Έχω λίγους φίλους στην πόλη αυτή.

I have few friends in this city.

Breakdown of Έχω λίγους φίλους στην πόλη αυτή.

• αυτός: this
• έχω: to have
• ο φίλος: the male friend
• σε: in
• η πόλη: the city
• λίγος: a little

Questions & Answers about Έχω λίγους φίλους στην πόλη αυτή.

What does λίγους mean here? Is it “a few” (neutral/positive) or “few” (almost none, negative)?

In Έχω λίγους φίλους στην πόλη αυτή, λίγους most naturally means “a few / some friends” – a small number, but not necessarily with a negative feeling.

In Greek:

• λίγους φίλους = a small number of friends (neutral; can be slightly negative depending on tone)
• Context decides if it feels:
  • neutral: “I just happen to have a few friends here.”
  • or mildly negative: “I don’t have many friends here.”

If you wanted to strongly emphasize “almost none” in Greek, you’d more clearly show it with context or adverbs (e.g. πολύ λίγους φίλους = very few friends).

Why is it λίγους φίλους and not λίγοι φίλοι?

Because after έχω (“I have”), the noun is a direct object, so it must be in the accusative case, not the nominative.

• ο φίλος (nom. sg.) – subject form
• οι φίλοι (nom. pl.) – subject form
• τον φίλο (acc. sg.) – object form
• τους φίλους (acc. pl.) – object form

In the sentence:

• έχω = I have
• (έχω) λίγους φίλους = I have whom/what? → friends → direct object → accusative plural

So:

• λίγοι φίλοι (nom. pl.) would be used as a subject:
  • Λίγοι φίλοι μένουν εδώ. = A few friends live here.
• λίγους φίλους (acc. pl.) is correct as the object of έχω:
  • Έχω λίγους φίλους. = I have a few friends.

Why is there no article before λίγους φίλους (why not Έχω τους λίγους φίλους…)?

Because λίγους φίλους here means “a few friends” in a general/indefinite way. In Greek, when you have:

• a quantity word (λίγους, πολλούς, μερικούς, αρκετούς, etc.)
• plus a non-specific noun,

you usually omit the article:

• Έχω λίγους φίλους. = I have a few friends.
• Έχω πολλούς φίλους. = I have many friends.
• Έχω μερικά βιβλία. = I have some books.

Using the article would make it very specific:

• Έχω τους λίγους φίλους που μου έμειναν.
  = I have the few friends that I have left. (a particular set of “the few friends”)

So in your sentence, no article is exactly what you want.

What is the difference between λίγους φίλους and μερικούς φίλους?

Both can be translated as “a few friends”, but there’s a nuance:

• λίγους φίλους

  • Focuses on small quantity.
  • Can sound slightly scarce/insufficient, depending on context/tone.
  • Closer to “only a few friends / not many friends”.

• μερικούς φίλους

  • Means some friends, a non-specific number.
  • More neutral, doesn’t by itself suggest “too few”.
  • Closer to “some friends”.

Examples:

• Έχω λίγους φίλους στην πόλη αυτή.
  → I don’t have many friends in this city.
• Έχω μερικούς φίλους στην πόλη αυτή.
  → I have some friends in this city (no clear positive or negative about how many).

Why is it στην and not just σε την before πόλη?

Στην is the normal contraction of:

• σε (in, at, to) + την (the, fem. acc. sg.) → στην

So:

• σε την πόλη → becomes → στην πόλη

Greek almost always contracts:

• σε + τη(ν) → στη(ν)
• σε + το → στο
• σε + τις → στις

Also, note that:

• την keeps the final -ν here because the next word πόλη starts with π.
  A usual rule: keep the final -ν of τον/την/στον/στην before vowels and certain consonants (including π).

What case is στην πόλη αυτή, and why is it accusative?

Πόλη is in the accusative case: την πόλη.

Structure:

• σε
  • (την) πόλη → στην πόλη

In Greek, many prepositions (including σε) are followed by the accusative:

• σε ποια πόλη; = in which city?
• στην πόλη = in the city

So:

• στην πόλη αυτή = in this city
  → preposition σε requires accusative, so πόλη and the demonstrative αυτή agree in accusative feminine singular.

Why is αυτή placed after the noun (πόλη αυτή) instead of before it?

