Questions & Answers about Η μαμά μου είναι στην κουζίνα τώρα.
Why does the sentence start with Η? Is it the same as the English letter H, and why isn’t there an accent?
- Η is the uppercase of Greek η (eta), pronounced like “ee” /i/, not like the English H.
- Here Η is the feminine definite article “the.”
- The article η never takes an accent. The accented form ή (with tonos) is a different word meaning “or.”
Why do we need the article with a possessive: Η μαμά μου and not just Μαμά μου?
- In Greek, nouns with possessive clitics (like μου “my”) normally take the definite article: ο/η/το + noun + μου.
- Η μαμά μου is the natural way to say “my mom.”
- You’d drop the article mainly in direct address (vocative): Μαμά! (“Mom!”). In some family contexts, Η μαμά είναι… can mean “Mom is…” even without μου, but for “my mom,” use η … μου.
What does μου do, and why does it come after the noun?
- μου is the unstressed (enclitic) possessive pronoun “my.”
- In Greek, possessive clitics follow the noun: η μαμά μου, ο φίλος μου, το σπίτι μου.
- It’s unstressed, so it normally has no accent and doesn’t change the stress of μαμά. For strong contrast you can use stressed forms like η δική μου μαμά (“my own mom”) or write μού in rare emphatic cases.
Which verb form is είναι, and why is it used for “she is”?