Learn Hardcore Greek: Ο μπαμπάς μου δεν φοράει ποτέ γραβάτα στο γραφείο, γιατί το ντύσιμό του είναι απλό, μόνο πουκάμισο και τζιν. - My dad never wears a tie at the office, because his outfit is simple, just a shirt and jeans.

ο μπαμπάς μου = literally the dad my → my dad
The definite article (ο, η, το) stays in front of the noun, and the possessive μου follows the noun as an unstressed pronoun (a clitic).

So the normal pattern is:

ο φίλος μου = my friend
το σπίτι σου = your house
η μητέρα του = his mother

Putting μου before the noun (μου μπαμπάς) is wrong in standard Greek.

What is the role of δεν and how does it work together with ποτέ to mean "never"?

δεν is the basic negation particle for verbs in Greek; it means not.

ποτέ by itself means ever or at any time, but when used with δεν, it means never:

δεν φοράει = he does not wear
δεν φοράει ποτέ = he never wears

Greek needs both elements to express never:

You cannot say just φοράει ποτέ for never.
You also can’t normally say "he wears never" without δεν; δεν is required for verbal negation.

So δεν + verb + ποτέ = never + verb.

Can the word order change to ποτέ δεν φοράει instead of δεν φοράει ποτέ? Is there any difference?

Yes, you can also say:

Ο μπαμπάς μου ποτέ δεν φοράει γραβάτα στο γραφείο...

Both δεν φοράει ποτέ and ποτέ δεν φοράει are grammatically correct and mean he never wears.

Subtle points:

δεν φοράει ποτέ is the most neutral, common order.
ποτέ δεν φοράει can sound a bit more emphatic in speech, as if you’re stressing the never.

But functionally, for a learner, you can treat them as equivalent.

Why is it φοράει and not φορά? Are both forms possible?

The verb is φοράω (to wear). In the 3rd person singular present, you can see two spoken forms:

αυτός φοράει
αυτός φορά

Both are used in modern Greek. φοράει is often considered a bit more standard or explicit, while φορά is shorter and very common in everyday speech.

So:

Ο μπαμπάς μου δεν φοράει ποτέ γραβάτα...
and
Ο μπαμπάς μου δεν φορά ποτέ γραβάτα...

are both acceptable. Most textbooks will teach φοράει first.

What exactly is στο in στο γραφείο? And does γραφείο mean "office" or "desk" here?

στο is a contraction of the preposition σε (in, at, to) + the neuter definite article το (the):

σε + το = στο

So στο γραφείο = at the office / in the office.

The noun γραφείο can mean:

office (workplace)
desk (piece of furniture)

In this sentence, because we’re talking about clothing style στο γραφείο, the natural meaning is at the office (his workplace). Context decides which meaning is intended.

Does γιατί here mean "why" or "because"? How can I tell?

γιατί has two main uses:

As a question word: why
- Γιατί δεν φοράει γραβάτα; = Why doesn’t he wear a tie?
As a conjunction: because
- Δεν φοράει γραβάτα, γιατί το ντύσιμό του είναι απλό.
  = He doesn’t wear a tie, because his outfit is simple.

In your sentence, γιατί introduces a reason (his outfit is simple) for the previous statement (he never wears a tie at the office). It’s not a question, so here it means because.

Clues:

It follows a comma.
The intonation (in speech) is not a question.
The clause after it clearly explains the cause.

What is το ντύσιμό του exactly, and why does the accent move in ντύσιμό?

ντύσιμο is a neuter noun meaning dress, way of dressing, or outfit/style of clothing.

το ντύσιμο = the way of dressing / the outfit
το ντύσιμό του = his way of dressing / his outfit

About the accent:

The basic form is νΤΥ-σι-μο (ντύσιμο, accent on the first syllable).
When you add an enclitic (an unstressed little word that attaches to it), like μου, σου, του, Greek accent rules often shift the accent one syllable to the right to keep proper stress:
- το ντύσιμο
- το ντύσιμό του
- το ντύσιμό μου

So the written accent moves to -μό because of the following clitic του. This is a regular accent rule in Greek.

