Learn Hardcore Greek: Η σχολή μου είναι κοντά στο κέντρο της πόλης. - My school/faculty is near the city center.

σχολείο usually means a school in the basic sense (especially primary or secondary school):
- Πάω στο σχολείο. – I go to (the) school.
σχολή often means:
- a faculty or department at a university (e.g. law school, medical school), or
- a specialized school (e.g. language school, dance school, driving school).

In everyday speech, if someone says η σχολή μου at university age, it typically means my faculty / my department, not a generic school building.

So your sentence is more naturally understood as:

My faculty/college is near the city center,
though in some contexts it could be translated simply as “my school.”

Why is μου (my) placed after σχολή instead of before, like in English my school?

Greek uses clitic possessive pronouns that usually come after the noun they modify:

η σχολή μου – my school
το σπίτι σου – your house
το βιβλίο του – his book

Grammatically:

μου is the genitive form of εγώ (I), used as “of me / my”.
It’s unstressed and typically follows the noun.

You cannot normally say μου σχολή to mean “my school.”
Correct order: η σχολή μου.

What exactly is είναι? Does Greek need a word for “it” here?

είναι is the present tense, 3rd person singular (and also plural) of the verb είμαι (to be):

(αυτό) είναι – (it) is
(αυτός / αυτή / αυτό) είναι – he / she / it is
(αυτοί / αυτές / αυτά) είναι – they are

In Greek, the subject pronoun (αυτό, “it”) is usually omitted when it’s obvious from context or from the verb form.

In your sentence:

Subject: η σχολή μου (my school)
Verb: είναι (is)

You don’t add an extra “it”:

Η σχολή μου είναι κοντά… – literally: The school my is near… (no separate word for “it” needed).

What kind of word is κοντά? Does it change form for gender or number?

In this sentence, κοντά is an adverb meaning near / close (by).

As an adverb, it is invariable: it does not change for gender, number, or case.
You use the same form with any subject:
- Το σπίτι είναι κοντά. – The house is near.
- Οι φίλοι μου είναι κοντά. – My friends are near.

Often, κοντά is used with σε (to/at):

κοντά σε κάτι – near something
Your sentence has κοντά στο κέντρο = near σε + το κέντρο (to the center).

What is στο? Why not just σε το κέντρο?

στο is a contraction of:

σε – in / at / to
το – the (neuter singular accusative)

So:

σε το κέντρο → στο κέντρο

Greek very often contracts σε + definite article:

σε + τον → στον
σε + την → στη(ν)
σε + το → στο

Your phrase κοντά στο κέντρο literally is “near at-the center” → “near the center.”

Why is it κέντρο here and not κέντρου or some other form?

κέντρο (center) is a neuter noun. Its forms (singular) are:

Nominative: το κέντρο – the center (as subject)
Accusative: το κέντρο – the center (as object or after many prepositions)
Genitive: του κέντρου – of the center

After σε / στο, Greek usually uses the accusative:

στο κέντρο – to/at/in the center (accusative form, which for this noun is identical to the nominative).

You would only use του κέντρου in something like:

η είσοδος του κέντρου – the entrance of the center.

Why do we say της πόλης and not η πόλη or την πόλη?

της πόλης is in the genitive case, which often expresses “of …” / possession / belonging.

η πόλη – the city (nominative, subject)
την πόλη – the city (accusative, direct object)
της πόλης – of the city (genitive)

In your phrase το κέντρο της πόλης:

το κέντρο – the center
της πόλης – of the city

So it literally means the center of the city, which in English is usually “the city center.”

Using η πόλη or την πόλη there would be grammatically wrong, because you specifically need the “of” relationship.

What is the gender and declension of πόλη? Why does it become πόλης?

πόλη (city) is:

Gender: feminine
Type: a feminine noun ending in -η with a genitive in -ης.

Singular:

Nominative: η πόλη – the city
Genitive: της πόλης – of the city
Accusative: την πόλη – the city

Plural (for reference):

Nominative: οι πόλεις – the cities
Genitive: των πόλεων
Accusative: τις πόλεις

In your sentence, της πόλης is the genitive singular, required by the “center of the city” structure.

Can I change the word order? For example, can I say Η σχολή είναι κοντά στο κέντρο της πόλης μου?

Yes, Greek word order is fairly flexible, though there are natural preferences.

All of these are grammatically correct, with small changes in emphasis:

Η σχολή μου είναι κοντά στο κέντρο της πόλης.
Neutral: My school is near the city center.
Η σχολή μου είναι κοντά στο κέντρο της πόλης μου.
Adds μου to “city”: My school is near the center of my city.
(Now the city is explicitly “mine,” not just implied.)
Η σχολή είναι κοντά στο κέντρο της πόλης μου.
The school is near the center of my city.
(Possessor attached to “city” instead of “school.”)

But you do not normally move μου away from its noun or break the basic structure like:

✗ Η σχολή κοντά μου είναι στο κέντρο… (wrong / very odd)
✗ Η σχολή είναι μου κοντά… (wrong)

The possessive μου should stay right after the noun it modifies.

How do you pronounce this sentence, and where is the stress?

Approximate pronunciation (in simple Latin letters), with stressed syllables in ALL CAPS:

Η – i (like “ee” in see)
σχολή – scho-LEE
μου – mu (like “moo” but shorter)
είναι – EE-ne
κοντά – kon-TA
στο – sto
κέντρο – KEN-dro
της – tis
πόλης – PO-lis

So: i scho-LEE mu EE-ne kon-TA sto KEN-dro tis PO-lis

Stress marks in Greek:

σχολή – stress on λή
είναι – stress on εί
κοντά – stress on τά
κέντρο – stress on κέν
πόλης – stress on πό

Each Greek word has one main stressed syllable, shown by the accent (´) on a vowel in words of more than one syllable.