Learn Hardcore Greek: Στο σαλόνι προτιμώ το κόκκινο από το πράσινο. - In the living room I prefer the red to the green.

So στο σαλόνι literally means “in the living room” or “at the living room”, with το agreeing with the neuter noun σαλόνι (the living room).

What is the role of στο σαλόνι in the sentence? Does it mean “for the living room” or “in the living room”?

Στο σαλόνι is a prepositional phrase of place. It can be understood in two closely related ways:

Literal location:
- “In the living room I prefer the red one to the green one.”
  (For example, when talking about how the colors look inside the room.)
Context / domain (“for use in the living room”):
- “(For) the living room, I prefer the red (color) over the green.”
  (For example, choosing paint or a sofa color for that room.)

In everyday speech, both readings are possible and context decides which is meant. Greek does not need a special “for” preposition here; στο σαλόνι covers both “in” and “for (the space of) the living room.”

Why is there no word for “I”? Where is the subject?

The subject “I” is contained in the verb ending. Greek is a pro‑drop language, which means subject pronouns are usually omitted because the verb form already shows the person:

προτιμώ = I prefer
προτιμάς = you (singular) prefer
προτιμά = he/she/it prefers
προτιμούμε = we prefer
προτιμάτε = you (plural/formal) prefer
προτιμούν(ε) = they prefer

So προτιμώ on its own already means “I prefer”, so εγώ (I) is not necessary unless you want to emphasize it:
Εγώ, στο σαλόνι, προτιμώ το κόκκινο από το πράσινο. = I (as opposed to others) prefer…

What does προτιμώ mean exactly, and is this present tense?

Προτιμώ means “I prefer”. It is:

Present tense
Active voice
First person singular

So the basic meaning is a present‑time or general preference:

Στο σαλόνι προτιμώ το κόκκινο από το πράσινο.
In the living room I prefer red to green.

For a completed, one‑time preference (“I chose X over Y”), you might use the aorist:

Στο σαλόνι προτίμησα το κόκκινο από το πράσινο.
In/for the living room, I chose the red one instead of the green one.

In your sentence, the present tense suggests a general taste or typical choice, not just a single past event.

How does the structure “προτιμώ X από Y” work? Is από necessary? Could I use something else?

The common pattern for expressing preference in Greek is:

προτιμώ [thing A] από [thing B]
= I prefer A to B / I prefer A over B

So in the sentence:

προτιμώ το κόκκινο από το πράσινο
= I prefer the red (one) to the green (one).

Από is the usual preposition in comparisons of this type and it puts the second item (the one you don’t prefer) in the accusative case.

You will also see παρά used in similar structures:

Προτιμώ το κόκκινο παρά το πράσινο.

In everyday speech, από is more common and completely natural. Παρά can sound a bit more emphatic or stylistic, but both are correct.

Why do we say το κόκκινο and το πράσινο with το? Why not just κόκκινο and πράσινο without an article?

Here, κόκκινο and πράσινο are color adjectives being used as nouns (meaning “the red one”, “the green one”, or more abstractly “red”, “green” as colors). Greek typically uses the definite article to “turn” an adjective into a noun:

το κόκκινο = the red one / the color red
το πράσινο = the green one / the color green

If you drop the article and just say προτιμώ κόκκινο, it can sound incomplete or more like a shortened, colloquial style (e.g. in quick speech or lists), but the standard, clear way to refer to “the red one” or “(the color) red” is with the article: το κόκκινο.

So the structure is:

το (article, neuter singular) + κόκκινο (adjective, neuter singular)
το (article, neuter singular) + πράσινο (adjective, neuter singular)

Are κόκκινο and πράσινο adjectives or nouns in this sentence?

Grammatically they are adjectives, but they are used substantively (as nouns).

Their full adjective paradigms are:

κόκκινος (m.), κόκκινη (f.), κόκκινο (n.) = red
πράσινος (m.), πράσινη (f.), πράσινο (n.) = green

In your sentence, the noun (e.g. “sofa”, “color”, “curtain”) is not mentioned, so Greek uses the adjective with an article:

το κόκκινο = “the red one” / “the red (color)”
το πράσινο = “the green one” / “the green (color)”

This is very common in Greek: adjectives + article can stand for whole noun phrases when the noun is obvious or not important to specify.

