Το καθήκον μου είναι να φροντίζω την οικογένειά μου.

to be

Breakdown of Το καθήκον μου είναι να φροντίζω την οικογένειά μου.

• να: to
• μου: my
• η οικογένεια: the family

Questions & Answers about Το καθήκον μου είναι να φροντίζω την οικογένειά μου.

Why is there a το before καθήκον?

Because καθήκον is a neuter singular noun, and here it appears as a definite noun phrase: το καθήκον μου = my duty.

Greek uses the definite article much more often than English. So even though English says my duty without the, Greek naturally says το καθήκον μου.

Grammatically:

• το = neuter singular definite article
• καθήκον = neuter singular noun
• μου = my

So literally, it is something like the duty of mine, but the natural English meaning is simply my duty.

Why does μου come after καθήκον instead of before it?

In Modern Greek, the usual possessive words μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους normally come after the noun.

So Greek says:

• το καθήκον μου = my duty
• η οικογένειά μου = my family
• το σπίτι μου = my house

This is just the normal Greek pattern. A native English speaker often expects the possessive to come first, but Greek usually puts this short possessive form after the noun.

Why is μου used twice in the sentence?