Learn Hardcore Greek: Στην πόλη μου τα μέσα μεταφοράς είναι συνήθως γεμάτα το πρωί. - In my city public transport is usually full in the morning.

You use σε + accusative for both location (in/at) and direction (to), so πόλη appears in the accusative (την πόλη → στην πόλη).

Why is «μου» after «πόλη» and not before it, like in English (my city)?

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

η πόλη μου = my city
το σπίτι σου = your house
το αυτοκίνητό του = his car

So «η πόλη μου» literally is “the city my”, but it means “my city”.

A few key points:

«μου» doesn’t change form for case; it stays μου whether the noun is subject or object.
Here we have στην πόλη μου: the noun phrase is in the accusative (την πόλη), but the possessive stays μου.
You do not normally say «μου πόλη»; that word order is wrong in standard Greek.

What exactly does «τα μέσα μεταφοράς» mean? Is it just “transportations”?

«τα μέσα μεταφοράς» is a set phrase that means “means of transport”, i.e. transportation vehicles / transport system.

Breakdown:

μέσο (neuter) = means, medium, instrument
μέσα (neuter plural) = means
μεταφορά (feminine) = transport, transportation
μεταφοράς = genitive singular of μεταφορά

So:

μέσο μεταφοράς = a means of transport (one)
μέσα μεταφοράς = means of transport (in general, plural)

In context, «τα μέσα μεταφοράς» most often refers to buses, metro, trams, etc., i.e. the public transport in a city.

Why is it «μεταφοράς» (genitive singular) and not a plural like «μεταφορές»?

In Greek, when one noun modifies another (like “X of Y”), the second noun is often in the genitive singular to show a general type or category.

Examples:

φλιτζάνι του καφέ = coffee cup (literally “cup of coffee”)
παπούτσια τρεξίματος / παπούτσια για τρέξιμο = running shoes (shoes of running / for running)

Similarly:

μέσο μεταφοράς = means of transport
μέσα μεταφοράς = means of transport (plural “means”)

You would not normally say «μέσα μεταφορών» in this expression; «μέσα μεταφοράς» is the standard fixed phrase.

Why is «μέσα» treated as neuter plural, and how does that affect «γεμάτα»?

«μέσο» is a neuter noun:

Singular: το μέσο (the means)
Plural: τα μέσα (the means)

Since «μέσα» is neuter plural, any adjective describing it must agree in gender, number, and case.

The adjective «γεμάτος» (full) has:

Masculine: γεμάτος (sg), γεμάτοι (pl)
Feminine: γεμάτη (sg), γεμάτες (pl)
Neuter: γεμάτο (sg), γεμάτα (pl)

So:

τα μέσα (neuter plural) είναι γεμάτα (neuter plural)
= the means (of transport) are full

That is why the sentence has «γεμάτα», not «γεμάτοι» or «γεμάτες».

Can I change the word order and say «Τα μέσα μεταφοράς στην πόλη μου είναι συνήθως γεμάτα το πρωί» instead?

Yes, that word order is perfectly correct.

Greek has fairly flexible word order, and you can rearrange elements for emphasis or style. Both:

Στην πόλη μου τα μέσα μεταφοράς είναι συνήθως γεμάτα το πρωί.
Τα μέσα μεταφοράς στην πόλη μου είναι συνήθως γεμάτα το πρωί.

mean the same thing:
“In my city, the means of transport are usually full in the morning.”

Nuance:

Starting with «Στην πόλη μου» slightly emphasizes “in my city (as opposed to somewhere else)”.
Starting with «Τα μέσα μεταφοράς» slightly emphasizes the transport as the topic.

Grammatically, both are fine.

Can «συνήθως» go in another position, like «Στην πόλη μου τα μέσα μεταφοράς συνήθως είναι γεμάτα το πρωί»?

Yes. The adverb «συνήθως» (usually) is flexible in position. Common options include:

… είναι συνήθως γεμάτα …
… συνήθως είναι γεμάτα …
Συνήθως, στην πόλη μου τα μέσα μεταφοράς είναι γεμάτα το πρωί.

All are grammatical and mean the same thing: “are usually full”.

Very roughly:

είναι συνήθως γεμάτα is slightly more neutral.
συνήθως είναι γεμάτα can sound like you’re stressing the frequency (usually, as opposed to always or rarely).
Συνήθως, … at the start clearly highlights usually as the main point.

For everyday speech, you can treat them as interchangeable.

Why is it «το πρωί» for “in the morning”? Shouldn’t there be a preposition like σε?

Greek often uses a bare article + time word to express “in the …” for parts of the day and some time periods:

το πρωί = in the morning
το μεσημέρι = at noon / in the afternoon (midday period)
το βράδυ = in the evening / at night
την Κυριακή = on Sunday
το καλοκαίρι = in (the) summer

So «γεμάτα το πρωί» = “full in the morning”, without any extra preposition.

You’d only add something like κάθε when needed:

κάθε πρωί = every morning
αύριο το πρωί = tomorrow morning

Why is it «στην πόλη» with an -ν at the end, not «στη πόλη»?

In modern spelling, the -ν at the end of «στην» is kept before certain sounds:

You keep -ν before:

vowels (α, ε, η, ι, ο, υ, ω)
and the consonants: κ, π, τ, μπ, ντ, γκ, ξ, ψ

Since «πόλη» starts with π, we write:

στην πόλη (not στη πόλη)

You will sometimes hear people drop the -ν in fast speech, but in standard writing this sentence is correctly «Στην πόλη μου…».

What is the gender and case of «πόλη», and how do we know?

«πόλη» (city) is a feminine noun.

In the phrase «στην πόλη μου»:

The article την (merged in στην) is feminine singular accusative.
πόλη here is also feminine singular accusative.

We know the case because σε (in/at/to) in Greek always takes the accusative:

σε + την πόλη → στην πόλη = in the city
σε + το σπίτι → στο σπίτι = at the house
σε + τον δρόμο → στον δρόμο = in/on the street

So πόλη is feminine; its forms include:

η πόλη (nom.)
την πόλη (acc.)
της πόλης (gen.)

Is «μέσα μεταφοράς» only public transport, or can it also mean private vehicles?

In everyday usage, «τα μέσα μεταφοράς» usually refers to public transport in a city:

buses, metro, tram, trolleybus, etc.

The more explicit phrase is:

τα μέσα μαζικής μεταφοράς = mass transit / public means of transport

However, in more general or technical contexts, μέσο μεταφοράς can mean any means of transport:

car, truck, train, ship, airplane, etc.

In this sentence, because it’s “in my city” and talking about being full in the morning, it’s naturally understood as public transportation.

Could I leave out «μου» and just say «Στην πόλη τα μέσα μεταφοράς είναι συνήθως γεμάτα το πρωί»?

You can say «Στην πόλη τα μέσα μεταφοράς…», but the meaning changes slightly.

Στην πόλη μου… = In my city (personal, specific)
Στην πόλη… = In the city (more general, possibly “in the city” as opposed to the countryside)

Without «μου», you’re not talking about your own city, but rather about some city in general (often understood as “the city environment” vs rural areas).

So if you really mean “in my city”, you should keep «μου».