Learn Hardcore Greek: Η αδερφή μου κάνει γρήγορο μακιγιάζ πριν βγει με τις φίλες της. - My sister does quick makeup before she goes out with her friends.

Putting μου before the noun (η μου αδερφή) is wrong in modern everyday Greek. The possessive pronouns (μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους) are clitics and typically come after the noun they belong to.

Why do we need the article Η in Η αδερφή μου? Why not just αδερφή μου?

In modern Greek, when you talk about family members or other specific “my/your/his/her …”, you almost always use the definite article:

η μητέρα μου – my mother
ο πατέρας του – his father
η αδερφή μου – my sister

Leaving the article out (e.g. αδερφή μου) can sound:

very informal and emotional (like calling someone: Αδερφή μου! “My sister!” as a direct address), or
poetic / stylized.

For a neutral sentence like this one, η αδερφή μου is the standard form.

I’ve seen αδερφή and αδελφή. Which is correct, and why is it spelled here with ρ (αδερφή)?

Both forms are correct in modern Greek:

αδελφή = more conservative / closer to the ancient form.
αδερφή = more phonetic, closer to how most people actually pronounce it.

In everyday writing (messages, informal texts, modern literature) αδερφή with ρ is very common.
In more formal contexts (school books, official texts) you often see αδελφή.

Meaning and pronunciation in normal speech are the same for a learner. You can safely use αδερφή in conversation.

What exactly does κάνει mean here? Why “does makeup” and not a verb like “puts on makeup”?

κάνει is the 3rd person singular of κάνω = to do / to make.

In Greek, we commonly use κάνω with μακιγιάζ:

κάνω μακιγιάζ = do makeup
Similar to English “do my makeup”.

You can also hear:

βάζω μακιγιάζ = put on makeup
μακιγιάρομαι (reflexive) = I put makeup on myself (less common in everyday speech)

But the most natural everyday expression for “do makeup” is κάνω μακιγιάζ.

Why is it γρήγορο μακιγιάζ and not γρήγορα μακιγιάζ?

γρήγορο here is an adjective that describes the noun μακιγιάζ:

γρήγορο μακιγιάζ = quick / fast makeup (a type of makeup)

If you say γρήγορα, that’s an adverb, describing how she does something:

κάνει μακιγιάζ γρήγορα = she does makeup quickly.

So:

κάνει γρήγορο μακιγιάζ → She does a quick kind of makeup.
κάνει μακιγιάζ γρήγορα → She does her makeup in a quick way.

Both are correct, but the original sentence treats “quick makeup” as a kind of makeup, not just the manner.

Why is γρήγορο in the neuter form? I thought “sister” is feminine.

The adjective γρήγορο doesn’t agree with αδερφή here; it agrees with μακιγιάζ.

μακιγιάζ is a neuter, indeclinable noun (same form in all genders/cases).
Adjectives must agree with the noun they modify in gender, number, and case.

So:

το γρήγορο μακιγιάζ – the quick makeup (neuter singular)
If the noun were feminine, you’d say: η γρήγορη δουλειά – the quick job/work.

In κάνει γρήγορο μακιγιάζ, the structure is:
(η αδερφή μου) κάνει [γρήγορο μακιγιάζ] → “does [quick makeup]”.

Why is there no article before μακιγιάζ? Why not το μακιγιάζ?

Both are possible, but the nuance changes slightly.

κάνει μακιγιάζ = she does (some) makeup / does her makeup (general, uncountable idea).
κάνει το μακιγιάζ της = she does her makeup (more specific, possessive).

In this sentence:

κάνει γρήγορο μακιγιάζ sounds like “does a quick bit of makeup / a quick makeup routine”, where μακιγιάζ is treated like a mass / uncountable noun and doesn’t need an article.

Adding το is not wrong, but it would sound a bit more specific and slightly heavier:
κάνει το γρήγορο μακιγιάζ της is grammatical but more marked.

Why do we use the present tense κάνει here? Does it mean she’s doing it right now or that she usually does it?