Why is the adjective απλό neuter, not masculine, when we’re talking about ο μπαμπάς (my dad)?

Adjectives in Greek agree with the noun they describe, not with whoever owns that noun.

Here, απλό is describing το ντύσιμό του (his outfit), not ο μπαμπάς.

το ντύσιμό του είναι απλό
- ντύσιμο is neuter singular
- therefore απλό is also neuter singular

If you were describing the dad himself, you would say:

Ο μπαμπάς μου είναι απλός. = My dad is simple/plain.

But in your sentence, it’s his outfit that is simple, so neuter απλό is required.

What does μόνο do here, and where can it appear in the sentence?

μόνο means only / just.

In this sentence:

...είναι απλό, μόνο πουκάμισο και τζιν.
= ...is simple, only a shirt and jeans.

It limits what the outfit consists of: just those items, nothing more formal like a tie, jacket, etc.

Position:

Placed before the part it limits:
- μόνο πουκάμισο και τζιν = only shirt and jeans
- μόνο στο γραφείο = only at the office
- μόνο ο μπαμπάς μου = only my dad

You could also say:

...είναι απλό, είναι μόνο πουκάμισο και τζιν.
...είναι απλό, φοράει μόνο πουκάμισο και τζιν.

The meaning of μόνο as only stays the same; its scope depends on what immediately follows.

Why is there no article before πουκάμισο and τζιν?

In Greek, when you talk in general about what someone wears (especially in a habitual way) and not about specific items, it’s very common to drop the article:

φοράει πουκάμισο = he wears a shirt / he wears shirts (in general)
φοράει τζιν = he wears jeans

In your sentence, we’re describing a general style, not one particular shirt or one specific pair of jeans, so no article is natural:

μόνο πουκάμισο και τζιν

If you wanted to refer to specific items, you could use articles:

το πουκάμισο και το τζιν = the shirt and the jeans (specific ones)

But that would sound less like a general description of his usual style.

What gender and number is τζιν, and how is it used in Greek?

τζιν (jeans/denim) is an indeclinable neuter noun borrowed from English.

Typical usage:

With article: το τζιν = the jeans / the pair of jeans
Without article, in a general style description: φοράει τζιν = he wears jeans

It doesn’t change form for singular/plural in everyday Greek; context does the work:

Αυτό το τζιν είναι ωραίο. = This pair of jeans is nice.
Μου αρέσει να φοράω τζιν. = I like wearing jeans (in general).

In your sentence, τζιν is used without an article as part of a general clothing style.

Is the comma before γιατί necessary in Greek?

In modern Greek punctuation, it’s very common (and usually recommended) to put a comma before γιατί when it introduces a reason clause (meaning because):

...στο γραφείο, γιατί το ντύσιμό του είναι απλό...

The comma marks a pause and separates the main statement from its explanation. Without the comma, the sentence is still understandable, but the standard written form usually includes it in cases like this.

Could we use πατέρας instead of μπαμπάς? Would it sound different?

Yes, grammatically you can:

Ο πατέρας μου δεν φοράει ποτέ γραβάτα στο γραφείο...

The difference is in tone:

μπαμπάς = dad, daddy – informal, warm, everyday
πατέρας = father – more formal, neutral, sometimes more distant or serious

In ordinary conversation about your own father, ο μπαμπάς μου is more natural. Ο πατέρας μου is fine but can sound a bit more formal or written.

Could we say δεν φοράει γραβάτα ποτέ instead of δεν φοράει ποτέ γραβάτα?

Yes, δεν φοράει γραβάτα ποτέ is possible and understandable, though the most common and neutral order is:

δεν φοράει ποτέ γραβάτα

Possible orders and feel:

δεν φοράει ποτέ γραβάτα – very natural, standard
ποτέ δεν φοράει γραβάτα – also common, a bit more emphasis on never
δεν φοράει γραβάτα ποτέ – acceptable, but slightly less typical in careful speech

For everyday use, prefer δεν φοράει ποτέ γραβάτα or ποτέ δεν φοράει γραβάτα.