ιούλιος – July
Ο Αύγουστος – August
Ο Σεπτέμβριος – September
Ο Οκτώβριος – October
Ο Νοέμβριος – November
Ο Δεκέμβριος – December

Because Μάρτιος is masculine, any adjective that describes it (like ήσυχος) also appears in masculine form and agrees in gender, number, and case.

What case are Ο Μάρτιος and ήσυχος, and how do they agree?

Both Ο Μάρτιος and ήσυχος are in:

Case: nominative
Number: singular
Gender: masculine

They agree because ήσυχος is a predicate adjective describing the subject Ο Μάρτιος:

Ο Μάρτιος (masc., nom., sg.)
ήσυχος (masc., nom., sg.)

Structure:

Ο Μάρτιος (subject)
φέτος (adverb: this year)
είναι (verb: is)
ήσυχος (predicate adjective, describing the subject)
στο γραφείο (prepositional phrase)

Greek adjectives must match the noun they describe in gender, number, and case, even when they come after the verb είναι.

What exactly is φέτος and where can it go in the sentence?

φέτος is an adverb meaning this year. It does not change form (it’s indeclinable).

In this sentence:

Ο Μάρτιος φέτος είναι ήσυχος στο γραφείο.
= As for March this year, it is quiet at the office.

Other common positions are also possible:

Φέτος ο Μάρτιος είναι ήσυχος στο γραφείο.
Ο Μάρτιος είναι φέτος ήσυχος στο γραφείο.

All of these are grammatically correct. The different positions slightly affect emphasis:

Starting with Φέτος emphasizes this year in contrast to other years.
Ο Μάρτιος φέτος… feels like you’re first bringing up March, then adding this year as additional information.

You may also see the more formal/old-fashioned form εφέτος, but in modern everyday Greek φέτος is by far more common.

Could I say Φέτος ο Μάρτιος είναι ήσυχος στο γραφείο instead? Is it still correct?

Yes, that is perfectly correct:

Φέτος ο Μάρτιος είναι ήσυχος στο γραφείο.

Word order in Greek is relatively flexible, especially with adverbs like φέτος. All of these are acceptable:

Ο Μάρτιος φέτος είναι ήσυχος στο γραφείο.
Φέτος ο Μάρτιος είναι ήσυχος στο γραφείο.
Ο Μάρτιος είναι φέτος ήσυχος στο γραφείο.

Differences are mostly about emphasis and style, not grammatical correctness. In speech, word order would also reflect rhythm and what the speaker wants to highlight.

Why is ήσυχος (quiet) used to describe a month? Is that natural in Greek?

Yes, it’s natural. Greek often personifies time periods (months, days, seasons) in a similar way to English:

Ο Μάρτιος είναι ήσυχος στο γραφείο.
Literally: March is quiet at the office.
Meaning: There isn’t much work; things are calm this March.

Other examples:

Ο Αύγουστος είναι νεκρός στην πόλη.
(August is dead in the city – everything is shut, few people around.)
Ο Δεκέμβριος είναι πάντα φορτωμένος.
(December is always loaded/busy.)

So ήσυχος here really means not much activity, not busy, calm, applied metaphorically to the month as a period of time.

Why is it στο γραφείο and not something like σε το γραφείο?

στο is a contraction of:

σε (preposition: at, in, to) +
το (definite article, neuter singular: the)

So:

σε + το γραφείο → στο γραφείο

Greek almost always uses these contracted forms in normal speech and writing:

σε + τον → στον
σε + την → στη(ν)
σε + το → στο
σε + τους → στους
σε + τις → στις
σε + τα → στα

So στο γραφείο literally is at/in the office. Saying σε το γραφείο separately would sound wrong in modern Greek.

Does στο γραφείο mean in the office, at the office, or to the office?

στο γραφείο can correspond to all of these in English, depending on context. The preposition σε is broad and covers in, on, at, and sometimes to.

In your sentence:

Ο Μάρτιος φέτος είναι ήσυχος στο γραφείο.
Best translation: March this year is quiet at the office.

