Learn Hardcore Greek: Στον δροσερό δημόσιο κήπο της πόλης νιώθω πιο ασφαλής από ό,τι στον κεντρικό δρόμο. - In the cool public garden of the city I feel safer than on the main road.

In Modern Greek, σε + accusative is used both for location (where something is) and for direction (where something goes). Context tells you which one is meant. Here it clearly means in/inside/there, not towards.

Why are the adjectives δροσερό and δημόσιο placed before κήπο, and why do they look like that?

Greek adjectives usually come before the noun:

δροσερός κήπος = cool garden
δημόσιος κήπος = public garden

When you add more than one adjective, they all normally go before the noun:

δροσερός δημόσιος κήπος = cool public garden

Now, about their forms:

κήπος (garden) is masculine, singular, accusative here: τον κήπο
Adjectives must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

The adjectives are:

δροσερός (cool) → masculine accusative singular: δροσερό
δημόσιος (public) → masculine accusative singular: δημόσιο

So the whole noun phrase is in the masculine accusative singular:

(στον) δροσερό δημόσιο κήπο

Why is it κήπο and not κήπος?

Κήπος is the dictionary (nominative) form. In the sentence we have:

στον δροσερό δημόσιο κήπο

Because of στον (σε + τον), the noun must be in the accusative case, masculine singular, which is:

nominative: ο κήπος
accusative: τον κήπο

So it becomes κήπο to match the article τον inside στον.

What does της πόλης mean grammatically, and why is it in that form?

Της πόλης is a genitive phrase meaning of the city.

η πόλη = the city (nominative)
της πόλης = of the city (genitive)

The genitive is often used for:

possession / belonging:
- ο κήπος της πόλης = the city’s garden / the garden of the city

Here, της πόλης specifies which public garden: the one that belongs to / is associated with the city (the city’s public garden).

So:

στον δροσερό δημόσιο κήπο της πόλης
= in the cool public garden of the city / in the city’s cool public garden

What is the difference between νιώθω and αισθάνομαι? Could I use αισθάνομαι here?

Both νιώθω and αισθάνομαι can mean to feel (emotionally or physically), and in most everyday contexts they are interchangeable.

νιώθω πιο ασφαλής
αισθάνομαι πιο ασφαλής

Both can be used in this sentence with almost no change in meaning. Slight nuance:

νιώθω is a bit more common and conversational.
αισθάνομαι sometimes sounds a bit more formal or introspective, but is still very common in spoken Greek.

So yes, you could say:

Στον δροσερό δημόσιο κήπο της πόλης αισθάνομαι πιο ασφαλής…

How does the comparative πιο ασφαλής work? Why doesn’t ασφαλής change form?

Greek often forms the comparative with πιο + adjective:

ασφαλής = safe
πιο ασφαλής = safer / more safe

Key points:

πιο means more. It does not change.
The adjective ασφαλής does change for gender, number, and case, but its masculine/feminine singular nominative and accusative forms look the same: ασφαλής.

In this sentence, the subject (εγώ) is understood:

(Εγώ) νιώθω πιο ασφαλής…
I feel safer…

ασφαλής here is in the masculine/feminine singular form agreeing with εγώ.

You could also use the older/synthetic comparative:

ασφαλέστερος (masculine)
→ νιώθω ασφαλέστερος

…but πιο ασφαλής is more neutral and common in modern language.

What exactly does από ό,τι mean here, and why is there a comma?

In comparisons, από is used like English than:

πιο Χ από Υ = more X than Y

In the phrase:

πιο ασφαλής από ό,τι στον κεντρικό δρόμο

literally: safer from what (I feel) on the main street
Natural English: safer than (I feel) on the main street.

Ό,τι is a relative pronoun meaning what / that which. In this fixed comparative construction από ό,τι, it functions like English than (what).

The comma in ό,τι is orthographic, mainly to distinguish it from ότι (without comma), which is a conjunction meaning that (introducing a clause). So:

ό,τι → what / whatever
ότι → that (e.g. “he said that…”)

In our sentence, the correct form is από ό,τι, not από ότι.

In everyday writing, you also often see απ’ ό,τι (shortened από → απ’ before a vowel). Meaning is the same.

Could I just say από τον κεντρικό δρόμο instead of από ό,τι στον κεντρικό δρόμο?

Yes, you could say:

νιώθω πιο ασφαλής στον κήπο από (ό,τι) στον κεντρικό δρόμο

In everyday speech, many people drop ό,τι and say:

πιο ασφαλής από τον κεντρικό δρόμο or
πιο ασφαλής στον κήπο απ’ τον κεντρικό δρόμο

However:

πιο ασφαλής από ό,τι στον κεντρικό δρόμο is more explicit and stylistically a bit neater, because it clearly compares how safe I feel in place A vs how safe I feel in place B.

So:

With ό,τι: slightly more careful/standard.
Without ό,τι: very common in casual speech.

Why is it στον κεντρικό δρόμο and not something like στον κεντρικό δρόμο with another case? Isn’t this a static location?

It is a static location, but in Modern Greek the preposition σε always takes the accusative, for both:

location (where?):
- στον κήπο = in the garden
- στον δρόμο = on/in the street
direction (to where?):
- πάω στον κήπο = I’m going to the garden
- πάω στον δρόμο = I’m going to the street

So:

ο δρόμος (nominative)
τον δρόμο (accusative)
στον κεντρικό δρόμο (σε + τον, with adjective in accusative)

Even for pure “being in/on” (no movement), you still use σε + accusative.

What does κεντρικός δρόμος literally mean? Is it “central street” or “main street”? And why is it κεντρικό δρόμο here?

Literally:

κεντρικός = central
δρόμος = road / street

So κεντρικός δρόμος = central road, but in natural English this is usually rendered as main road or main street.

The forms in the sentence:

base forms: κεντρικός δρόμος (masculine nominative singular)
in the phrase: στον κεντρικό δρόμο → accusative after σε
- κεντρικό = masculine accusative singular of κεντρικός
- δρόμο = accusative of δρόμος

Hence στον κεντρικό δρόμο = on/in the main street.

Is the word order fixed, or could I move της πόλης or other parts around?

Greek word order is relatively flexible. You can move pieces for emphasis or style. All of these are possible and grammatical:

Στον δροσερό δημόσιο κήπο της πόλης νιώθω πιο ασφαλής…
Στον δροσερό δημόσιο κήπο νιώθω πιο ασφαλής από ό,τι στον κεντρικό δρόμο της πόλης.
Νιώθω πιο ασφαλής στον δροσερό δημόσιο κήπο της πόλης από ό,τι στον κεντρικό δρόμο.

The original order:

puts στον δροσερό δημόσιο κήπο της πόλης first, giving that place initial emphasis.
keeps adjectives before the noun and the genitive της πόλης right after the noun it qualifies (κήπο).

Changing order usually affects emphasis more than basic meaning.