Ο ξάδερφός μου μένει τώρα σε ήσυχο προάστιο.

My cousin (male) now lives in a quiet suburb.

Breakdown of Ο ξάδερφός μου μένει τώρα σε ήσυχο προάστιο.

• τώρα: now
• μου: my
• μένω: to live
• σε: in
• ήσυχος: quiet
• το προάστιο: the suburb
• ο ξάδερφος: the cousin

Questions & Answers about Ο ξάδερφός μου μένει τώρα σε ήσυχο προάστιο.

What are the functions of each word in Ο ξάδερφός μου μένει τώρα σε ήσυχο προάστιο?

Here is a breakdown:

• Ο – definite article, nominative masculine singular. It marks ξάδερφός as the subject: the.
• ξάδερφός – noun, masculine nominative singular, cousin. It is the subject of the verb μένει.
• μου – enclitic personal pronoun, 1st person singular genitive, my. It shows possession and attaches after the noun.
• μένει – verb, 3rd person singular, present indicative active of μένω. Means lives / is living / stays.
• τώρα – adverb, now.
• σε – preposition, usually translated in / at / to, here in.
• ήσυχο – adjective, neuter accusative singular of ήσυχος (quiet), agreeing with προάστιο.
• προάστιο – noun, neuter accusative singular, suburb, object of σε.

Grammatically:
[Ο ξάδερφός μου] (subject) [μένει] (verb) [τώρα] (time adverb) [σε ήσυχο προάστιο] (prepositional phrase of place).

Why is μου after ξάδερφός instead of before, like in English my cousin?

In Greek, possessive pronouns like μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους usually come after the noun they modify:

• ο ξάδερφός μου = my cousin
• literally: the cousin my

You normally cannot say ✗ μου ξάδερφος for my cousin.

If you want a structure closer to English word order, Greek uses ο δικός μου ξάδερφος:

• ο δικός μου ξάδερφος = my own cousin / my cousin (as opposed to someone else’s)

But the neutral, everyday way is:

• ο ξάδερφός μου – noun first, then the possessive pronoun.

Why does ξάδερφός have two accent marks (on ά and ό) in ο ξάδερφός μου?

This happens because of the enclitic μου.

• On its own, the word is ο ξάδερφος – accent on the antepenultimate syllable (ξά).
• When you add an enclitic (an unstressed little word that “leans” on the previous word) like μου, the two form one phonological word: ξά-δερ-φος-μου (4 syllables).

Modern Greek stress rules say the main stress must be within the last three syllables of this phonological word. To keep the original stress pattern and still obey the rule, a second accent is added on the last syllable:

• ο ξάδερφός μου

So:

• ξάδερφος – accent just on ά.
• ξάδερφός μου – accent on ά and an extra written accent on ό because of μου.

Enclitics themselves (like μου) do not take an accent; the host word carries the added accent.

Why is the article Ο used, and how would the sentence change for a female cousin?

Ο is the masculine nominative singular definite article: the (masculine).

• ο ξάδερφος = the (male) cousin

If we’re talking about a female cousin, we use the feminine noun and article:

• feminine noun: η ξαδέρφη (or η ξάδερφη, spelling variants exist)
• with possessive: η ξαδέρφη μου
• with the same verb and rest of sentence:

Η ξαδέρφη μου μένει τώρα σε ήσυχο προάστιο.
My (female) cousin now lives in a quiet suburb.

So only the article and the cousin word change to the feminine forms; the rest stays the same.

What exactly does μένει mean here, and why don’t we need a separate word like is to say is living?

μένει is the 3rd person singular present of μένω. Its core meanings:

• to stay
• to remain
• to reside / to live (somewhere)

So in this sentence:

• Ο ξάδερφός μου μένει τώρα σε ήσυχο προάστιο.
  = My cousin lives / is living now in a quiet suburb.

Greek doesn’t use a separate auxiliary verb (like English is) to form a present continuous. The simple present can mean both:

• μένει = lives or is living, depending on context and time expressions such as τώρα (now).

Could I use ζει or κατοικεί instead of μένει? Are they different?

