Questions & Answers about Φροντίζει την εμφάνισή του.
Why is there no separate word for he in this sentence?
Greek often leaves out the subject pronoun because the verb ending already shows the person and number. Φροντίζει is 3rd person singular, so it means he/she/it takes care. The exact subject is understood from context.
What form is φροντίζει?
It is the present tense, 3rd person singular of φροντίζω. Here it means takes care of, looks after, or cares about. The present can describe a habit or general behavior, not only something happening right now.
Why is it την and not τη?
The feminine singular accusative article is often written as τη(ν). The final -ν is kept before vowels, and εμφάνιση starts with a vowel, so you write την εμφάνιση. That is why την is required here.
Why is there an article at all? English says his appearance, not the his appearance.
Greek normally uses the definite article with possessive expressions. So την εμφάνισή του is the natural Greek way to say his appearance. This is very common in Greek: το βιβλίο μου = my book, η αδερφή της = her sister.
What case is την εμφάνισή του, and why?
It is in the accusative, because it is the direct object of φροντίζει. The noun εμφάνιση is feminine, so its accusative singular article is την. In dictionary form, the noun is η εμφάνιση.
What exactly does του mean here?
Here του is a possessive clitic meaning his, and in some contexts it can also mean its. Greek often shows possession with a weak pronoun placed after the noun: η εμφάνισή του = his appearance. Compare μου = my, σου = your, της = her.
Why does εμφάνιση appear as εμφάνισή before του?
Because του is an enclitic, meaning it is unstressed and leans on the previous word. When a word like εμφάνιση is followed by an enclitic, Greek often adds an extra written accent: εμφάνισή του. This does not change the meaning or the case of the noun; it is a matter of stress and spelling.
Does του mean the subject must be male?
No. Του tells you that the owner of the appearance is masculine or neuter: his/its. But the verb φροντίζει still could mean he takes care, she takes care, or it takes care, depending on context.
Why is there no preposition after φροντίζει?
In Greek, φροντίζω can take a direct object, so φροντίζει την εμφάνισή του is perfectly normal. English often uses expressions like care about or take care of, but Greek does not always need a preposition in the same place. So the structure is simply verb + object here.
How would I say her appearance instead of his appearance?
You would change του to της: Φροντίζει την εμφάνισή της. The rest of the sentence stays the same. In the same way, μου means my, σου means your, and τους means their.
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