Learn Hardcore Greek: Προσκαλώ τη συνάδελφό μου σε μια μικρή γιορτή στο σπίτι. - I invite my colleague female to a small celebration at home.

So it means both “I invite” and “I am inviting” in English. Greek does not distinguish between simple and continuous present in the same way English does.

The basic dictionary form (lemma) is also προσκαλώ (1st person singular present).
The infinitive form doesn’t exist in modern Greek the way it does in English; dictionaries list verbs under the “I [verb]” form (εγώ προσκαλώ).

Why is there no separate word for “I” in the Greek sentence?

Greek usually leaves out subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows the person:

προσκαλώ = I invite
προσκαλείς = you invite
προσκαλεί = he/she/it invites

So εγώ (I) is not needed unless you want to emphasize the subject:

Εγώ προσκαλώ τη συνάδελφό μου…
= I am the one who is inviting my colleague… (contrast / emphasis)

What exactly does τη συνάδελφό μου mean grammatically?

Breakdown:

τη – definite article, feminine, singular, accusative
συνάδελφό – noun συνάδελφος (colleague), here feminine, singular, accusative, with an extra accent because of μου (see another question below)
μου – enclitic possessive pronoun, my

So τη συνάδελφό μου literally is “the colleague my”, which corresponds to English “my colleague” used as a direct object (accusative case) of the verb προσκαλώ.

Why is it τη and not την before συνάδελφό?

The full feminine accusative article is την, but in modern Greek the final -ν is usually dropped before most consonants.

General rule for την / τη (and similarly τον / το):

You keep the final -ν before:
κ, π, τ, γκ, μπ, ντ, ξ, ψ, τσ, τζ and any vowel.
Example: την πόρτα, την κόρη, την έξοδο
You often drop it before other consonants (like σ):
Example: τη συνάδελφο

So τη συνάδελφό μου is the normal modern spelling and pronunciation.
την συνάδελφό μου is not “wrong” but looks more formal or old‑fashioned in everyday writing.

Why does συνάδελφό have that accent at the end before μου?

The basic form is συνάδελφος, which is stressed on the third syllable from the end (proparoxytone):
συ‑νά‑δελ‑φος

In the accusative: συνάδελφο – the stress stays on νά.

When a proparoxytone word is followed by an enclitic (like μου, σου, του), Greek adds another accent on the last syllable of the word:

συνάδελφό μου
άνθρωπός μου
δάσκαλός μου

So συνάδελφό μου actually has two accents in writing: one on ά and one on ό. This is just an orthographic rule to show the stress pattern when an enclitic follows; it doesn’t change the basic pronunciation much, just keeps the stress clear.

In dictionaries συνάδελφος looks masculine. How can it refer to a female colleague here?

συνάδελφος is a common-gender noun in Greek: it has one form that can refer to either a man or a woman. The gender is shown by the article and context, not by changing the noun itself.

ο συνάδελφός μου = my male colleague
τη συνάδελφό μου = my female colleague (accusative)

So, in your sentence, the feminine article τη tells us the colleague is female.

Why do we need the article τη when we already have μου (“my”)? In English we just say “my colleague”.

In Greek, possessive constructions normally take the definite article:

η φίλη μου = my (female) friend
ο αδελφός μου = my brother
το σπίτι μου = my house

So τη συνάδελφό μου = “the colleague my” → my colleague.

Leaving out the article (∅ συνάδελφός μου) is either wrong or at least extremely unusual in standard modern Greek. Think of the structure article + noun + possessive pronoun as the default pattern for “my/your/his/her… [noun]”.

What does σε mean in σε μια μικρή γιορτή, and why this preposition?

σε is a very common preposition meaning “to”, “in”, or “at”, depending on context.

In σε μια μικρή γιορτή, it means something like:

“to a small celebration/party”
(the event you’re inviting her to)

Other possible prepositions:

για μια μικρή γιορτή = for a small celebration (emphasis on purpose, “for the sake of”)
But for inviting someone to an event, σε is the default and most natural choice.

Why is it σε μια μικρή γιορτή and not some other gender/case?

Breakdown:

σε
- μια μικρή γιορτή

The noun γιορτή is feminine, singular. After the preposition σε, the noun goes into the accusative case:

Nominative: η γιορτή
Accusative: τη γιορτή

The indefinite article μια is the feminine singular accusative form, and the adjective μικρή also appears in feminine singular accusative, agreeing with γιορτή:

μια (fem. sg. acc.)
μικρή (fem. sg. acc.)
γιορτή (fem. sg. acc. in form, same as nominative)

So all three words match in gender (feminine) and number (singular), and the case is accusative because of σε.

What does μια mean here? Is there a difference between μια and μία?

μια here is the indefinite article, feminine singular: “a / an”.

σε μια μικρή γιορτή = to a small celebration/party

As for μια vs μία:

μια – usual unstressed spelling in everyday text when it’s just the article (a/an).
μία – often used when you stress or contrast it, or when it’s clearly used as a numeral “one” rather than the article.

In spoken Greek, both are pronounced the same in most dialects. Here, the normal, neutral choice is μια.

What does στο σπίτι mean exactly, and why στο?

στο σπίτι comes from the contraction:

σε + το σπίτι → στο σπίτι

So literally it is “to the house” or “at the house”, but:

In context it usually means “at home” or “at my house/our house”, if that’s understood from context.

Examples:

Πάω στο σπίτι. = I’m going home.
Μένω στο σπίτι. = I live at home.

στο is the neuter singular form of this contraction (for το σπίτι, a neuter noun). With other genders, it changes:

στον φίλο (σε + τον φίλο) – to/at the (male) friend
στη φίλη (σε + τη φίλη) – to/at the (female) friend

Can the word order of the sentence change in Greek?

Yes. Greek word order is more flexible than English. Your sentence:

Προσκαλώ τη συνάδελφό μου σε μια μικρή γιορτή στο σπίτι.

Some common variants (all grammatically correct, with slightly different emphasis):

Προσκαλώ τη συνάδελφό μου στο σπίτι σε μια μικρή γιορτή.
Τη συνάδελφό μου προσκαλώ σε μια μικρή γιορτή στο σπίτι. (emphasis on my colleague)
Σε μια μικρή γιορτή στο σπίτι προσκαλώ τη συνάδελφό μου. (emphasis on the kind of event)

The basic information doesn’t change; only focus/emphasis shifts.

How would I say “I invited my colleague” or “I will invite my colleague” in Greek?

Using the same verb προσκαλώ:

I invited my colleague.
→ Προσκάλεσα τη συνάδελφό μου.
(aorist / simple past: προσκάλεσα)
I will invite my colleague.
→ Θα προσκαλέσω τη συνάδελφό μου.
(simple future: θα προσκαλέσω)

For a continuous future (“I will be inviting”), Greek uses θα προσκαλώ, but in most real contexts the simple future θα προσκαλέσω is what you want here.

Is there a difference between προσκαλώ and καλώ for “invite”?

Both can mean “invite”, but:

προσκαλώ – a bit more formal/literary, common in written language, official contexts, invitations.
καλώ – more general, everyday verb: to call, to invite, to summon.

In your sentence:

Προσκαλώ τη συνάδελφό μου… sounds like a proper, maybe slightly formal statement (very natural in writing).
You could also say: Καλώ τη συνάδελφό μου σε μια μικρή γιορτή στο σπίτι.
This is also correct and perhaps a bit more neutral/colloquial.