Greek allows two main positions for demonstratives like αυτός/αυτή/αυτό with a noun:

1. Before the article + noun:

   • αυτή η πόλη
     literally “this the city” → this city

2. After the noun (with an article before the noun):

   • η πόλη αυτή
     literally “the city this” → this city / this particular city

In your sentence, after σε we get the contracted article inside στην:

• σε την πόλη αυτή → στην πόλη αυτή

So:

• στην πόλη αυτή = in this city
• σε αυτή την πόλη = in this city (equally correct, more “English-like” order)

Subtle nuance:

• η πόλη αυτή can sometimes feel a bit more like “this particular city (as opposed to others)”, but in everyday speech the difference is small, and both orders are fine here.

Can I also say Σε αυτή(ν) την πόλη έχω λίγους φίλους? Is that correct?

Yes, that’s perfectly correct and natural:

• Σε αυτή(ν) την πόλη έχω λίγους φίλους.
  = In this city I have a few friends.

Notes:

• αυτή vs αυτήν:
  
  • In modern spelling, αυτή (without final ν) is very common.
  • αυτήν (with ν) is also correct, especially in more formal writing or careful speech, or before a vowel.
• Word order:
  • Σε αυτή(ν) την πόλη έχω λίγους φίλους. (place first for emphasis)
  • Έχω λίγους φίλους σε αυτή(ν) την πόλη. (more neutral)
  • Έχω λίγους φίλους στην πόλη αυτή. (neutral, slightly more “Greek-like” in style)

Is there any difference in meaning between στην πόλη αυτή and σε αυτή(ν) την πόλη?

Meaning: no real difference – both mean “in this city”.

Nuances:

• στην πόλη αυτή
  • Demonstrative at the end.
  • Feels very natural in Greek, slightly more “compact” and sometimes a bit more literary/“Greek-sounding” to learners.
• σε αυτή(ν) την πόλη
  • Demonstrative before the noun (closer to English word order).
  • Also absolutely normal in everyday speech.

In most contexts they are interchangeable. Any difference is more about style and rhythm than meaning.

What form of αυτή is used here? Nominative or accusative?

In στην πόλη αυτή, αυτή agrees with πόλη in:

• gender: feminine
• number: singular
• case: accusative (because of σε)

For the feminine singular of αυτός (this), modern Greek has:

• nominative: αυτή
• accusative: αυτή(ν)

The spelling is the same (αυτή) in both cases in everyday modern Greek, so in this sentence it is accusative feminine singular, but it looks like the nominative in writing.

How do you pronounce Έχω λίγους φίλους στην πόλη αυτή?

Approximate pronunciation (IPA-like):

• Έχω → [ˈe.xo]
  • χ like the harsh h in Spanish “jota” (as in “José”), not like English k or sh.
• λίγους → [ˈli.ɣus]
  • γ before ου is a voiced sound [ɣ], similar to a very soft g, like a “soft gargling” sound.
• φίλους → [ˈfi.lus]
• στην → [stin]
• πόλη → [ˈpo.li]
• αυτή → [afˈti]
  • αυ before a consonant like τ is pronounced [af], not [av].

So the whole sentence:

Έχω λίγους φίλους στην πόλη αυτή.
[ˈe.xo ˈli.ɣus ˈfi.lus stin ˈpo.li afˈti]

Could I say Έχω φίλους λίγους στην πόλη αυτή? Is that acceptable?

It’s grammatically possible, but it sounds unusual and unnatural in everyday Greek.

Normal, natural word orders:

• Έχω λίγους φίλους στην πόλη αυτή.
• Έχω λίγους φίλους σε αυτή(ν) την πόλη.

Putting the adjective λίγους after φίλους (→ φίλους λίγους) is sometimes done for poetic or emphatic effect, but not in normal spoken language in a simple statement like this.

Why is there an accent on Έχω and πόλη and αυτή? How is stress handled in this sentence?

Greek words have fixed stress on one syllable, marked by the accent (´):

• Έχω – stress on the first syllable: Έ-χω
• λίγους – stress on the first: λί-γους
• φίλους – stress on the first: φί-λους
• πόλη – stress on the first: πό-λη
• αυτή – stress on the second: αυ-τή

The accent mark shows:

• which syllable is stressed
• and is part of the spelling of the word

Changing or omitting stress usually changes the word or is simply wrong. For example:

• πόλη (city) vs πολύ (very/much): different stress, different words.