Πολλοί άνθρωποι είναι εδώ τώρα.

Many people are here now.

Breakdown of Πολλοί άνθρωποι είναι εδώ τώρα.

• είμαι: to be
• τώρα: now
• εδώ: here
• πολύς: many
• ο άνθρωπος: the person

Questions & Answers about Πολλοί άνθρωποι είναι εδώ τώρα.

How do you pronounce the sentence?

• Πολλοί: [poˈli] — po-LEE (the double λ is not doubled in sound; οι here sounds like “ee”)
• άνθρωποι: [ˈanθropi] — AN-thro-pee (θ is like th in “think,” rolled/strong r)
• είναι: [ˈine] — EE-neh (ει = “ee,” final αι = “e”)
• εδώ: [eˈðo] — e-THO (soft th like “this”; that’s Greek δ)
• τώρα: [ˈtora] — TO-ra

Primary stresses are marked with ˈ.

Why is it πολλοί and not πολύ?

• πολλοί is the plural adjective meaning “many,” and it must agree with the noun άνθρωποι (masculine plural).
• πολύ (with stress on -ύ) is usually an adverb meaning “very/much” (e.g., πολύ καλός = very good) or the neuter singular form in some contexts. You can’t use adverbial πολύ to modify a noun directly.

Why masculine plural πολλοί? Aren’t “people” mixed gender?

In Greek, mixed or unspecified gender groups default to the masculine. άνθρωποι is grammatically masculine plural, so its agreeing adjective is masculine plural: πολλοί.

Why is there no article before άνθρωποι? Could I say Οι πολλοί άνθρωποι…?

• No article is needed because this is an indefinite plural (“many people” in general).
• Οι πολλοί άνθρωποι would mean “the many people,” which is a specific group and sounds odd here unless you’re contrasting them with another group. If you mean “many of the people,” say Πολλοί από τους ανθρώπους.

What’s the difference between πολλοί and πολλούς?

Case:

• πολλοί = nominative plural masculine (used for subjects): Πολλοί άνθρωποι είναι…
• πολλούς = accusative plural masculine (used for direct objects): Βλέπω πολλούς ανθρώπους (“I see many people”).

Why is είναι used with a plural subject? Isn’t that “is”?

είναι serves for both “is” (3rd person singular) and “are” (3rd person plural) in Modern Greek. It’s the 3rd person form of είμαι for both numbers. Present of είμαι:

• εγώ είμαι
• εσύ είσαι
• αυτός/αυτή/αυτό είναι
• εμείς είμαστε
• εσείς είστε
• αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά είναι

Could I say Υπάρχουν πολλοί άνθρωποι εδώ τώρα instead?

Yes. Υπάρχουν… means “there exist/there are,” which often maps naturally to English “there are.” Both are correct:

• Πολλοί άνθρωποι είναι εδώ τώρα (many people are here now)
• Υπάρχουν πολλοί άνθρωποι εδώ τώρα (there are many people here now) The second can sound a bit more “announcing/presenting” the existence of people at the location.

Can εδώ and τώρα move around in the sentence?

Yes. Greek word order is flexible. Common variants:

• Πολλοί άνθρωποι είναι τώρα εδώ.
• Τώρα πολλοί άνθρωποι είναι εδώ.
• Εδώ είναι τώρα πολλοί άνθρωποι. All are grammatical; changing the order slightly shifts emphasis (end/focus position is often more prominent).

What’s the difference between εδώ and εκεί?

• εδώ = here (near the speaker)
• εκεί = there (farther from the speaker) So you could say Πολλοί άνθρωποι είναι εκεί τώρα for “Many people are there now.”

Why is άνθρωποι stressed on the first syllable? I sometimes see people write “ανθρώποι.”

Correct stress is on the first syllable: άνθρωποι. Writing ανθρώποι is a common mistake. The singular is άνθρωπος, plural άνθρωποι, and the stress stays on the same position in these forms.

Is άνθρωποι with ω (omega) correct? How do I know when to use ο vs ω?

Yes, άνθρωποι (and άνθρωπος) use omega (ω). In Modern Greek, ο and ω are pronounced the same; which one to use is a spelling/etymology issue you must memorize for each word.

What’s the role of the accent marks here?

Greek uses a single accent (τόνος) to mark the stressed syllable:

• Πολλοί (stress on the last syllable)
• άνθρωποι (stress on the first)
• είναι (stress on the first)
• εδώ, τώρα (stress on the last) The accent appears even on capitalized words (e.g., Πολλοί), and it’s important for correct pronunciation.

How do the vowel combinations work in πολλοί and είναι?

• οι in πολλοί is pronounced “ee” [i].
• ει in είναι is also “ee” [i].
• αι at the end of είναι is pronounced “e” [e]. So είναι becomes [ˈine].

Can I drop άνθρωποι and just say Πολλοί είναι εδώ τώρα?

Yes, if the context makes it clear who “many” refers to. Πολλοί είναι εδώ τώρα = “Many are here now.” Without context, it can sound incomplete.

How would I make it negative: “Not many people are here now”?

Two natural options:

• Δεν είναι πολλοί άνθρωποι εδώ τώρα.
• Δεν υπάρχουν πολλοί άνθρωποι εδώ τώρα. Both mean “There aren’t many people here now.”

How do I ask, “Are many people here now?”

• Είναι πολλοί άνθρωποι εδώ τώρα;
• Υπάρχουν πολλοί άνθρωποι εδώ τώρα; Remember that Greek uses the semicolon (;) as the question mark.

Could I use other words for “people,” like κόσμος or άτομα?

Yes, with nuances:

• κόσμος often means “people” as a crowd: Πολύς κόσμος είναι εδώ τώρα / Έχει πολύ κόσμο εδώ τώρα (very natural in speech).
• άτομα means “individuals/persons” and is more neutral/formal: Πολλά άτομα είναι εδώ τώρα. It can sound less warm than άνθρωποι in some contexts.

Is the sentence’s word order S–V–Adv–Adv? Is that the “rule” in Greek?

Greek is flexible and uses word order to manage emphasis and information flow, not rigid rules. S–V–(time/place) is common, but many permutations are fine:

• Focus tends to fall toward the end.
• Fronting τώρα (time) or εδώ (place) changes what you highlight, not grammaticality.