Why is the article το (neuter) used with the colors instead of something like τον or την? What if I’m talking about a specific object like a sofa?

The neuter το here does not refer to a specific masculine or feminine object; it refers to the color as a general concept or “thing”. Abstract or generic ideas are often treated as neuter in Greek:

το κόκκινο = the red (color / option)
το πράσινο = the green (color / option)

If you mean a specific object and the gender matters, the adjective normally agrees with that noun:

ο κόκκινος καναπές = the red sofa (masc.)
ο πράσινος καναπές = the green sofa (masc.)

If the noun is omitted but clearly understood, you can keep the masculine:

Προτιμώ τον κόκκινο (καναπέ) από τον πράσινο (καναπέ).
I prefer the red (sofa) to the green (sofa).

So:

το κόκκινο / το πράσινο → focusing on the colors as choices
τον κόκκινο / τον πράσινο → referring to a known masculine object (e.g. specific sofa, wall, etc.)

In your sentence, it sounds more like a general color preference for the living room, so the neuter το is natural.

Why is the definite article το used? In English I’d probably say “I prefer red to green” without “the”.

Greek tends to use the definite article more often than English, especially with:

General concepts
Abstract nouns
Adjectives used as nouns

So:

Προτιμώ το κόκκινο από το πράσινο.
literally: I prefer the red to the green.
natural English: I prefer red to green.

Using the article here doesn’t necessarily mean you are talking about one very specific red object; it can be generic (“the color red” as a category). Greek simply uses το κόκκινο where English often uses bare “red.”

Could I change the word order? For example, say Προτιμώ στο σαλόνι το κόκκινο από το πράσινο or Προτιμώ το κόκκινο από το πράσινο στο σαλόνι?

Yes, Greek word order is relatively flexible, and all of these are grammatically possible:

Στο σαλόνι προτιμώ το κόκκινο από το πράσινο.
Neutral; light emphasis on the location “in/for the living room” at the start.
Προτιμώ, στο σαλόνι, το κόκκινο από το πράσινο.
Similar meaning; commas (or pauses in speech) highlight στο σαλόνι as extra information.
Προτιμώ το κόκκινο από το πράσινο στο σαλόνι.
Still understandable, but can sound like “I prefer the red one to the green one in the living room (as opposed to somewhere else)”, so the attachment of στο σαλόνι can feel a bit more ambiguous.

In practice, your original version (with στο σαλόνι at the beginning) is very natural and clear.

How do κόκκινο and πράσινο change in other genders or numbers? Do color adjectives decline like regular adjectives?

Yes, they decline like regular -ος / -η / -ο adjectives. For κόκκινος (red):

Masculine: ο κόκκινος, του κόκκινου, τον κόκκινο
Feminine: η κόκκινη, της κόκκινης, την κόκκινη
Neuter: το κόκκινο, του κόκκινου, το κόκκινο

Plural (nominative):

Masculine: οι κόκκινοι
Feminine: οι κόκκινες
Neuter: τα κόκκινα

Same pattern for πράσινος:

ο πράσινος, η πράσινη, το πράσινο
Plural: οι πράσινοι, οι πράσινες, τα πράσινα

So if you talked about multiple items:

Προτιμώ τα κόκκινα από τα πράσινα.
I prefer the red ones to the green ones.

Is there another common way to say this idea in Greek, like using μου αρέσει instead of προτιμώ?

Yes, you can express a similar idea with μου αρέσει (“I like”) and περισσότερο (“more”):

Στο σαλόνι μου αρέσει περισσότερο το κόκκινο από το πράσινο.
= In the living room I like red more than green.

The difference is:

προτιμώ is directly “I prefer” (choosing A over B).
μου αρέσει περισσότερο is “I like A more”, which is slightly softer but in practice often used for preference as well.

Both are very natural; προτιμώ is a bit shorter and more direct for explicit preferences.