Στο βενζινάδικο ρώτησα ευγενικά: «Μπορείτε να μου πείτε αν αυτή η βενζίνη είναι καλύτερη για μικρό αυτοκίνητο;»

Because στο is the normal contraction of σε + το.

• σε = in / at / to
• το = the for a neuter noun
• σε το becomes στο

So Στο βενζινάδικο means at the gas station.

You will see this a lot in Greek:

• σε + τη(ν) → στη(ν)
• σε + το(ν) → στο(ν)
• σε + τα → στα

Βενζινάδικο means gas station / petrol station. It is a very common everyday word.

It is not especially formal. In more formal language, you might see πρατήριο καυσίμων (fuel station), but in normal conversation βενζινάδικο is what people often say.

It is a neuter noun:

• το βενζινάδικο
• στο βενζινάδικο

Ρώτησα is the aorist (simple past) form of ρωτάω / ρωτώ, meaning I asked.

It is used because the speaker is referring to one completed action in the past:

• ρώτησα = I asked

If the speaker wanted to emphasize an ongoing or repeated action in the past, Greek would use a different past form, such as the imperfect.

So here:

• Στο βενζινάδικο ρώτησα ευγενικά = At the gas station I asked politely

This is the natural tense for a single completed event.

Ευγενικά means politely. It is an adverb.

It describes how the speaker asked:

• ρώτησα ευγενικά = I asked politely

Its position is quite natural, but Greek word order is fairly flexible. You could move it and still keep the basic meaning, although some word orders sound more natural than others.

For example:

• Ρώτησα ευγενικά
• Ευγενικά ρώτησα

The version in your sentence sounds perfectly normal.

Not necessarily. Μπορείτε is the 2nd person plural form, but Greek also uses it as a polite singular.

So it can mean either:

• Can you (to more than one person)
• Can you (polite, to one person)

This is similar to how some languages use a plural form for politeness. In a customer-service situation, using Μπορείτε is very natural and polite.

The informal singular would be:

• Μπορείς να μου πεις...

The sentence chooses the polite version:

• Μπορείτε να μου πείτε...

After μπορείτε, Greek normally uses να plus a verb form, rather than an infinitive like English does.

So:

• Μπορείτε να μου πείτε literally works like Can you tell me

Breakdown:

• να = particle used to introduce this kind of verb form
• μου = to me
• πείτε = say / tell (here: tell)

So the structure is roughly:

• Can you + tell me

English uses an infinitive (to tell), but Greek does not have an infinitive in the same way here, so it uses να + verb.

Because μου is a weak object pronoun (to me), and in this kind of structure it normally comes before the verb.

So:

• να μου πείτε = to tell me / tell me

This is very common in Greek:

• να μου δώσεις = to give me
• να του πεις = to tell him
• να σας βοηθήσω = to help you

A useful comparison:

• In να clauses, the pronoun usually comes before the verb: να μου πείτε
• In affirmative commands, it usually comes after: Πείτε μου = Tell me

Here αν means whether (or if in the sense of an indirect question).

So:

• Μπορείτε να μου πείτε αν... = Can you tell me whether...

This is not a condition like If it rains, I’ll stay home. Instead, it introduces the content of the question:

• whether this gasoline is better for a small car

Greek uses αν for both meanings, so context matters.

In this sentence, it clearly means:

• whether

Because Greek usually uses a demonstrative + article + noun pattern.

So:

• αυτή η βενζίνη = this gasoline

This is very normal Greek grammar.

Other examples:

• αυτό το βιβλίο = this book
• αυτή η πόρτα = this door
• αυτό το αυτοκίνητο = this car

English says this gasoline without an article, but Greek typically includes the article:

• αυτή η ...

Because καλύτερη agrees with βενζίνη, which is a feminine singular noun.

• η βενζίνη = feminine singular
• so better must also be feminine singular: καλύτερη

The comparative forms are:

• καλύτερος = masculine
• καλύτερη = feminine
• καλύτερο = neuter

Since the sentence is describing the gasoline, not the car, the feminine form is required:

• αυτή η βενζίνη είναι καλύτερη

Because Greek often omits the indefinite article when speaking in a general way.

So:

• για μικρό αυτοκίνητο = for a small car
• more literally, something like for small car use

This sounds general, as in asking what kind of vehicle this gasoline suits.

You could also say:

• για ένα μικρό αυτοκίνητο

That would also be correct, but it sounds a bit more explicitly like for a specific small car or for some small car. The version without ένα is very natural in general statements like this.

Because in Greek, the question mark is written as ;.

So:

• ... αυτοκίνητο; is the normal Greek way to write a question.

This often surprises English speakers, because it looks like a semicolon. But in Greek punctuation:

• ; = question mark
• · = semicolon / raised dot

So the final punctuation here is completely normal Greek.

Yes: the word order is natural, but not as rigid as in English.

The sentence begins with:

• Στο βενζινάδικο = At the gas station

That puts the setting first. Then:

• ρώτησα ευγενικά = I asked politely

Then comes the actual question.

A very literal breakdown would be:

• At the gas station, I asked politely: Can you tell me whether this gasoline is better for a small car?

Greek often moves pieces around for emphasis or flow, but this version sounds smooth and natural.