Breakdown of Μέσα από τον εθελοντισμό και τη συμμετοχή σε κάθε εκδήλωση νιώθω ότι ανήκω περισσότερο σε αυτή την πόλη.
Questions & Answers about Μέσα από τον εθελοντισμό και τη συμμετοχή σε κάθε εκδήλωση νιώθω ότι ανήκω περισσότερο σε αυτή την πόλη.
Μέσα από literally is inside from, but as a phrase it usually translates as through, by means of, or via.
In this sentence:
- Μέσα από τον εθελοντισμό και τη συμμετοχή…
→ Through volunteering and participation…
→ By means of volunteering and taking part…
You use Μέσα από when something is the means or channel by which something else happens:
- Μέσα από τη δουλειά μου έμαθα πολλά.
Through my work I learned a lot. - Μέσα από τα λάθη μας βελτιωνόμαστε.
Through our mistakes we improve.
Grammatically, Μέσα από is a prepositional phrase that takes an object in the accusative case (here: τον εθελοντισμό, τη συμμετοχή).
Ο εθελοντισμός is the nominative (subject) form: volunteering as the subject of a sentence.
After a preposition like από, Greek uses the accusative case:
- Masculine singular definite article:
- Nominative: ο
- Accusative: τον
Here, εθελοντισμός (volunteering) is the object of Μέσα από, so it must be in the accusative:
- Μέσα από τον εθελοντισμό
not Μέσα από ο εθελοντισμός
Same pattern with other masculine nouns:
- Ο φίλος → με τον φίλο (with the friend)
- Ο σκύλος → για τον σκύλο (for the dog)
The basic feminine singular accusative article is την.
Modern Greek often drops the final -ν in την in front of many consonants, for ease of pronunciation.
General rule (as traditionally taught):
- Keep -ν before: κ, π, τ, ξ, ψ, μπ, ντ, γκ, τσ, τζ and vowels.
- It may be dropped before most other consonants (like σ).
So, both of these are possible in real life:
- την συμμετοχή (more careful / formal, or to avoid ambiguity)
- τη συμμετοχή (very common in writing and speech)
The sentence uses τη συμμετοχή, which follows the common modern tendency to drop the -ν in many contexts.
Key point: τη and την here are the same article; the -ν is just optionally dropped.
The noun συμμετοχή (participation) normally takes the preposition σε:
- συμμετοχή σε κάτι = participation in something
So:
- τη συμμετοχή σε κάθε εκδήλωση
= participation in every event
Some parallel patterns with σε:
- η συμμετοχή σε ένα πρόγραμμα – participation in a program
- η συμμετοχή σε αθλητικές δραστηριότητες – participation in sports activities
In some specific, more formal contexts you might see other structures (e.g. συμμετοχή της χώρας στην Ένωση), but σε is the standard, default preposition with συμμετοχή.
No. κάθε is invariable:
- It does not change for gender.
- It does not change for number.
So you use κάθε with masculine, feminine, neuter; singular or plural nouns (though it usually appears with singular in form, even if the meaning is collective):
- κάθε άνθρωπος (every person – masculine)
- κάθε γυναίκα (every woman – feminine)
- κάθε παιδί (every child – neuter)
- σε κάθε εκδήλωση (in every event)
You cannot say *κάθοι or *κάθη etc.; it always stays κάθε.
εκδήλωση (feminine noun) usually means:
- event, function, formal event, organized activity
Depending on context, it can be:
- a cultural event (concert, festival, exhibition)
- an official event (ceremony, conference, public meeting)
- a school or community event (fundraiser, celebration, etc.)
So σε κάθε εκδήλωση suggests in every event / at every event, typically organized community or city events where one can participate or volunteer.
Both νιώθω and αισθάνομαι can mean I feel, and they often overlap.
- νιώθω ότι…
Very common in everyday speech, slightly more colloquial. - αισθάνομαι ότι…
A bit more formal/literary in tone, but also used in daily speech.
In this sentence:
- νιώθω ότι ανήκω περισσότερο…
I feel that I belong more…
You could also say:
- αισθάνομαι ότι ανήκω περισσότερο…
There is no real change in meaning here; it is mostly style and register.
Greek is a pro-drop language: subject pronouns are often omitted because the verb ending shows the person and number.
- νιώθω = I feel (1st person singular)
- ανήκω = I belong (1st person singular)
So:
- Εγώ νιώθω ότι ανήκω…
- Νιώθω ότι ανήκω…
Both are correct. The second is more natural unless you want to emphasize I:
- Εγώ νιώθω ότι ανήκω…
I (as opposed to others) feel that I belong…
In neutral statements, Greek normally drops εγώ.
ανήκω σε means to belong to.
Structure:
- ανήκω σε + noun (accusative)
Examples:
- ανήκω σε μια ομάδα – I belong to a group.
- ανήκω σε αυτή την πόλη – I belong to this city.
In your sentence:
- ανήκω περισσότερο σε αυτή την πόλη
I belong more to this city.
So σε is required by the verb ανήκω, and αυτή την πόλη is the object of σε.
περισσότερο is an adverb meaning more (to a greater extent).
In νιώθω ότι ανήκω περισσότερο σε αυτή την πόλη:
- It modifies the whole verb phrase ανήκω … σε αυτή την πόλη.
- Sense: I feel that I belong more (than before, or than somewhere else) to this city.
Word order is flexible; you could also hear:
- Νιώθω ότι περισσότερο ανήκω σε αυτή την πόλη.
- Νιώθω ότι ανήκω σε αυτή την πόλη περισσότερο.
But the most natural, neutral position is usually right after the verb: ανήκω περισσότερο σε…
As with την / τη, the final -ν of αυτήν can be dropped in many contexts.
Base forms (feminine singular):
- Nominative: αυτή
- Accusative: αυτήν (with optional -ν)
In practice:
- σε αυτή την πόλη
- σε αυτήν την πόλη
Both are acceptable. Modern usage very often drops -ν except when needed for clarity or for smoother sound (especially before some consonants and vowels).
So σε αυτή την πόλη is simply the colloquial/standard spelling with the -ν omitted; it is still grammatically accusative.
In Greek, demonstratives like αυτός / αυτή / αυτό normally combine with the definite article:
- αυτή η πόλη – this city (subject)
- αυτή την πόλη – this city (object, accusative)
So the pattern is:
- [demonstrative] + [definite article] + [noun]
In the accusative feminine singular:
- Article: την
- Demonstrative: αυτή(ν)
Therefore:
- σε αυτή την πόλη
literally: in this the city (but in English just in this city)
You almost always keep the article in such demonstrative phrases.
εθελοντισμό is a noun (here in the accusative singular), from:
- ο εθελοντισμός – volunteering (as a concept, volunteerism)
Related words:
- ο εθελοντής – volunteer (male)
- η εθελόντρια – volunteer (female)
- εθελοντικά – voluntarily, as a volunteer (adverb)
In the sentence:
- Μέσα από τον εθελοντισμό…
Through volunteering / through volunteer work…
So εθελοντισμός is the general idea/practice, not the person.