Learn Hardcore Greek: Στην τράπεζα η υπάλληλος μου ζητάει ταυτότητα και διαβατήριο. - At the bank the employee female asks me for an ID card and a passport.

σε + την τράπεζα → στην τράπεζα
Similarly:
- σε + την πόλη → στην πόλη (in the city)
- σε + το σπίτι → στο σπίτι (at home)
- σε + τους φίλους → στους φίλους (to the friends)

So στην is just the contracted form of σε την; you will almost always see and say the contracted form in natural Greek.

Why is τράπεζα in this form? I thought η τράπεζα means “the bank”; what case is this?

τράπεζα here is in the accusative singular: την τράπεζα (after contraction: στην τράπεζα).

In Greek, nouns used with the preposition σε take the accusative case, not the nominative:

Nominative: η τράπεζα (the bank – subject)
Accusative: την τράπεζα (to/at/in the bank – after σε)

So:

Η τράπεζα είναι κλειστή. – The bank is closed. (nominative, subject)
Πάω στην τράπεζα. – I am going to the bank. (accusative, after σε)

The same pattern appears with almost all locations: στην πόλη, στο γραφείο, στο σχολείο, etc.

Why does υπάλληλος take η (feminine article) even though it ends in -ος like a masculine noun?

υπάλληλος is one of those Greek nouns that can be either masculine or feminine, depending on the article and context.

ο υπάλληλος – the (male) employee/clerk
η υπάλληλος – the (female) employee/clerk

The form of the noun itself does not change; only the article (and any adjectives) show the gender. So in this sentence:

η υπάλληλος → we know the speaker is referring to a female employee.

Greek has several such common gender nouns ending in -ος that can be either masculine or feminine:

ο/η γιατρός – (male/female) doctor
ο/η δικηγόρος – (male/female) lawyer
ο/η οδηγός – (male/female) driver

The gender is shown by the article, not by changing the ending.

What exactly does μου mean here in η υπάλληλος μου ζητάει?

μου here is an unstressed object pronoun in the genitive case, and it means “to me / of me”. In this sentence, it functions as the indirect object:

μου ζητάει → she asks (of) me / she asks me for

So the structure is:

η υπάλληλος – the clerk (subject)
μου – to me (indirect object)
ζητάει ταυτότητα και διαβατήριο – asks for ID and passport (direct object)

You cannot use με here:

✗ με ζητάει ταυτότητα – wrong
με is the accusative (direct object: she sees me, she calls me),
but ζητάω in the sense of “ask someone for something” in Greek usually takes:
- a person in the genitive (indirect object: μου) and
- a thing in the accusative (direct object: ταυτότητα, διαβατήριο).

For example:

Μου ζητάει βοήθεια. – She asks me for help.
Του ζήτησα συγγνώμη. – I asked him for forgiveness / I apologized to him.

Can the pronoun μου go somewhere else in the sentence, like after the verb?

With one verb in a simple tense (like the present here), unstressed pronouns such as μου normally go right after the verb or after the subject + verb group. In this specific sentence, the natural placements are:

Η υπάλληλος μου ζητάει ταυτότητα και διαβατήριο.
Η υπάλληλος ζητάει μου ταυτότητα και διαβατήριο. – this is not natural Greek.

So in the given structure, μου ζητάει stays together.
If you bring the verb before the subject, you still keep μου close to the verb:

Μου ζητάει ταυτότητα και διαβατήριο η υπάλληλος. – also correct, with a different emphasis.

But you would not normally separate the verb and μου by putting other material in between in this kind of sentence.

What is the difference between ζητάει and ζητά? Which one should I use?

Both ζητάει and ζητά are valid 3rd-person singular present forms of ζητάω / ζητώ (to ask for, to request). They mean the same thing here:

η υπάλληλος μου ζητάει ταυτότητα
η υπάλληλος μου ζητά ταυτότητα

In modern spoken Greek:

The -άει form (ζητάει) sounds a bit more colloquial and is extremely common in speech.
The shorter -ά form (ζητά) is also common and can sound slightly more neutral or slightly more formal, depending on context.

