Breakdown of Η φίλη μου νιώθει κλεισμένη στο μικρό της διαμέρισμα και θέλει βόλτα στην πλατεία.
Questions & Answers about Η φίλη μου νιώθει κλεισμένη στο μικρό της διαμέρισμα και θέλει βόλτα στην πλατεία.
In Greek, the definite article is normally used together with possessive pronouns:
- η φίλη μου = my (female) friend
- το σπίτι μου = my house
- ο αδελφός σου = your brother
The pattern is usually: article + noun + unstressed possessive pronoun.
Leaving out the article (φίλη μου) is possible, but it sounds more emotional, poetic, or vocative, e.g.:
- Φίλη μου, σε καταλαβαίνω. = My friend, I understand you.
In a neutral sentence like yours, Η φίλη μου is the normal choice.
Both mean friend, but they mark gender:
- φίλος = male friend (or grammatically masculine, sometimes generic)
- φίλη = female friend (grammatically feminine)
So η φίλη μου clearly refers to a female friend.
If you were talking about a male friend, you’d say:
- Ο φίλος μου νιώθει κλεισμένος…
(note ο and κλεισμένος, masculine forms)
νιώθει is the 3rd person singular of νιώθω, “to feel”.
- (αυτή) νιώθει = she feels
In this context: νιώθει κλεισμένη ≈ “she feels shut in / cooped up”.
νιώθω and αισθάνομαι are very close in meaning and often interchangeable:
- Νιώθει κλεισμένη.
- Αισθάνεται κλεισμένη.
Both are fine here. Νιώθω is a bit more common and colloquial; αισθάνομαι can sound slightly more formal or “careful” speech, but the difference is small.
κλεισμένη is a participle used as an adjective. More precisely:
- It comes from the verb κλείνω (to close).
- It is the feminine, singular, nominative form of the passive perfect participle: “closed / shut in”.
It agrees with the subject η φίλη (μου):
- Η φίλη μου νιώθει κλεισμένη.
(feminine singular subject → κλεισμένη)
Compare:
- Ο φίλος μου νιώθει κλεισμένος. (masculine sg)
- Τα παιδιά νιώθουν κλεισμένα. (neuter plural)
Here it has the idiomatic meaning “cooped up / stuck inside”, not just literally “closed”.
στο is a contraction of:
- σε (preposition “in / at / to”)
- το (neuter singular definite article “the”)
So:
- σε + το = στο
Because διαμέρισμα is neuter singular, you use το, giving στο διαμέρισμα = “in the apartment”.
The full phrase:
- στο μικρό της διαμέρισμα
= in her small apartment
Here:
- μικρό agrees with διαμέρισμα (both neuter singular).
- της shows that the apartment belongs to her.
With an unstressed possessive pronoun like της, the very common pattern is:
- article + adjective + possessive + noun
Examples:
- το μικρό της διαμέρισμα = her small apartment
- ο καλός μου φίλος = my good friend
- η παλιά μας γειτονιά = our old neighborhood
So το μικρό της διαμέρισμα is the most natural word order.
You can also express possession with δικός/δική/δικό:
- το δικό της μικρό διαμέρισμα = her own small apartment (more emphatic)
But της μικρό διαμέρισμα without article/adjective in front is not natural here. The clitic της normally doesn’t go in front of everything; it sits after the article/adjective block.
In Greek, every noun has a grammatical gender (masculine, feminine, or neuter) that you must learn with the word.
- το διαμέρισμα (apartment) is neuter.
- The adjective must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.
So:
- μικρό διαμέρισμα (neuter singular)
- not μικρός διαμέρισμα (masculine) or μικρή διαμέρισμα (feminine)
Other examples:
- ο μικρός σκύλος (masc)
- η μικρή γάτα (fem)
- το μικρό διαμέρισμα (neut)
της here is an unstressed 3rd person possessive pronoun: “her”.
Key points:
- It refers to the owner (she), not to the noun’s gender.
- Its form depends on who the possessor is (he, she, they), not on what is possessed.
So:
- το σπίτι της = her house
- η γάτα της = her cat
- το διαμέρισμά της = her apartment
In all three, the noun’s gender changes, but της stays the same because she is the owner.
If the owner were male:
- το διαμέρισμά του = his apartment
If the owner were “them” (plural):
- το διαμέρισμά τους = their apartment
Both are possible, but θέλει βόλτα is very natural and idiomatic.
- θέλει βόλτα literally: “she wants (a) walk”
→ feels like “she wants to go for a walk / needs a walk”
This is similar to set phrases in English like “I need coffee” (not always “a coffee”).
You could also say:
- Θέλει μια βόλτα στην πλατεία. = She wants a walk in the square.
That’s also correct, just a bit more explicit. Omitting μια here keeps it snappy and slightly more colloquial.
στην is σε + την:
- σε = in / at / on / to (very broad preposition)
- την πλατεία = the square
στην πλατεία can mean in, at, or to the square, depending on context.
In the sentence:
- …και θέλει βόλτα στην πλατεία.
it’s understood as “(go) for a walk in/at the square” or “(go) for a walk to the square”. Greek doesn’t always distinguish as sharply as English here; the important idea is movement associated with that place.
Examples:
- Πηγαίνω στην πλατεία. = I’m going to the square.
- Κάθομαι στην πλατεία. = I’m sitting in/at the square.
Yes, that’s completely normal. The sentence contains two different possessors:
- Η φίλη μου = my friend (1st person singular possessor)
- στο μικρό της διαμέρισμα = her small apartment (3rd person singular female possessor)
So:
- μου = my
- σου = your (sg)
- του = his
- της = her
- μας = our
- σας = your (pl/formal)
- τους = their
Using μου and της together just shows that you are talking about your friend, and the apartment belongs to her.