Παρά τον βήχα του, ο Νίκος πήγε στη δουλειά.

Here παρά means despite or in spite of.

So Παρά τον βήχα του means despite his cough.

A very useful pattern to remember is:

παρά + accusative noun = despite ...

Examples:

• παρά τη βροχή = despite the rain
• παρά το πρόβλημα = despite the problem

Because παρά takes the accusative case, not the nominative.

The dictionary form is:

• ο βήχας = the cough

But after παρά, it becomes:

• τον βήχα

So the change is:

• article: ο → τον
• noun ending: βήχας → βήχα

This is normal for many masculine nouns in Greek.

In Greek, possessive words like μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους usually come after the noun.

So:

• ο βήχας του = his cough
• literally, this is closer to the cough his

That is completely normal Greek word order.

Here:

• του = his

Because the context is about ο Νίκος, we understand that it means his cough.

In Modern Greek, proper names are very often used with the definite article.

So Greek commonly says:

• ο Νίκος
• η Μαρία
• ο Γιάννης

This does not mean English the Nikos. It is just standard Greek grammar.

Especially in ordinary statements, using the article with a person's name is very natural.

Πήγε is the aorist form of πηγαίνω.

Here it means:

• he went

The Greek aorist is often used for a single completed action in the past.

So ο Νίκος πήγε στη δουλειά means that Nikos went to work as a completed event.

Compare:

• πήγε = he went
• πήγαινε = he was going / he used to go

In this sentence, πήγε is the natural choice because it describes one completed action.

Στη is a contracted form of:

σε + τη = στη

So:

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

Together:

• στη δουλειά = to work / to the workplace

This contraction is very common in Modern Greek:

• στο = σε + το
• στη = σε + τη
• στους = σε + τους
• στις = σε + τις

Yes. After σε, Greek normally uses the accusative.

The noun δουλειά is feminine:

• nominative: η δουλειά
• accusative: τη δουλειά

After contraction:

• σε τη δουλειά → στη δουλειά

In this noun, the word δουλειά itself looks the same in nominative and accusative singular; the article shows the case more clearly.

Also, πηγαίνω στη δουλειά is a very common expression meaning:

• I go to work
• I go to my workplace

Greek word order is more flexible than English word order.

Putting Παρά τον βήχα του first gives it emphasis. It highlights the contrast:

Despite his cough, Nikos went to work.

If the sentence started with Ο Νίκος, it would still be grammatical, but the emphasis would be a little different.

So the opening phrase is there mainly for focus and style.

Not always. Του can have different uses in Greek.

It can mean:

• his
• of him
• to him
• sometimes its, depending on context

But in this sentence, του is possessive and clearly means his, because it refers to ο Νίκος.

So:

• τον βήχα του = his cough

A rough pronunciation is:

pa-RA ton VEE-ha too, o NEE-kos PEE-ye sti thoo-lya

A few helpful notes:

• ρά in Παρά is stressed
• βή in βήχα is stressed
• Νί in Νίκος is stressed
• πή in πήγε is stressed
• λειά in δουλειά is stressed

Also:

• β sounds like English v
• χ here is a rough sound, like the ch in Scottish loch or German Bach
• γ in πήγε sounds like a soft y sound here, so πήγε is roughly PEE-ye

Yes, Greek often drops subject pronouns, but here ο Νίκος is a full noun, not a pronoun.

If the speaker already knew who was being talked about, Greek could simply say:

• Παρά τον βήχα του, πήγε στη δουλειά.

That would still be grammatical, with the subject understood from context.

But including ο Νίκος makes the sentence clearer and more explicit.