Εμείς μένουμε σε ήσυχη γειτονιά.

to live

Breakdown of Εμείς μένουμε σε ήσυχη γειτονιά.

• σε: in
• ήσυχος: quiet
• η γειτονιά: the neighborhood

Questions & Answers about Εμείς μένουμε σε ήσυχη γειτονιά.

Why do we need Εμείς? Doesn’t μένουμε already mean “we live”?

In Greek, the verb ending already shows the subject:

• μένουμε = we live / we stay (the ending -ουμε = “we”)

So you can say simply:

• Μένουμε σε ήσυχη γειτονιά. → “We live in a quiet neighborhood.”

The subject pronoun εμείς is usually added for emphasis or contrast, for example:

• Εμείς μένουμε σε ήσυχη γειτονιά, αλλά αυτοί μένουν στο κέντρο.
  We live in a quiet neighborhood, but they live in the center.

So:

• Without εμείς: neutral statement.
• With Εμείς: “we (as opposed to someone else)”.

Why is Εμείς capitalized? Is the pronoun always written with a capital Ε?

It’s capitalized only because it is the first word of the sentence.

Normally, the pronoun is written with a lowercase letter:

• εμείς μένουμε…

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”?