Learn Hardcore Greek: Η φίλη μου κοιτάζει τα φορέματα στη βιτρίνα πριν μπούμε μέσα. - My friend looks at the dresses in the shop window before we go inside.

η φίλη μου = my (female) friend
- η = the (feminine singular, nominative)
- φίλη = female friend
- μου = my (unstressed / weak form of “I” in the genitive)

You normally do not say μου φίλη for “my friend”; that order sounds wrong in modern Greek.

You can sometimes drop the article in speech (just φίλη μου) for a more emotional or vocative feel, like “my friend!” when addressing someone. But as a plain subject of a sentence, η φίλη μου is the standard form.

Why is φίλη used and not φίλος? Does Greek force you to show the gender of “friend”?

Yes, Greek shows grammatical gender here:

φίλος = (male) friend
φίλη = (female) friend

Because the sentence clearly refers to a female friend, it uses η φίλη μου. If it were a male friend, you’d say:

Ο φίλος μου κοιτάζει τα φορέματα…

What tense is κοιτάζει and how is it translated? Is it “looks” or “is looking”?

Κοιτάζει is:

3rd person singular
present tense
active voice
from the verb κοιτάζω (to look (at), to watch)

In English it can be translated both as:

She looks at the dresses…
or
She is looking at the dresses…

Greek present tense generally covers both the simple present and the present continuous in English. Context decides whether you translate it as “looks” or “is looking”. Here, because it’s a specific situation happening now, “is looking at” is the more natural English translation.

Is there any difference between κοιτάζει, κοιτάει, and κοιτά?

All of these are forms of the same verb κοιτάζω:

κοιτάζει – more “full” form, common and neutral
κοιτάει – equally correct, also very common in speech and writing
κοιτά – shorter, more colloquial / conversational

So you could say:

Η φίλη μου κοιτάζει τα φορέματα…
Η φίλη μου κοιτάει τα φορέματα…
Η φίλη μου κοιτά τα φορέματα…

All are understood as “My friend is looking at the dresses…”. The difference is stylistic, not meaning.

Why is it τα φορέματα and not something like τις φορέματα? What is the gender and form of φόρεμα?

Φόρεμα (dress) is a neuter noun, even though it refers to clothing typically worn by women. Its main forms:

singular: το φόρεμα (the dress)
plural: τα φορέματα (the dresses)

In the sentence, τα φορέματα is:

neuter plural
definite article τα
- noun φορέματα in the accusative
it’s the direct object of κοιτάζει

Τις is the feminine plural article (accusative/genitive), so it would go with a feminine noun, e.g. τις φούστες (the skirts), not with φορέματα.

What does στη βιτρίνα literally mean? How is στη formed?

Στη βιτρίνα literally means “in the (shop) window”, i.e. in the display window of a store.

σε = in, at, on, to (very general preposition)
τη(ν) = the (feminine singular, accusative)
σε + τη(ν) → στη(ν) (contraction)

So:

σε τη βιτρίνα → στη βιτρίνα

You’ll see similar contractions:

σε + το → στο (στο σπίτι = in the house)
σε + τις → στις (στις τσάντες = on the bags)

What exactly does βιτρίνα mean? Is it just “window”?

Βιτρίνα is specifically a shop display window or storefront window, where products are shown to attract customers.

It does not mean any random window. For a normal window (in a house, car, etc.), Greek usually uses παράθυρο.

So:

στη βιτρίνα = in the shop window / display
στο παράθυρο = at the (ordinary) window

What is μπούμε? It doesn’t look like the dictionary form of a verb.

Μπούμε is:

1st person plural
aorist subjunctive
of the verb μπαίνω (to enter, to go in)

Greek verbs often have a different stem for the aorist. For μπαίνω:

present: μπαίνω (I go in / I am going in)
aorist stem: μπω
1st person plural subjunctive: να μπούμε (that we go in / for us to go in)

After πριν (before), modern Greek normally uses the aorist subjunctive for a single, complete future event:

πριν (να) μπούμε μέσα = before we go in(side)

So μπούμε is the right form here because it expresses a future, one-time action (the moment of entering).

