Learn Hardcore Greek: Στο βιβλιοπωλείο διαβάζω μερικές φράσεις από κάθε βιβλίο, για να δω αν μου αρέσει το ύφος. - At the bookstore I read a few phrases from each book in order to see if I like the style.

σε + τον → στον (masculine singular)
σε + την → στην (feminine singular, often written στη in modern spelling)
σε + τα → στα (neuter plural)

In this sentence we have το βιβλιοπωλείο (the bookstore), which is a neuter noun, so we use στο, not στον.
Στο βιβλιοπωλείο = σε + το βιβλιοπωλείο = in/at the bookstore.

Why is the verb διαβάζω in the present tense here? In English I’d probably say “I read” as a habit.

Modern Greek uses the present tense διαβάζω both:

for actions happening right now
- Τώρα διαβάζω. = I’m reading now.
and for habitual/general actions
- Κάθε μέρα διαβάζω. = I read every day.

In this sentence, it describes a general habit:
Στο βιβλιοπωλείο διαβάζω… = In the bookstore I (usually) read…

Greek doesn’t need a special tense form like English I usually read vs I am reading here; διαβάζω covers both, and the context tells you if it’s a habit or something happening right now.

What’s the difference between μερικές φράσεις and λίγες φράσεις?

Both mean a few phrases/sentences, but there’s a nuance:

μερικές φράσεις
- literally: some phrases
- usually neutral or slightly positive: a few, several
- focus: an unspecified small number, enough for the purpose.
λίγες φράσεις
- literally: few phrases
- can feel more limiting: only a few, not many
- sometimes suggests not as many as one might want.

In this context:

διαβάζω μερικές φράσεις implies “I read some (several) phrases” just to get a sense of the style.
διαβάζω λίγες φράσεις could sound a bit more like “only a few phrases,” maybe too few.

Both are grammatically correct, but μερικές fits better with the idea of sampling enough to judge the style.

Does φράσεις mean “phrases” or “sentences”? Shouldn’t it be προτάσεις?

Literally:

φράση = phrase, expression
πρόταση = sentence

In everyday speech, though, μερικές φράσεις can be used more loosely to mean short bits of text, which may be:

short complete sentences
memorable expressions
a couple of lines here and there

If you want to be more precise about reading whole sentences, you could say:

διαβάζω μερικές προτάσεις από κάθε βιβλίο = I read a few sentences from each book.

The original μερικές φράσεις sounds natural and idiomatic for “snippets of text” you skim to get a feel for the style.

Why is it από κάθε βιβλίο and not something like σε κάθε βιβλίο?

The preposition από means from and emphasizes the source:

από κάθε βιβλίο = from each book
You are taking (reading) phrases out of each book.

σε κάθε βιβλίο = in each book would focus on location rather than source, and it would usually need a different structure, e.g.:

Σε κάθε βιβλίο υπάρχουν μερικές δύσκολες λέξεις.
In each book there are a few difficult words.

So for the idea “I read some phrases from each book,” από κάθε βιβλίο is exactly right.

What does για να mean here? Could we just say να δω instead of για να δω?

για να introduces a purpose clause and means in order to / so that.

…διαβάζω μερικές φράσεις…, για να δω αν…
= …I read a few phrases, in order to see if…

You can sometimes drop για and just say να δω, but:

να alone mainly marks the subjunctive (linked to modality: wishes, possibility, etc.).
για να clearly marks the purpose.

In this sentence, για να δω is more natural and explicit:
“I read a few phrases so that I can see whether I like the style.”

Why is it να δω and not να βλέπω? What’s the difference?

Both forms come from the verb βλέπω (to see), but they show different aspects:

να δω – aorist subjunctive
- one, complete act of seeing / finding out
- here: to (have a look and) see; to find out
να βλέπω – present subjunctive
- ongoing, repeated, or continuous seeing
- would sound like to be seeing / to keep seeing

In this context, you read a bit from each book once in order to find out if you like the style. That is a single, complete mental act, so Greek uses:

για να δω = in order to see / to find out

για να βλέπω would sound odd here, as if you wanted to keep seeing the style continuously, which is not the intended meaning.

