Ο καπετάνιος μιλάει με το πλήρωμα.

Word by word:

• Ο = the for a masculine singular noun
• καπετάνιος = captain
• μιλάει = speaks / is speaking / talks
• με = with
• το = the for a neuter singular noun
• πλήρωμα = crew

So the structure is very close to English: The captain speaks with the crew.

Greek articles change depending on the gender, number, and case of the noun.

In this sentence:

• ο καπετάνιος: καπετάνιος is masculine singular, so it takes ο
• το πλήρωμα: πλήρωμα is neuter singular, so it takes το

So Greek does not have one single form of the like English does. The article has to match the noun.

μιλάει is:

• present tense
• 3rd person singular
• from the verb μιλάω / μιλώ = to speak / talk

So it means:

• he/she speaks
• he/she is speaking
• it speaks in theory, though that is less common in meaning here

Because the subject is ο καπετάνιος, the meaning is the captain speaks / is speaking.

Greek usually does not need a subject pronoun when the verb ending already shows the person and number.

So instead of saying:

• Αυτός μιλάει = He speaks

Greek often just says:

• Μιλάει = (He/She) speaks

In your sentence, the subject is already clearly stated as ο καπετάνιος, so adding a pronoun would be unnecessary.

με means with.

So:

• μιλάει με το πλήρωμα = speaks with the crew

It shows who the captain is speaking with.

A learner may notice that Greek often uses prepositions differently from English, but here the match is simple and direct: with = με.

After με, Greek uses the accusative.

So το πλήρωμα is in the accusative here.

However, with this noun, the form looks the same as the nominative:

• nominative: το πλήρωμα
• accusative: το πλήρωμα

That is very common with neuter nouns in Greek: nominative and accusative singular often look identical.

If the noun were masculine, you would see the change more clearly:

• ο ναύτης = the sailor
• με τον ναύτη = with the sailor

In Greek, grammatical gender does not always match natural gender.

So even though πλήρωμα refers to a group of people, the noun itself is grammatically neuter.

This happens in many languages. A noun’s gender is a grammatical category, not necessarily a statement about biological sex or real-world gender.

Yes. In Modern Greek, both μιλάει and μιλά are used.

So these are both possible:

• Ο καπετάνιος μιλάει με το πλήρωμα.
• Ο καπετάνιος μιλά με το πλήρωμα.

They mean the same thing.
μιλάει may sound a little fuller or slightly more conversational to some speakers, but both are standard and correct.

Yes, Greek word order is more flexible than English word order.

The neutral, straightforward order is:

• Ο καπετάνιος μιλάει με το πλήρωμα.

But you may also hear:

• Με το πλήρωμα μιλάει ο καπετάνιος.
• Μιλάει με το πλήρωμα ο καπετάνιος.

These versions can change the focus or emphasis, but the basic meaning stays the same.

English is less flexible here; Greek can move parts around more easily because articles and endings help show each word’s role.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

• Ο καπετάνιος ≈ o ka-pe-TA-nee-os
• μιλάει ≈ mi-LA-ee
• με το πλήρωμα ≈ me to PLEE-ro-ma

A smoother whole-sentence approximation:

• o ka-pe-TA-nee-os mi-LA-ee me to PLEE-ro-ma

The stressed syllables are marked by the written accent:

• καπετάνιος
• μιλάει
• πλήρωμα

καπετάνιος usually means captain, especially in a nautical context, such as the captain of a ship or boat.

Because the sentence also includes πλήρωμα = crew, the maritime meaning is especially natural here.

In other contexts, Greek may use other words for different kinds of captain, depending on the profession or setting.

Grammatically, το πλήρωμα is singular.

It is a collective noun, like English the crew, the team, or the staff. Even though it refers to several people, the noun itself is singular.

So Greek treats it as one group:

• το πλήρωμα = the crew

If you wanted the plural crews, that would be a different form.

Normally, in a sentence like this, you would use the articles:

• Ο καπετάνιος μιλάει με το πλήρωμα.

Leaving them out would usually sound unnatural or incomplete in ordinary Greek.

Greek uses the definite article much more regularly than English in many contexts. So when you mean the captain and the crew, the articles are expected.