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.

Breakdown of Ο φίλος μου φτιάχνει μόνος του απλό βραδινό ώστε να ξεκουραστεί η μαμά του.

Why do we say Ο φίλος μου and not just Φίλος μου or Μου φίλος?

In Greek, the normal pattern for “my friend” is:

Key points:

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:

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