LingoflyFour cases, and three of them do the work
A Greek word has four shapes left, and three of them do the daily work. There is no shape of its own for saying "to me" or "to him". Getting to a place runs through σε (se) and the object shape. Telling something to a person runs through the shape that also marks "whose". For example: “Ο φίλος (fílos) μου (mu) είναι (íne) εδώ” (edó) — My friend is here. A rule from the Greek course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
A Greek word has four shapes left, and three of them do the daily work. There is no shape of its own for saying "to me" or "to him". Getting to a place runs through σε (se) and the object shape. Telling something to a person runs through the shape that also marks "whose".
The word for "the" changes along with the noun, and it gives the shape away first. ο φίλος (fílos) (o fílos) — a friend does something. του (tu) φίλου (fílu) (tu fílu) — of a friend. τον (ton) φίλο (fílo) (ton fílo) — a friend gets acted on.
English keeps a trace of this in I/me and he/him, and leaves the rest to word order and prepositions. Greek folds those jobs into endings.
Two things to hold on to. The "whose" shape also means "to whom": του (tu) λέω (léo) (tu léo) — I tell him, το (to) σπίτι (spíti) του (tu) (to spíti tu) — his house. And στην (stin) Αθήνα (Athína) (stin Athína) is both "to Athens" and "in Athens" — the verb decides.
Table
By example
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Four cases, and three of them do the work: how does it work in Greek?
A Greek word has four shapes left, and three of them do the daily work. There is no shape of its own for saying "to me" or "to him". Getting to a place runs through σε (se) and the object shape. Telling something to a person runs through the shape that also marks "whose".
What does it look like in a Greek example sentence?
“Ο φίλος (fílos) μου (mu) είναι (íne) εδώ” (edó) (o fílos mu íne edó) — My friend is here. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.