Breakdown of Μου αρέσει ο κόκκινος καναπές στο σαλόνι.
Questions & Answers about Μου αρέσει ο κόκκινος καναπές στο σαλόνι.
Greek doesn’t say I like X; it says X pleases me.
- αρέσει is the 3rd person singular of the verb αρέσω = to please.
- μου is to me (indirect object, genitive case).
So Μου αρέσει ο κόκκινος καναπές literally means The red sofa pleases me.
You don’t say εγώ αρέσω τον καναπέ – that would mean I please the sofa, which is nonsense.
In this sentence μου means to me, not my.
- Grammatically, it’s a weak (clitic) pronoun in the genitive case, used for indirect objects.
- Functionally, it corresponds to English to me / for me.
So:
- Μου αρέσει ο καναπές = The sofa pleases me / I like the sofa.
In another sentence, μου can be possessive: - ο καναπές μου = my sofa.
Because ο κόκκινος καναπές is the subject of the verb αρέσει.
- Greek subjects are in the nominative case: ο καναπές.
- Direct objects take the accusative: τον καναπέ.
In Μου αρέσει ο κόκκινος καναπές, the sofa is doing the “pleasing,” so it must be nominative: ο κόκκινος καναπές.
Adjectives in Greek agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.
- καναπές is masculine, singular, nominative.
- So the adjective must be masculine, singular, nominative as well: κόκκινος.
Other forms would be:
- κόκκινη – feminine
- κόκκινο – neuter
Here only κόκκινος is correct with ο καναπές.
In standard Greek, when you talk about a specific sofa, you normally use the definite article.
- ο κόκκινος καναπές = the red sofa (a particular one)
- κόκκινος καναπές (without article) sounds incomplete or like you’re talking about some random red sofa in a very marked or poetic style.
So for everyday speech, Μου αρέσει ο κόκκινος καναπές is the natural form.
στο is a contraction of σε + το.
- σε = in / at / to (basic preposition)
- το = neuter singular definite article the
So:
- σε + το σαλόνι → στο σαλόνι = in the living room.
Other common contractions:
- σε + τον → στον
- σε + την → στη(ν)
- σε + τους → στους, etc.
The verb of the sentence is αρέσει itself.
- αρέσει means it pleases / is pleasing.
- Greek doesn’t need an extra είναι (is) here.
So Μου αρέσει ο κόκκινος καναπές στο σαλόνι =
The red sofa in the living room pleases me → I like the red sofa in the living room.
You need to make the verb, article, adjective, and noun all plural and masculine:
- Μου αρέσουν οι κόκκινοι καναπέδες στο σαλόνι.
Changes:
- αρέσει → αρέσουν (because the subject is now plural)
- ο → οι (masculine nominative singular → plural)
- κόκκινος → κόκκινοι (adjective to plural)
- καναπές → καναπέδες (noun to plural)
Yes, it is correct; Greek allows flexible word order.
Some possibilities:
- Μου αρέσει ο κόκκινος καναπές στο σαλόνι. (neutral order)
- Ο κόκκινος καναπές στο σαλόνι μού αρέσει. (emphasis on the sofa)
- Στο σαλόνι μού αρέσει ο κόκκινος καναπές. (emphasis on the location)
The basic meaning stays the same, but moving parts around changes what you emphasize.
You add a possessive μου to σαλόνι:
- Μου αρέσει ο κόκκινος καναπές στο σαλόνι μου.
Now you have:
- Μου = to me (indirect object)
- σαλόνι μου = my living room (possessive μου after the noun)
Greek often puts the possessive after the noun: το σαλόνι μου = my living room.
Approximate pronunciations:
αρέσει → a-RE-si
- α like a in father
- ρέ stressed, ε like e in bed
- σι like see
καναπές → ka-na-PES
- κα, να with a as in father
- πές stressed, e as in bed
σαλόνι → sa-LO-ni
- σα with a as in father
- λό stressed, o like o in lot (British)
- νι like nee
In Greek, the written accent mark (´) shows which syllable is stressed.
The accent mark in modern Greek shows the stressed syllable of words with two or more syllables.
- αρέσει: stress on ρέ
- καναπές: stress on πές
- σαλόνι: stress on λό
Monosyllabic words like μου normally don’t get a written accent, even though they are pronounced with some stress in context.
So μου has no accent mark simply because it is one syllable.