Learn Hardcore Greek: Ο Αύγουστος είναι ήσυχος στη δουλειά.

Ο is the masculine singular definite article in the nominative case.
Αύγουστος is a masculine noun (all months are masculine in Greek), so the article must agree: ο Αύγουστος.

So while English prefers August is quiet at work, Greek prefers Ο Αύγουστος είναι ήσυχος στη δουλειά — literally The August is quiet at work. Using the article here is natural Greek.

Does Αύγουστος here mean the month or a man’s name? How can I tell?

Αύγουστος can be both:

the month August, and
a male first name (like Augustus / August).

In this sentence, Ο Αύγουστος είναι ήσυχος στη δουλειά, the most natural reading is the month, meaning “August is quiet at work” (work slows down in August).

However, grammatically the sentence could also describe a man called Αύγουστος who is quiet at work. Only wider context would make it 100% clear. If we wanted to make the “month” meaning explicit, we might say:

Ο μήνας Αύγουστος είναι ήσυχος στη δουλειά. – The month of August is quiet at work.

What exactly is είναι here? Which form of the verb είμαι is it?

είναι is the present tense of the verb είμαι (to be). It’s both:

3rd person singular: he/she/it is, and
3rd person plural: they are.

In this sentence:

Subject: Ο Αύγουστος (he/it – singular)
Verb: είναι → is

So Ο Αύγουστος είναι… = August is…

Note: Greek doesn’t have different forms like is / are here; είναι covers both. Context tells you if it’s singular or plural.

What does ήσυχος mean exactly? Is it “quiet”, “calm”, or “silent”?

ήσυχος mainly means:

quiet, calm, peaceful, not busy.

In this sentence, ήσυχος describes the period of work in August as calm and not busy, so:

Ο Αύγουστος είναι ήσυχος στη δουλειά.
= August is quiet at work / Work is calm in August.

Nuance:

ήρεμος – calm, serene (emotional or general calmness).
σιωπηλός – silent, not speaking or making noise.

Here, ήσυχος is about low activity / not much going on, not necessarily total silence.

Why is ήσυχος in the masculine form? How would it change with different subjects?

Adjectives in Greek agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

Subject: Ο Αύγουστος – masculine, singular, nominative.
So the adjective: ήσυχος – masculine, singular, nominative.

If the subject were feminine or neuter, ήσυχος would change:

Feminine: Η πόλη είναι ήσυχη τον Αύγουστο.
– The city is quiet in August.
Neuter: Το γραφείο είναι ήσυχο τον Αύγουστο.
– The office is quiet in August.

Basic pattern for this adjective:

Masculine: ήσυχος
Feminine: ήσυχη
Neuter: ήσυχο

What is στη exactly? Why not write σε τη δουλειά?

στη is a contracted form of:

σε (preposition: in, at, to) +
τη(ν) (feminine singular definite article, accusative).

So:

σε + τη δουλειά → στη δουλειά

Greek very often contracts σε + article:

σε + τον → στον
σε + τη(ν) → στη / στην
σε + το → στο

Therefore στη δουλειά simply means at work / at the job. Writing σε τη δουλειά is grammatically possible in principle but not natural; the contracted form is what is actually used.

Sometimes I see στη and sometimes στην before feminine nouns. Which is correct, and why isn’t it στην here?

Both στη and στην are correct forms of σε + τη(ν). The final -ν in την (and στην) is often:

kept before vowels and some consonants (to ease pronunciation), and
dropped before many other consonants in modern usage.

Common modern rule of thumb:

Keep -ν before: κ, π, τ, γκ, μπ, ντ, ξ, ψ, and before vowels.
Otherwise, it’s often dropped in everyday writing and speech.

δουλειά starts with δ, so many speakers drop the -ν and say/write:

στη δουλειά

You may still see στην δουλειά; it’s not “wrong”, just a bit more conservative or careful.

What case is δουλειά in, and why?

δουλειά is in the accusative singular.

Reason:

The preposition σε (in, at, to) takes the accusative.
So its object, δουλειά, must be in the accusative: (τη) δουλειά.

Full structure:

στη δουλειά = σε + τη δουλειά → at work / at the job
τη δουλειά is accusative feminine singular.

Can I say Ο Αύγουστος είναι ήσυχος στην εργασία instead? What’s the difference between δουλειά and εργασία?

You can say it, but it sounds more formal and less natural in everyday speech.

δουλειά is the everyday, colloquial word for work / job.
- στη δουλειά ≈ at work, how people usually speak.
εργασία is more formal, like employment / labor / work in a more official or technical sense.

Ο Αύγουστος είναι ήσυχος στην εργασία sounds a bit like “August is quiet in the realm of employment” – perfectly understandable, but not how people normally talk about their day-to-day job.

In casual speech, stick with:

Ο Αύγουστος είναι ήσυχος στη δουλειά.

Can I change the word order, for example Στη δουλειά ο Αύγουστος είναι ήσυχος? Does the meaning change?

Yes, you can change the word order. Greek word order is flexible because roles are marked by endings (articles, cases).

All of these are grammatically fine:

Ο Αύγουστος είναι ήσυχος στη δουλειά.
Στη δουλειά, ο Αύγουστος είναι ήσυχος.
Ο Αύγουστος, στη δουλειά, είναι ήσυχος.

The basic meaning stays the same: August is quiet at work.

Differences are mainly in emphasis:

Starting with Στη δουλειά emphasizes “at work” (as opposed to somewhere else):
- Στη δουλειά ο Αύγουστος είναι ήσυχος
  → At work, August is quiet. (Maybe elsewhere he/it isn’t.)

Do I have to capitalize Αύγουστος in Greek? Are months always capitalized?

In modern standard Greek, month names are usually capitalized, especially in formal writing:

Ο Ιανουάριος, ο Φεβρουάριος, ο Μάρτιος, …, ο Αύγουστος.

So Ο Αύγουστος είναι ήσυχος στη δουλειά is normally written with a capital Α.

You might occasionally see month names in lowercase (especially in older texts or informal contexts), but capitalizing them is the standard today.

How do you pronounce δουλειά, and why is it spelled like that?

δουλειά is pronounced roughly:

/ðuliˈa/ → thoo-lee-YA
- δ = /ð/ like th in this
- ου = /u/ like oo in food
- ει here is also /i/ like ee in see
- Stress is on the last syllable: δου-λει-ά

Spelling notes:

Greek often uses ει and ι for the same sound /i/; spelling is historical.
The combination λει is pronounced li, not ley.

So although δουλειά looks complicated, it’s just δ-ου-λ-ει-ά → /ðuliˈa/.