τον ψαρά, τον πωλητή

Question

When do we use τον vs το (add a ν at the end)?  Would we rather say το ψαρά, το πωλητή?

Answer 1

The correct form is: τον ψαρά, τον πωλητή.

We definitely add “ν” in the male and female article, when the following word starts with:
1) a vowel (α, ε, ο  etc)
2) the consonants κ, π, τ
3) the consonant combinations that include κ, π, τ (γκ, μπ, τσ, ξ, ψ).  Please note that ψ and ξ come from the consonant combinations πσ and κσ respectively .

In the rest of the cases you may omit “ν”:
τη μαμά, το φίλο κτλ.

As a hard and fast rule you may always add “ν”.  It is not a mistake to write:
την μαμά, τον φίλο κτλ.

However it is a big mistake to omit “ν” when it is required.  We would never write this:
το αέρα, το ήλιο

Comments

So am I correct if I say the following:
τον Τσιτσάνη
τον κρεοπώλη
τον αεροπόρο
το μάστορα
το φουκαρά

---

They are absolutely correct!