Σήμερα καλώ τη φίλη μου στο σπίτι.

Today I invite my friend (female) to my home.

Breakdown of Σήμερα καλώ τη φίλη μου στο σπίτι.

• το σπίτι: the home
• σήμερα: today
• η φίλη: the female friend
• μου: my
• σε: to
• καλώ: to invite

Questions & Answers about Σήμερα καλώ τη φίλη μου στο σπίτι.

Does καλώ mean "call" (like on the phone) or "invite" here?

καλώ can mean both, depending on context:

• call (on the phone) – I call my friend
• invite – I invite my friend (to come over)

In this sentence, because we also have στο σπίτι (to the house / home), it very naturally means "I invite my friend to my house" or "I’m inviting my friend over."

Why is καλώ in the present tense if in English we might say "I am inviting" or "I will invite"?

Modern Greek uses the present tense much more broadly than English:

• Σήμερα καλώ τη φίλη μου στο σπίτι.
  literally: Today I call / I am calling my friend to the house.

In context (with σήμερα = today), it usually means an action that is happening today or very soon, so natural English is:

• Today I’m inviting my friend over.

You could also express a clear future with θα:

• Σήμερα θα καλέσω τη φίλη μου στο σπίτι. – Today I will invite my friend to my house.

Why is it τη φίλη μου and not just φίλη μου?

Greek normally uses the definite article with possessives:

• τη φίλη μου – literally the friend my = my friend

So with nouns like φίλη (friend), αδερφή (sister), μητέρα (mother), etc., the most natural form is:

• τη / την / τον + noun + μου
  e.g. τη φίλη μου, τον αδερφό μου, τη μητέρα μου.

You can occasionally see φίλη μου without the article, but it’s less neutral and can sound more vocative / emotional / poetic in many contexts (e.g. when addressing someone: Φίλη μου! – My friend!).

Why is it τη φίλη and not την φίλη?

The standard written form of the feminine accusative article is την:

• την φίλη (the female friend, object)

In everyday modern speech and informal writing, Greeks usually drop the final -ν before most consonants, so:

• την φίλη → τη φίλη
• την πόρτα → τη πόρτα

They keep the -ν mainly:

• before vowels (e.g. την ώρα),
• and some consonants (κ, π, τ, ξ, ψ, μπ, ντ, γκ, τσ, τζ).

So both την φίλη μου and τη φίλη μου are understood; τη φίλη μου is very normal in casual writing.

How do we know τη φίλη μου is the object and not the subject?

In this sentence:

• καλώ = I call / I invite → the subject is already included in the verb ending -ώ (first person singular).
• τη φίλη μου has:
  • τη – feminine accusative singular article
  • φίλη – feminine noun
  • μου – possessive clitic after the noun

That accusative article (τη) marks τη φίλη μου as the direct object of the verb καλώ.

The subject (I) is implicit in the verb καλώ; Greek doesn’t need a separate εγώ unless you want to emphasize it.

What is the role of μου in τη φίλη μου?

μου is the unstressed possessive pronoun meaning my.

Important points:

• It usually comes after the noun:

  • η φίλη μου – my friend
  • το σπίτι μου – my house

• It is clitic (unstressed and attached to the preceding word in speech).

So τη φίλη μου literally is the friend my, which in natural English is my friend.

Why is it φίλη and not φίλος?

Greek marks gender in nouns clearly:

• φίλος – male friend (masculine)
• φίλη – female friend (feminine)

In τη φίλη μου, we’re talking about a female friend.
If it were a male friend, you would say:

• Σήμερα καλώ τον φίλο μου στο σπίτι.
  (τον is the masculine accusative article.)

Does στο σπίτι mean "to the house" or "at home"?

στο σπίτι is σε + το σπίτι and literally means to the house / at the house.

