Learn Hardcore Greek: Το βράδυ ο ήλιος φεύγει και βλέπω το φεγγάρι πάνω από την πόλη. - In the evening the sun goes away and I see the moon above the city.

You could also say Το βράδυ to mean “in the evenings” in a general, habitual sense, depending on context. Greek uses the article here where English uses a preposition (“in/at”) or no article at all.

Why do we say ο ήλιος with the article ο? Could we just say Ήλιος φεύγει?

In Greek, nouns almost always appear with an article in normal sentences, even when speaking generally. So:

ο ήλιος = “the sun” (in general)
το φεγγάρι = “the moon” (in general)

Saying Ήλιος φεύγει (without ο) is not natural here; it sounds incomplete or poetic at best.

So the normal way is:

Ο ήλιος φεύγει = The sun goes away / sets.

Using the article for generic things (like the sun, the moon, the water, etc.) is standard in Greek, much more than in English.

What exactly does φεύγει mean here, and why not a verb that directly means “to set”?

Φεύγει is the 3rd person singular present of φεύγω, which means “to leave, to go away”.

So ο ήλιος φεύγει literally means “the sun leaves / goes away”. In everyday speech this is a natural, simple way to describe the sun going away at night.

There is also a more specific verb for “the sun sets”:

Ο ήλιος δύει = The sun sets.

But φεύγει is perfectly normal in a more childlike, simple, or poetic way:

Το βράδυ ο ήλιος φεύγει = In the evening the sun goes away.

Grammatically, φεύγει is present tense, 3rd person singular:

εγώ φεύγω
εσύ φεύγεις
αυτός/αυτή/αυτό φεύγει

Why is there no “I” before βλέπω? Shouldn’t it be εγώ βλέπω?

Greek is a “pro-drop” language — the subject pronoun (εγώ, εσύ, αυτός, etc.) is usually omitted because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

βλέπω = I see
βλέπεις = you see
βλέπει = he/she/it sees

So βλέπω το φεγγάρι automatically means “I see the moon”. Adding εγώ is only needed for emphasis or contrast:

Εγώ βλέπω το φεγγάρι, αλλά εσύ δεν το βλέπεις.
I see the moon, but you don’t see it.

In your sentence, βλέπω without εγώ is the normal, neutral form.

Why is it το φεγγάρι and not η φεγγάρι? How do I know which article to use?

Greek nouns have grammatical gender: masculine, feminine, or neuter.
The word φεγγάρι is neuter, so it takes the neuter article:

το φεγγάρι = the moon

The definite articles are:

Masculine: ο (nom.), τον (acc.)
Feminine: η (nom.), την (acc.)
Neuter: το (both nom. and acc.)

You generally have to learn the gender with the noun:

ο ήλιος (masc.) – the sun
η πόλη (fem.) – the city
το φεγγάρι (neut.) – the moon

What does πάνω από mean exactly, and why do we need both words, πάνω and από?

πάνω από is a two-word expression that usually means “above”, “over”, or “up over” something.

πάνω = on top / up / above
από = from

Together as a fixed phrase:

πάνω από την πόλη = above/over the city

Some contrasts:

πάνω στο τραπέζι = on the table (touching the surface)
πάνω από το τραπέζι = above the table (not touching, hanging over it, for example)

So in your sentence:

βλέπω το φεγγάρι πάνω από την πόλη
I see the moon above the city.

You normally need both words for this meaning; just πάνω την πόλη would be wrong.

What case is την πόλη, and why does the article change from η to την?

την πόλη is in the accusative case.

The basic (nominative) form is η πόλη = the city
Accusative (used for direct objects and objects of prepositions) is την πόλη

In this sentence, πόλη is the object of the preposition από, so it must be in the accusative:

πάνω από την πόλη = above the city

Feminine singular definite article:

Nominative: η πόλη (subject)
Accusative: την πόλη (object)

So the article changes form according to case.

Could we change the word order and say Ο ήλιος φεύγει το βράδυ? Would it mean the same thing?

Yes, you can say:

Ο ήλιος φεύγει το βράδυ και βλέπω το φεγγάρι πάνω από την πόλη.

This is also correct and natural.

Greek word order is flexible. Both:

Το βράδυ ο ήλιος φεύγει…
Ο ήλιος φεύγει το βράδυ…

are fine and mean essentially the same thing: “In the evening the sun goes away…”.

Placing Το βράδυ at the beginning just emphasizes the time frame a bit more, like:
“As for the evening, that’s when the sun goes away and I see the moon…”

The verbs are in the present tense (φεύγει, βλέπω). Does this describe something happening right now or something that happens regularly?

In Greek, the present tense can express:

An action happening now
- Τώρα βλέπω το φεγγάρι. = Right now I see the moon.
A repeated / habitual action or a general fact
- Το βράδυ ο ήλιος φεύγει και βλέπω το φεγγάρι…
  = In the evening the sun goes away and I (usually) see the moon.

In your sentence, it sounds like a general, repeated description of what happens every evening, almost like stating a simple fact about the world. Context would decide, but it’s very natural as a general statement.

To talk specifically about the future, you’d use θα:

Το βράδυ ο ήλιος θα φύγει και θα δω το φεγγάρι.
This evening the sun will go away and I will see the moon.

How do you pronounce the γγ in φεγγάρι?

In Modern Greek, the combination γγ is pronounced like the “ng” in “finger” or “anger”.

So φεγγάρι is pronounced roughly:

fe-NGÁ-ri

Details:

φε = “fe” (like “fe” in “ferry”)
γγ = “ng” (as in “finger”)
ά = stressed “a” (like “a” in “father”)
ρι = “ree”

Stress is on the second syllable: φε-ΓΓΑ-ρι.

Is there any difference between πόλη and πόλις that I sometimes see?

Yes.

πόλη is the modern Greek word for “city”.
πόλις is the ancient Greek form.

In modern everyday speech and writing you normally use:

η πόλη – the city

You might see πόλις in:

Classical/ancient texts
Very formal or symbolic uses (e.g. in names, mottos, or old inscriptions)

But for learning Modern Greek and for normal conversation, stick with πόλη.

I’ve seen από την written as απ’ την sometimes. What’s the difference?

από την and απ’ την are the same words; the second is just a spoken/contracted form.

από → απ’ when the next word begins with a vowel (like την).
It’s similar to English “do not” → “don’t” or “I am” → “I’m”, but here it’s just about ease of pronunciation, not informality only.

So you may hear or see:

πάνω από την πόλη
πάνω απ’ την πόλη

Both are correct. In careful writing, από την is more standard, but in speech, απ’ την is very common.