Learn Hardcore Greek: Ο διάδρομος στο σπίτι της γιαγιάς μου είναι στενός, αλλά έχει ζεστό φως και ωραίες φωτογραφίες. - The corridor in my grandmother’s house is narrow, but it has warm light and nice photos.

Ο διάδρομος = the corridor/hallway in nominative → subject of the verb είναι (is).
Τον διάδρομο would be accusative, used for a direct object (something that receives the action of a verb), e.g.
- Βλέπω τον διάδρομο. = I see the hallway.

Since διάδρομος is not an object here but the thing we’re talking about (subject), it must be Ο διάδρομος.

What exactly is στο in στο σπίτι?

Στο is a contraction of:

σε (preposition: in, at, to)
το (neuter singular definite article: the)

So:

σε + το = στο

Examples:

στο σπίτι = in/at the house
στο σχολείο = at school
στο δωμάτιο = in the room

With masculine nouns you’ll see στον (σε + τον), e.g.:

στον διάδρομο = in the hallway (if διάδρομο is object or after a preposition)

Why is it στο σπίτι της γιαγιάς μου and not something like στο σπίτι η γιαγιά μου?

Της γιαγιάς μου is in the genitive case and expresses possession: my grandmother’s.

η γιαγιά μου (nominative) = my grandmother (as a subject)
της γιαγιάς μου (genitive) = of my grandmother → my grandmother’s

So:

το σπίτι της γιαγιάς μου = the house of my grandmother / my grandmother’s house

If you said στο σπίτι η γιαγιά μου, it would sound like:

στο σπίτι η γιαγιά μου = in the house (is) my grandmother (two separate things — would need a verb to make sense)

For possession after a noun, you want genitive: της γιαγιάς μου.

Why do we say της γιαγιάς μου and not του γιαγιά μου?

Greek possessive genitives must agree in gender with the noun they refer to:

γιαγιά is feminine, so its genitive is της γιαγιάς.
If it were masculine, like παππούς (grandfather), you’d use του:
- του παππού μου = of my grandfather / my grandfather’s

So:

της γιαγιάς μου = my grandmother’s
του παππού μου = my grandfather’s

Why is μου placed after γιαγιάς instead of before, like in English?

In Greek, the unstressed possessive pronouns (my, your, his, etc.) usually come after the noun:

η γιαγιά μου = my grandmother
το σπίτι μου = my house
η φίλη μου = my (female) friend

When you also have a genitive article (της, του) for possession, the order is:

[article in genitive] + [noun] + [possessive pronoun]

So:

της γιαγιάς μου = of my grandmother / my grandmother’s

You cannot say μου γιαγιάς or μου γιαγιά in standard Greek. The possessive must follow the noun.

Why do the adjectives have different endings: στενός, ζεστό, ωραίες?

Adjectives in Greek must agree with the gender, number, and case of the noun they describe.

Here we have three different nouns:

διάδρομος – masculine, singular, nominative
→ adjective: στενός (masc. sg. nom.)
- Ο διάδρομος είναι στενός.
φως – neuter, singular, accusative
→ adjective: ζεστό (neut. sg. acc.)
- (έχει) ζεστό φως = warm light
φωτογραφίες – feminine, plural, accusative
→ adjective: ωραίες (fem. pl. acc.)
- (έχει) ωραίες φωτογραφίες = nice photos

Very roughly:

Masculine sg. nom.: -ός (στενός)
Feminine pl. acc.: -ες (ωραίες)
Neuter sg. acc./nom.: -ό (ζεστό)

So the differences are because each adjective is matching a different noun.

Why is it ζεστό φως and not ζεστός φως?

Because φως (light) is a neuter noun in Greek.

το φως – neuter singular
→ The adjective must be neuter too:
ζεστό φως (neuter) = warm light

If you used ζεστός, that’s masculine and would be wrong for φως:

ζεστός → for masculine nouns (e.g. ζεστός καφές = hot coffee)
ζεστό → for neuter nouns (e.g. ζεστό φως, ζεστό νερό)

Why is there no article before ζεστό φως and ωραίες φωτογραφίες?

In Greek, you don’t always need an article, especially when you’re talking about:

something in a general/indefinite sense, or
things that are part of a description of a place.

Έχει ζεστό φως και ωραίες φωτογραφίες can be understood as:

It has warm light and nice photos (in general / some nice photos).

If you add the article:

το ζεστό φως = the particular warm light
οι ωραίες φωτογραφίες = the specific nice photos (known to both speaker and listener)

In this descriptive context, leaving out the article is very natural and sounds less “heavy”.

Why do we use αλλά here, and what’s the purpose of the comma?

Αλλά means but and introduces a contrast between two ideas.

The structure is:

Ο διάδρομος … είναι στενός, αλλά έχει ζεστό φως και ωραίες φωτογραφίες.
- First idea: the hallway is narrow (negative-ish feature)
- Contrast: but it has warm light and nice photos (positive features)

The comma before αλλά separates the two clauses, just like in English:

The hallway is narrow, but it has warm light and nice photos.

What’s the difference between στενός, μικρός, and λεπτός for describing a hallway?

All three can relate to “smallness,” but they focus on different dimensions or nuances:

στενός = narrow (small width)
- Best for corridors, streets, paths.
- στενός διάδρομος = a corridor not wide.
μικρός = small (overall size – length, width, area, etc.)
- μικρός διάδρομος = a short or small hallway.
λεπτός = thin, often for flat or long objects (paper, someone’s body, lines).
- Using λεπτός for a hallway would sound odd or metaphorical.

So στενός is the natural, precise choice for a hallway.

Why is it φωτογραφίες and not φωτογραφία?

Because we’re talking about more than one photograph:

η φωτογραφία = the photograph (singular)
οι φωτογραφίες = the photographs (plural)

In the sentence, έχει ζεστό φως και ωραίες φωτογραφίες:

φωτογραφίες is feminine plural accusative, the object of έχει (it has).
The adjective changes accordingly: ωραίες (fem. pl. acc.) to match.

How is διάδρομος different from διάδρομο in this sentence?

They are different cases of the same noun:

διάδρομος – masculine, singular, nominative
→ used for the subject:
- Ο διάδρομος … είναι στενός.
διάδρομο – masculine, singular, accusative
→ used for the object or after prepositions:
- Βλέπω τον διάδρομο. = I see the hallway.
- Πηγαίνω στον διάδρομο. = I go to the hallway.

In your sentence, it’s the subject, so you need διάδρομος.

Can I change the word order, e.g. say Στο σπίτι της γιαγιάς μου ο διάδρομος είναι στενός?

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

Ο διάδρομος στο σπίτι της γιαγιάς μου είναι στενός…
Στο σπίτι της γιαγιάς μου ο διάδρομος είναι στενός…

Both mean the same, but the emphasis changes:

Original: more neutral, first introduces the hallway, then locates it.
Alternative: first emphasizes in my grandmother’s house, then mentions the hallway.

The rest of the sentence (…αλλά έχει ζεστό φως και ωραίες φωτογραφίες) stays the same.