Learn Hardcore Greek: Κρατάω την τσάντα της φίλης μου στο σαλόνι. - I am holding my friend's bag in the living room.

Κρατάω την τσάντα της φίλης μου στο σαλόνι.
can be:
- I’m holding my friend’s bag in the living room. (right now, maybe standing there with it)
- I keep my friend’s bag in the living room. (that’s where I store it / look after it)

Context decides which English translation fits better.

Why is it κρατάω and not κρατώ? Are they different?

They are two forms of the same verb.

κρατάω and κρατώ both mean I hold / I keep.
κρατάω is more common in everyday, spoken Modern Greek.
κρατώ sounds a bit more formal, written, or old-fashioned, but it’s still correct.

They belong to the same pattern of verbs that have two possible 1st-person forms: -άω and -ώ (for example: αγαπάω / αγαπώ, ρωτάω / ρωτώ).

In normal conversation, you’ll mostly hear κρατάω.

Why is it την τσάντα and not η τσάντα?

Because την τσάντα is the direct object of the verb, and in Greek the article changes form depending on the case.

η τσάντα = the bag (feminine, nominative singular) – used for the subject of the sentence.
- Example: Η τσάντα είναι στο σαλόνι. (The bag is in the living room.)
την τσάντα = the bag (feminine, accusative singular) – used for the object of the verb.
- Example: Κρατάω την τσάντα. (I’m holding the bag.)

In Κρατάω την τσάντα της φίλης μου στο σαλόνι., the bag is what is being held, so we need the accusative: την.

Can you break down την τσάντα της φίλης μου word by word?

Yes:

την – the (definite article, feminine, accusative singular)
τσάντα – bag (noun, feminine, accusative singular)
της – of the (feminine, genitive singular article)
φίλης – friend (noun, feminine, genitive singular)
μου – my (enclitic possessive pronoun, genitive singular)

Literally this is the bag of my friend (female).
Natural English = my female friend’s bag / my friend’s bag (with the friend being female).

What exactly does της mean in της φίλης μου? Is it her?

In this sentence της is not the pronoun her; it is the definite article in the genitive case:

της φίλης = of the friend (feminine, genitive)

So:

της = of the
φίλης = (female) friend
μου = my

Altogether: της φίλης μου = of my (female) friend.

If you translated it piece by piece as English pronouns, it might look like “of the friend my”, which is why it feels different to an English speaker, but in Greek that’s the normal structure. You do not read it as “her friend my”.

Why do we need both της and μου? Isn’t that like saying “of her my friend”?

It looks that way from an English point of view, but grammatically it’s different:

της is the article (“the”) in the genitive: της φίλης = of the friend.
μου is the possessive pronoun: μου = my.

So:

της φίλης = of the friend
της φίλης μου = of my friend

There is no second “owner” here; της is not a possessive pronoun in this phrase, just the article.

Compare:

η φίλη μου = my (female) friend (subject form)
της φίλης μου = of my (female) friend (possessive/genitive form)

Why is it φίλης and not φίλη?

Because φίλη changes form to show possession. Greek uses the genitive case for possession.

η φίλη = the (female) friend (nominative – subject form)
της φίλης = of the (female) friend (genitive – possessive form)

So:

Η φίλη μου είναι εδώ. = My (female) friend is here.
Η τσάντα της φίλης μου είναι εδώ. = My (female) friend’s bag is here.

In our sentence, we are saying “the bag of my friend”, so we must use the genitive: της φίλης μου.

Why is μου placed after φίλης and not before, like μου φίλης?

Possessive pronouns like μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους normally come after the noun they modify. They are enclitics.

So you say:

η φίλη μου – my friend
το σπίτι μου – my house
η τσάντα της φίλης μου – my friend’s bag

Putting μου before the noun (μου φίλη) is not the normal pattern and would either sound wrong or very marked/poetic. In standard everyday Greek, keep the possessive after the noun (or, as here, at the end of the whole noun phrase: της φίλης μου).

Why is the bag feminine (την τσάντα)? How do I know it is not το τσάντα?

In Greek, every noun has a grammatical gender: masculine, feminine, or neuter. The word τσάντα happens to be feminine.

