Learn Hardcore Greek: Σήμερα συνάντησα έναν τυχαίο πεζό στο πεζοδρόμιο που μου έδωσε πολύ χρήσιμες οδηγίες για την κατεύθυνση προς τη γέφυρα. - Today I met a random pedestrian on the sidewalk who gave me very useful directions toward the bridge.

It refers to a single, completed action in the past: I met (once) today.
In contrast, the present συναντάω / συναντώ (I meet / I am meeting) can mean something habitual or ongoing.
Adding Σήμερα (today) plus the aorist gives the sense: Earlier today, at some point, I (happened to) meet…

Why is it έναν τυχαίο πεζό and not just ένας τυχαίος πεζός?

έναν τυχαίο πεζό is in the accusative case, because it is the direct object of the verb συνάντησα (I met whom? → a random pedestrian).

ένας τυχαίος πεζός = nominative (subject form)
έναν τυχαίο πεζό = accusative (object form)

Breakdown:

έναν – masculine accusative singular article (a)
τυχαίο – masculine accusative singular adjective (random)
πεζό – masculine accusative singular noun (pedestrian)

You would use ένας τυχαίος πεζός if he was the subject:

Ένας τυχαίος πεζός με βοήθησε. – A random pedestrian helped me.

What exactly does πεζός mean here? Is it just “pedestrian”?

Yes, in this context πεζός means a pedestrian, i.e. a person walking, not in a vehicle.

The word can also mean:

on foot (as an adjective/adverb: πηγαίνω πεζός – I go on foot), but when used as a noun with an article, like ένας πεζός, it naturally means a pedestrian.

What is the difference between πεζός and πεζοδρόμιο?

They are related but different:

πεζός – a pedestrian (a person walking).
πεζοδρόμιο – the sidewalk / pavement, literally “place for pedestrians.”

Grammar:

πεζός: masculine noun (ο πεζός)
πεζοδρόμιο: neuter noun (το πεζοδρόμιο)

What is στο in στο πεζοδρόμιο? Is it one word or two?

στο is the contraction of σε + το.

σε – preposition (in, at, on, to)
το – neuter accusative singular article (the)

So:

σε + το πεζοδρόμιο → στο πεζοδρόμιο = on the sidewalk.

In speech and writing, the contracted form στο is almost always used rather than σε το.

How does που work in στο πεζοδρόμιο που μου έδωσε...? Is it “who” or “that”?

Here που is a relative pronoun, roughly equivalent to English who/that.

It introduces a relative clause describing τον πεζό:
- έναν τυχαίο πεζό … που μου έδωσε…
  → a random pedestrian … who gave me…

In modern Greek, που is very flexible:

It can mean who, that, which depending on context.
It doesn’t change form for gender, number, or case (unlike older forms like ο οποίος, η οποία, το οποίο).

So here:
που = who (referring back to πεζό).

Could που be referring to πεζοδρόμιο instead of πεζό?

Grammatically, που could refer to either, because it doesn’t change form.
But semantically, only πεζός makes sense:

ο πεζός … που μου έδωσε οδηγίες – the pedestrian who gave me directions → logical.
το πεζοδρόμιο … που μου έδωσε οδηγίες – the sidewalk that gave me directions → not logical.

So it is clearly referring back to έναν τυχαίο πεζό.

Why is the pronoun μου placed before the verb in που μου έδωσε?

μου is a weak (clitic) pronoun meaning to me / my.
In standard Greek word order, weak pronouns:

Go before the verb in simple affirmative sentences in the indicative:
- μου έδωσε – he gave me
- μου είπε – he told me
- με είδε – he saw me

You only put it after the verb in:

Imperatives: δώσ’ μου (give me)
Some participle or infinitive-like constructions.

So here the normal, neutral order is μου έδωσε.

In πολύ χρήσιμες οδηγίες, why is it πολύ and not πολλές?

Because πολύ here is an adverb modifying the adjective χρήσιμες, not the noun οδηγίες directly.

