Ο δρόμος στη γειτονιά μου είναι ήσυχος το βράδυ.
The road in my neighborhood is quiet in the evening.
Breakdown of Ο δρόμος στη γειτονιά μου είναι ήσυχος το βράδυ.
είμαι
to be
μου
my
το βράδυ
in the evening
σε
in
Questions & Answers about Ο δρόμος στη γειτονιά μου είναι ήσυχος το βράδυ.
Why does the sentence start with Ο δρόμος? What does Ο tell me?
Ο is the definite article (the) for masculine, singular, nominative nouns.
- Ο δρόμος = the street/road (subject of the sentence)
- δρόμος is a masculine noun, so in the nominative (subject) we use ο.
Mini pattern for the definite article in the nominative (singular):
- Masculine: ο δρόμος (the street)
- Feminine: η γειτονιά (the neighborhood)
- Neuter: το σπίτι (the house)
We use the definite article in Greek much more often than in English, so Ο δρόμος here is natural Greek even though in English we might sometimes just say “The street…” without thinking about gender/case.
Why is it Ο δρόμος (nominative) and not Τον δρόμο (accusative)?
Ο δρόμος is the subject of the sentence:
- Ο δρόμος στη γειτονιά μου είναι ήσυχος το βράδυ.
→ The street in my neighborhood is quiet at night.
Greek uses the nominative case for the subject of the verb είναι (is).
We would use τον δρόμο (accusative) if it were the object of an action:
- Βλέπω τον δρόμο. = I see the street.
- Περνάω τον δρόμο. = I cross the street.
So:
- Subject → ο δρόμος (nominative)
- Object → τον δρόμο (accusative)
What exactly does στη γειτονιά μου mean, and why στη?