Why is it αν μου αρέσει and not something like αν αρέσει σε μένα?

Both are possible, but μου αρέσει is the normal, everyday way to say I like it.

Structure:

αρέσει = pleases (3rd person singular)
μου = to me / me (indirect object, in genitive)

Literally: μου αρέσει = it pleases me.

So:

αν μου αρέσει το ύφος
literally: if the style pleases me
natural English: if I like the style.

You could say:

αν αρέσει σε μένα
but this sounds much more emphatic or contrastive, like if it pleases me (as opposed to others). It’s not needed here. The clitic μου is the default choice.

Why does μου come before the verb in αν μου αρέσει?

μου is a clitic pronoun (unstressed short pronoun) and in Greek these usually appear right before the verb in simple clauses.

Basic pattern in subordinate clauses (like ones with αν, όταν, για να, etc.):

αν + clitic + verb

So we get:

αν μου αρέσει
not αν αρέσει μου.

Other examples:

αν σου αρέσει = if you like it
όταν μου μιλάς = when you talk to me
για να σου πω = in order to tell you

Putting μου after αρέσει would sound wrong or at least very marked in standard modern Greek.

In αν μου αρέσει το ύφος, what is the grammatical subject? Is it μου or το ύφος?

The subject is το ύφος (the style).

The verb αρέσει works more like English to be pleasing to:

το ύφος = subject
μου = indirect object (to me)

So:

Το ύφος μου αρέσει.
literally: The style is pleasing to me.
meaning: I like the style.

When the subject is understood from context, it can be omitted:

Μου αρέσει. = I like it. (whatever “it” is from the context)

In your sentence, the subject το ύφος is stated explicitly at the end:

…αν μου αρέσει το ύφος.

Why is it το ύφος with the definite article? Could we also say just ύφος?

Greek uses the definite article much more often than English, especially with:

abstract nouns (e.g. η αγάπη, η μουσική)
general concepts
things that are clear from context

Here, το ύφος is not “style in general,” but specifically the style of that book you are sampling. That makes it definite:

το ύφος (του βιβλίου) = the style (of the book)

You could say just ύφος in some special, more abstract general statements, but in this everyday, concrete context, το ύφος is the natural choice.

Why is the verb αρέσει singular and not plural? How would it change if the thing I like was plural?

The verb αρέσει agrees with the subject, not with the person who likes it.

Here:

Subject: το ύφος (singular)
→ Verb: αρέσει (3rd person singular)

If the thing you like is plural, the verb also becomes plural:

Μου αρέσει το βιβλίο. = I like the book.
Μου αρέσουν τα βιβλία. = I like the books.
Μου αρέσει το ύφος. = I like the style.
Μου αρέσουν οι χαρακτήρες. = I like the characters.

So in your sentence, singular το ύφος naturally takes singular αρέσει.

Can the word order of the sentence change? For example, can I say Διαβάζω στο βιβλιοπωλείο… instead?

Yes. Modern Greek has fairly flexible word order. You can reorder elements for emphasis or style, as long as the grammar relationships stay clear.

Some possible variants:

Στο βιβλιοπωλείο διαβάζω μερικές φράσεις από κάθε βιβλίο…
(neutral: sets the place first)
Διαβάζω στο βιβλιοπωλείο μερικές φράσεις από κάθε βιβλίο…
(slightly more focus on the activity διαβάζω)
Διαβάζω μερικές φράσεις από κάθε βιβλίο στο βιβλιοπωλείο…
(also possible; context usually clarifies that it’s in the bookstore rather than from the bookstore)

The original order is natural and clear. Changing the order mostly affects emphasis, not the basic meaning.