Learn Hardcore Greek: Σήμερα περιμένω περισσότερο στη στάση από ό,τι χτες. - Today I am waiting longer at the stop than yesterday.

In this sentence, Σήμερα περιμένω… most naturally means “Today I am waiting…”, because of the time word σήμερα (today) and the whole situation being “right now / these days”. There is no separate continuous form; simple present covers both uses.

What exactly is περισσότερο doing in this sentence? Is it an adjective or an adverb, and why isn’t there a word like “time” after it?

Here περισσότερο is an adverb meaning “more” / “for longer” / “to a greater extent”.

As an adverb, it modifies the verb περιμένω (I wait / I am waiting).
Greek doesn’t need to say “περισσότερο χρόνο” (more time) here, because it’s clear from context that we’re comparing how long the waiting lasts.

So:

περιμένω περισσότερο ≈ “I wait more / I’m waiting for longer”
If you wanted to be explicit: περιμένω περισσότερο χρόνο = “I wait more time / longer (time)”, but that sounds a bit heavier and is not necessary.

Could I use πιο πολύ instead of περισσότερο? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can:

Σήμερα περιμένω πιο πολύ στη στάση από ό,τι χτες.

In everyday speech, περισσότερο and πιο πολύ are often interchangeable and both very common.

Very roughly:

περισσότερο feels a bit more neutral/standard.
πιο πολύ feels a bit more conversational.

In this sentence they mean the same thing: I’m waiting longer / more than yesterday.

What does από ό,τι mean here, and how is it different from just από χτες?

In comparatives, από means “than”.

Two patterns are possible here:

Σήμερα περιμένω περισσότερο στη στάση από χτες.
= Today I’m waiting more at the stop than yesterday.
Σήμερα περιμένω περισσότερο στη στάση από ό,τι χτες.
Literally: Today I’m waiting more at the stop than what (I did) yesterday.

από ό,τι = “than what…” and introduces an elliptical clause:

(…από ό,τι περίμενα χτες) = “…than (what) I waited yesterday.”

Both από χτες and από ό,τι χτες are grammatically correct.
Using από ό,τι makes it feel a bit more explicitly clausal (“than what I did yesterday”), but in normal speech the meaning difference is minimal.

What is the difference between ό,τι and ότι? Why is there a comma in ό,τι here?

These are two different words:

ό,τι (with comma)
- Means “whatever / (the thing) that / what(ever)”.
- It is a pronoun.
- Example: Πάρε ό,τι θέλεις. – “Take whatever you want.”
ότι (no comma)
- Means “that” (introducing a clause, like “He said that…”).
- It is a conjunction.
- Example: Είπε ότι θα έρθει. – “He said that he will come.”

In από ό,τι χτες, we need the pronoun ό,τι (“what”), because the full meaning is “than what I did yesterday”. That’s why the comma is there: to mark ό,τι (the pronoun), not ότι (the conjunction).

Sometimes I see από ό,τι and sometimes απ’ ό,τι. Which is correct, and why is the vowel dropped?

Both are correct; they reflect spoken contraction:

από ό,τι – full form (more careful/written style)
απ’ ό,τι – contracted form, very common in speech and informal writing

The vowel -ο in από is dropped before a following vowel (ό), and the apostrophe ’ shows this:

από + ό,τι → απ’ ό,τι

Pronunciation-wise, they sound almost the same; native speakers use απ’ ό,τι very often.

Why is it στη στάση and not σε τη στάση? What does στη actually mean?

στη is a contraction of:

σε (preposition “in / at / to”)
τη (feminine singular article “the” in the accusative)

So:

σε + τη στάση → στη στάση = “at the stop” / “at the bus stop”

Greek very often contracts σε + definite article:

σε + τον δρόμο → στον δρόμο – “in/on the street”
σε + το σπίτι → στο σπίτι – “at home / at the house”
σε + την στάση → στη(ν) στάση – “at the stop”

Why is it written στη στάση and not στην στάση with an ν?

The ν at the end of την / στην is often dropped before certain consonants in modern Greek.

The common rule (especially in writing) is:

Keep ν before vowels and the consonants π, τ, κ, μπ, ντ, γκ, ξ, ψ and double consonants.
Drop it before other consonants (like σ, ζ).

Since στάση starts with σ, it is normal to see:

τη στάση / στη στάση (without ν)

You can also hear στην στάση in speech; keeping or dropping the ν here is mainly a matter of style and rhythm. The form in your sentence, στη στάση, is perfectly standard.

Can I change the word order? For example, is Σήμερα στη στάση περιμένω περισσότερο από ό,τι χτες also correct?

Yes, Greek word order is quite flexible. These are all grammatically fine:

Σήμερα περιμένω περισσότερο στη στάση από ό,τι χτες.
Σήμερα στη στάση περιμένω περισσότερο από ό,τι χτες.
Σήμερα περιμένω στη στάση περισσότερο από ό,τι χτες.

The main difference is which part you emphasize:

Putting σήμερα first emphasizes “today (as opposed to some other day)”.
Moving περισσότερο closer to περιμένω can slightly stress the amount more.
Putting στη στάση earlier can highlight the location more.

All these variations will be understood the same way in everyday conversation.

What does στάση mean here exactly? Is it always a bus stop?

στάση literally means “stop / standing / station (stop)”, and in everyday modern Greek it usually refers to a public transport stop:

στάση λεωφορείου – bus stop
στάση τρόλεϊ – trolleybus stop
στάση τραμ – tram stop

In many contexts (including this sentence), just η στάση is enough to mean “the (bus) stop”, because it’s clear from daily life what kind of “stop” people are talking about.