As a learner, you can safely use either. You’ll hear ζητάει very often in everyday conversation.

Why is there no article before ταυτότητα and διαβατήριο? Why not την ταυτότητα και το διαβατήριο?

Both versions are possible, but there is a subtle difference in nuance.

Without articles (as in the sentence):
- μου ζητάει ταυτότητα και διαβατήριο
- Literally: she asks me for ID and passport
- This sounds more generic, like “ID and a passport” as types of documents, not specific ones.
With articles:
- μου ζητάει την ταυτότητα και το διαβατήριο
- Literally: she asks me for the ID card and the passport
- This tends to sound more specific, as if referring to my particular ID card and my particular passport (which in reality is what is meant, but grammatically it feels more “marked”).

In everyday speech, when someone at a bank or office asks a client for documents, it is very natural to drop the articles and say:

Θέλω ταυτότητα και διαβατήριο. – I need ID and passport.

So the version without articles feels more like “ID and passport, please”, which matches the usual interaction.

Could I change the word order to Η υπάλληλος στην τράπεζα μου ζητάει ταυτότητα και διαβατήριο? Does that change the meaning?

Yes, you can say:

Η υπάλληλος στην τράπεζα μου ζητάει ταυτότητα και διαβατήριο.

This is also correct.
The difference is mostly where the emphasis falls:

Στην τράπεζα η υπάλληλος μου ζητάει…
– Emphasis starts with the location: At the bank, the clerk asks me…
– This might contrast with other places (e.g. “At the supermarket they don’t ask me, but at the bank the clerk does”).
Η υπάλληλος στην τράπεζα μου ζητάει…
– Emphasis starts with the person and then specifies which clerk (the one at the bank).
– It can sound more like you are identifying that particular clerk.

In everyday speech, both orders are fine; the difference is quite subtle and often just a matter of style.

What is the difference between ζητάω and ρωτάω in sentences like this? Why not με ρωτάει ταυτότητα or μου ζητάει για ταυτότητα?

Greek makes a clear distinction:

ζητάω = ask for / request something
ρωτάω = ask a question / ask someone something (information)

In this sentence, the clerk is requesting documents, not asking a question, so Greek uses ζητάω:

μου ζητάει ταυτότητα και διαβατήριο – she asks me for ID and passport.

Some common patterns:

ζητάω κάποιον κάτι
- Μου ζήτησε χρήματα. – He asked me for money.
ρωτάω κάποιον κάτι / για κάτι
- Με ρώτησε την ώρα. – He asked me the time.
- Τον ρώτησα για τη διεύθυνση. – I asked him about the address.

So:

✗ με ρωτάει ταυτότητα – incorrect, because ρωτάω is used for questions, not for requesting documents.
✗ μου ζητάει για ταυτότητα – incorrect here; ζητάω does not take για in this sense. You just say μου ζητάει ταυτότητα.

How should I understand the tense μου ζητάει in English? Is it “asks me” or “is asking me”?

The Greek present tense covers both:

habitual/general present: she asks me (whenever I go there)
present continuous: she is asking me (right now)

So μου ζητάει can be translated as:

“she asks me for ID and passport” (habitually, every time)
or
“she is asking me for ID and passport” (in this specific situation)

The context decides which English tense is best.
The Greek form itself doesn’t change; you still use ζητάει in both situations.

Could η τράπεζα also mean “the table”? How do I know it means “bank” here?

Historically, η τράπεζα can mean both “bank” and “table”, but in modern everyday Greek:

For a bank, people always say η τράπεζα.
For a table, the normal word is το τραπέζι.

So:

στην τράπεζα – practically always understood as “at the bank”.
στο τραπέζι – “on/at the table”.

Because your sentence includes η υπάλληλος and talks about ID and passport, the context clearly points to a bank, not a piece of furniture.