Learn Hardcore Greek: Πόσοι άνθρωποι είναι εδώ τώρα;

Masculine plural: Πόσοι άνθρωποι (how many people/men)
Feminine plural: Πόσες γυναίκες (how many women)
Neuter plural: Πόσα παιδιά / άτομα (how many children / individuals) Note: Πόσο (neuter singular) can also be an adverb meaning “how much,” but it does not agree with a plural noun like άνθρωποι.

Why does the sentence end with a semicolon?

In Greek, the question mark is written as a semicolon: ;. So the ending ; is the Greek question mark.

Why is there no article before άνθρωποι?

Interrogatives and quantifiers like Πόσοι act like determiners, so no article is needed. Also, Greek has no plural indefinite article. You would not say “the how many people”; you simply say Πόσοι άνθρωποι.

What case is άνθρωποι, and why not ανθρώπους?

Here άνθρωποι is nominative plural because it’s the subject of είναι (“are”). You would use accusative plural ανθρώπους when it’s a direct object, e.g.:

Subject (nominative): Πόσοι άνθρωποι είναι εδώ;
Object (accusative): Πόσους ανθρώπους βλέπεις; (“How many people do you see?”)

Is είναι singular or plural here?

Greek είναι serves both as 3rd person singular (“he/she/it is”) and 3rd person plural (“they are”). You know it’s plural here from the subject άνθρωποι. Mini reference:

είμαι (I am)
είσαι (you sg.)
είναι (he/she/it is)
είμαστε (we are)
είστε (you pl./formal)
είναι (they are)

Can I drop είναι like in some languages?

Not in standard Greek. You usually need είναι. What you can drop is the noun if it’s clear from context:

Full: Πόσοι άνθρωποι είναι εδώ τώρα;
With ellipsis: Πόσοι είναι εδώ τώρα; (if “people” is understood)

If I mean only women (or only men), how do I say it?

Match the gendered interrogative with the noun:

Women: Πόσες γυναίκες είναι εδώ τώρα;
Men: Πόσοι άντρες/άνδρες είναι εδώ τώρα; Do not say Πόσες άνθρωποι (mismatch: feminine interrogative with masculine noun).

What’s the difference between άνθρωποι, άτομα, and κόσμος?

άνθρωποι: “people” (human beings), everyday and neutral.
άτομα: “individuals,” neuter; slightly more formal/neutral and gender‑neutral. Question: Πόσα άτομα είναι εδώ τώρα;
κόσμος: literally “world,” but colloquially “people/crowd” as a mass noun. Question: Πόσος κόσμος είναι εδώ τώρα; (How big a crowd/how many people) — slightly more colloquial.

Can I change the word order of εδώ and τώρα?

Yes. Word order is flexible; stress and nuance change slightly:

Πόσοι άνθρωποι είναι εδώ τώρα; (neutral)
Πόσοι άνθρωποι είναι τώρα εδώ; (focuses on the “now”)
Τώρα πόσοι άνθρωποι είναι εδώ; (fronts “now” for emphasis) All are fine in everyday speech.

How do I pronounce the words?

Approximate pronunciation (stressed syllable in caps):

Πόσοι: PO-see (οι = “ee”) [ˈposi]
άνθρωποι: AN-thro-pee (θ = th in “thin”, ρ is a light tap) [ˈanθropi]
είναι: EE-neh [ˈine]
εδώ: e-DHO (δ = voiced th as in “this”) [eˈðo]
τώρα: TO-ra [ˈtora]

Why does δ sound like “th” in εδώ?

Modern Greek δ is the voiced dental fricative [ð], like “th” in “this.” The unvoiced “th” in “thin” is θ. So:

δ = [ð] (this)
θ = [θ] (thin)

What do the accent marks do? And why both ο and ω if they sound the same?

The accent (´) marks the stressed syllable; it does not change vowel quality or length.
ο and ω both sound like “o” in Modern Greek. The difference is historical/orthographic, not phonetic. You’ll see both in words like άνθρωποι, τώρα, εδώ.

How would I answer this question in Greek?

Several natural replies:

Just the number: Τρεις. / Πέντε.
With verb: Είναι τρεις.
With a noun: Τρεις άνθρωποι. / Τρία άτομα.
If you don’t know: Δεν ξέρω.

Do numbers have to agree in gender with the noun?

Some do. For “people”:

With masculine άνθρωποι: τρεις (not “τρία”), τέσσερις (not “τέσσερα”): τρεις/τέσσερις άνθρωποι
With neuter άτομα: τρία/τέσσερα άτομα
“One” changes a lot: ένας άνθρωπος, μία γυναίκα, ένα άτομο
“Two” doesn’t change: δύο άνθρωποι / δύο άτομα

Can I use another verb like υπάρχουν or βρίσκονται?

Yes, but nuance shifts:

Πόσοι άνθρωποι είναι εδώ τώρα; neutral, most common.
Πόσοι άνθρωποι υπάρχουν εδώ τώρα; existential “are there,” a bit heavier/formal or when emphasizing existence.
Πόσοι άνθρωποι βρίσκονται εδώ τώρα; “are located/found,” more formal or report-like.

How would I ask “there” instead of “here”?

Replace εδώ with εκεί:

Πόσοι άνθρωποι είναι εκεί τώρα; (How many people are there now?)

Is the sentence formal or informal? Any polite way to ask?

The sentence is neutral. To be extra polite/indirect, embed it:

Μήπως ξέρετε πόσοι άνθρωποι είναι εδώ τώρα; (Do you happen to know how many people are here now?)