Learn Hardcore Greek: Το πλοίο είναι πιο αργό από το αεροπλάνο, αλλά μου αρέσει. - The ship is slower than the airplane, but I like it.

In Greek, the definite article (το, η, ο) is used much more often than in English. Generic statements with singular countable nouns usually take the article:

Το πλοίο είναι πιο αργό από το αεροπλάνο.
Literally: The ship is slower than the airplane.
Meaning in normal English: A ship is slower than a plane.

When we talk about a type or category in general (ships vs airplanes), Greek typically uses the definite article. So το πλοίο and το αεροπλάνο here refer to ships and airplanes as categories, not to one specific ship or plane.

Why is the adjective αργό in the form αργό and not αργός or αργή?

Adjectives in Greek agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

πλοίο is a neuter noun, singular, nominative.
Therefore, the adjective must also be neuter singular nominative: αργό.

If the subject were feminine or masculine, the form would change:

Το πλοίο είναι αργό. (neuter)
Το αυτοκίνητο είναι αργό. (neuter)
Ο υπολογιστής είναι αργός. (masculine)
Η μηχανή είναι αργή. (feminine)

In the sentence, πιο αργό is “more slow / slower,” and αργό still agrees in gender/number/case with το πλοίο.

What exactly does πιο mean here, and how do I use it to form the comparative (“slower”, “more X”)?

πιο means “more” and is the common way to form the comparative of most adjectives:

αργός → πιο αργός (slower, more slow)
γρήγορος → πιο γρήγορος (faster)
όμορφος → πιο όμορφος (more beautiful)

The structure is:

Subject + είναι + πιο + adjective + από + comparison.
- Το πλοίο είναι πιο αργό από το αεροπλάνο.
  The ship is slower than the plane.

Some adjectives also have a “built-in” comparative like αργότερος, μεγαλύτερος, etc. In everyday Greek, both πιο αργός and αργότερος are understood, but πιο αργός is more common and neutral in modern speech.

Why do we use από for “than” in a comparison? Can we also say παρά?

In comparisons, από often corresponds to English “than”:

πιο αργό από το αεροπλάνο = slower than the airplane

You will also see απ’ instead of από before a vowel or το, because of elision:

πιο αργό απ’ το αεροπλάνο

παρά can also mean “than” in comparisons, but it’s used in more specific patterns (often after negation or with adjectives/adverbs directly):

Καλύτερα να πάμε με το πλοίο παρά με το αεροπλάνο.
Better to go by ship than by plane.

In your sentence, από (or απ’) is the normal, straightforward choice.

How does μου αρέσει mean “I like it”? Literally it looks like “it pleases me”.

Exactly: the structure is literally “it is pleasing to me”, not “I like it.”

αρέσει = “is pleasing”
μου = “to me” (dative-like function)

So:

Μου αρέσει. = It pleases me → I like it.
Μου αρέσει το πλοίο. = The ship pleases me → I like the ship.

In Greek, the thing liked is the subject, and the person who likes it appears as an indirect object (with a weak pronoun like μου, σου, του etc.). So the grammar works differently from English, even though the meaning is the same.

There is no word for “it” in αλλά μου αρέσει. How do we know what “it” refers to?

In Greek, the subject is often understood from context and not stated if it’s clear. Here, the last clear subject was το πλοίο (“the ship”), so αλλά μου αρέσει is naturally interpreted as:

αλλά (το πλοίο) μου αρέσει.
but I like (the ship).

Greek doesn’t need a pronoun like English “it” unless it’s emphasizing or clarifying something. Context fills in the gap.

Why is it μου αρέσει and not εγώ μου αρέσει or εγώ αρέσει?

A few points:

μου is the weak (clitic) form meaning “to me.” It already encodes the person.
The full subject pronoun εγώ (I) is normally omitted unless you want emphasis:
- Εμένα μου αρέσει. (I like it — I do, maybe others don’t.)
You cannot use εγώ as the subject of αρέσει in the way English uses I in “I like.”
- ❌ εγώ αρέσει is ungrammatical.
- ✅ Μου αρέσει.

So the correct everyday form is simply μου αρέσει. If you want to stress “I”, you say εμένα μου αρέσει.

Can I change the word order and say αλλά μ’ αρέσει or αλλά αρέσει μου?

αλλά μ’ αρέσει is correct and common.
- μου becomes μ’ before a vowel (elision):
  - αλλά μ’ αρέσει = αλλά μου αρέσει (same meaning).
αλλά αρέσει μου is not natural in modern Greek. Weak pronouns like μου normally go before the verb in statements:
- μου αρέσει
- δεν μου αρέσει
- θα μου αρέσει

They can also follow the verb, but mainly in specific cases (e.g. imperatives or some fixed expressions), not here. So stick with μου αρέσει / μ’ αρέσει.

Is the comma before αλλά necessary, and does αλλά always mean “but”?

The comma before αλλά is normal because it introduces a contrastive clause:
- ..., αλλά μου αρέσει.
In many cases, you will see a comma before αλλά, especially between two clauses with their own verbs.

αλλά generally corresponds to English “but”. It shows contrast with what came before:

Το πλοίο είναι πιο αργό από το αεροπλάνο, αλλά μου αρέσει.
The ship is slower than the plane, but I like it.

Sometimes, especially in short phrases, the comma might be omitted in casual writing, but the pause in speech is usually there.

Could I omit είναι and say Το πλοίο πιο αργό από το αεροπλάνο?

In standard, careful Greek, you keep the verb:

✅ Το πλοίο είναι πιο αργό από το αεροπλάνο.

Omitting είναι like:

❌ Το πλοίο πιο αργό από το αεροπλάνο.

sounds incomplete or telegraphic in most contexts. You may hear είναι dropped in very colloquial speech or headlines, but as a learner you should include it.

How would I make the “I like it” part stronger, like “I really like it” or “I like it a lot”?

You can strengthen μου αρέσει with adverbs or extra phrases:

Μου αρέσει πολύ. – I like it a lot / very much.
Μου αρέσει πάρα πολύ. – I like it very, very much.
Εμένα μου αρέσει. – I like it (emphasis on “I”).
Μου αρέσει περισσότερο. – I like it more.

So you could say:

Το πλοίο είναι πιο αργό από το αεροπλάνο, αλλά μου αρέσει πολύ.
The ship is slower than the plane, but I like it a lot.

Are there any pronunciation or accent points in this sentence that are easy to miss?

A few useful notes:

Το πλοίο: written with ιο, pronounced as one syllable plío (like “PLEE-oh” but smoother).
πιο: one syllable, pyo (with a palatal p before io).
αργό: stress on the last syllable: ar-GÓ.
αεροπλάνο: stress on πλά: ae-ro-PLÁ-no.
μου αρέσει: stress on α-ΡΕ, not on μου: mu a-RÉ-si.

Stresses are important in Greek; moving the stress can change the word or make it hard to understand.