Η αυλαία ανοίγει πριν από την υπόκλιση.

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Breakdown of Η αυλαία ανοίγει πριν από την υπόκλιση.

• πριν από: before
• η αυλαία: the theatre curtain
• η υπόκλιση: the theatrical bow

Questions & Answers about Η αυλαία ανοίγει πριν από την υπόκλιση.

Why does the sentence start with Η?

Η is the feminine singular definite article in the nominative case. It means the.

Here it goes with αυλαία (curtain), which is a feminine singular noun:

• η αυλαία = the curtain

Greek nouns have grammatical gender, so the article has to match the noun.

Why is it η αυλαία but την υπόκλιση?

Because the two nouns are in different cases.

• η αυλαία is the subject of the verb, so it is in the nominative
• την υπόκλιση comes after πριν από, and that expression takes the accusative

So:

• η = feminine singular nominative article
• την = feminine singular accusative article

This is a very common pattern in Greek:

• subject -> nominative
• object or noun after many prepositions -> accusative

What form is ανοίγει?