πολύ χρήσιμες οδηγίες
→ “very useful directions” (degree of usefulness)
πολλές χρήσιμες οδηγίες
→ “many useful directions” (large number)

So:

πολύ (invariable adverb) + adjective: πολύ χρήσιμος / πολύ χρήσιμη / πολύ χρήσιμο = very useful
πολλοί / πολλές / πολλά (adjective) + noun: many (masc./fem./neut.)

In the sentence, the idea is “very useful”, not “many”, so πολύ χρήσιμες is correct.

What does οδηγίες mean here? Is it only “instructions,” or also “directions”?

οδηγίες can mean both instructions and directions, depending on context.

Here, because it’s οδηγίες για την κατεύθυνση προς τη γέφυρα, it clearly means directions (how to get somewhere).
In other contexts it can mean instructions:
- οδηγίες χρήσης – user instructions / user manual.

Why do we say για την κατεύθυνση? What does για add?

για is a preposition meaning for / about / regarding.

οδηγίες για την κατεύθυνση
→ directions for / about the way (to go)

This is just like English:

instructions for the route, information about the direction, etc.

Grammar:

για is followed by accusative, so we get:
- την κατεύθυνση (feminine accusative singular of η κατεύθυνση).

What is the nuance of προς τη γέφυρα compared to στη γέφυρα?

προς τη γέφυρα = towards the bridge (direction, not necessarily reaching it)
στη(ν) γέφυρα = to the bridge / at the bridge (the endpoint / location)

So:

οδηγίες για την κατεύθυνση προς τη γέφυρα
→ directions about the way towards the bridge.

If you said:

οδηγίες για να πάω στη γέφυρα
→ directions to get to the bridge (emphasis on arriving there).

Why is it τη γέφυρα and not την γέφυρα?

Both forms τη and την are the same article (feminine accusative singular of η), but:

Before a word starting with a consonant, modern spelling usually drops the -ν:
- τη γέφυρα, τη μέρα, τη θάλασσα.
You keep the -ν before:
- Vowels: την ώρα
- The consonants κ, π, τ, μπ, ντ, γκ, ξ, ψ: την πόλη, την κάρτα, etc.

So τη γέφυρα follows the common modern rule (γ is not in that special consonant list).

What are the genders and basic forms of πεζός, πεζοδρόμιο, and γέφυρα?

ο πεζός – masculine noun
- Singular: ο πεζός, του πεζού, τον πεζό
- Plural: οι πεζοί, των πεζών, τους πεζούς
το πεζοδρόμιο – neuter noun
- Singular: το πεζοδρόμιο, του πεζοδρομίου, το πεζοδρόμιο
- Plural: τα πεζοδρόμια, των πεζοδρομίων, τα πεζοδρόμια
η γέφυρα – feminine noun
- Singular: η γέφυρα, της γέφυρας, τη(ν) γέφυρα
- Plural: οι γέφυρες, των γεφυρών, τις γέφυρες

Can the word order of Σήμερα and other parts of the sentence be changed?

Yes, Greek word order is relatively flexible. For example:

Σήμερα συνάντησα έναν τυχαίο πεζό… (neutral, common)
Έναν τυχαίο πεζό συνάντησα σήμερα στο πεζοδρόμιο… (emphasis on a random pedestrian)
Στο πεζοδρόμιο σήμερα συνάντησα έναν τυχαίο πεζό… (emphasis on on the sidewalk today)

However:

The clitic pronoun μου generally stays immediately before the verb in this kind of sentence: που μου έδωσε, not που έδωσε μου (except in special emphatic or colloquial structures).

Why is there no comma before που in this sentence?

In Greek, a defining (restrictive) relative clause with που is usually written without a comma.

έναν τυχαίο πεζό στο πεζοδρόμιο που μου έδωσε...
→ identifies which pedestrian: the one who gave me directions.

You would use a comma before a non‑defining (non‑restrictive) clause, often with ο οποίος / η οποία / το οποίο, for extra, non‑essential information. Here, the clause is essential to identify the person, so no comma is used.