Learn Hardcore Greek: Εμείς μένουμε σε ήσυχη γειτονιά.

Greek does not capitalize personal pronouns like English does with I, except sometimes out of politeness for Σας / Σου in formal writing. Here, εμείς would be lowercase in the middle of a sentence.

What exactly does μένουμε mean? Is it “we live” or “we stay”?

μένουμε (from μένω) can mean both:

to live / reside somewhere (permanent or long-term):
- Μένουμε σε ήσυχη γειτονιά.
  We live in a quiet neighborhood.
to stay / remain somewhere (temporary):
- Μένουμε στο ξενοδοχείο για δύο μέρες.
  We are staying at the hotel for two days.

Context usually makes the meaning clear. In your sentence, it’s clearly “live / reside”.

How do you conjugate the verb μένω in the present tense?

Present tense of μένω (to live / stay):

(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

Subject pronouns (εγώ, εσύ, etc.) are often omitted unless you want emphasis.

What’s the difference between μένουμε and ζούμε? Both are translated as “we live,” right?

Yes, both can be translated “we live,” but they’re used a bit differently:

μένουμε = we live / stay (focusing on where you live)
- Μένουμε σε ήσυχη γειτονιά.
  We live in a quiet neighborhood.
ζούμε = we live (exist, experience life)
- Ζούμε μια ήρεμη ζωή.
  We live a calm life.
- Ζούμε στην Ελλάδα. → “We live in Greece.” is also natural, but here it’s more “our life is in Greece” than just an address.

In practice, for “we live (reside) somewhere (address / area),” μένουμε is very common and often feels more specifically about one’s residence.

Why is the preposition σε used here? Can I say the sentence without σε?

σε is the general preposition meaning “in / at / to / on,” depending on context.

In this sentence:

σε ήσυχη γειτονιά = in a quiet neighborhood

You cannot omit σε here. If you said:

Μένουμε ήσυχη γειτονιά.

that would be ungrammatical. You need σε to show location.

General pattern:

μένω σε + place
μένω σε σπίτι, σε πόλη, σε χωριό, σε γειτονιά

Why is there no article before ήσυχη γειτονιά? Shouldn’t it be something like “σε μια ήσυχη γειτονιά”?

Greek can use no article, indefinite article, or definite article, each with a slightly different nuance.

All of these are possible:

Μένουμε σε ήσυχη γειτονιά.
We live in quiet neighborhood (in general).
– Generic/unspecified; you’re just describing the type of neighborhood: it’s quiet.
Μένουμε σε μια ήσυχη γειτονιά.
We live in a quiet neighborhood.
– Very close to English “a quiet neighborhood,” focusing on one such neighborhood, without specifying which.
Μένουμε σε μια πολύ ήσυχη γειτονιά.
We live in a very quiet neighborhood. (also very natural)
Μένουμε στην ήσυχη γειτονιά.
We live in the quiet neighborhood.
– Refers to a specific, known neighborhood (for example, one already mentioned in the conversation).

In everyday speech, σε ήσυχη γειτονιά (without any article) is quite natural when you’re describing your living conditions in a general way.

Why is it σε ήσυχη γειτονιά and not στην ήσυχη γειτονιά here?

Both structures are correct but mean different things:

σε ήσυχη γειτονιά
in (a) quiet neighborhood (type of area; not specified which one)
στην ήσυχη γειτονιά
in the quiet neighborhood (a particular one both speakers know about)

Grammar details:

σε + την → στη(ν)
So στην ήσυχη γειτονιά is really σε την ήσυχη γειτονιά contracted.

The choice depends on whether you mean “a quiet neighborhood in general” (no article) or “the specific quiet neighborhood we both know” (definite article).

Why does ήσυχη come before γειτονιά? Can I say γειτονιά ήσυχη?

