Learn Hardcore Greek: Ο φίλος μου που μένει στην Ελλάδα μου στέλνει συχνά βίντεο. - My friend who lives in Greece often sends me videos.

Ο φίλος μου – here μου is a possessive pronoun:
- ο φίλος μου = my friend (literally: the friend of me).
μου στέλνει – here μου is an indirect object pronoun (to me):
- μου στέλνει = he sends me / he sends to me.

So the full structure is:
Ο φίλος μου (my friend) … μου στέλνει (sends me) …

Literally: The friend of me who lives in Greece to me sends often videos.

Why is it Ο φίλος μου and not just φίλος μου?

In Greek, the definite article is usually used with possessed nouns:

ο φίλος μου = my (specific) friend
η αδελφή μου = my sister
το σπίτι μου = my house

Without the article, it sounds more like a friend of mine, less specifically identified:

Έχω φίλο στην Ελλάδα. = I have a friend in Greece.
Έχω έναν φίλο στην Ελλάδα. = I have a (one) friend in Greece.
Ο φίλος μου μένει στην Ελλάδα. = My friend lives in Greece (a particular, known friend).

So ο φίλος μου is the normal way to say my friend.

What exactly does που do here? Is it like who or that in English?

Yes, που is the common relative pronoun in modern Greek, roughly like English who/that/which in relative clauses:

ο φίλος μου που μένει στην Ελλάδα
= my friend who lives in Greece / my friend that lives in Greece.

Important points about που:

It doesn’t change form for gender, number, or case.
- Always που, unlike English (who/whom/which) or formal Greek (ο οποίος, την οποία, etc.).
You can’t drop it (unlike English “the friend I told you about”):
- English: the friend I told you about
- Greek: ο φίλος που σου είπα, not ✗ ο φίλος σου είπα.
It’s the default, everyday form. The forms ο οποίος, η οποία, το οποίο are more formal and more “written” in style.

Why is there no comma before που? Would a comma change the meaning?

Yes, commas around που-clauses affect the meaning, just like in English:

Ο φίλος μου που μένει στην Ελλάδα μου στέλνει συχνά βίντεο.
→ My friend who lives in Greece often sends me videos.
This is a restrictive clause: it identifies which friend (the one who lives in Greece). It hints that I may have more than one friend.
Ο φίλος μου, που μένει στην Ελλάδα, μου στέλνει συχνά βίντεο.
→ My friend, who lives in Greece, often sends me videos.
This is non‑restrictive: the fact that he lives in Greece is extra information, not used to identify him. It sounds more like I have one main friend, and you already know who he is.

So:

No comma → specifying which friend.
With comma(s) → just adding extra detail about that friend.

Why is it στην Ελλάδα and not σε Ελλάδα? What happened to σε and την?

Στην is a contraction:

σε (in/at/to) + την (the, feminine accusative)
→ στην

So:

στην Ελλάδα = σε + την Ελλάδα

Reasons:

Country names in Greek are usually used with the article:
- η Ελλάδα = Greece (literally the Greece)
- στην Ελλάδα = in Greece / to Greece.
In speech and writing, σε + την almost always contracts:
- σε την Ελλάδα → στην Ελλάδα
- σε την πόλη → στην πόλη
- σε τον δρόμο → στον δρόμο (σε + τον).

So σε Ελλάδα without an article sounds wrong in standard modern Greek.

Can συχνά (often) go in another place? For example, can I say συχνά μου στέλνει βίντεο?

Yes, συχνά is fairly flexible in position. All of these are grammatical:

Ο φίλος μου που μένει στην Ελλάδα μου στέλνει συχνά βίντεο.
Ο φίλος μου που μένει στην Ελλάδα συχνά μου στέλνει βίντεο.
Ο φίλος μου που μένει στην Ελλάδα μου συχνά στέλνει βίντεο. (less common, but possible, a bit marked)

Most natural are usually:

μου στέλνει συχνά βίντεο
συχνά μου στέλνει βίντεο

The difference is mostly one of rhythm and emphasis, not of basic meaning.
What you must be careful about is the position of weak pronouns like μου (see next question).

Why does μου come before στέλνει and not after it, like στέλνει μου?

