Learn Hardcore Greek: Ο δρόμος στη γειτονιά μου είναι ήσυχος το βράδυ. - The road in my neighborhood is quiet in the evening.

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?

στη γειτονιά μου literally means “in my neighborhood”.

It comes from:

σε (in, at, on) + τη(ν) (the, feminine accusative singular)
→ σε τη(ν) contracts to στη(ν)

So:

σε + τη γειτονιά → στη γειτονιά = in the neighborhood
μου = my (possessive pronoun after the noun)
στη γειτονιά μου = in my neighborhood

We use the accusative after most simple prepositions like σε:

σε + τη γειτονιά (accusative) → στη γειτονιά

When do we write στη and when στην?

Both forms come from σε + την:

σε + την = στην
In modern spelling, we often drop the final -ν when the next word starts with most consonants.

Basic rule of thumb (modern usage):
Keep the final -ν (write στην) mainly when the next word begins with:

a vowel: στην εκκλησία (in the church)
κ, π, τ, ξ, ψ, μπ, ντ, γκ, τσ, τζ:
- στην καρδιά
- στην πόλη
- στην τσάντα

But in everyday writing you will often see στη γειτονιά instead of στην γειτονιά, and both are understood. Your sentence uses the common modern short form: στη γειτονιά.

Why is it γειτονιά and not γειτονία, and what gender is it?

The correct modern word for neighborhood is η γειτονιά (with -ιά), and it is feminine.

In this sentence we see the accusative singular (because of the preposition σε → στη γειτονιά):

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

γειτονία exists but is less common and tends to sound more formal or old-fashioned, and it’s not what people typically say in everyday Greek. For learners, stick with γειτονιά.

Why is μου after the noun (γειτονιά μου) and not before, like in English “my neighborhood”?

In Greek, the possessive pronoun (my, your, his, etc.) usually comes after the noun:

η γειτονιά μου = my neighborhood
το σπίτι σου = your house
ο δρόμος του = his/its road

So the natural order is:
article + noun + possessive → η γειτονιά μου

You can also say η δική μου γειτονιά (literally “my own neighborhood”) to emphasize my, but the neutral, normal way is η γειτονιά μου.

What does είναι do here, and can Greek use έχει like “there is/there are”?

In this sentence, είναι is just the verb “to be”:

είναι = is / are
Ο δρόμος … είναι ήσυχος = The street is quiet.

Greek does not use έχει in this structure the way French uses il y a or some dialects of English use “it has”.

Correct here:
- Ο δρόμος … είναι ήσυχος. = The street is quiet.
Έχει is used more like “there is/are” for existence or possession:
- Στη γειτονιά μου έχει έναν δρόμο. = In my neighborhood there is a street.
- Έχω ένα σπίτι. = I have a house.

So in “X is Y” sentences (identity or description), you use είμαι / είναι, not έχει.

Why is it ήσυχος and not some other form like ήσυχη or ήσυχο?

ήσυχος is an adjective meaning quiet, and it must agree with the noun it describes in:

gender
number
case

The noun here is:

ο δρόμος → masculine, singular, nominative

So the adjective must also be masculine, singular, nominative: ήσυχος.

If the noun were feminine or neuter, the adjective would change:

Feminine: η γειτονιά είναι ήσυχη.
Neuter: το σπίτι είναι ήσυχο.

Mini pattern for this adjective (singular, nominative):

Masculine: ήσυχος
Feminine: ήσυχη
Neuter: ήσυχο

Why do we say το βράδυ to mean “at night”? Why use the article το?

το βράδυ literally means “the evening / the night”, but as a time expression it corresponds to “in the evening / at night”.

Greek very often uses the definite article with parts of the day when talking about when something happens:

το πρωί = in the morning
το μεσημέρι = at noon / midday
το απόγευμα = in the afternoon
το βράδυ = in the evening / at night

So είναι ήσυχος το βράδυ = it is quiet at night (lit. “the evening”).

Using the bare word βράδυ without το here would sound incomplete or unnatural.

Can I change the word order? For example, can I say Ο δρόμος είναι ήσυχος στη γειτονιά μου το βράδυ?

Yes, Greek word order is relatively flexible, as long as the relationships between words are still clear.

All of these are grammatical and mean the same thing:

Ο δρόμος στη γειτονιά μου είναι ήσυχος το βράδυ.
Ο δρόμος είναι ήσυχος στη γειτονιά μου το βράδυ.
Το βράδυ ο δρόμος στη γειτονιά μου είναι ήσυχος.

Normally you keep:

subject near the start: Ο δρόμος
verb somewhere after the subject: είναι
adjective near the verb/subject: ήσυχος
time and place expressions (το βράδυ, στη γειτονιά μου) can move around for emphasis or style.

The original order is very natural and neutral.

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

Pronunciation (approximate, in Latin letters):

Ο δρόμος → o DRO-mos
στη γειτονιά → sti ye-to-NYA
μου → mu (short “oo” sound)
είναι → EE-ne
ήσυχος → EE-si-hos
το βράδυ → to VRA-thi (soft “th” as in this)

Stress marks (´) in Greek show which syllable is stressed:

δρόμος (DRO-mos)
γειτονιά (ye-to-NYÁ)
είναι (Í-ne)
ήσυχος (Í-si-hos)
βράδυ (VRÁ-thi)

So the whole sentence:

Ο δρόμος στη γειτονιά μου είναι ήσυχος το βράδυ.
= o DRO-mos sti ye-to-NYÁ mu Í-ne Í-si-hos to VRÁ-thi.