On the Adjective

	*leksilOgh'io*	Vocabulary
Adjectives
	*adhInatos*	thin
	*Askh'imos*	ugly
	*gh'Eros*	old (person)
	*zil'Aris*	jealous
	*k'enUrgh'os*	new, recent
	*kalOs*	good
	*kakOs*	bad
	*kondOs*	short
	*meghAlos*	big
	*mikrOs*	small
	*nEos*	new, young
	*Omorphos*	pretty, beautiful
	*pal'Os*	old (thing)
	*plUsios*	rich
	*stakhtIs*	grey (lit. ash colored)
	*stenOs*	narrow
	*phardhIs*	wide
	*phtokhOs*	poor
	*khondrOs*	fat
	*psilOs*	tall
	*orEos*	handsome, beautiful
Other words
	*adhErphkh'a*	siblings
	*alA*	but
	*gh'iton'A*	neighbourhood
	*Ergho*	film (here)
	*Ekh'i*	(he/she/it) has
	*zebhghAri*	couple
	*tha dhUne*	(they) will see/watch
	*kinimatoghrAphos*	cinema
	*kopEla*	young woman
	*mEnun*	(they) live/stay
	*mitEra*	mother
	*ikogh'Enia*	family
	*patEras*	father
	*pu*	that, which

Nikos and Anna

, .
In the big house live Nikos and Anna, a young couple.

.
Nikos is a handsome boy from a rich family.

, .
Anna is a beautiful young girl, but she is poor.

,
Anna's father is tall and thin,

.
but her mother is short and fat.

, .
Their house is new, but their neighbourhood is old.

, .
Nikos has two little siblings, which are short.

" , ".
Tonight they will watch the film "The good, the bad and the ugly" at the cinema.

Grammar Notes

1. There isn't really much new information in this lesson; just a few notes and rules on the use of the adjective. Adjective is a word that describes a quality of the noun it accompanies. An adjective is always followed or preceded by the noun it refers to. Usually, the adjective precedes the noun, e.g. , like English (a big house). Sometimes it comes after the noun, e.g. . The difference between the two is that in the latter you emphasize the adjective (), whereas in the former the attention is concentrated on the noun (). Another case, where the adjective may come after the noun is when the verb (I am) is used. For example,
   (the father is tall)
   (the house is new)
2. The adjective has to agree with the noun it characterises in gender, number and case. Thus, one says
   =the beautiful house (neutral, singular)
   but
   =the beautiful young lady (feminine, singular)
   and
   =the beautiful men (masculine, plural)
   
   Note that the case, number and gender of the noun is easy to determine by looking at the ending or (easier) the article.
3. For details on the declension of adjectives, you can refer to the adjective page.
4. Even when the adjective and the noun it specifies are separated by the verb "" they still have to agree :
   
   
5. An adjective may sometimes function as a noun, especially when the noun is omitted or implied, e.g.,
   , = the good, the bad and the ugly,
   the same way it occurs in English. In this case, it is treated as if it were a noun.

Remarks

• Notice that in the sentence
  
  the adjective () agrees with the second noun (), not the first (), because that's what it refers to. Sentences can sometimes be tricky!
• The usual word order in Greek is
  SUBJECT - VERB - OBJECT
  but this is not a strict rule. Words may appear in different positions, according to what one wants to say or emphasize, e.g.,
  .
  but also
  .
  In general, the former emphasizes WHO lives in the big house, whereas the latter empasizes WHERE Nikos and Anna live.

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