Learn Hardcore Greek: Γύρω από το πανεπιστήμιο υπάρχουν καφέ όπου μιλάμε ελληνικά. - Around the university there are cafés where we speak Greek.

γύρω on its own = around, round, often as an adverb:
- Κοίτα γύρω. = Look around.
γύρω από + noun = around [the noun] (physically around it):
- Γύρω από το πανεπιστήμιο = Around the university (in the area surrounding it).

In this structure, από is required; you cannot say ✗ Γύρω το πανεπιστήμιο. The normal pattern is:

γύρω από + accusative (the place that something is around).

Why is it το πανεπιστήμιο and not some other form like του πανεπιστημίου?

After the preposition από, Greek normally uses the accusative case.

The noun πανεπιστήμιο (university) is neuter:
- nominative/accusative singular: το πανεπιστήμιο
- genitive singular: του πανεπιστημίου

Since γύρω από requires από + accusative, we use:

από το πανεπιστήμιο (accusative), not ✗ από του πανεπιστημίου.

So Γύρω από το πανεπιστήμιο is grammatically correct: around the university.

Why do we use υπάρχουν instead of είναι here?

Υπάρχουν means there exist / there are, and is used in existential sentences:

Υπάρχει ένα καφέ. = There is a café.
Υπάρχουν καφέ. = There are cafés.

Είναι = is/are as a linking verb (X is Y):

Το καφέ είναι μεγάλο. = The café is big.

In Γύρω από το πανεπιστήμιο υπάρχουν καφέ, we are not describing cafés; we are saying that they exist in that area. So υπάρχουν is the natural choice.

Is καφέ here singular or plural? How can I tell?

In this sentence, καφέ is plural: cafés.

Καφέ is an indeclinable loanword (from French café). That means:

Singular: το καφέ (one café)
Plural: τα καφέ (two or more cafés)

The form καφέ does not change between singular and plural. You understand the number from:

The article (if present):
- το καφέ = one café (singular)
- τα καφέ = cafés (plural)
The verb:
- Υπάρχει καφέ. = There is a café. (singular verb)
- Υπάρχουν καφέ. = There are cafés. (plural verb)

In your sentence, υπάρχουν is plural, so καφέ must be plural.

Why is there no article before καφέ? Why not υπάρχουν τα καφέ or υπάρχουν κάποια καφέ?

Greek often omits an article with indefinite plural nouns, especially in existential sentences:

Υπάρχουν καφέ. = There are cafés. (some cafés, unspecified)
Υπάρχουν άνθρωποι έξω. = There are people outside.

If you say:

Υπάρχουν τα καφέ. – This sounds odd; it suggests the cafés in a very specific sense, and is rarely used like this.
Υπάρχουν κάποια καφέ. = There are some cafés. (this is correct, but a bit more specific/emphatic about some)

Here, the speaker just wants to say there are cafés (in general) around the university, so no article is the most natural.

What is the difference between καφέ, καφετέριες, and καφενεία?

All three relate to places where you drink coffee, but with different nuances:

το καφέ (plural τα καφέ)
- Modern, often more international word.
- Means café, coffee shop in general.
η καφετέρια (plural οι καφετέριες)
- Also café, often more clearly a place to sit, drink coffee, maybe snacks, sometimes a bit trendier.
το καφενείο (plural τα καφενεία)
- Traditional Greek coffee house, often associated with older men, backgammon, village or neighbourhood culture.

In your sentence, καφέ is a neutral modern choice: cafés.

What does όπου mean here, and how is it different from που?

Όπου is a relative adverb meaning where.

καφέ όπου μιλάμε ελληνικά = cafés where we speak Greek

Difference from που:

που = that/which/who (general relative pronoun)
όπου = specifically where (place)

You could say:

καφέ που μιλάμε ελληνικά – colloquially you will hear this, but it is less precise.
καφέ όπου μιλάμε ελληνικά – more clearly cafés where we speak Greek.

So όπου is the natural choice to express location.

Who does μιλάμε refer to? Is it literally we (the speaker and others), or more like people in general?

Μιλάμε is first person plural: we speak.

It can be understood in two ways, depending on context:

Literal inclusive we
The speaker is including themselves and some group:
- Υπάρχουν καφέ όπου μιλάμε ελληνικά.
  = There are cafés where we (my friends/classmates/etc.) speak Greek.
Generic we (like informal English we that really means people)
- Similar to English: In this country we drive on the left.
- Then it means people there speak Greek, but said as we.

