Learn Hardcore Greek: Εγώ μένω κλεισμένος στο σπίτι και διαβάζω ελληνικά, ενώ η φίλη μου πηγαίνει στην αγορά· ξαφνικά όμως αρχίζει να βρέχει και όλα σταματούν, ενώ κανονικά θα κάναμε μεγάλη βόλτα. - I stay shut in at home and study Greek, while my friend goes to the market; suddenly however it starts to rain and everything stops, whereas normally we would take a long walk.

μένω focuses on remaining somewhere or in some state.
είμαι κλεισμένος στο σπίτι = “I am shut in at home” (more static description).
κάθομαι στο σπίτι = “I stay at home / I sit around at home” (more like hanging around, not necessarily “shut in”).

Μένω κλεισμένος στο σπίτι suggests you’re not just at home by chance; you stay there, somewhat confined.

Why is it κλεισμένος and not something like κλειστός? What’s the difference?

Both κλεισμένος and κλειστός come from κλείνω (to close), but they’re used differently.

κλειστός is a regular adjective:
- η πόρτα είναι κλειστή = the door is closed.
κλεισμένος is the passive participle, often used for a state resulting from an action and very common with people:
- είμαι κλεισμένος μέσα = I’m shut in (someone shut me in / circumstances shut me in).

So:

μένω κλεισμένος στο σπίτι = “I remain shut in at home”
(you’re in a kind of “closed‑in” state)
μένω κλειστός στο σπίτι is not natural Greek for a person.

In short: for people being shut inside, use κλεισμένος.

Why is κλεισμένος in the masculine form? What would change for a female speaker?

Κλεισμένος agrees with the subject Εγώ in gender, number, and case.

Here the implied gender of Εγώ is masculine, so:
- (Εγώ, άντρας) είμαι κλεισμένος.

For a female speaker, you would say:

Εγώ μένω κλεισμένη στο σπίτι…

Other forms:

Masculine plural: κλεισμένοι
Feminine plural: κλεισμένες
Neuter plural: κλεισμένα

So the adjective/participle must match the actual gender and number of the subject.

What’s the difference between σπίτι and στο σπίτι? Both seem to mean “at home”.

You’re right that both can often be translated as “at home”, but the Greek usage is slightly different.

στο σπίτι = σε + το σπίτι, literally “in the house / at the house”.
σπίτι without a preposition or article can behave like an adverb, meaning “(at) home”.

Common patterns:

Είμαι στο σπίτι. = I am at (the) house / I’m home.
Πάω σπίτι. = I’m going home.
Μένω στο σπίτι. = I stay at home / in the house.

In this sentence μένω κλεισμένος στο σπίτι sounds natural and slightly more concrete:
you are staying shut inside the house (as a physical place).

Why is there no article before ελληνικά in διαβάζω ελληνικά?

In Greek, names of languages are usually used without the article after verbs like:

μιλάω (speak)
διαβάζω (study/read, in the sense of “learn”)
μαθαίνω (learn)
ξέρω (know)

So:

διαβάζω ελληνικά = I study Greek.
μιλάω αγγλικά = I speak English.
μαθαίνω γαλλικά = I’m learning French.

Using the article here (τα ελληνικά) would sound either incorrect or at least marked/odd in this context.

Also, note that ελληνικά is neuter plural, used as a noun meaning “the Greek language” (literally “Greek things / Greek (words)”).

What does ενώ do in this sentence? Is it “while” or “whereas”?

Ενώ can mean both:

“while” (time)
“while / whereas” (contrast)

In …και διαβάζω ελληνικά, ενώ η φίλη μου πηγαίνει στην αγορά…, it has a bit of both:

There is a time overlap: you are reading Greek at the same time that your friend is going to the market.
There is also a contrast: you stay shut inside; she goes out.

So a natural rendering is:

“…and I study Greek, while my friend goes to the market…”

You could also feel a slight “whereas” nuance (different activities).

What is στην αγορά exactly? Why στην?

Στην is the contraction of:

σε + την → στη(ν)

So:

στην αγορά = “to the market” / “at the market” (depending on the verb).

Grammar:

αγορά is feminine, singular.
After σε, the noun goes in the accusative:
- nominative: η αγορά
- accusative: την αγορά
So:
- στην αγορά = σε + την αγορά.

The final ν in στην is kept because the next word (αγορά) starts with a vowel.

What is that dot · between αγορά and ξαφνικά? Is it a semicolon?

That sign · is the άνω τελεία (literally “upper dot”), the Greek semicolon‑like punctuation mark.

Functionally, it’s similar to:

A semicolon (;) in English, or
Sometimes a strong comma / colon.

In the sentence:

…στην αγορά· ξαφνικά όμως αρχίζει να βρέχει…

it separates two closely connected clauses:

“…goes to the market; suddenly, however, it starts raining…”

So you can think of it as a semicolon here.

Why do we say αρχίζει να βρέχει with να? How does this structure work?

The structure is:

αρχίζει (it begins)
να βρέχει (to rain – subjunctive / “it rains”)

In Greek, many verbs that introduce an action taking place use να + verb:

αρχίζω να… = I begin to…
σταματάω να… = I stop (doing)…
θέλω να… = I want to…

So:

αρχίζει να βρέχει = “it starts to rain” / “it begins raining”.

Note:

βρέχει is an impersonal verb: there is no explicit “it” in Greek.
You don’t say αρχίζει βρέχει; you must use να βρέχει after αρχίζει.

Why is it όλα σταματούν? Could it also be σταματάνε?

όλα = everything (literally “all things”), neuter plural.
The verb in the present is:
- 3rd person plural: σταματούν or σταματάνε

Both forms are correct and commonly used:

όλα σταματούν (more formal/standard)
όλα σταματάνε (more colloquial, very common in speech)

So yes, όλα σταματούν and όλα σταματάνε are both grammatical with essentially the same meaning here.

Why is it θα κάναμε μεγάλη βόλτα and not θα κάνουμε μεγάλη βόλτα?

The form θα κάναμε is past‑tense stem (+ imperfective aspect) used with θα to express:

An unfulfilled expectation in the present or future,
Something we would be doing or would do, but it isn’t happening because of some condition (here: the rain).

So:

Ενώ κανονικά θα κάναμε μεγάλη βόλτα.
= “Whereas normally we would take a long walk (but now we’re not, because it’s raining).”

If you said θα κάνουμε μεγάλη βόλτα, it would mean:

“we will take a long walk” (a simple future plan), without the idea that this is now prevented.

So θα κάναμε clearly expresses a hypothetical / unreal action in contrast to reality.

Does the word order κανονικά θα κάναμε μεγάλη βόλτα have any special effect?

Yes. Κανονικά (“normally / under normal circumstances”) is placed at the start of the clause for emphasis:

Κανονικά θα κάναμε μεγάλη βόλτα.
Literally: “Normally we would take a long walk.”

This highlights the contrast:

What normally happens vs. what is actually happening now (rain, everything stops).

Other possible orders:

Θα κάναμε κανονικά μεγάλη βόλτα.
Θα κάναμε μεγάλη βόλτα κανονικά.

These are grammatically fine, but the most natural and emphatic here is exactly Κανονικά θα κάναμε…, because it sets up the contrast with the previous clause.