The normal word order in Greek is:

adjective + noun

So:

ήσυχη γειτονιά = quiet neighborhood

Putting the adjective after the noun (γειτονιά ήσυχη) is unusual and would sound either poetic, very emphatic, or just odd in everyday speech.

So in most normal sentences, use:

ήσυχη γειτονιά, μεγάλο σπίτι, καινούριο αυτοκίνητο, etc.

How does the adjective ήσυχη agree with γειτονιά? What are the other forms of “quiet”?

Adjectives in Greek agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

γειτονιά is:
- Gender: feminine
- Number: singular
- Case: accusative (because of σε)

The adjective ήσυχος (quiet) has these main singular forms:

Masculine: ήσυχος
Feminine: ήσυχη
Neuter: ήσυχο

For a feminine singular noun in the accusative, the form is ήσυχη — exactly the same as the feminine nominative. So:

(η) ήσυχη γειτονιά – the quiet neighborhood (subject)
σε ήσυχη γειτονιά – in (a) quiet neighborhood (object of σε)

Other examples:

ήσυχος δρόμος – quiet street (masculine)
ήσυχο χωριό – quiet village (neuter)

Why is γειτονιά in the accusative case? Does σε always take the accusative?

Yes, with ordinary location meanings, σε is followed by the accusative case.

σε + accusative noun

So γειτονιά here is accusative singular feminine.

Many feminine nouns in -ά (like γειτονιά) have the same form in nominative and accusative singular:

Nominative: η γειτονιά – the neighborhood (subject)
Accusative: τη(ν) γειτονιά – the neighborhood (object / after a preposition)

You distinguish the case mostly by the article or by the role in the sentence, not by the noun ending alone.

Is the present tense μένουμε used for both “we live” and “we are living” (continuous) in Greek?

Yes. Greek does not have a separate continuous present tense like English.

μένουμε can mean:

We live (in general, habitually)
We are living (right now / these days)

Context clarifies:

Μένουμε σε ήσυχη γειτονιά.
We live in a quiet neighborhood. (general fact about where you live)
Αυτόν τον καιρό μένουμε στη γιαγιά μου.
These days we are staying at my grandmother’s. (temporary situation)

How do you pronounce the whole sentence Εμείς μένουμε σε ήσυχη γειτονιά?

Approximate pronunciation (IPA):

Εμείς μένουμε σε ήσυχη γειτονιά
/eˈmis ˈmenume se ˈisixi ʝitoˈɲa/

Breakdown with hints:

Εμείς – e-MEES (stress on μείς)
μένουμε – ME-nu-me (stress on μέ)
σε – se (like “se” in “set”)
ήσυχη – EE-si-chi (χ is a soft “kh”, like German “ich”, stress on first syllable)
γειτονιά – yee-to-NYA
- γ before ει = “y” sound ([ʝ])
- νι + α often sounds like “ny” as in “canyon”

So roughly: e-MEES ME-nu-me se EE-si-chi yee-to-NYA.

Why is γειτονιά feminine? Is there any way to tell the gender from the ending?

Many (not all) nouns ending in -ά are feminine, so γειτονιά follows a common pattern.

Examples of feminine nouns in -ά:

η μαμά – mom
η δουλειά – job / work
η φωτιά – fire
η γειτονιά – neighborhood

This is a tendency, not an absolute rule, but it’s a very useful guideline for learners: when you see -ά, guess that it’s probably feminine and use η / την and feminine adjective forms with it.

Could I say Κατοικούμε σε ήσυχη γειτονιά instead of Μένουμε σε ήσυχη γειτονιά?

Grammatically, yes:

Κατοικούμε also means “we reside / we inhabit.”

However, κατοικώ is more formal or written style. In everyday spoken Greek, people usually say μένουμε when talking about where they live.

So:

Daily speech: Μένουμε σε ήσυχη γειτονιά.
Formal / written: Κατοικούμε σε ήσυχη γειτονιά. (e.g. in official forms, descriptions, etc.)