Εγώ προτιμώ ριγέ πουκάμισα για τη δουλειά, ενώ ο αδερφός μου αγοράζει μόνο καρό.

I prefer striped shirts for work, while my brother buys only plaid ones.

Breakdown of Εγώ προτιμώ ριγέ πουκάμισα για τη δουλειά, ενώ ο αδερφός μου αγοράζει μόνο καρό.

• η δουλειά: the work
• εγώ: I
• μου: my
• για: for

Questions & Answers about Εγώ προτιμώ ριγέ πουκάμισα για τη δουλειά, ενώ ο αδερφός μου αγοράζει μόνο καρό.

Why is Εγώ included? Doesn’t προτιμώ already mean I prefer?

Yes. In Greek, the verb ending already shows the subject, so προτιμώ by itself can mean I prefer.
Εγώ is added for emphasis or contrast. Here it helps set up the comparison:

• Εγώ προτιμώ...
• ενώ ο αδερφός μου αγοράζει...

So the sense is something like I prefer..., whereas my brother...

What form is προτιμώ?

προτιμώ is the 1st person singular present tense of προτιμώ: I prefer.

The ending -ώ is common in verbs of this type. In this sentence it describes a general preference, not something happening just right now.

Why is it ριγέ πουκάμισα? What exactly is ριγέ?

ριγέ means striped. It describes the pattern of the shirts.

A useful thing for learners is that ριγέ is usually treated as an indeclinable adjective in Modern Greek. That means it often stays the same instead of changing form for gender, number, or case.

So you can get:

• ριγέ πουκάμισο = a striped shirt
• ριγέ πουκάμισα = striped shirts

The adjective ριγέ stays the same.

Why is πουκάμισα used here? What form is it?