Ένας από τους φίλους μου μένει στην Ελλάδα.

Ένας can mean both a/an and one, depending on context.

In this sentence, ένας από τους φίλους μου means one of my friends, so the idea of one is more explicit than just a.

It is capitalized as Ένας simply because it is the first word of the sentence.

This is the standard Greek way to say of my friends after one:

• ένας από... = one of...
• τους φίλους μου = my friends

So:

• ένας από τους φίλους μου = one of my friends

Also, από takes the accusative, which is why you see τους φίλους.

Because the structure means one from a group of friends.

You are talking about:

• one person from
• my friends (a plural group)

So Greek uses the plural φίλους because it refers to the larger group that the one person comes from.

In Greek, possessive words like μου (my) usually come after the noun:

• ο φίλος μου = my friend
• οι φίλοι μου = my friends

So:

• τους φίλους μου = my friends (in this case, accusative plural)

This word order is normal and very common in Greek.

Μένει is the:

• present tense
• third person singular
• of the verb μένω = to live / stay

So μένει means:

• he/she/it lives or sometimes
• he/she/it stays

Here it means lives.

Examples:

• Μένω στην Ελλάδα = I live in Greece
• Μένει στην Ελλάδα = He/She lives in Greece

Στην is the contracted form of:

• σε + την = στην

This contraction is very common in everyday Greek.

So:

• σε την Ελλάδα becomes
• στην Ελλάδα

Both relate to in/to Greece, but στην is the normal form you will usually see and hear.

In Greek, country names often appear with the definite article, especially after prepositions like σε.

So Greek says:

• στην Ελλάδα = literally in the Greece, but naturally translated as in Greece

This is normal Greek usage and should not be translated word-for-word into English.

It is in the accusative case.

That is because σε takes the accusative in Modern Greek:

• στην Ελλάδα = σε + την Ελλάδα

So even though the meaning is in Greece, the noun after σε is accusative.

Yes, but it means something slightly different.

• Ένας από τους φίλους μου = one of my friends
• Ένας φίλος μου = a friend of mine

The first version emphasizes that the person is one member of a known group. The second version is more general.

Both are correct, but ένας από τους φίλους μου is closer to the exact meaning one of my friends.

The given word order is the most neutral and natural:

• Ένας από τους φίλους μου μένει στην Ελλάδα.

Greek word order is more flexible than English, so other orders are possible for emphasis, for example:

• Στην Ελλάδα μένει ένας από τους φίλους μου.

This would put more focus on in Greece.

But for a basic statement, the original order is the best one to learn first.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

Énas apó tus fílus mu méni stin Elláda

A few helpful notes:

• Ένας sounds roughly like EH-nas
• φ is like English f
• ου sounds like oo
• η / ι / υ / ει / οι all sound like ee in Modern Greek
• στην sounds like steen
• Ελλάδα is stressed on λά: e-LA-tha in many speakers' pronunciation, with δ pronounced like the th in this

The accent marks show which syllable is stressed:

• Ένας
• από
• φίλους
• μένει
• Ελλάδα

Not always. Μένω can mean:

• to live somewhere
• to stay somewhere
• sometimes to remain

In this sentence, because it is followed by a place (στην Ελλάδα), the natural meaning is lives.

So here:

• μένει στην Ελλάδα = lives in Greece