Μετά τη βόλτα πηγαίνουμε σε μια ήσυχη καφετέρια στο χωριό.

After the walk we go to a quiet café in the village.

Breakdown of Μετά τη βόλτα πηγαίνουμε σε μια ήσυχη καφετέρια στο χωριό.

• πάω: to go
• σε: to
• σε: in
• μετά: after
• μία: one
• ήσυχος: quiet
• η βόλτα: the walk
• το χωριό: the village
• η καφετέρια: the café

Questions & Answers about Μετά τη βόλτα πηγαίνουμε σε μια ήσυχη καφετέρια στο χωριό.

Why is it τη βόλτα and not the basic form η βόλτα?

Η βόλτα is the nominative form (used for the subject of the sentence).

After the preposition μετά, Greek uses the accusative case, so η βόλτα becomes τη(ν) βόλτα (accusative singular, feminine).

• Nominative (subject): η βόλτα – the walk (as subject)
• Accusative (object, after prepositions): τη(ν) βόλτα – the walk (after, for, to, etc.)

So after μετά, you must say μετά τη(ν) βόλτα, not μετά η βόλτα.

Why is it τη and not την in μετά τη βόλτα?

Modern Greek often drops the final ν of την (and τον) before certain consonants.

The usual rule: keep the final ν only before:

• vowels
• and the consonants: κ, π, τ, ξ, ψ, μπ, ντ, γκ, τσ, τζ

Since βόλτα starts with β, which is not in that list, standard spelling is:

• τη βόλτα, not την βόλτα

In everyday writing and speech, some people keep the ν more often, so you might see την βόλτα too, but school grammar and most style guides prefer τη βόλτα here.

Could I say Μετά από τη βόλτα instead of Μετά τη βόλτα? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say Μετά από τη βόλτα, and it is correct.

• Μετά τη βόλτα = after the walk
• Μετά από τη βόλτα = after the walk

In modern everyday Greek, μετά very often appears without από when followed directly by a noun phrase like this.

Nuance:

• Μετά τη βόλτα sounds a bit more direct and is very common.
• Μετά από τη βόλτα can feel slightly more explicit or careful in writing, but the difference is small in this sentence.

Both are fine in normal conversation.

Why do we use the present tense πηγαίνουμε here? In English I’d probably say “we are going.”

Greek uses the present tense much more broadly than English. Πηγαίνουμε can mean:

• We go (habitual):

  • Κάθε Κυριακή, μετά τη βόλτα, πηγαίνουμε σε μια ήσυχη καφετέρια.
    Every Sunday, after the walk, we go to a quiet café.

• We are going (right now / planned near future):

  • Μετά τη βόλτα πηγαίνουμε σε μια ήσυχη καφετέρια. Θες να έρθεις;
    After the walk we are going to a quiet café. Do you want to come?

So πηγαίνουμε can cover both English “we go” and “we are going”, depending on context.

What is the difference between πηγαίνουμε and πάμε?

Both mean we go / we are going.

• πηγαίνουμε: a bit more standard / neutral, the full form of the verb.
• πάμε: very common, slightly more colloquial / everyday, shorter form.

In this sentence, you could say either:

• Μετά τη βόλτα πηγαίνουμε σε μια ήσυχη καφετέρια στο χωριό.
• Μετά τη βόλτα πάμε σε μια ήσυχη καφετέρια στο χωριό.

No real difference in meaning; πάμε may sound a bit more casual.

Why is there no we (εμείς) in the Greek sentence?

Greek verb endings show the person and number clearly, so the subject pronoun is often omitted:

• πηγαίνουμε already means we go.
• Adding εμείς is usually only for emphasis or contrast:
  • Εμείς, μετά τη βόλτα, πηγαίνουμε σε μια ήσυχη καφετέρια.
    We, after the walk, go to a quiet café (as opposed to others).

So the natural version here is simply:

• Μετά τη βόλτα πηγαίνουμε… without εμείς.

Why is it σε μια ήσυχη καφετέρια and not στην ήσυχη καφετέρια?