In Greek, the weak pronouns (μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους) have special clitic positions:

In a normal declarative sentence, they typically go:

Right after the first stressed word in the clause, or
Directly before the verb.

In this sentence, the clause is:

(Ο φίλος μου που μένει στην Ελλάδα) μου στέλνει συχνά βίντεο.

Here μου is correctly placed right before the verb:

μου στέλνει = he sends me.

στέλνει μου is ungrammatical in standard modern Greek.

Note: after imperatives or some other verb forms, the pronoun can follow the verb:

Στείλε μου βίντεο. = Send me a video.
Μη μου στέλνεις συνέχεια βίντεο. = Don’t keep sending me videos.

Why doesn’t βίντεο change in the plural? How do I know if it’s singular or plural?

Βίντεο is an indeclinable neuter noun borrowed from a foreign language. For such words:

Singular: ένα βίντεο = a video
Plural: δύο βίντεο, πολλά βίντεο = two videos, many videos

The form βίντεο stays the same; singular vs plural is understood from context, articles, or numbers.

In your sentence:

μου στέλνει συχνά βίντεο
Contextually means he often sends me videos (more than one over time, even if each time might be one). Greek is happy with this ambiguity, and the adverb συχνά (often) pushes us toward a plural/habitual reading.

Why is there no article before βίντεο? Could we say μου στέλνει συχνά τα βίντεο?

Here βίντεο is used in an indefinite, non‑specific sense: videos in general / some videos. In Greek:

Indefinite plural or “some” sense often uses no article:
- Μου έφερε λουλούδια. = He brought me flowers.
- Τρώω φρούτα κάθε μέρα. = I eat fruit every day.
- Μου στέλνει συχνά βίντεο. = He often sends me videos.

You can use the article before βίντεο, but then it becomes more specific:

Μου στέλνει συχνά τα βίντεο.
= He often sends me the videos. (specific videos we both know about)
Μου στέλνει συχνά ένα βίντεο.
= He often sends me a video (one video each time).

So the version without article is the natural choice for the general, habitual idea.

Why is it μένει and not ζει for “lives in Greece”? What’s the difference?

Both verbs exist:

μένω = to stay, to reside, to live (somewhere)
ζω = to live, to be alive, to live (one’s life)

In practice:

For where someone lives, μένω is more common and neutral:
- Μένω στην Ελλάδα. = I live in Greece / I reside in Greece.
- Πού μένεις; = Where do you live?
ζω is often:
- More general: I live, I’m alive
- Or more emotional/poetic: I live happily, I live my life
- It can also mean “live (somewhere)”, but it’s slightly less basic for addresses.

So που μένει στην Ελλάδα is the most natural everyday way to say who lives in Greece (resides there).

What form of the verb is στέλνει? How does στέλνω conjugate?

Στέλνει is:

3rd person singular, present tense, active voice of στέλνω (to send).

A quick present‑tense paradigm:

εγώ στέλνω – I send
εσύ στέλνεις – you send (singular)
αυτός/αυτή/αυτό στέλνει – he/she/it sends
εμείς στέλνουμε – we send
εσείς στέλνετε – you send (plural/polite)
αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά στέλνουν(ε) – they send

In your sentence:

Ο φίλος μου … μου στέλνει συχνά βίντεο.
→ στέλνει matches ο φίλος μου (he).
→ The present tense here expresses a habitual action (he often sends…).

Could I move συχνά earlier and say: Ο φίλος μου που μένει στην Ελλάδα συχνά μου στέλνει βίντεο? Is that still correct?

Yes, that sentence is correct and natural:

Ο φίλος μου που μένει στην Ελλάδα συχνά μου στέλνει βίντεο.

It has the same basic meaning: My friend who lives in Greece often sends me videos.

Nuance:

μου στέλνει συχνά βίντεο
– slight emphasis on how often he sends.
συχνά μου στέλνει βίντεο
– slight emphasis on how often he, my friend, does this overall.

In everyday conversation, all of these versions are acceptable, and the difference is subtle. The most important things to keep fixed are:

που μένει στην Ελλάδα must stay attached to ο φίλος μου.
μου should stay in a valid clitic position around στέλνει (before it, or right after the first stressed word of the clause).