In Greek, the simple present κάνει can mean:

Habit / regular action
- Η αδερφή μου κάνει γρήγορο μακιγιάζ πριν βγει…
  → My sister does quick makeup (whenever she goes out with her friends).
Action happening now (depending on context and adverbs)
- Τώρα η αδερφή μου κάνει μακιγιάζ.
  → Right now my sister is doing her makeup.

In your sentence, with no time words like “now”, the default reading is habitual: it’s what she generally does before going out.

What is the function of πριν in πριν βγει? Why not something like “πριν όταν βγει” or “πριν να βγει”?

πριν means before and is used here as a conjunction introducing a verb:

πριν βγει = before (she) goes out.

Patterns with πριν:

πριν + subjunctive (with or without να) – common:
- πριν βγει = before she goes out
- πριν να βγει = also possible, but να is often dropped in modern speech.
πριν από + noun / pronoun:
- πριν από τη δουλειά = before work
- πριν από σένα = before you

You don’t combine πριν with όταν in this structure.
πριν όταν βγει is incorrect.

Why is it βγει and not βγαίνει after πριν?

βγει is the aorist (perfective) subjunctive of βγαίνω (to go out).
βγαίνει is present (imperfective) indicative.

After πριν (before), when referring to a single future / repeated single event, Greek usually uses the aorist subjunctive:

πριν βγει = before she (will) go out (one completed event each time).

If you said πριν βγαίνει, that would be grammatically wrong in this structure.
You could see να βγαίνει in other contexts, but not directly after πριν with this meaning.

What exactly does βγει mean, and what is the full form with να?

The base verb is βγαίνω = to go out / to exit.

Aorist stem: βγ-
3rd person singular aorist subjunctive: (να) βγει

So:

να βγει = (for her) to go out (once / as a complete event)
πριν (να) βγει → before she goes out

In everyday speech να after πριν is often omitted, so πριν βγει is completely normal.

Why do we use με in με τις φίλες της? Is it the same “with” as in English?

Yes. με is the preposition with:

με τις φίλες της = with her friends
με τον αδερφό μου = with my brother
με εσένα = with you

Grammatically, με takes the accusative case. That’s why you have:

τις φίλες (accusative feminine plural) after με.

Why is it τις φίλες της and not something like οι φίλες της or της φίλες?

Let’s break it down:

η φίλη = (female) friend – singular
οι φίλες = female friends – plural nominative
τις φίλες = female friends – plural accusative (object of με)

In με τις φίλες της:

με requires the accusative → τις φίλες
της is the possessive clitic pronoun = her.

Order:

article + noun + possessive pronoun → τις φίλες της = her friends

You can’t say της φίλες; that’s missing the article and has the wrong order for modern Greek.

What is the difference between μου and της in this sentence?

Both are unstressed possessive pronouns in the genitive:

μου = my
της = her

In the sentence:

η αδερφή μου = my sister
τις φίλες της = her friends

They follow the same pattern:

ο φίλος μου – my friend
ο φίλος της – her friend
το σπίτι μου – my house
το σπίτι της – her house

Can I change the word order? For example: Η αδερφή μου πριν βγει με τις φίλες της κάνει γρήγορο μακιγιάζ?

Yes, Greek word order is relatively flexible, and your version is grammatically correct:

Η αδερφή μου κάνει γρήγορο μακιγιάζ πριν βγει με τις φίλες της.
Η αδερφή μου πριν βγει με τις φίλες της κάνει γρήγορο μακιγιάζ.

The difference is mainly in emphasis and flow:

Original order sounds a bit smoother and more neutral.
Moving πριν βγει με τις φίλες της earlier puts more emphasis on the time condition (“before she goes out with her friends, she does quick makeup”).

All these are acceptable; Greek relies more on stress and context than on strict word order.

Could I say πριν βγει έξω με τις φίλες της? What does έξω add?

Yes, you can say:

πριν βγει έξω με τις φίλες της

έξω means out / outside and makes the idea of “going out” more explicit.

Subtle differences:

βγαίνω by itself already usually means “go out (socially)” in this kind of context.
βγαίνω έξω is a bit more emphatic or explicit: “go out (outdoors / out of the house)”.

Both πριν βγει με τις φίλες της and πριν βγει έξω με τις φίλες της are perfectly natural.