Άφησα το νεσεσέρ στο ντουλαπάκι, αλλά πήρα μαζί μου μόνο το πορτοφόλι και το τηλέφωνο.

Άφησα is the aorist form of αφήνω (to leave, to put down, to leave behind).

In this sentence, the aorist is used because the speaker is talking about a completed action in the past:

• Άφησα το νεσεσέρ... = I left the toiletry bag/cosmetic case...

Greek often uses the aorist where English uses the simple past for a one-time completed event.

Compare:

• άφησα = I left / I put down / I left behind once, as a completed action
• άφηνα = I was leaving / I used to leave / I kept leaving

So Άφησα fits because the speaker is describing one finished action.

Πήρα is the aorist of παίρνω (to take), so it means I took in the sense of a completed past action.

Here the speaker is telling us what they did:

• they left one thing
• but took only two other things

So Greek uses two completed past actions:

• Άφησα = I left
• πήρα = I took

If you said έπαιρνα, that would suggest an ongoing, repeated, or habitual action:

• έπαιρνα = I was taking / I used to take

That would not fit this sentence as naturally.

Because several nouns here are neuter singular, and το is the definite article for neuter singular in both the nominative and accusative.

In the sentence:

• το νεσεσέρ
• το πορτοφόλι
• το τηλέφωνο

all three nouns are neuter singular, so they take το.

Also, these are specific objects, so Greek normally uses the definite article where English might or might not.

For example:

• πήρα το πορτοφόλι = I took the wallet
• πήρα πορτοφόλι would sound more like I took a wallet / I took wallet, which is different and less natural in this context

Greek uses articles more regularly than English.

στο is just the contracted form of σε + το.

So:

• σε το ντουλαπάκι becomes στο ντουλαπάκι

This is completely normal and expected in modern Greek.

Examples:

• στο σπίτι = σε το σπίτι = in/to the house
• στο αυτοκίνητο = in/to the car

In your sentence, στο ντουλαπάκι means in the compartment / in the little cupboard / in the glove compartment, depending on context.

Yes, σε can mean to, but it can also mean in, at, or on, depending on context.

So στο ντουλαπάκι can mean:

• in the compartment
• at the compartment
• sometimes to the compartment, if movement is the focus

With άφησα, the idea is location: the item ended up in that place.

So:

• Άφησα το νεσεσέρ στο ντουλαπάκι = I left the toiletry bag in the compartment

Greek uses σε very broadly for location and destination, much more broadly than English uses just one preposition.

Ντουλαπάκι comes from ντουλάπι, which means cupboard, cabinet, or locker. The ending -άκι is a very common Greek diminutive ending.

So ντουλαπάκι literally suggests:

• small cupboard
• little compartment

Depending on context, it can refer to things like:

• a small cupboard
• a storage compartment
• a glove compartment in a car

The suffix -άκι often adds the sense of smallness, and sometimes also a familiar or affectionate tone.

Other examples:

• σπίτι = house, home
• σπιτάκι = little house

So ντουλαπάκι is basically little cabinet/compartment.

Νεσεσέρ means something like:

• toiletry bag
• cosmetic bag
• wash bag
• sometimes makeup case

It is a borrowed word, originally from French, and Greek uses it as a neuter noun:

• το νεσεσέρ

It is one of those common everyday words in Greek that came from another language but is now fully natural in modern usage.

A learner may notice that it does not look like a typical Greek noun ending, and that is normal. Borrowed words often keep unusual shapes.

Μαζί μου means with me.

Here:

• μαζί = together / along
• μου = me in this expression

So πήρα μαζί μου literally means something like I took along with me.

This is a very common Greek pattern:

• μαζί μου = with me
• μαζί σου = with you
• μαζί του = with him / with it
• μαζί της = with her
• μαζί μας = with us
• μαζί σας = with you plural/formal
• μαζί τους = with them

You could say με μένα in other contexts for with me, but after παίρνω, the very natural phrase is παίρνω μαζί μου = take with me / bring along.