Why does μπούμε start with μπ? How is that pronounced?

Greek uses the digraph μπ to represent the /b/ sound in most positions.

At the beginning of a word, μπ is usually pronounced as /b/.
Inside words, it can be /mb/ or /b/, depending on speaker and speed.

So μπούμε is pronounced approximately like BOO-meh (with Greek vowels: ου = /u/ as in “food”).

The present μπαίνω starts the same way: μπ = /b/, αι = /e/ → BE-no.

Why is μπούμε in the subjunctive after πριν? Could we use a present tense like μπαίνουμε instead?

After time conjunctions referring to the future (like πριν = before, όταν = when, αφού = after), Greek typically uses the subjunctive:

πριν μπούμε = before we go in
όταν έρθουμε = when we come
αφού φάμε = after we eat

Here the going in happens once in the future (relative to the looking), so the aorist subjunctive μπούμε is appropriate.

Μπαίνουμε (present indicative) would not be natural after πριν in this meaning. You might see πριν μπαίνουμε in completely different structures, but not to mean “before we go in (this time)”.

I thought subjunctive in Greek usually needs να. Why is it just πριν μπούμε and not πριν να μπούμε?

You are right that the subjunctive is often introduced by να:

να μπούμε = (for us) to go in

But several conjunctions in modern Greek can take the subjunctive directly, without να. Πριν is one of them:

πριν μπούμε = before we go in
όταν έρθεις = when you come
αν φύγει = if he leaves

In colloquial speech you may hear πριν να μπούμε, but in standard modern Greek πριν μπούμε (without να) is more typical and considered neater.

What is the role of μέσα in πριν μπούμε μέσα? Isn’t “to go in” already clear from μπούμε?

Μέσα means inside / in(wards) and functions as an adverb of place.

Greek often reinforces verbs of motion with such adverbs, even when the direction is already clear from the verb:

μπαίνω μέσα = go in(side)
βγαίνω έξω = go out(side)
ανεβαίνω πάνω = go up (upstairs)
κατεβαίνω κάτω = go down

So πριν μπούμε μέσα is a very natural way to say “before we go inside”. You could say just πριν μπούμε, but μέσα makes the movement feel more concrete and vivid.

Does Η φίλη μου κοιτάζει τα φορέματα στη βιτρίνα πριν μπούμε μέσα. sound like a habitual action (she always does this) or a one-time situation?

Grammatically, Greek present can express both:

a habitual action: she (always) looks at the dresses…
an ongoing action right now: she is (currently) looking at the dresses…

The presence of πριν μπούμε μέσα (before we go in) and the specific scene (in the shop window) tends to suggest a concrete situation happening now, so a natural English rendering is:

My friend is looking at the dresses in the shop window before we go in.

But in the right context, the same sentence could also describe a regular behaviour (what she usually does whenever you go shopping together).

Can the word order be changed? For example, can I say Η φίλη μου στη βιτρίνα κοιτάζει τα φορέματα?

Greek allows relatively flexible word order, with changes mostly affecting emphasis rather than basic meaning.

Neutral, straightforward order:

Η φίλη μου κοιτάζει τα φορέματα στη βιτρίνα πριν μπούμε μέσα.

If you say:

Η φίλη μου στη βιτρίνα κοιτάζει τα φορέματα…

this is still grammatical, but it puts a bit more focus on στη βιτρίνα, almost like:

It’s in the shop window that my friend looks at the dresses…

For a learner, it’s best to stick to the neutral order:

[subject] – [verb] – [object] – [place] – [time/expression]
→ Η φίλη μου κοιτάζει τα φορέματα στη βιτρίνα πριν μπούμε μέσα.