Learn Hardcore Greek: Ο φίλος μου φτιάχνει μόνος του απλό βραδινό ώστε να ξεκουραστεί η μαμά του. - My friend makes a simple dinner by himself so that his mom can rest.

The definite article ο is usually used with nouns that have a possessive pronoun (μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους).
- So ο φίλος μου is much more natural than just φίλος μου in most contexts.
The possessive pronoun comes after the noun, not before it.
- μου φίλος is wrong in standard Modern Greek.
You can occasionally drop the article (e.g. in lists, headlines, or very casual speech), but in a normal sentence like this, ο φίλος μου is the standard form.

What is the difference between μόνος and μόνος του, and why do we need του here?

μόνος by itself means “alone” or “on his own,” but grammatically it behaves like an adjective and needs to agree with someone.
μόνος του literally means “alone of-him,” i.e. “by himself.”

In this sentence:

Subject: ο φίλος μου (he)
So we say: μόνος του = by himself (masculine singular, matching φίλος)

If the subject were:

A woman: μόνη της (e.g. Η φίλη μου φτιάχνει μόνη της…)
A group of men/mixed: μόνοι τους
A group of women: μόνες τους

The του is needed to show whose “aloneness” we are talking about. μόνος without a pronoun usually sounds incomplete in this kind of sentence.

Why is there no article before απλό βραδινό?

απλό βραδινό here functions like “a simple dinner” in English, but Greek often omits the indefinite article where English uses “a”.

Greek has no direct equivalent of English “a/an”. Instead, it uses:

ένα / μία / ένα when it wants to emphasize “one, a single, a certain”
Or no article at all for a general, indefinite idea.

In φτιάχνει μόνος του απλό βραδινό:

We’re talking about dinner in general, not a specific dinner.
So no article is necessary; απλό βραδινό sounds natural and means “(a) simple dinner.”

If you said ένα απλό βραδινό, that’s also grammatically fine, but it slightly highlights it as “one specific simple dinner” or adds a small emphasis.

What exactly does φτιάχνει mean here, and why not μαγειρεύει?

φτιάχνω is a very general verb: “make,” “prepare,” “fix,” “build.”
In the context of food, it commonly means “prepare/make (food).”

So φτιάχνει απλό βραδινό ≈ “he makes a simple dinner.”

μαγειρεύω specifically means “cook.” You could say:

Ο φίλος μου μαγειρεύει μόνος του απλό βραδινό…

That would focus more on the cooking process. φτιάχνω is a bit broader: he may cook, assemble, warm up, etc. Both are correct; it’s just a nuance.

What does βραδινό mean exactly, and why is it neuter?

βραδινό as a noun (short for βραδινό φαγητό) means “evening meal / dinner.”

Grammatically:

βραδινό here is neuter singular.
It’s originally an adjective meaning “evening” (e.g. βραδινό φόρεμα = evening dress), but in everyday speech it is frequently turned into a noun meaning “dinner.”

So απλό βραδινό literally is “simple evening(-meal).”
The noun is understood and can be left out: το βραδινό = “dinner.”

How does ώστε να ξεκουραστεί work? What does ώστε να mean?

ώστε να introduces a purpose or result, similar to:

“so that,” “in order that,” “so as to”

Structure:

ώστε να
- subjunctive (a special verb form, often identical to the future stem)

In this sentence:

ώστε να ξεκουραστεί η μαμά του = “so that his mother can rest” / “so that his mother may rest.”

So the whole sentence means he prepares dinner by himself with the purpose that his mother will get some rest.

Why is the verb ξεκουραστεί (aorist subjunctive) used and not ξεκουράζεται or ξεκουράζεται να?

In Greek, after ώστε να, we normally use the subjunctive:

ξεκουραστεί is the aorist subjunctive of ξεκουράζομαι (“to rest”).

Why aorist?

Aorist subjunctive is used for the completion of an action: “so that she (can) rest (at least for a while, get some rest).”
Present subjunctive (ώστε να ξεκουράζεται) would suggest ongoing, repeated, or habitual resting and would sound odd here.

ξεκουράζεται (present indicative) can’t follow ώστε να; after ώστε να we need the subjunctive form, not the indicative.

So ώστε να ξεκουραστεί is the natural way to say “so that she can (get some) rest.”

What is the difference between ώστε να and για να here? Could we say για να ξεκουραστεί?

Both ώστε να and για να can introduce a purpose clause.

για να = “(in order) to,” more common in everyday speech.
ώστε να = also “so that,” but often a bit more formal or explicit, and can slightly highlight the result.

In this sentence:

… ώστε να ξεκουραστεί η μαμά του.
… για να ξεκουραστεί η μαμά του.

Both are grammatically correct.
ώστε να sounds a little more like “so that” / “so that the result is that his mother can rest.”
για να is slightly more neutral and very common in speech.

Why does μόνος appear in the masculine form, and how would the sentence change if the subject were female?

μόνος is an adjective and must agree with the subject in:

gender,
number,
and case (here: nominative, because it refers to the subject).

Subject: ο φίλος μου → masculine singular
So we say: μόνος του.

If the subject were:

Η φίλη μου (my female friend):
- Η φίλη μου φτιάχνει μόνη της απλό βραδινό ώστε να ξεκουραστεί η μαμά της.

Changes:

μόνος → μόνη (feminine)
του → της (because it’s “her,” not “his”)

Why is η μαμά του placed at the end of the sentence? Could it go elsewhere?

Greek word order is quite flexible. η μαμά του is at the end for natural emphasis and flow, but you could move it.

Base version:

… ώστε να ξεκουραστεί η μαμά του.

You could also say:

… ώστε η μαμά του να ξεκουραστεί.
… για να ξεκουραστεί η μαμά του.

All of these are grammatical. The original version (να ξεκουραστεί η μαμά του) is very common and slightly emphasizes the action (“so that (there will be) rest for his mother”), with η μαμά του coming as the final piece of information.

We see του twice: in μόνος του and η μαμά του. Do they both refer to the same person?

In this sentence, yes, both του refer to ο φίλος μου.

μόνος του = by himself → the friend does the action alone.
η μαμά του = his mother → the mother of that same friend.

Greek often repeats the same pronoun, and context tells you they refer to the same person. If there were more people involved and ambiguity were possible, Greek would often:

add names or titles,
or change word order / add clarifying phrases.

Is there any difference in tone between η μαμά του and η μητέρα του?

Yes, it’s mainly a matter of register:

η μαμά του = “his mom” → informal, everyday, more affectionate.
η μητέρα του = “his mother” → more formal, neutral, or slightly distant.

In a casual sentence about family life and dinner, η μαμά του feels very natural and warm. η μητέρα του would sound more formal or written.

Could the whole sentence be rephrased in a slightly different but still natural way?

Yes, for example:

Ο φίλος μου μαγειρεύει μόνος του ένα απλό βραδινό για να ξεκουραστεί η μαμά του.

Differences:

μαγειρεύει instead of φτιάχνει → focus on cooking.
ένα απλό βραδινό instead of απλό βραδινό → small extra emphasis on “a simple dinner.”
για να instead of ώστε να → very common in speech, same basic meaning (“so that / in order to”).

All versions are correct; the original is slightly more neutral and concise.