Ρώτησα στη ρεσεψιόν αν το πρωινό είναι δωρεάν.

Ρώτησα means I asked.

It is the aorist form of ρωτάω / ρωτώ = to ask. In this sentence, the aorist shows a completed action in the past: you asked once, and that action is finished.

A useful contrast is:

• ρώτησα = I asked
• ρωτούσα = I was asking / I used to ask

So Ρώτησα στη ρεσεψιόν... means you asked reception at a particular moment.

στη is just the contracted form of σε τη.

So:

• σε + τη = στη
• σε + το = στο

This is extremely common in Greek and is the normal form in everyday language.

So:

• στη ρεσεψιόν = at / to the reception
• στο ξενοδοχείο = at / in the hotel

Yes, ρεσεψιόν is a loanword, but Greek still gives it a grammatical gender and uses articles with it.

Here it is treated as feminine, so you get:

• η ρεσεψιόν = the reception
• τη ρεσεψιόν after σε / στη

Also, ρεσεψιόν is usually indeclinable, which means the noun itself does not change form much, but the article shows the gender and case.

So even though the noun stays ρεσεψιόν, the article changes as needed.

Literally, it means at / to reception.

In practice, Greek often uses στη ρεσεψιόν to mean I asked at reception or I asked the people at reception. It does not have to mean the physical desk only; it can also refer to the hotel reception staff in a general way.

If you wanted to refer to one specific person, you could say something like:

• Ρώτησα τη ρεσεψιονίστ = I asked the receptionist

So στη ρεσεψιόν is a natural, idiomatic way to say this.

Here, αν means whether / if in an indirect yes-no question.

So:

• Ρώτησα ... αν το πρωινό είναι δωρεάν
  = I asked ... whether the breakfast is free

This is not a condition like If it rains, we’ll stay home. It is introducing the content of the question you asked.

So in this sentence, αν = whether / if.

This is a very common and important Greek pattern.

Greek does not always shift the tense back the way English often does. After a past verb like ρώτησα, Greek can keep the verb in the subordinate clause in the present if the question was about a present situation.

So:

• Ρώτησα αν το πρωινό είναι δωρεάν
  = literally I asked whether the breakfast is free

This sounds perfectly normal in Greek.

In English, many speakers would say was free, but Greek often keeps είναι because the question concerns the breakfast’s status at that time as a current fact.

So this is not a mistake; it is normal Greek usage.

Here το πρωινό means the breakfast or simply breakfast.

The noun πρωινό is neuter, which is why it takes το.

You may also see πρωινό in other meanings depending on context, because it can also relate to morning as an adjective, but in hotel/travel contexts το πρωινό very commonly means breakfast.

Examples:

• Το πρωινό σερβίρεται στις 8. = Breakfast is served at 8.
• Το πρωινό περιλαμβάνεται; = Is breakfast included?

Greek uses the definite article much more often than English.

In this sentence, το πρωινό refers to the specific breakfast offered by the hotel, so the article is very natural.

So Greek says:

• το πρωινό είναι δωρεάν

where English often just says:

• breakfast is free

This is a normal difference between the two languages. You should not expect article use to match English exactly.

δωρεάν means free of charge.

It is often treated as an indeclinable form, and in sentences like this it works as the predicate after είναι:

• Το πρωινό είναι δωρεάν = Breakfast is free

You can think of it as meaning gratis / free of charge.

A few similar expressions are:

• δωρεάν = free
• χωρίς χρέωση = without charge
• δεν κοστίζει τίποτα = it costs nothing

So in this sentence, δωρεάν is the natural word for free in the sense of not costing money.

No, Greek word order is fairly flexible, but the given order is very natural.

The sentence:

• Ρώτησα στη ρεσεψιόν αν το πρωινό είναι δωρεάν

is a standard, clear way to say it.

You might also hear slight variations, such as moving the place phrase, but the original is probably the most neutral and useful version for a learner.

Greek word order often changes for emphasis, but that does not always mean the basic meaning changes.

Greek commonly uses αν for both ideas in contexts like this.

English distinguishes:

• if for conditions
• whether for indirect questions

Greek often uses αν in both roles, and the meaning comes from the context.

So after ρώτησα, it is understood as an indirect question:

• Ρώτησα αν... = I asked whether...

This is completely normal and very common.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

RO-ti-sa sti re-sep-SYON an to pro-i-NO EE-ne dore-AN

A few notes:

• Ρώτησα → stress on the first syllable: RO
• στη → like stee
• ρεσεψιόν → stress at the end: -SYON
• πρωινό → stress on the last syllable: -NO
• είναι → often pronounced roughly EE-ne
• δωρεάν → stress on the last syllable: -AN

The written accents in Greek show you where the stress goes, which is very helpful.