Learn Hardcore Greek: Στο φροντιστήριο έχουμε μικρή τάξη και μιλάμε κυρίως ελληνικά. - At the language school we have a small class and we speak mainly Greek.

Στο φροντιστήριο έχουμε μικρή τάξη και μιλάμε κυρίως ελληνικά.

At the language school we have a small class and we speak mainly Greek.

Breakdown of Στο φροντιστήριο έχουμε μικρή τάξη και μιλάμε κυρίως ελληνικά.

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Questions & Answers about Στο φροντιστήριο έχουμε μικρή τάξη και μιλάμε κυρίως ελληνικά.

In Στο φροντιστήριο, what does στο mean, and why is it written as one word?

Στο is a contraction of σε + το.

σε = at / in / to
το = the (neuter singular)

So στο φροντιστήριο literally means at/in the tutoring center.
In modern Greek, σε + definite article is almost always merged:

σε + το → στο
σε + τον → στον
σε + την → στη(ν)

What exactly is a φροντιστήριο? Is it just a school?

Φροντιστήριο is usually a private tutoring center / cram school, not a regular school.

Common uses:

Extra classes for school subjects (especially exam preparation)
Language schools (English, Greek, etc.)
Other specialized courses

So στο φροντιστήριο here is best understood as at the tutoring center / language school, not just any school.

Where is the word we in the Greek sentence? Why is εμείς not written?

Greek is a “pro-drop” language: subject pronouns are often omitted because the verb ending already shows the person.

έχουμε = we have
μιλάμε = we speak

So εμείς (we) is understood from the verb endings.
You could say Εμείς στο φροντιστήριο έχουμε…, but it is usually unnecessary and sounds more emphatic.

Why is there no word for a before μικρή τάξη? Shouldn’t it be μια μικρή τάξη?

Greek often omits the indefinite article (ένας / μια / ένα) where English uses a/an, especially:

after verbs like έχω when you’re describing something in a general way

So:

Στο φροντιστήριο έχουμε μικρή τάξη.
= At the tutoring center we have a small class (in general).

You can say έχουμε μια μικρή τάξη, but that tends to highlight one specific small class, or contrast it with something else.

Is μικρή τάξη the subject or the object of έχουμε?

It is the object.

Implied subject: (εμείς) → we
Verb: έχουμε → have
Object: μικρή τάξη → a small class

So the structure is: (We) have a small class.

Why is it μικρή τάξη and not μικρό τάξη or μικρός τάξη?

Because τάξη is a feminine noun, so the adjective must agree with it.

Adjective μικρός (small):

masculine: μικρός (e.g. μικρός μαθητής)
feminine: μικρή (e.g. μικρή τάξη)
neuter: μικρό (e.g. μικρό παιδί)

Since τάξη (class) is feminine, you must say μικρή τάξη.

What does κυρίως mean exactly, and where can it go in the sentence?

Κυρίως means mainly / mostly / primarily.

In this sentence:

μιλάμε κυρίως ελληνικά
= we mainly speak Greek / we mostly speak Greek

As an adverb, it can move around quite freely:

Κυρίως μιλάμε ελληνικά. (Mainly, we speak Greek.)
Μιλάμε κυρίως ελληνικά. (Neutral, very common.)
Μιλάμε ελληνικά κυρίως. (Also possible, a bit more end-weighted.)

The basic meaning “mostly / mainly” stays the same; word order just changes emphasis slightly.

Why is the word for Greek here ελληνικά and not something like ελληνική γλώσσα or just ελληνική?

Names of languages in Greek are normally used in the neuter plural to mean “the X language”:

μιλάω ελληνικά = I speak Greek
μιλάω αγγλικά = I speak English
μιλάω γαλλικά = I speak French

The “full” expression is η ελληνική γλώσσα (the Greek language), but in everyday speech people simply say ελληνικά.

Using ελληνική alone would need a feminine noun after it (e.g. ελληνική γλώσσα, ελληνική μουσική). On its own, μιλάμε ελληνική is incorrect.

Is ελληνικά a noun or an adjective here?

Historically it comes from the adjective ελληνικός (Greek), neuter plural ελληνικά, but in modern usage with verbs like μιλάω it functions like a noun meaning “the Greek language”.

So in μιλάμε κυρίως ελληνικά you can think of ελληνικά as “Greek (language)”:

μιλάμε ελληνικά ≈ we speak Greek

Some grammars also describe this usage as “adverbial” (meaning “we speak in Greek”), but for a learner it’s simplest to treat it as the object: we speak Greek.

What is the difference between μιλάμε and μιλούμε?

Both forms mean we speak and are 1st person plural present tense of the same verb.

μιλάμε – the most common form in everyday Standard Modern Greek
μιλούμε – more formal, also very common in Cyprus and in some more careful or older styles

In this sentence, μιλάμε is the natural, neutral choice.

Does έχουμε / μιλάμε mean we are having / we are speaking right now, or a general habit?

The Greek present tense can cover both habitual/general and right now meanings. Context decides.

Here, Στο φροντιστήριο έχουμε μικρή τάξη και μιλάμε κυρίως ελληνικά is understood as a general description:

At the tutoring center we (generally) have a small class and we (generally) speak mainly Greek.

If you wanted to stress “right now”, you would usually add a time word like τώρα (now).

Can I change the word order, for example Κυρίως μιλάμε ελληνικά στο φροντιστήριο? Does that sound natural?

Yes, Greek word order is quite flexible, and that version is natural.

Some possible variants:

Στο φροντιστήριο έχουμε μικρή τάξη και μιλάμε κυρίως ελληνικά. (neutral)
Στο φροντιστήριο μιλάμε κυρίως ελληνικά και έχουμε μικρή τάξη. (emphasis on the language part first)
Κυρίως μιλάμε ελληνικά στο φροντιστήριο. (emphasizes “mainly” and “Greek”)
Μιλάμε ελληνικά κυρίως στο φροντιστήριο. (suggests that it’s mainly there that we speak Greek)

All are grammatically correct; differences are mainly in emphasis and focus.

What case is φροντιστήριο in after στο, and how can I tell?

After σε, Greek uses the accusative case.
Στο is σε + το, so the noun is in the accusative:

(σε) το φροντιστήριο → στο φροντιστήριο

For neuter singular nouns like φροντιστήριο, the nominative and accusative look the same (το φροντιστήριο in both cases), so you can’t see the difference in form. You mostly learn this as a rule: σε + accusative.

How do you pronounce φροντιστήριο and κυρίως?

Rough pronunciation in English-style syllables:

φροντιστήριο → fron-tee-STEE-ree-o
(stress on -στή-)
κυρίως → kee-REE-os
(stress on -ρί-)

Each Greek word has one stressed syllable, marked by the accent (´) in writing.