Other contexts:

Είμαι στο γραφείο. → I am at the office / in the office.
Πηγαίνω στο γραφείο. → I am going to the office.

So you choose the English preposition by meaning, but Greek keeps στο in all these cases.

Why do we use το (neuter) in στο γραφείο, not τον or την?

Because γραφείο is a neuter noun. You can see this from:

Its ending -ο, which is very common for neuter singular nouns.
The article το in the nominative/accusative singular.

So:

Nominative: το γραφείο – the office
Accusative: το γραφείο – (to/at/in) the office

With σε, the form is:

σε + το γραφείο → στο γραφείο

If the noun were masculine or feminine, the article inside στον/στη(ν) would change accordingly. For example:

στον δρόμο (masc., in/on the road)
στην κουζίνα (fem., in the kitchen)

Could I say σε γραφείο instead of στο γραφείο? What would change?

Yes, but the meaning changes:

στο γραφείο = at the office (a specific, known office – typically my office, our office, the office where we work)
σε γραφείο = at an office / in some office (not specific which office)

In your sentence, we are almost certainly talking about a specific, familiar workplace:

Ο Μάρτιος φέτος είναι ήσυχος στο γραφείο.
→ The situation is quiet at the office (the one everyone knows about).

σε γραφείο would feel strange here unless you deliberately meant in some office or other, in a generic way.

Why do we use είναι and not leave it out, as sometimes happens in Greek?

Greek can occasionally omit είναι in very informal, elliptical, or headline-like language, but in a neutral, full sentence like this, είναι is normally required:

Ο Μάρτιος φέτος είναι ήσυχος στο γραφείο. ✅
Ο Μάρτιος φέτος ήσυχος στο γραφείο. ❌ (sounds wrong in standard speech)

You sometimes see είναι omitted:

in very short notes or headlines:
Ο Μάρτιος (είναι) ήσυχος φέτος. (as a kind of headline)
in fixed expressions or colloquial speech where the verb is strongly implied.

But as a learner, you should include είναι in this type of sentence.

How is each word in Ο Μάρτιος φέτος είναι ήσυχος στο γραφείο pronounced and stressed?

Stress is marked by the accent (´) in Greek. Rough guide (stress in capitals):

Ο – /o/ – unstressed, short o (like o in pot)
ΜΆρτιος – /ˈmartios/
- ΜΆρ: stressed syllable, mar (like mar in March but shorter)
- τιος: tee-os (smoothly, almost tyos)
ΦΈτος – /ˈfetos/
- ΦΈ: fe (like fe in ferry)
- τος: tos
ΕΊναι – /ˈine/
- ΕΊ: ee sound (like ee in see)
- -ναι: ne (like ne in never)
Ήσυχος – /ˈisixos/
- Ή: ee sound, stressed
- συ: si (like see, but unstressed)
- χος: hos with a soft h-like ch /x/ (as in the German Bach)
στο – /sto/ – sto (s + to)
γραφΕίο – /ɣraˈfio/
- γρα: gra with a voiced γ /ɣ/ (like a soft French r or a voiced h)
- φΕ: stressed fe
- ιο: yo or io (blended)

So the main stressed syllables are:

ΜΆρ-τιος
ΦΈ-τος
ΕΊ-ναι
Ή-συχος
γρα-ΦΕ-ιο

Is there a more colloquial way to say Ο Μάρτιος?

Yes. In everyday spoken Greek, people often use a shorter, more colloquial form:

Ο Μάρτης φέτος είναι ήσυχος στο γραφείο.

Μάρτης is a familiar/colloquial version of Μάρτιος. Similar forms exist for many months (especially in informal speech):

Γενάρης (for Ιανουάριος)
Φλεβάρης (for Φεβρουάριος)
Μάρτης (for Μάρτιος)
Απρίλης (for Απρίλιος), etc.

The meaning of the sentence does not change; only the tone becomes slightly more informal or conversational.