This is the indefinite vs definite distinction:

• σε μια ήσυχη καφετέρια = to a quiet café (not a specific one the listener necessarily knows)

  • μια = a / one (fem.) – indefinite article

• στην ήσυχη καφετέρια = to the quiet café (a particular café that both speaker and listener can identify)

  • στην = σε την (to the) – definite article

In the given sentence, the idea is “we go to a quiet café”, some quiet place, not a specific, previously mentioned café.

Why does the adjective ήσυχη come before καφετέρια? Could it come after?

In Greek, the most common position for descriptive adjectives is before the noun:

• μια ήσυχη καφετέρια = a quiet café

Grammatically, you can put the adjective after the noun:

• μια καφετέρια ήσυχη

But:

• μια ήσυχη καφετέρια sounds completely natural and neutral.
• μια καφετέρια ήσυχη is possible, but can sound a bit more marked or “poetic”/emphatic, like you are stressing “a café that is quiet (not noisy).”

In any case, the adjective must agree with the noun:

• ήσυχη: feminine, singular, accusative
• καφετέρια: feminine, singular, accusative

So: μια ήσυχη καφετέρια is the most typical word order here.

What exactly is στο in στο χωριό?

Στο is a contraction of σε + το:

• σε = in / at / to
• το = the (neuter, singular)

So:

• σε το χωριό → στο χωριό = in the village / to the village

Greek very often contracts σε + definite article:

• σε τον → στον
• σε την → στη(ν)
• σε το → στο
• σε τους → στους
• σε τις / τας → στις

Why is it στο χωριό and not σε ένα χωριό?

Both are possible, but they mean different things:

• στο χωριό = to the village / in the village
  → a specific village that is known from context (e.g. our village, the nearby village, etc.)

• σε ένα χωριό = to a village / in a village
  → some village, not specified which one

In your sentence, στο χωριό suggests that both speaker and listener know which village is meant (maybe the village where they are, or where they often go).

Why is βόλτα used here, and what exactly does it mean?

Βόλτα is a very common word in Greek. It means:

• a walk, a stroll
• also more generally: an outing, going out for leisure

So κάνω βόλτα = I take a walk / I go for a stroll.

In your sentence:

• Μετά τη βόλτα…
  → After the walk / after our stroll / after we go for a walk…

Grammatically, βόλτα is:

• feminine noun
• nominative singular: η βόλτα
• accusative singular: τη(ν) βόλτα

Can I omit the article and say Μετά βόλτα πηγαίνουμε… like in some other languages?

No, that would be ungrammatical in modern Greek.

Greek normally requires an article with countable nouns in this kind of context:

• Μετά τη βόλτα πηγαίνουμε… ✅
• Μετά βόλτα πηγαίνουμε… ❌ (sounds foreign / incorrect)

There are cases where the article is omitted (e.g. with some abstract nouns, mass nouns, or in fixed expressions), but βόλτα here clearly needs the article τη(ν).

Could I move μετά τη βόλτα to another position in the sentence?

Yes. Greek word order is relatively flexible, as long as the relationships are clear. For example:

• Μετά τη βόλτα πηγαίνουμε σε μια ήσυχη καφετέρια στο χωριό.
• Πηγαίνουμε μετά τη βόλτα σε μια ήσυχη καφετέρια στο χωριό.
• Πηγαίνουμε σε μια ήσυχη καφετέρια στο χωριό μετά τη βόλτα.

All are understandable and correct. The most natural and neutral is probably the original:

• Μετά τη βόλτα πηγαίνουμε…

Changing the position can sometimes add slight emphasis (e.g. stressing when it happens vs where you go), but the basic meaning stays the same.

What is the difference between καφετέρια and καφενείο?

Both are places where you can drink coffee, but they are not the same in Greek culture:

• καφετέρια

  • modern café, often with music, younger crowd
  • serves coffee, drinks, snacks, sometimes alcohol
  • the word used in your sentence (ήσυχη καφετέρια = a quiet café)

• καφενείο

  • more traditional coffee house, often in villages or older neighborhoods
  • historically male‑dominated, with older men playing cards, backgammon, etc.
  • simpler, more traditional atmosphere

In your sentence, μια ήσυχη καφετέρια στο χωριό suggests a modern-style café that just happens to be calm and located in a village.