Yes, you can, but there is a nuance:

• μένει – very common and neutral.
  Means lives / stays / resides. Used all the time in everyday speech for where someone lives.

• ζει – from ζω, literally lives (is alive), but also used for lives (in a place).
  In this sentence, ζει would sound normal and maybe a bit more like “lives” in a general sense.

• κατοικεί – from κατοικώ, more formal or written, meaning resides / inhabits.
  Often found in official contexts, forms, announcements.

All of these are grammatically fine:

• Ο ξάδερφός μου μένει τώρα σε ήσυχο προάστιο. (most natural, everyday)
• Ο ξάδερφός μου ζει τώρα σε ήσυχο προάστιο. (also fine)
• Ο ξάδερφός μου κατοικεί τώρα σε ήσυχο προάστιο. (more formal / written)

Why is it σε ήσυχο προάστιο and not στο ήσυχο προάστιο or σε ένα ήσυχο προάστιο? What’s the difference?

The differences are about definiteness and emphasis:

1. σε ήσυχο προάστιο

   • Literally: in quiet suburb
   • Meaning: in a quiet suburb (unspecified, indefinite).
   • Very natural in Greek; the indefinite article ένα is often omitted when it isn’t important to emphasise “one” or “a particular one”.

2. σε ένα ήσυχο προάστιο

   • Literally: in a quiet suburb.
   • Same basic meaning as above, but ένα makes the indefiniteness explicit or slightly emphasised (e.g. “in some quiet suburb” / “in one quiet suburb”).

3. στο ήσυχο προάστιο

   • σε + το = στο (preposition + definite article contraction).
   • Meaning: in the quiet suburb – a specific quiet suburb that speaker and listener can identify from context.

So:

• The original σε ήσυχο προάστιο is indefinite and neutral: we don’t care which suburb exactly, just that it’s a quiet one.
• Greek can drop ένα where English still says a.

Why is the adjective ήσυχο in the neuter form? How does adjective agreement work here?

In Greek, adjectives must agree with the noun they describe in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here the noun is:

• προάστιο – neuter, singular, accusative.

So the adjective ήσυχος (quiet) must also be:

• ήσυχο – neuter, singular, accusative.

That’s why we say:

• σε ήσυχο προάστιο
  not ✗ σε ήσυχος προάστιο or ✗ σε ήσυχη προάστιο.

More examples:

• σε μεγάλο σπίτι – σπίτι (neuter) → μεγάλο (neuter)
• σε ήσυχη γειτονιά – γειτονιά (feminine) → ήσυχη (feminine)
• σε ήσυχο δρόμο – δρόμο (masculine accusative) → ήσυχο (masculine accusative)

Where can τώρα go in the sentence? Is the word order flexible?

Yes, τώρα (now) is fairly flexible. All of these are possible:

1. Ο ξάδερφός μου μένει τώρα σε ήσυχο προάστιο.
   – neutral: now naturally linked to the verb.

2. Τώρα ο ξάδερφός μου μένει σε ήσυχο προάστιο.
   – emphasises the time contrast: Now my cousin lives in a quiet suburb (as opposed to before).

3. Ο ξάδερφός μου τώρα μένει σε ήσυχο προάστιο.
   – similar to (2), focusing on a change of situation.

4. Ο ξάδερφός μου μένει σε ήσυχο προάστιο τώρα.
   – also possible, with τώρα at the end; prosodically it can give a bit of emphasis to now.

The basic meaning is the same; changes are in focus and emphasis, not in grammar.

I’ve seen both ξάδερφος and ξάδελφος. Which is correct?

Both forms exist:

• ξάδερφος – more colloquial / demotic spelling, very common in everyday speech and informal writing.
• ξάδελφος – slightly more conservative / closer to the older, more formal standard, often preferred in careful or formal writing.

In modern usage, many people say and write ξάδερφος. Dictionaries will usually list ξάδελφος as the main headword but also note ξάδερφος as a very common variant.

In your sentence, either is acceptable:

• Ο ξάδερφός μου μένει τώρα σε ήσυχο προάστιο.
• Ο ξάδελφός μου μένει τώρα σε ήσυχο προάστιο.

The grammar and meaning stay the same.