If the speaker wanted a clearly general meaning, they might also say:

Υπάρχουν καφέ όπου ο κόσμος μιλάει ελληνικά.
= There are cafés where people speak Greek.

But the sentence as it stands most naturally sounds like we (students, Erasmus group, etc.) go there and speak Greek.

Why is it μιλάμε ελληνικά and not something like μιλάμε ελληνικό?

In Greek, names of languages are usually:

neuter plural adjectives used as nouns/adverbs:
- ελληνικά (Greek)
- αγγλικά (English)
- γαλλικά (French)
- ισπανικά (Spanish), etc.

With the verb μιλάω (to speak), you use these forms without an article, and they function almost like an adverb:

Μιλάω ελληνικά. = I speak Greek.
Μιλάμε ελληνικά. = We speak Greek.

Ελληνικό would be a neuter singular adjective meaning Greek (as in Greek thing), not the language:

ελληνικό φαγητό = Greek food.

So μιλάμε ελληνικά is the correct way to say we speak Greek.

Why is there no article before ελληνικά? Could we say μιλάμε τα ελληνικά?

With the verb μιλάω plus a language, Greek normally omits the article:

Μιλάω ελληνικά.
Μιλάει αγγλικά.
Μιλούν γαλλικά.

If you add the article, the meaning changes:

Τα ελληνικά = the Greek language (as a subject or object in a more abstract sense):
- Τα ελληνικά είναι δύσκολη γλώσσα. = Greek is a difficult language.
- Ξέρω καλά τα ελληνικά. = I know Greek well.

So:

Μιλάμε ελληνικά. = We speak Greek. (normal)
Μιλάμε τα ελληνικά. – This is unusual; it sounds off in modern usage unless you have a very specific stylistic context.

Can we also say μιλάμε στα ελληνικά? What is the difference from μιλάμε ελληνικά?

Yes, you can say both, but there is a nuance:

μιλάμε ελληνικά
- Neutral, standard way to say we speak Greek (we use Greek as a language).
μιλάμε στα ελληνικά
- Literally we speak in Greek.
- Often used when emphasizing the language as the medium of communication in contrast to another:
  - Μην μιλάς αγγλικά, μίλα στα ελληνικά.
    Don’t speak English, speak in Greek.

In your sentence, μιλάμε ελληνικά is perfectly natural and maybe the most straightforward. μιλάμε στα ελληνικά would add a slight emphasis on in the Greek language.

Is the word order Γύρω από το πανεπιστήμιο υπάρχουν καφέ fixed? Could we say Υπάρχουν καφέ γύρω από το πανεπιστήμιο?

The word order is not fixed; both are correct:

Γύρω από το πανεπιστήμιο υπάρχουν καφέ όπου μιλάμε ελληνικά.
Υπάρχουν καφέ γύρω από το πανεπιστήμιο όπου μιλάμε ελληνικά.

The difference is about focus:

Starting with Γύρω από το πανεπιστήμιο highlights the area first: Around the university, there are cafés…
Starting with Υπάρχουν καφέ highlights the existence of cafés first: There are cafés around the university…

Greek allows flexible word order; verbs often come early in existential sentences, but your version is very natural.

Should there be a comma before όπου? For example: …καφέ, όπου μιλάμε ελληνικά?

In this sentence, we normally do not use a comma before όπου.

καφέ όπου μιλάμε ελληνικά is a restrictive relative clause:
- It tells us which cafés we are talking about:
  cafés where we speak Greek, not just any cafés.

Commas are more typical with non-restrictive relative clauses (extra, parenthetical information). Here the clause is essential to the meaning, so no comma is needed:

Γύρω από το πανεπιστήμιο υπάρχουν καφέ όπου μιλάμε ελληνικά.

Is the subject pronoun εμείς ever used here? Could we say …όπου εμείς μιλάμε ελληνικά?

You can say:

…καφέ όπου εμείς μιλάμε ελληνικά.

but it sounds like you are putting strong emphasis on we (as opposed to someone else):

Υπάρχουν καφέ όπου εμείς μιλάμε ελληνικά και άλλοι μιλάνε μόνο αγγλικά.
There are cafés where we speak Greek and others speak only English.

In normal, neutral sentences, Greek drops the subject pronoun because the verb ending -με already shows we:

μιλάμε = we speak, so εμείς is optional.

In your original sentence, εμείς is not needed and would be unusual unless you want to contrast us with others.