Ο αδερφός μου θέλει κέτσαπ και ζαμπόν στο τοστ του.

Greek often uses the definite article where English does not.

So ο αδερφός μου literally looks like the brother my, but it simply means my brother.

This is very normal in Greek:

• ο φίλος μου = my friend
• η μητέρα μου = my mother
• το σπίτι μου = my house

In Greek, the article and the possessive usually go together with family members and many other nouns.

The short possessive words μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους normally come after the noun.

So Greek says:

• ο αδερφός μου = my brother
• το βιβλίο σου = your book
• η τσάντα της = her bag

This is one of the big differences from English, where the possessive comes before the noun.

The του in στο τοστ του means his.

So the sentence has:

• μου = my
• του = his

That means:

• ο αδερφός μου = my brother
• το τοστ του = his toast / his toasted sandwich

Even though μου and του can also mean to me and to him in other contexts, here they are possessives because they are attached to nouns.

στο is a contraction of σε + το.

• σε = a preposition that can mean in, on, at, to
• το = the for a neuter noun

So:

• σε το → στο

Here:

• στο τοστ του = literally in/on the toast of his
• natural English: on his toast or in his sandwich/toastie, depending on context

Other common contractions:

• σε + τη(ν) → στη(ν)
• σε + τον → στον
• σε + τα → στα

Greek σε is very flexible. Its exact English translation depends on context.

It can mean:

• to a place
• in a place
• at a place
• on a surface or item

With food, σε is often used where English might say on or in:

• ζάχαρη στον καφέ = sugar in the coffee
• τυρί στο ψωμί = cheese on the bread
• ζαμπόν στο τοστ = ham in/on the toasted sandwich

So you should not expect a one-word-for-one-word match with English prepositions.

Because they are being used in a general, non-specific way, like ingredients.

So:

• θέλει κέτσαπ και ζαμπόν = he wants ketchup and ham

If you added articles, it could sound more specific or marked, depending on context:

• το κέτσαπ
• το ζαμπόν

But with food items as ingredients or things someone wants, Greek often leaves the article out.

The main cases here are:

• ο αδερφός μου: nominative, because it is the subject
• κέτσαπ and ζαμπόν: accusative/direct object in function, because they are what he wants
• στο τοστ του: accusative after the preposition σε

A useful detail: words like κέτσαπ, ζαμπόν, and τοστ are loanwords and often do not change form, so nominative and accusative look the same.

θέλει is the he/she/it form of the verb θέλω = to want.

Present tense:

• θέλω = I want
• θέλεις = you want
• θέλει = he/she/it wants
• θέλουμε / θέλομε = we want
• θέλετε = you (plural/formal) want
• θέλουν / θέλουνε = they want

Because the subject is ο αδερφός μου = my brother, Greek uses the third-person singular form θέλει.

Because the verb ending already shows the person.

In θέλει, the ending tells you it is he/she/it wants. Since the subject ο αδερφός μου is already there, there is no need to add αυτός (he).

Greek often omits subject pronouns unless they are needed for emphasis or contrast.

Yes. αδερφός is a very common modern spoken form, and αδελφός is the more conservative/traditional form.

Both mean brother.

In everyday Modern Greek, you will often hear and see:

• αδερφός
• αδερφή

But you may also encounter:

• αδελφός
• αδελφή

So this sentence uses a very natural modern form.

Many borrowed nouns in Greek are treated as neuter, especially words borrowed from other languages.

So:

• το τοστ
• το κέτσαπ
• το ζαμπόν

This is very common with foreign food words and other loanwords.

The basic order here is:

Ο αδερφός μου / θέλει / κέτσαπ και ζαμπόν / στο τοστ του

That is roughly: subject + verb + object + extra phrase

This is a very natural order in Greek. But Greek word order is more flexible than English, because endings and articles help show the grammar.

For example, you could also hear:

• Ο αδερφός μου θέλει στο τοστ του κέτσαπ και ζαμπόν.

That puts more focus on what is in/on his toast.

So the original sentence is normal, but it is not the only possible order.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

o a-ther-FOS moo THEH-lee KET-sap keh zam-BON sto tost too

A few notes:

• δ sounds like th in this
• θ sounds like th in think
• the stressed syllables are marked by the written accents:
  • αδερφός
  • θέλει
  • ζαμπόν

Because they are unstressed clitic words.

In normal pronunciation, the stress falls on the main noun, not on these short possessive words:

• αδερφός μου
• τοστ του

Greek writes stress marks only where the word itself is stressed. Since μου and του are unstressed here, they do not get an accent mark.

In Modern Greek, τοστ often means a toastie / toasted sandwich, not just a slice of toasted bread.

So στο τοστ του often suggests:

• in his toasted sandwich or
• on his toast, depending on the exact situation

In everyday Greek, τοστ very commonly refers to the kind of sandwich with ham, cheese, and similar fillings.