Breakdown of Η χώρα μας είναι μικρή, αλλά έχει πολλές ωραίες πόλεις.
Questions & Answers about Η χώρα μας είναι μικρή, αλλά έχει πολλές ωραίες πόλεις.
Η is the feminine singular definite article in the nominative case. It corresponds roughly to “the” in English.
- Η χώρα = the country
- It’s feminine because χώρα is a feminine noun.
- In Greek, you normally use the definite article with nouns much more often than in English, even with possessives:
- η χώρα μας = literally the country of us → our country
You normally wouldn’t say χώρα μας without the article in this sentence; it sounds incomplete or overly formal/poetic.
In Greek, the weak possessive pronouns (my, your, our, etc.) usually come after the noun:
- η χώρα μας = our country
- το σπίτι σου = your house
- το βιβλίο μου = my book
So the order is typically: article + noun + possessive pronoun.
If you put the possessive before the noun (η μας χώρα) it sounds archaic, very formal, or poetic. There is a different form that can go before the noun, e.g. η δική μας χώρα (“our own country”), but that changes the structure and emphasis.
Είναι is the third-person singular form of the verb είμαι (“to be”).
- είμαι = I am
- είσαι = you are
- είναι = he/she/it is
In Η χώρα μας είναι μικρή, the subject is η χώρα μας (“our country”), so είναι here means “is”.
Greek normally omits subject pronouns (εγώ, εσύ, αυτός…) because the verb ending already shows the person and number. You don’t need an extra “it” like in English; η χώρα μας is the subject.
Adjectives in Greek agree in gender, number, and case with the noun they describe.
- χώρα is feminine, singular, nominative.
- So the adjective must also be feminine, singular, nominative: μικρή.
Other forms of the same adjective:
- μικρός: masculine singular (e.g. μικρός άντρας “small man”)
- μικρή: feminine singular (e.g. μικρή χώρα “small country”)
- μικρό: neuter singular (e.g. μικρό σπίτι “small house”)
Αλλά means “but” and is used just like English “but” to contrast two clauses:
- Η χώρα μας είναι μικρή, αλλά έχει πολλές ωραίες πόλεις.
= Our country is small, but it has many beautiful cities.
The comma before αλλά is common and natural in this kind of sentence, just like in English before “but”. In shorter phrases you might sometimes see αλλά without a comma, but in two full clauses like here, the comma is standard.
Έχει literally means “has” (from the verb έχω = to have). In Greek, it is very common to use έχει in an impersonal way to mean something like “there is/are”:
- Έχει πολλές ωραίες πόλεις.
Literally: “(It) has many beautiful cities.”
Functionally: “There are many beautiful cities (in it) / It has many beautiful cities.”
You can say:
- …αλλά υπάρχουν πολλές ωραίες πόλεις. = “…but there are many beautiful cities.”
That is also correct, slightly more neutral/formal. Using έχει here is very natural, especially in spoken Greek, and subtly emphasizes that our country “has” these cities.
Both adjectives πολλές (many) and ωραίες (nice/beautiful) describe πόλεις (“cities”).
- πόλεις is the feminine plural nominative form of πόλη.
- Therefore, the adjectives must match it in gender (feminine), number (plural), and case (nominative):
- πολλές πόλεις = many cities
- ωραίες πόλεις = beautiful cities
- πολλές ωραίες πόλεις = many beautiful cities
If the noun were masculine or neuter, the adjectives would change accordingly.
The usual, most natural order in Greek is:
article + noun + adjectives or article + adjectives + noun
In this phrase we have no article in the second part, so it is simply:
πολλές ωραίες πόλεις (many beautiful cities)
This is the normal order: adjectives before the noun.
You can put some adjectives after the noun, but that often sounds more literary or changes the emphasis. For example:
- πόλεις ωραίες – “cities that are beautiful” (more descriptive, slightly stylistic)
- πολλές ωραίες πόλεις – neutral, standard “many beautiful cities”
For a learner, it’s safest to keep adjectives before the noun in phrases like this.
Πόλη means “city” and is a feminine noun.
- Singular: η πόλη – the city (nominative)
- Plural: οι πόλεις – the cities (nominative)
So πόλεις is the nominative plural form.
In the sentence …έχει πολλές ωραίες πόλεις, the whole phrase πολλές ωραίες πόλεις is the direct object of έχει, but Greek feminine nouns often use the same form for nominative and accusative plurals:
- Nominative plural: οι πόλεις (subject)
- Accusative plural: τις πόλεις (object)
Here we have no article, so πόλεις by itself can serve as the object form.
Both mean “beautiful/nice cities”, but there is a nuance:
- ωραίες πόλεις: ωραίος is very common and can mean nice, beautiful, pleasant, good (quite broad and everyday).
- όμορφες πόλεις: όμορφος more specifically means beautiful, pretty (more focused on aesthetic beauty).
In this sentence, πολλές ωραίες πόλεις is completely natural; πολλές όμορφες πόλεις would also be correct, just with a slightly stronger emphasis on beauty.
Approximate pronunciation (stress marked with bold on the stressed syllable):
Η χώρα → i *HÓ-ra*
- χ = like German ch in “Bach” or Spanish j in “José”
- η = like ee in “see”
μας → mas (short a like in “cut” but a bit more open)
είναι → *Í-ne* (two syllables)
μικρή → mi-KRÍ (stress on the second syllable; final -ή = ee)
αλλά → a-LÁ (double λ just slightly longer l)
έχει → *É-chi (again *χ as in “Bach”; final -ι = ee)
πολλές → po-LÉS (double λ; final -ές like “ess”)
ωραίες → o-*RÉ-es*
- ω (omega) here sounds like o in “more”
- αι usually is pronounced like e in “met” (here part of -ρες / -rεs)
πόλεις → *PÓ-lis (two syllables, final *-εις pronounced -is)
This whole sentence flows quite smoothly once you get used to χ and the -η / -ι / -ει / -οι all sounding like ee.