Depending on the verb and context, it can be translated:

• to the house / to my house – with verbs of motion like go, come, invite
  Here: invite my friend to the house → invite my friend to my house

• at home – in many everyday phrases:

  • Είμαι στο σπίτι. – I’m at home.

In this sentence, a natural English rendering is "to my house" or "over to my place."

Why doesn’t the Greek say στο σπίτι μου if we mean "my house"?

It can say that:

• Σήμερα καλώ τη φίλη μου στο σπίτι μου. – Today I’m inviting my friend to my house.

But often, if it’s obvious whose house we’re talking about (because I am doing the inviting), Greek simply says:

• στο σπίτι – to the house / home

Context makes it clear that this is my place, so μου is optional and usually omitted in such a basic sentence.

Can I change the word order? Is Σήμερα καλώ τη φίλη μου στο σπίτι the only correct order?

Greek word order is relatively flexible. You can say:

• Σήμερα καλώ τη φίλη μου στο σπίτι.
• Καλώ σήμερα τη φίλη μου στο σπίτι.
• Καλώ τη φίλη μου σήμερα στο σπίτι.
• Καλώ τη φίλη μου στο σπίτι σήμερα.

They are all grammatically correct. Differences:

• Putting σήμερα first often emphasizes the time: Today (and not some other day)…
• Moving σήμερα or στο σπίτι around can add slight nuance/emphasis, but doesn’t change the basic meaning.

What is the difference between τη φίλη μου and μια φίλη μου?

• τη φίλη μου – my (specific) friend, one known to both speaker and listener, or just the friend I usually mean.
• μια φίλη μου – literally a friend of mine; one of my friends, non-specific.

Examples:

• Σήμερα καλώ τη φίλη μου στο σπίτι.
  → a particular friend you have in mind.

• Σήμερα καλώ μια φίλη μου στο σπίτι.
  → I’m inviting a (certain) friend of mine over – the listener doesn’t necessarily know which friend.

Could this sentence be understood as "I am calling my friend at home (on the phone)"?

It could, but it’s less natural with στο σπίτι.

For calling on the phone, Greek more often uses:

• Τηλεφωνώ στη φίλη μου. – I call my friend (on the phone).
• Τηλεφωνώ στη φίλη μου στο σπίτι. – I call my friend at home (on her home number).

With καλώ … στο σπίτι, the default interpretation is inviting her to come to the house, not calling her phone.

How do you conjugate καλώ in the present tense?

Present tense of καλώ (I call / I invite):

• εγώ καλώ – I call / invite
• εσύ καλείς – you (singular) call / invite
• αυτός/αυτή/αυτό καλεί – he / she / it calls / invites
• εμείς καλούμε – we call / invite
• εσείς καλείτε – you (plural / polite) call / invite
• αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά καλούν(ε) – they call / invite

So καλώ here clearly shows first person singular – the subject is “I”.

Why is σήμερα at the beginning? Could it go elsewhere?

Σήμερα means today and is an adverb of time. In Greek it can appear:

• at the beginning:
  Σήμερα καλώ τη φίλη μου στο σπίτι.

• after the verb:
  Καλώ σήμερα τη φίλη μου στο σπίτι.

• at the end:
  Καλώ τη φίλη μου στο σπίτι σήμερα.

Beginning position is very common and often sounds neutral, with a slight emphasis on “today” – but all these placements are grammatically normal.

How is the sentence pronounced and where is the stress?

Stress in Greek is marked by the accent on the vowel:

• Σή-με-ρα – Σήμερα (stress on the first syllable)
• κα-λώ – καλώ (stress on the last syllable)
• φί-λη – φίλη (stress on the first syllable)
• σπί-τι – σπίτι (stress on the first syllable)

Full sentence (approximate phonetic transcription):

• Σήμερα καλώ τη φίλη μου στο σπίτι.
  → SEE-me-ra ka-LO tee FEE-lee moo sto SPEE-tee

All unstressed little words (τη, μου, στο) are pronounced more lightly and quickly.