στο
Wordform Details
Translation: to thein the
Part of Speech: preposition with article
Inflection Type:
neutersingularaccusativeIs Dictionary Form: No
Dictionary Form Details
Lemma: σε το
Translation: to the; in the; at the (contraction)
Etymology: This is a contraction of the preposition 'σε' (to, in, at) and the neuter definite article 'το' (the). In Modern Greek, when the preposition 'σε' is followed by the definite article, they often contract in speech and sometimes in writing. The contraction 'στο' is more commonly used in writing than the separate forms 'σε το'.
Mnemonics
- Think of 'σε το' as 'to the' where 'σε' means 'to' and 'το' means 'the'.
- The contraction 'στο' sounds like 'sto', which you can remember as 'store' - you go 'to the' store.
Synonyms
Example Wordforms
Cultural Context
This is a fundamental grammatical construction in Modern Greek. The contracted form 'στο' is much more common in both written and spoken Greek than the separate forms 'σε το'.
Easily Confused With
Explanation: 'σε' is just the preposition without the article, meaning 'to/in/at' without specifying 'the'.
This word:
Πηγαίνω στο σχολείο.
I go to the school.
Confused word:
Πηγαίνω σε σχολείο.
I go to a school.
Notes: The contraction 'στο' is much more common in everyday Greek than the separate forms 'σε το'.
Mnemonic: 'σε το' (or 'στο') has 'το' which means 'the', while just 'σε' doesn't specify which one.