Learn Hardcore Greek: Η φίλη μου με προσκάλεσε στο νέο της διαμέρισμα, αλλά δεν ξέρω αν θα προλάβω. - My friend female invited me to her new apartment, but I don’t know if I will manage in time.

η φίλη μου = literally the friend my, but it means my (female) friend.
Without the article, φίλη μου is usually:
- vocative (you are addressing her directly): Φίλη μου, τι κάνεις; = My friend, how are you?
- or a bit more like a label, not a normal subject in a sentence.

So, to say "My friend invited me," the natural Greek is:

Η φίλη μου με προσκάλεσε …

Dropping the article here would sound incomplete or like direct address, not like a normal subject.

Why is μου after φίλη (η φίλη μου) and not before, like μου φίλη?

Weak possessive pronouns in Greek (μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους) normally follow the noun:

η φίλη μου = my friend
το σπίτι της = her house
ο αδελφός μας = our brother

Putting μου before the noun (μου φίλη) is not standard modern Greek. You will mostly see possessives before nouns only:

in fixed expressions (e.g. ο πατέρας μου ο καλός – a special stylistic structure), or
in older/katharevousa style.

If you want to add emphasis to my, you usually change the structure, for example:

η δική μου φίλη = my own friend / my friend (as opposed to someone else’s)

So: normal order is article + noun + μου → η φίλη μου.

Why is it με προσκάλεσε and not προσκάλεσε με or προσκάλεσε εμένα?

Με is the unstressed object pronoun me. In standard Greek, these short object pronouns normally come before the verb in statements:

με προσκάλεσε = she invited me
τον είδα = I saw him
τους πήρα τηλέφωνο = I called them

They go after the verb mainly:

in affirmative imperatives: προσκάλεσέ με! = Invite me!
with some non-finite forms, etc.

You can use the stressed form εμένα for emphasis:

προσκάλεσε εμένα = she invited me (as opposed to someone else)

So:

Neutral: Η φίλη μου με προσκάλεσε …
Emphatic: Η φίλη μου προσκάλεσε εμένα …

Προσκάλεσε με is not standard in modern Greek prose; it sounds either dialectal, poetic, or like an imperative if you add the accent (προσκάλεσέ με).

What is the difference between προσκάλεσε and κάλεσε here?

Both verbs can mean invited in this context, but they differ a bit in nuance:

καλώ → κάλεσε
- very common, neutral word for call / invite.
- με κάλεσε στο σπίτι της = she invited me to her house.
προσκαλώ → προσκάλεσε
- slightly more formal or “official”-sounding: invite to an event, a ceremony, a formal occasion.
- με προσκάλεσε στον γάμο της = she invited me to her wedding.

In everyday casual speech, many people would say:

Η φίλη μου με κάλεσε στο νέο της διαμέρισμα …

Με προσκάλεσε is perfectly correct; it just feels a bit more formal or careful.

What exactly is στο νέο της διαμέρισμα and how is στο formed?

Στο νέο της διαμέρισμα analyzes like this:

σε = in / at / to
το = the (neuter, singular, accusative)
νέο = new (neuter, singular, accusative)
της = her
διαμέρισμα = apartment (neuter noun)

In real Greek, σε + το almost always contracts to στο:

σε + το → στο
σε + τον → στον
σε + την → στη(ν)
σε + τα → στα, etc.

So στο νέο της διαμέρισμα is literally to-the new her apartment, corresponding to to her new apartment in English.

Notice also that Greek uses the definite article very often with possessives; we don’t say something like σε νέο της διαμέρισμα here.

Could we also say στο νέο διαμέρισμά της instead of στο νέο της διαμέρισμα? Is there a difference?

Yes, both are correct and natural:

στο νέο της διαμέρισμα
στο νέο διαμέρισμά της

They are both understood as to her new apartment.

