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Εγώ μένω εδώ, αλλά εκείνη μένει σε χωριό.

Εγώ μένω εδώ, αλλά εκείνη μένει σε χωριό.
I live here, but she lives in a village.

Breakdown of Εγώ μένω εδώ, αλλά εκείνη μένει σε χωριό.

εδώ
here
εγώ
I
μένω
to live
αλλά
but
σε
in
το χωριό
the village
εκείνη
she
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Questions & Answers about Εγώ μένω εδώ, αλλά εκείνη μένει σε χωριό.

Do I have to say Εγώ or can I just say Μένω εδώ?

You don’t have to say Εγώ.

Greek usually drops subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows the person:

  • Μένω εδώ = I live here.
  • Μένεις εδώ = You live here.
  • Μένει εδώ = He/She lives here.

Εγώ μένω εδώ adds emphasis, something like:

  • I live here (as opposed to someone else).

So:

  • Neutral: Μένω εδώ, αλλά εκείνη μένει σε χωριό.
  • Emphatic/contrasting: Εγώ μένω εδώ, αλλά εκείνη μένει σε χωριό.
    = I live here, but she lives in a village.
Could I change the word order and say Εδώ μένω or Εγώ εδώ μένω? Does that change the meaning?

Yes, Greek word order is flexible, and different orders mainly change emphasis, not basic meaning.

All of these are grammatical:

  • Μένω εδώ. – neutral: I live here.
  • Εδώ μένω. – emphasizes εδώ: Here is where I live (maybe not somewhere else).
  • Εγώ μένω εδώ. – emphasizes εγώ: I live here (not some other person).
  • Εγώ εδώ μένω. – double emphasis, slightly more dramatic or contrastive.

In your full sentence you could also have:

  • Μένω εδώ, αλλά εκείνη μένει σε χωριό. (neutral)
  • Εδώ μένω, αλλά εκείνη μένει σε χωριό. (emphasis on here)

The version given (Εγώ μένω εδώ, αλλά εκείνη μένει σε χωριό) emphasizes the contrast I vs she.

Why is it εκείνη and not αυτή for “she”? What’s the difference?

Both αυτή and εκείνη can translate as she, but they feel different:

  • αυτή = she / this woman (neutral, most common subject pronoun for “she”)
  • εκείνη = that woman / that one (often more distant or contrastive)

In everyday speech, you would very often hear:

  • Εγώ μένω εδώ, αλλά αυτή μένει σε χωριό.

Using εκείνη adds a sense of:

  • physical distance: that woman over there
  • or contrast: I live here, but that one (she) lives in a village.

Here, εκείνη sounds a bit more contrasting with εγώ and can also slightly distance the speaker from her, stylistically.

What exactly does σε χωριό mean, and why isn’t it στο χωριό?

σε is a preposition meaning in / at / to.

  • σε χωριό = in a village (indefinite, non‑specific)
  • σε + το χωριό contracts to στο χωριό = in the village (specific)

So:

  • Μένει σε χωριό. = She lives in a village (some village, we don’t care which).
  • Μένει στο χωριό. = She lives in the village (a particular one that’s known in context).

In your sentence, σε χωριό is more general: her home is in a village, not in a city. The focus is on the type of place, not a particular village.

What does μένω mean exactly? Is it “to live” or “to stay”? And how is it different from ζω?

Μένω can mean both to live (reside) and to stay:

  1. “Live / reside” (where you live):

    • Μένω στην Αθήνα. = I live in Athens.
    • Εκείνη μένει σε χωριό. = She lives in a village.

  2. “Stay” (temporarily):

    • Μένω στο ξενοδοχείο. = I’m staying at the hotel.
    • Θα μείνω εδώ για δύο μέρες. = I’ll stay here for two days.

Ζω also means to live, but it is more about being alive or experiencing life, and a bit less about your address:

  • Ζω στην Ελλάδα. = I live in Greece. (OK, similar to μένω in many contexts)
  • Ζω μια ήρεμη ζωή. = I live a quiet life. (you can’t use μένω here)
  • Εγώ ζω ακόμα. = I’m still alive.

For your sentence about where someone resides, μένω is the most natural verb.

How do you conjugate μένω in the present tense?

Μένω is a regular verb of the -ω type. Present tense:

  • εγώ μένω – I live / stay
  • εσύ μένεις – you live / stay (singular, informal)

  • αυτός/αυτή/αυτό μένει – he / she / it lives / stays

  • εμείς μένουμε – we live / stay
  • εσείς μένετε – you live / stay (plural or polite)
  • αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά μένουν(ε) – they live / stay

The typical endings for many regular verbs like this are:

  • -ω, -εις, -ει, -ουμε, -ετε, -ουν(ε)
Why is there a comma before αλλά? Do we usually put a comma before “but” in Greek?

In Greek, you normally put a comma before αλλά when it connects two full clauses (each with its own subject and verb):

  • Εγώ μένω εδώ, αλλά εκείνη μένει σε χωριό.
    Clause 1: Εγώ μένω εδώ
    Clause 2: εκείνη μένει σε χωριό

If αλλά just connects two small phrases (not full clauses), you don’t use a comma:

  • Μένω εδώ αλλά όχι για πολύ. = I live/stay here but not for long.
    (only one full clause)

So your sentence correctly uses a comma because there are two separate statements being contrasted.

How do you pronounce the whole sentence, and where is the stress?

The stressed syllables are the ones with the accent marks:

  • Εγώ μένω εδώ, αλλά εκείνη μένει σε χωριό.

Stressed syllables (in capitals for clarity):

  • eGÓ MÉno eTHÓ, aLÁ eKÍni MÉni se horiYÓ.

Some tips:

  • γ in εγώ sounds like a soft gh in English “ghost” but voiced: [ɣ].
  • δ in εδώ sounds like th in “this”: [ð].
  • χ in χωριό is like a rough h, similar to the German “Bach”: .
  • αι in μένω / μένει is pronounced like e in “bed” (it’s a single sound /e/).
  • ω is pronounced the same as ο (both are like o in “not”); the difference is mainly in spelling, not sound.

Putting it together, a simple phonetic approximation:

  • Εγώ μένω εδώ, αλλά εκείνη μένει σε χωριό.
    ≈ e-GHO ME-no e-THO, a-LA e-KEE-ni ME-ni se hori-YO.