Υπάρχει έλλειψη νερού.

There is a shortage of water.

Breakdown of Υπάρχει έλλειψη νερού.

• το νερό: the water
• υπάρχω: to exist / there to be
• η έλλειψη: lack; shortage

Questions & Answers about Υπάρχει έλλειψη νερού.

What does υπάρχει mean here, and why is Greek using it?

Υπάρχει is the 3rd person singular of υπάρχω, which means to exist or there is / there are.

In this sentence, Greek is using υπάρχει the way English uses there is:

• Υπάρχει πρόβλημα. = There is a problem.
• Υπάρχει έλλειψη νερού. = There is a water shortage.

So this is a very common Greek way to introduce the existence of something.

Why is it υπάρχει and not υπάρχουν?

Because the thing that exists is έλλειψη (shortage/lack), and έλλειψη is singular.

So Greek matches the verb to έλλειψη, not to νερού:

• Υπάρχει έλλειψη νερού. = There is a shortage of water.
• Υπάρχουν ελλείψεις νερού. = There are water shortages.

Even though water may feel like the important idea in English, grammatically the main noun here is έλλειψη.

Why is there no article before έλλειψη?