About the word order:

With a possessive clitic (της) and an adjective (νέο), Greek allows two main patterns:
1. article + adjective + possessive + noun
  - το καινούριο της σπίτι
2. article + adjective + noun + possessive
  - το καινούριο σπίτι της

There is only a small nuance:

το νέο της διαμέρισμα is very neutral and common.
το νέο διαμέρισμά της can sound a touch more “complete” or slightly more emphatic on the noun (διαμέρισμα), and you will often see this pattern in writing.

But in everyday speech, both versions are widely used with almost no difference in meaning.

What does προλάβω mean exactly in δεν ξέρω αν θα προλάβω?

The verb is προλαβαίνω (present), with aorist stem προλάβω.

Its core idea is to have enough time / not be too late / catch something before it’s over. Some typical uses:

Πρόλαβα το λεωφορείο. = I caught the bus (I wasn’t too late).
Δεν προλαβαίνω να έρθω. = I don’t have time to come.
Ελπίζω να προλάβω. = I hope I make it in time.

In δεν ξέρω αν θα προλάβω, it means:

I don’t know if I’ll manage in time,
I don’t know if I’ll be able to make it (before it’s too late / before the time limit).

It’s not a general “manage / succeed” like τα καταφέρνω; it is specifically about time and being on time.

Why is the form προλάβω used, and not προλαβαίνω, in the future?

Greek verbs have aspect: imperfective (ongoing, repeated) and perfective / aorist (single, completed event).

προλαβαίνω = imperfective (present stem)
προλάβω = perfective (aorist stem)

With θα, you can form:

θα προλαβαίνω → I will be (generally) managing / habitually making it (rare in this context).
θα προλάβω → I will manage (this one time) / I will make it (on this occasion).

In δεν ξέρω αν θα προλάβω, we are talking about one specific future event (this invitation), so the perfective προλάβω is the natural choice: if I’ll manage (in time) this once.

Should it be αν προλάβω instead of αν θα προλάβω? I thought αν doesn’t go with θα.

Many grammar books say that after αν (“if/when”) you usually use the subjunctive without θα:

αν προλάβω, θα έρθω = If I make it, I will come.

However, in modern spoken Greek, people very often say αν θα + future, especially when αν means whether rather than if:

Δεν ξέρω αν θα προλάβω. = I don’t know whether I’ll manage (in time).

So:

αν προλάβω is the “textbook,” more traditional form after αν in conditional sentences.
αν θα προλάβω is very common in everyday speech when αν ≈ “whether”.

Some teachers might avoid αν θα in formal writing, but in actual usage Δεν ξέρω αν θα προλάβω is completely natural and widely heard.

What is the role of αν in δεν ξέρω αν θα προλάβω, and how is it different from εάν?

Here αν means if / whether introducing an indirect question:

Δεν ξέρω αν θα προλάβω.
= I don’t know if / whether I’ll manage.

You cannot say this as a direct question after δεν ξέρω (e.g. δεν ξέρω, θα προλάβω;) – you need αν (or εάν) to introduce the clause.

About αν vs εάν:

αν is the everyday, shorter form.
εάν is a slightly more formal or written variant (also a bit more “careful” speech).

In this sentence, you could also say:

Δεν ξέρω εάν θα προλάβω.

Meaning and grammar are the same; αν just sounds more colloquial and is more common in speech.

Why is there a comma before αλλά? Is punctuation with αλλά like with but in English?

Yes, αλλά works very much like but in English: it introduces a contrast or exception.

Η φίλη μου με προσκάλεσε …, αλλά δεν ξέρω αν θα προλάβω.
= My friend invited me …, but I don’t know if I’ll make it.

In Greek, it is very common (and usually recommended) to put a comma before αλλά when it connects two clauses:

Θέλω να έρθω, αλλά δεν προλαβαίνω.
Τον κάλεσα, αλλά δεν απάντησε.

So the comma here separates:

Η φίλη μου με προσκάλεσε στο νέο της διαμέρισμα
δεν ξέρω αν θα προλάβω

with αλλά marking the contrast between them.