That’s why:

the nominative singular is η τσάντα (the bag)
the accusative singular is την τσάντα (the bag – as an object)

You have to learn the gender with each noun, usually by memorizing it together with its article:

η τσάντα – the bag (fem.)
ο φίλος – the (male) friend (masc.)
το σπίτι – the house (neuter)

Then the article and endings change according to the case (subject/object/possessive), but they always agree in gender with the noun.

What would the sentence look like if the friend were male instead of female?

For a male friend, the noun is ο φίλος and its genitive is του φίλου.

So:

της φίλης μου (of my female friend)
becomes
του φίλου μου (of my male friend)

The whole sentence:

Κρατάω την τσάντα της φίλης μου στο σαλόνι.
= I keep my (female) friend’s bag in the living room.
Κρατάω την τσάντα του φίλου μου στο σαλόνι.
= I keep my (male) friend’s bag in the living room.

What does στο σαλόνι literally mean? Why not σε το σαλόνι?

Στο is a contraction of σε + το:

σε = in / at / to
το = the (neuter, nominative/accusative singular)
σαλόνι = living room (neuter noun)

So:

σε + το σαλόνι → στο σαλόνι = in the living room / to the living room / at the living room, depending on context.

Greek almost always contracts σε + article:

σε + το → στο
σε + τον → στον
σε + την / τη → στη(ν)
σε + τα → στα
σε + τους → στους
σε + τις → στις

So σε το σαλόνι is grammatically odd in modern Greek; you should say στο σαλόνι.

Does στο σαλόνι mean in, at, or to the living room?

The preposition σε is quite flexible and can cover:

in (location inside)
at (general location)
to (direction / movement toward)

Which one it corresponds to in English depends on the verb and context:

Είμαι στο σαλόνι. = I am in the living room.
Πηγαίνω στο σαλόνι. = I’m going to the living room.
Θα σε περιμένω στο σαλόνι. = I’ll wait for you in / at the living room.

In Κρατάω την τσάντα της φίλης μου στο σαλόνι., the verb κρατάω expresses a state, not movement, so στο σαλόνι is best translated as in the living room.

Could στο σαλόνι appear in another position in the sentence?

Yes. Greek word order is fairly flexible. You could say:

Στο σαλόνι κρατάω την τσάντα της φίλης μου.
Την τσάντα της φίλης μου την κρατάω στο σαλόνι. (more emphatic)
Κρατάω στο σαλόνι την τσάντα της φίλης μου.

All are grammatically correct. The differences are mostly about emphasis and focus:

Putting στο σαλόνι at the beginning (Στο σαλόνι κρατάω…) emphasizes the location.
Fronting την τσάντα της φίλης μου can emphasize what you’re holding.

The neutral, default-sounding order is very close to what you have:
Κρατάω την τσάντα της φίλης μου στο σαλόνι.

What happens if I drop μου and say Κρατάω την τσάντα της φίλης στο σαλόνι?

Then the meaning changes:

της φίλης = of the friend (female)
της φίλης μου = of my (female) friend

So:

Κρατάω την τσάντα της φίλης στο σαλόνι.
= I keep the friend’s bag in the living room.
(We know which friend from context, but it’s not explicitly “my” friend.)
Κρατάω την τσάντα της φίλης μου στο σαλόνι.
= I keep my friend’s bag in the living room.

Dropping μου makes it less personal and more like “the friend’s bag” rather than “my friend’s bag”. It’s grammatically fine but different in meaning.

How do you pronounce the whole sentence, especially τσάντα and σαλόνι?

Approximate pronunciation (with stress in capitals):

Κρατάω → kra-TÁ-o (often sounds like kra-TÁ-o / [kraˈtao])
την → tin
τσάντα → TSÁN-da (ts like in “cats”)
της → tis
φίλης → FEE-lis (stress on φί; η = “ee” sound)
μου → moo (like “moo” in English)
στο → sto
σαλόνι → sa-LO-ni (stress on λό)

So all together:
kra-TÁ-o tin TSÁN-da tis FEE-lis moo sto sa-LO-ni.