Yes, μου often means my or to me, but Greek clitic forms like μου have several uses.

In μαζί μου, μου functions as the pronoun meaning me after μαζί.

So:

• το βιβλίο μου = my book
• δώσε μου = give me
• μαζί μου = with me

This is one reason Greek pronouns can feel tricky: the same small form can serve different functions depending on the structure.

The important thing is to learn common phrases as chunks:

• μαζί μου
• μαζί σου
• μαζί μας

That will feel more natural than trying to translate word by word every time.

Μόνο means only, and here it limits what the speaker took.

So:

• πήρα μαζί μου μόνο το πορτοφόλι και το τηλέφωνο = I took with me only the wallet and the phone

In other words, those were the only things the speaker took.

Greek word order is fairly flexible, but μόνο is usually placed right before the word or phrase it modifies.

Here it modifies the whole noun phrase:

• το πορτοφόλι και το τηλέφωνο

So the idea is:

• not other things
• just those two items

Yes, Greek allows some movement, but the meaning or emphasis can shift slightly.

The sentence you have:

• πήρα μαζί μου μόνο το πορτοφόλι και το τηλέφωνο

This is very natural and clearly means that the only things taken were the wallet and the phone.

You may also hear:

• μόνο πήρα μαζί μου το πορτοφόλι και το τηλέφωνο

but this is less neutral and can sound more marked or emphatic depending on context.

So for learners, the safest pattern is:

• put μόνο right before what it limits

That is exactly what happens here.

Because Greek, like English, normally uses και (and) before the final item in a simple list.

So:

• το πορτοφόλι και το τηλέφωνο = the wallet and the phone

If there were more items, Greek could list them the same way English does:

• το πορτοφόλι, τα κλειδιά και το τηλέφωνο = the wallet, the keys, and the phone

So this part works very similarly to English.

They are in the accusative case because they are direct objects, but for many neuter singular nouns, the accusative looks the same as the nominative.

For example:

• το πορτοφόλι
• το τηλέφωνο
• το νεσεσέρ

These stay the same in nominative and accusative.

That is why it may seem as if nothing changes after the verb. But grammatically, they are still direct objects.

This is easier than with some masculine and feminine nouns, where the accusative often looks different.

Αλλά means but.

It introduces a contrast between the two actions:

• Άφησα το νεσεσέρ στο ντουλαπάκι
• αλλά πήρα μαζί μου μόνο το πορτοφόλι και το τηλέφωνο

So the contrast is:

• one thing was left behind
• only two other things were taken

This is a very common coordinating conjunction in Greek.

Yes, this word order is very natural.

Greek is more flexible than English, but the sentence is arranged in a clear, neutral way:

• verb first: Άφησα
• object: το νεσεσέρ
• place: στο ντουλαπάκι
• contrast: αλλά
• second verb: πήρα
• phrase: μαζί μου
• limiting word: μόνο
• objects: το πορτοφόλι και το τηλέφωνο

You could rearrange parts for emphasis, but the version given is smooth and standard.

For example, μαζί μου could sometimes appear in a different position, but here it sounds very natural exactly where it is.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

• Άφησα ≈ AH-fee-sa
• το νεσεσέρ ≈ to ne-se-SER
• στο ντουλαπάκι ≈ sto doo-la-PA-kee
• αλλά ≈ a-LA
• πήρα ≈ PEE-ra
• μαζί μου ≈ ma-ZEE moo
• μόνο ≈ MO-no
• το πορτοφόλι ≈ to por-to-FO-lee
• και ≈ ke
• το τηλέφωνο ≈ to tee-LE-fo-no

A few useful stress points:

• Άφησα
• νεσεσέρ
• ντουλαπάκι
• πήρα
• μαζί
• μόνο
• πορτοφόλι
• τηλέφωνο

Stress matters in Greek, so it helps to notice where the written accent marks are.