Στην εστία κάνω συχνά βόλτα στον διάδρομο με τους συμφοιτητές μου.

In the dorm I often take a walk in the corridor with my fellow students.

Breakdown of Στην εστία κάνω συχνά βόλτα στον διάδρομο με τους συμφοιτητές μου.

• μου: my
• με: with
• σε: in
• συχνά: often
• κάνω βόλτα: to take a walk
• ο διάδρομος: the corridor
• ο συμφοιτητής: the fellow student
• η εστία: the dorm

Questions & Answers about Στην εστία κάνω συχνά βόλτα στον διάδρομο με τους συμφοιτητές μου.

What is Στην made of, and why is it written as one word?

Στην is the contraction of σε + την:

• σε = in / at / to
• την = the (feminine singular accusative)

So σε την εστία → στην εστία (in/at the dorm).

In speech and writing, σε + article usually contracts:

• σε + τον → στον (e.g. στον διάδρομο)
• σε + το → στο (e.g. στο σπίτι)
• σε + την → στην (e.g. στην εστία)
• σε + τις → στις (e.g. στις τάξεις)

Why is εστία in the accusative after σε if we are talking about location, not movement?

In Modern Greek, the preposition σε always takes the accusative, regardless of whether it means:

• location: στην εστία = in/at the dorm
• destination: στην εστία = to the dorm

Context tells you whether it’s “in/at” or “to”. Unlike some languages that use different cases for “in” vs “to”, Greek uses σε + accusative for both.

What exactly does εστία mean here, and how is it different from σπίτι?

In this context, η εστία means a student residence / dormitory (a university housing building).

Common meanings:

• η φοιτητική εστία = the student dorm
• στην εστία (among students) often just means “in the dorm”.

Difference from σπίτι:

• σπίτι = home/house (any home)
• εστία here = a specific type of accommodation: a student dorm.

So Στην εστία κάνω συχνά βόλτα... = In the dorm I often take a walk....

Why is it κάνω βόλτα and not just a verb meaning “to walk”?

Greek often uses κάνω + noun to express actions that English uses a single verb for.

κάνω βόλτα literally = I do a walk, but idiomatically:

• κάνω βόλτα = I take a walk / I go for a walk / I stroll

You could also say:

• περπατάω στον διάδρομο = I walk in the corridor (more neutral “walk”)

But κάνω βόλτα suggests strolling / walking around for leisure, not just the physical act of walking from A to B.

What is the function of συχνά, and can I put it in a different place?

συχνά is an adverb meaning often.

In the sentence:

• κάνω συχνά βόλτα = I often take a walk.

You can move συχνά around:

• Στην εστία συχνά κάνω βόλτα...
• Συχνά στην εστία κάνω βόλτα...

All are grammatical. The basic meaning (doing this often) stays the same; the different positions can slightly change what is being emphasized (frequency, place, or action), but the difference is subtle in everyday speech.

Why is it στον διάδρομο and not στο διάδρομο?

στον is the contraction of σε + τον:

• σε = in / at / to
• τον = the (masculine singular accusative)

Because ο διάδρομος is masculine, singular, accusative, you use τον:

• σε + τον διάδρομο → στον διάδρομο (in the corridor)

You would use στο with neuter nouns:

• σε + το σπίτι → στο σπίτι (at home)

What is the gender and case of διάδρομο in στον διάδρομο?

The base form (nominative) is:

• ο διάδρομος = the corridor / hallway

In στον διάδρομο, the noun is:

• διάδρομο: masculine, singular, accusative
• required by the preposition σε (→ στον)

Pattern:

• Nom.: ο διάδρομος
• Acc.: τον διάδρομο → (σε + τον) → στον διάδρομο

What does συμφοιτητές mean exactly, and how is it different from συμμαθητές?

• ο συμφοιτητής, οι συμφοιτητές: fellow university students (usually same university, often same year/department)
• ο συμμαθητής, οι συμμαθητές: classmates (typically at school, can also be used for uni but more school-like)

In the sentence με τους συμφοιτητές μου:

• It suggests fellow university students, not just any classmates from any level.

Why is it με τους συμφοιτητές μου and not με οι συμφοιτητές μου?

Two things are happening:

1. The preposition με (with) takes the accusative case.
2. The article must therefore be the accusative plural masculine form τους, not the nominative οι.

Forms of “the” (masc. plural):

• Nominative: οι συμφοιτητές (subject)
• Accusative: τους συμφοιτητές (object, after prepositions)

Since με governs the accusative:

• με + τους συμφοιτητές μου = with my classmates (at uni)

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

Greek possessive pronouns usually come after the noun:

• οι συμφοιτητές μου = my classmates
• το βιβλίο μου = my book
• η εστία μου = my dorm

This is the normal pattern in Greek: [article] + [noun] + [possessive pronoun].

You don’t say μου συμφοιτητές in standard Greek; that sounds wrong. The post-noun position is how possession is normally expressed with μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους.

Both σε and με are followed by the accusative. Is that just a coincidence?

It’s not a coincidence; it’s a general pattern in Modern Greek:

• Most common prepositions (e.g. σε, με, για, προς, από in many uses) are followed by the accusative case.

So in this sentence:

• στην εστία → σε + την (accusative)
• στον διάδρομο → σε + τον (accusative)
• με τους συμφοιτητές → με + τους (accusative)

For everyday Modern Greek, you can safely learn: prepositions → accusative (with a few more advanced exceptions).

Why doesn’t the Greek sentence include a verb like “be” (είμαι) before στην εστία?

Greek often starts a sentence with a prepositional phrase to set the scene (place, time, etc.), without needing a separate “to be” verb there.

• Στην εστία κάνω συχνά βόλτα...
  Literally: In the dorm I often take a walk...

We don’t need είμαι (am) before it. It would sound unnatural to say:

• Στην εστία είμαι και κάνω συχνά βόλτα...
  (At the dorm I am and I often take a walk...)

So the structure is:

• [Place phrase] + [main verb] + [rest]
  → Στην εστία (place) κάνω (verb) συχνά βόλτα...