Εγώ γεννήθηκα στην πρωτεύουσα, αλλά τώρα μένω σε άλλη χώρα.

I was born in the capital, but now I live in another country.

Breakdown of Εγώ γεννήθηκα στην πρωτεύουσα, αλλά τώρα μένω σε άλλη χώρα.

• τώρα: now
• εγώ: I
• μένω: to live
• αλλά: but
• σε: in
• άλλος: another
• η χώρα: the country
• η πρωτεύουσα: the capital
• γεννιέμαι: to be born

Questions & Answers about Εγώ γεννήθηκα στην πρωτεύουσα, αλλά τώρα μένω σε άλλη χώρα.

Why is Εγώ written here? I thought Greek usually drops the subject pronoun.

Greek normally omits subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows the person (γεννήθηκα = I was born).

Εγώ is added mainly for emphasis or contrast, for example:

• Εγώ γεννήθηκα στην πρωτεύουσα, αλλά τώρα μένω σε άλλη χώρα.
  → I was born in the capital (not someone else), but now I live in another country.

Grammatically, the sentence would also be correct as:

• Γεννήθηκα στην πρωτεύουσα, αλλά τώρα μένω σε άλλη χώρα.

What exactly is the form γεννήθηκα? Which tense and voice is it?

γεννήθηκα is:

• tense: aorist (simple past)
• voice: passive
• person/number: 1st person singular

It comes from the passive verb γεννιέμαι (to be born).
So γεννήθηκα = I was born (once, at a specific time in the past).

Using the aorist here matches English “was born” as a single completed event.

Why is it γεννήθηκα and not γέννησα?

Greek distinguishes:

• γεννάω / γέννησα = to give birth (to someone)
• γεννιέμαι / γεννήθηκα = to be born

So:

• Η μητέρα μου γέννησε εμένα. = My mother gave birth to me.
• Εγώ γεννήθηκα. = I was born.

Saying Εγώ γέννησα would mean I gave birth, which is wrong for the meaning in this sentence.

What is στην in στην πρωτεύουσα? Is it one word or two?

στην is a contraction of two words:

• σε (in / at / to) +
• την (feminine accusative singular article = the)

So:

• σε + την πρωτεύουσα → στην πρωτεύουσα
  literally: in the capital

After σε, the noun phrase goes into the accusative case, so we use την (not η).

Why do we say στην πρωτεύουσα and not just σε πρωτεύουσα?

Greek uses the definite article much more often than English.

Here, στην πρωτεύουσα means “in the capital”, assuming both speakers know which capital (usually the capital of the country they are talking about).

σε πρωτεύουσα (without article) would sound like in a capital (city) in general, not a specific, known one, and is less natural in this context.

Why is there no article before άλλη χώρα? Why not στην άλλη χώρα?

The phrase σε άλλη χώρα means “in another country”, in a general, indefinite sense.

If you say στην άλλη χώρα, that means “in the other country”, a specific one that has already been identified in the conversation (e.g. we mentioned two countries and we mean the second one).

So:

• σε άλλη χώρα → in another country (unspecified)
• στην άλλη χώρα → in the other country (a particular one we both know)

The sentence here needs the general idea another country, so it uses no article.

What does πρωτεύουσα exactly mean, and what gender is it?

πρωτεύουσα means “capital city”.

Details:

• grammatical gender: feminine
• basic dictionary form (nominative singular): η πρωτεύουσα
• here it appears after σε, so it’s in the accusative: την πρωτεύουσα

Etymologically, it is related to πρώτος (first), i.e. the “first” / most important city of a country.

Why is χώρα in the form χώρα and not χώρας or χώραν here?

The noun η χώρα (country) has:

• nominative: η χώρα
• accusative: τη(ν) χώρα

After the preposition σε, the noun phrase must be in the accusative.
In modern everyday spelling, τη χώρα is commonly written without the final -ν, so the form χώρα looks the same as the nominative.

So in σε άλλη χώρα, the whole phrase is accusative, even though the noun’s form looks like the nominative.

What does μένω mean here? Is it “stay” or “live”?

The verb μένω can mean both:

• to live / reside somewhere (permanent or long‑term)
• to stay / remain somewhere (temporary or longer)

In this context:

• τώρα μένω σε άλλη χώρα = now I live in another country.

If you want to be very clear that you mean reside, you can also use κατοικώ (more formal):
τώρα κατοικώ σε άλλη χώρα.
But μένω is the most common everyday choice.

Greek has a separate continuous tense in English (“I am living”). Why is it just μένω and not something like “είμαι μένοντας”?

Modern Greek does not have a separate grammatical “-ing” form like English.
The simple present μένω covers both:

• I live
• I am living

Context and time expressions (like τώρα, now) give the continuous feeling:

• τώρα μένω σε άλλη χώρα → right now I am living in another country.

There is no form είμαι μένοντας in normal Greek usage.

How does αλλά work here? Could I use όμως instead?

αλλά is a coordinating conjunction meaning “but”.
In the sentence:

• …, αλλά τώρα μένω σε άλλη χώρα.
  → … but now I live in another country.

You could also use όμως (however / but), but it behaves more like an adverb and usually goes later in the clause:

• Εγώ γεννήθηκα στην πρωτεύουσα, όμως τώρα μένω σε άλλη χώρα.
• or Εγώ γεννήθηκα στην πρωτεύουσα, τώρα όμως μένω σε άλλη χώρα.

αλλά always comes at the start of the new clause; όμως is more flexible in position and a bit more conversational.

Can I move τώρα or Εγώ to other positions? How flexible is the word order?

Greek word order is quite flexible, and moving words mostly changes emphasis, not grammar.

All of these are possible:

• Εγώ γεννήθηκα στην πρωτεύουσα, αλλά τώρα μένω σε άλλη χώρα.
• Γεννήθηκα στην πρωτεύουσα, αλλά τώρα μένω σε άλλη χώρα.
• Εγώ γεννήθηκα στην πρωτεύουσα, αλλά μένω τώρα σε άλλη χώρα.
• Τώρα μένω σε άλλη χώρα, αλλά εγώ γεννήθηκα στην πρωτεύουσα.

Putting Εγώ early stresses the subject I.
Moving τώρα closer to μένω slightly highlights the time contrast (now vs the past fact of birth).

Why isn’t εγώ capitalized like I is in English?

In Greek, personal pronouns are not capitalized in normal usage.

Εγώ is capitalized here only because it is the first word of the sentence, not because it means I. Within a sentence you would write:

• Μου είπε ότι εγώ γεννήθηκα στην πρωτεύουσα.
  (lowercase εγώ)