Breakdown of Στη συνέντευξη για τη δουλειά ο διευθυντής μιλούσε με πολύ τυπικό τρόπο.
Questions & Answers about Στη συνέντευξη για τη δουλειά ο διευθυντής μιλούσε με πολύ τυπικό τρόπο.
Στη is a contraction of:
- σε (in, at, to) +
- τη (the – feminine accusative singular article)
So Στη συνέντευξη literally means “in/at the interview”.
In Modern Greek, σε + τη is almost always written as στη, and it takes the accusative case after it (τη συνέντευξη → στη συνέντευξη).
Greek has the so‑called movable nu (ν) on forms like τη(ν), στη(ν).
The usual modern rule is: keep the final ν only when the next word begins with:
- a vowel (α, ε, η, ι, ο, υ, ω), or
- one of these consonants: κ, π, τ, ξ, ψ, μπ, ντ, γκ, τσ, τζ
Since συνέντευξη begins with σ, none of these conditions apply, so the standard written form is:
- στη συνέντευξη, τη συνέντευξη
You will hear people say στην συνέντευξη in speech, but in careful writing στη συνέντευξη is preferred.
για τη δουλειά means “for the job” and explains the purpose of the interview.
Common options are:
- συνέντευξη για τη δουλειά – interview for the job (the specific job in question)
- συνέντευξη για δουλειά – interview for a job / for work (more general, no article)
- συνέντευξη εργασίας – literally work/job interview, more formal (using εργασία instead of δουλειά)
In everyday speech, συνέντευξη για (τη) δουλειά is very natural and common.
Same movable ν rule as with στη / στην:
- The feminine accusative article is τη(ν).
- Before δουλειά (starting with δ), modern standard Greek usually drops the ν, because δ is not in the “must‑keep‑ν” list.
So you get:
- τη δουλειά (standard writing)
- την δουλειά you may hear and sometimes see, but it looks more old‑fashioned or non‑standard in careful writing.
Greek word order is flexible. Both are grammatically correct:
- Στη συνέντευξη για τη δουλειά ο διευθυντής μιλούσε…
- Ο διευθυντής μιλούσε στη συνέντευξη για τη δουλειά…
Starting with Στη συνέντευξη για τη δουλειά:
- sets the scene first (where/when),
- puts more emphasis on the situation (during the job interview) and then tells what the director was doing.
Starting with Ο διευθυντής:
- puts more focus on the subject (the director) first, then adds the context.
In practice, you choose the order depending on which part you want to highlight, but both are natural.
μιλούσε is:
- 3rd person singular of μιλάω / μιλώ (to speak)
- in the imperfect tense (past continuous): he was speaking / he used to speak
Contrast:
- μιλούσε → an ongoing or repeated action in the past
- During the interview, the director *was speaking in a very formal way (throughout that time).*
- μίλησε → a single, completed action in the past (aorist)
- At the interview, the director *spoke in a very formal way (we see it as one whole event).*
In this sentence, μιλούσε suggests we’re looking at his manner while he was speaking, not just mentioning the fact that he spoke once.
μιλούσε comes from the verb μιλάω / μιλώ (to speak, to talk).
Imperfect (past continuous) forms are:
- εγώ μιλούσα
- εσύ μιλούσες
- αυτός/αυτή/αυτό μιλούσε
- εμείς μιλούσαμε
- εσείς μιλούσατε
- αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά μιλούσαν(ε)
In everyday speech you will also hear alternative imperfect forms like:
- μίλαγε, μιλάγαμε, μιλάγαν(ε)
So instead of ο διευθυντής μιλούσε, you might also hear ο διευθυντής μίλαγε in colloquial Greek. The meaning is the same; μιλούσε is just a bit more standard/formal.
με πολύ τυπικό τρόπο literally means “with a very formal manner” / “in a very formal way”:
- με = with / in (here: “in a … way”)
- τρόπο = way, manner
- με τυπικό τρόπο = in a formal manner
Yes, you can also say:
- Ο διευθυντής μιλούσε πολύ τυπικά.
→ The director was speaking very formally.
The difference is mainly style:
- με πολύ τυπικό τρόπο sounds a bit more explicit or slightly more formal / written, because it uses a noun phrase.
- πολύ τυπικά is shorter and more adverbial, very common in spoken language.
Both are correct and natural.
The adjective τυπικός, -ή, -ό can mean:
- typical / characteristic
- Είναι τυπικό παράδειγμα. → It’s a typical example.
- formal (about language, style, behavior, clothing, etc.)
- Μιλάει πολύ τυπικά. → He/She speaks very formally.
In με πολύ τυπικό τρόπο, because we’re talking about how the director spoke in a job interview, the natural reading is “in a very formal manner”, not “in a very typical way”.
Because of case agreement.
- The noun τρόπος (way, manner) is masculine:
- nominative: ο τρόπος
- accusative: τον τρόπο
- After με, we use the accusative: με (τον) τρόπο
The adjective τυπικός has these forms:
- masculine nominative singular: τυπικός
- masculine accusative singular: τυπικό
So:
- nominative: ο τυπικός τρόπος (the formal way)
- accusative: με πολύ τυπικό τρόπο (with/in a very formal way)
The form τυπικό matches the accusative of τρόπο.
Greek uses definite articles more often than English.
- τη συνέντευξη → the specific interview already known from context
- τη δουλειά → the specific job
- ο διευθυντής → the director (a specific person)
If you drop the articles:
- σε συνέντευξη για δουλειά
→ at a job interview / at job interviews (more general, not a specific one) - διευθυντής μιλούσε…
→ without ο, it sounds incomplete or like a fragment; you normally need the article for a specific subject.
So in this sentence, keeping τη and ο is natural and expected: we’re talking about that job interview and that director.