Breakdown of Δύο φορές την εβδομάδα πηγαίνω στο γυμναστήριο μετά τη δουλειά.
Questions & Answers about Δύο φορές την εβδομάδα πηγαίνω στο γυμναστήριο μετά τη δουλειά.
Literally, Δύο φορές την εβδομάδα means “two times per the week”.
- δύο = two
- φορά = time/occurrence
- φορές = plural of φορά → times
- την εβδομάδα = the week (accusative case)
In English we say “twice a week”, but in Greek you normally use the structure:
[number] + φορές + την εβδομάδα
δύο φορές την εβδομάδα = twice a week
τρεις φορές την εβδομάδα = three times a week
You use the plural φορές because you are counting occurrences: two times, three times, etc.
Εβδομάδα (week) is a feminine noun. Its basic forms include:
- Nominative: η εβδομάδα (the week – subject)
- Accusative: την εβδομάδα (the week – object/time expression)
Here, την εβδομάδα is in the accusative because Greek usually uses the accusative for expressions of time duration or frequency:
- κάθε μέρα – every day
- όλη την εβδομάδα – all (throughout) the week
- δύο φορές την εβδομάδα – two times (per) the week
You also normally keep the article (την) in such fixed phrases. So:
- ✔ δύο φορές την εβδομάδα
- ✖ δύο φορές εβδομάδα (sounds wrong/unnatural)
Στο is a contraction of the preposition and the article:
- σε + το → στο
So:
- σε το γυμναστήριο (theoretically)
- becomes στο γυμναστήριο (how it’s always said/written)
This is completely regular and very common:
- σε + τον → στον (στον φίλο μου – to my friend)
- σε + την → στη(ν) (στη δουλειά – to work)
- σε + το → στο (στο σπίτι – to the house)
So στο γυμναστήριο means “to the gym / at the gym” depending on context; here it’s “to the gym” because of the verb πηγαίνω (I go).
Both πηγαίνω and πάω mean “I go”.
- πηγαίνω = more “full”/standard form, very common in both speech and writing.
- πάω = shorter, very common in everyday speech, slightly more colloquial in feel.
In this sentence, both are correct:
- Δύο φορές την εβδομάδα πηγαίνω στο γυμναστήριο μετά τη δουλειά.
- Δύο φορές την εβδομάδα πάω στο γυμναστήριο μετά τη δουλειά.
There’s no real change in meaning. Both express a habitual action in the present (“I usually go / I go regularly”).
Greek normally drops the subject pronoun because the verb ending already shows the person:
- πηγαίνω = I go
- -ω ending → 1st person singular (“I”)
So πηγαίνω already means “I go”. You could add εγώ (I) for emphasis:
- Εγώ πηγαίνω στο γυμναστήριο. – I go to the gym. (as opposed to someone else)
In neutral, everyday speech, you simply say:
- Πηγαίνω στο γυμναστήριο. – I go to the gym.
The basic form is την δουλειά (accusative feminine with article):
- Nominative: η δουλειά – the job/work
- Accusative: τη(ν) δουλειά – the job/work (object)
Modern Greek spelling rules allow the -ν at the end of την to be dropped before most consonants. A common rule is:
Keep -ν before: κ, π, τ, ξ, ψ, μπ, ντ, γκ, τσ, τζ and vowels.
Otherwise, you may drop it.
- την εβδομάδα → εβδομάδα starts with a vowel ε, so you keep -ν.
- τη δουλειά → δουλειά starts with δ, so you usually drop -ν in writing.
That’s why you see:
- την εβδομάδα
- τη δουλειά
Spoken Greek may keep or soften the /n/ depending on speed and region, but the spelling here follows a standard modern convention.
Both δουλειά and εργασία can mean work, but they differ in style:
δουλειά
- Very common in everyday speech
- Neutral, informal, broad meaning: job, work, tasks
- Example: Έχω πολλή δουλειά. – I have a lot of work.
εργασία
- More formal or technical
- Used in official, academic, or bureaucratic contexts
- Also means “paper/assignment” in school or university
- Example: Γράφω μια εργασία. – I am writing a (school/academic) paper.
In your sentence, talking about a normal day routine, δουλειά is the natural choice:
- μετά τη δουλειά – after work / after my job (everyday register)
Historically, μετά with the genitive meant “with, among”, and with the accusative meant “after”. In Modern Greek:
The “after” meaning is alive and normal, and it takes the accusative:
- μετά τη δουλειά – after work
- μετά το μάθημα – after the lesson
- μετά τις διακοπές – after the holidays
The genitive use survives only in a few fixed or archaic expressions, such as:
- μετά Χριστόν – after Christ
- μεταπολεμικά (from μετά τον πόλεμο) – post-war
So in modern, everyday Greek, for “after [something]” you almost always use μετά + accusative, just like μετά τη δουλειά.
Yes, Greek word order is flexible, especially with adverbial phrases like time and place. All of these are grammatical:
Δύο φορές την εβδομάδα πηγαίνω στο γυμναστήριο μετά τη δουλειά.
– Twice a week I go to the gym after work. (fronted time phrase)Πηγαίνω στο γυμναστήριο δύο φορές την εβδομάδα μετά τη δουλειά.
– I go to the gym twice a week after work. (more neutral for English ears)Μετά τη δουλειά πηγαίνω στο γυμναστήριο δύο φορές την εβδομάδα.
– After work I go to the gym twice a week.
The meaning remains the same; the differences are in emphasis and rhythm. Putting Δύο φορές την εβδομάδα at the beginning slightly highlights the frequency.
Γυμναστήριο (gym) is a neuter noun:
- Nominative singular: το γυμναστήριο – the gym (subject)
- Accusative singular: το γυμναστήριο – the gym (object)
Neuter nouns in -ιο typically have the same form in nominative and accusative singular.
In στο γυμναστήριο:
- στο = σε + το
- γυμναστήριο = neuter singular
Because of the preposition σε, the phrase is in the accusative, but it looks identical to the nominative due to the neuter pattern.
Both δύο and δυο mean “two” and are pronounced the same.
- δύο – more formal/standard spelling
- δυο – more colloquial, very common in everyday writing and speech
You can use either in this sentence:
- Δύο φορές την εβδομάδα…
- Δυο φορές την εβδομάδα…
Both are acceptable; in many modern texts you’ll see the shorter δυο.