Ο πατέρας μου δουλεύει σε μεγάλη εταιρεία.

My father works at a big company.

Breakdown of Ο πατέρας μου δουλεύει σε μεγάλη εταιρεία.

• μου: my
• δουλεύω: to work
• μεγάλος: big
• σε: in
• η εταιρεία: the company
• ο πατέρας: the father

Questions & Answers about Ο πατέρας μου δουλεύει σε μεγάλη εταιρεία.

What does Ο mean at the beginning of the sentence, and why is it written that way?

Ο is the definite article in Greek, meaning “the”.
Here it is:

• masculine
• singular
• nominative case

It is used because πατέρας (father) is masculine singular in the nominative, so they must match: Ο πατέρας = “the father”.

It’s written with a capital Ο because it is the first word of the sentence. In the middle of a sentence it would be ο (lowercase).

Why is it πατέρας and not something like πατήρ that I sometimes see?

Πατέρας is the normal modern Greek word for “father” in everyday speech and writing.

Πατήρ is an older, more formal/ancient form, which you might see:

• in very formal or religious language
• in older texts or certain fixed expressions

For regular, modern conversation, you use πατέρας.

What exactly does μου mean, and why does it come after πατέρας instead of before like “my father”?

Μου here means “my”.

Grammatically, μου is the genitive form of the personal pronoun (1st person singular). It acts like a clitic possessive pronoun meaning “my”.

In Greek, the possessive clitic usually comes after the noun:

• ο πατέρας μου = my father
• η μητέρα μου = my mother
• το βιβλίο μου = my book

If you really want to emphasize whose father it is, you can say:

• ο δικός μου πατέρας = my father (as opposed to someone else’s)

But the neutral, normal way is ο πατέρας μου.

What form and tense is δουλεύει, and what does it correspond to in English?

Δουλεύει is:

• 3rd person singular
• present tense
• of the verb δουλεύω (“to work”)

So δουλεύει means “he/she/it works” or “he/she/it is working”.

In Greek, the present tense covers both:

• simple present: “He works in a big company.”
• present continuous: “He is working in a big company.”

There is no separate continuous form like “is working” in Greek; context covers both uses.

Why is there no word for “he” before δουλεύει?

Greek is a pro-drop language, which means subject pronouns (like “I, you, he, she”) are often omitted when the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• δουλεύει by its ending -ει already tells you: “he/she/it works”.
• The subject is clear from context: here it’s ο πατέρας μου.

If you wanted to emphasize the subject, you could say:

• Αυτός δουλεύει σε μεγάλη εταιρεία. = He is the one who works in a big company.

But normally, the explicit pronoun is not needed.

What does σε mean, and why is it used with δουλεύει?

Σε is a preposition that usually means “in, at, to”, depending on context.

With δουλεύω, you use σε to indicate the place or organization where someone works:

• δουλεύει σε μεγάλη εταιρεία = he works in/at a big company
• δουλεύω σε τράπεζα = I work at a bank

Grammatically, σε is followed by a noun in the accusative case, which is why εταιρεία appears in its accusative singular form.

Why is it σε μεγάλη εταιρεία and not something like σε μια μεγάλη εταιρεία?

Both are possible, but the nuance is slightly different:

• σε μεγάλη εταιρεία

  • Often used when the exact company is not important.
  • It focuses more on the type/size of the place (a “big company” in general).
  • Common in casual speech.

• σε μια μεγάλη εταιρεία

  • Literally “in a big company” with an explicit indefinite article (μια = “a”).
  • Slightly more explicit that we’re talking about one big company (still nonspecific).

Greek often omits the indefinite article where English would use “a/an”, especially in general statements. So σε μεγάλη εταιρεία sounds natural and idiomatic.

What gender and case are μεγάλη and εταιρεία, and how do they agree?

Εταιρεία (“company”) is:

• feminine
• singular
• accusative case here (because of the preposition σε)

The adjective μεγάλη (“big”) must agree with the noun in:

• gender: feminine
• number: singular
• case: accusative

So:

• nominative feminine: μεγάλη (as in η μεγάλη εταιρεία)
• accusative feminine: μεγάλη (same form here: σε μεγάλη εταιρεία)

That’s why it is σε μεγάλη εταιρεία, not σε μεγάλο εταιρεία or something else.

Why is the adjective μεγάλη placed before εταιρεία? Can it come after?

The usual and most natural position for an adjective in Greek is before the noun, with a definite or indefinite article if there is one:

• μια μεγάλη εταιρεία = a big company
• η μεγάλη εταιρεία = the big company

However, Greek allows some flexibility. With no article, you almost always put the adjective before the noun in this kind of phrase. Saying εταιρεία μεγάλη here would sound unusual or poetic, not standard everyday speech.

So σε μεγάλη εταιρεία is the normal word order.

Why isn’t there a definite article with μεγάλη εταιρεία, like στη μεγάλη εταιρεία?

The sentence uses σε μεγάλη εταιρεία (“in a big company”) in a non-specific, general sense. We don’t know (or don’t care) which exact company.

If you say:

• στη μεγάλη εταιρεία = σε + τη μεγάλη εταιρεία = “in the big company”

you are referring to a specific company that both speaker and listener probably know (e.g. “the big company we talked about”).

So:

• δουλεύει σε μεγάλη εταιρεία = He works in a big company (one of many, not specified)
• δουλεύει στη μεγάλη εταιρεία = He works in the big company (a particular one)

What’s the difference between δουλεύει and εργάζεται?

Both can translate as “he works”, but they differ in style:

• δουλεύει

  • Neutral, everyday, very common.
  • Used in speech and informal writing.
  • Slightly more colloquial.

• εργάζεται (from εργάζομαι)

  • More formal and bookish.
  • Common in official documents, CVs, news reports, etc.

So you might say in everyday speech:

• Ο πατέρας μου δουλεύει σε μεγάλη εταιρεία.

In a formal written context:

• Ο πατέρας μου εργάζεται σε μεγάλη εταιρεία.

How do you pronounce δουλεύει, and what sounds do the letters make?

δουλεύει is pronounced roughly: [ðuˈlevi].

• δ = like the English “th” in “this” (voiced dental fricative)
• ου = like “oo” in “food”
• λέ is stressed: the accent mark (´) shows the stressed syllable
• ει at the end = pronounced like “ee” in “see”

Syllable breakdown with stress:

• δου–λεύ–ει → dou–LEV–i

So: δου-ΛΕ-βι, with the main stress on ΛΕ.