Οι τουρίστες βγάζουν φωτογραφίες μέσα στο μουσείο.

The tourists take photos inside the museum.

Breakdown of Οι τουρίστες βγάζουν φωτογραφίες μέσα στο μουσείο.

• μέσα σε: inside
• ο τουρίστας: the tourist
• βγάζω φωτογραφία: to take a photo
• το μουσείο: the museum

Questions & Answers about Οι τουρίστες βγάζουν φωτογραφίες μέσα στο μουσείο.

What does Οι mean here, and why do we need it?

Οι is the definite article for plural, masculine, nominative nouns. It corresponds roughly to “the” in English.

• Οι τουρίστες = “the tourists”
• Greek normally uses the definite article more than English. Where English might say “tourists take photos”, Greek usually says Οι τουρίστες βγάζουν φωτογραφίες (literally “the tourists take photos”) when it talks about a specific or known group, or even about tourists in general in a generic way.

So Οι is required here because τουρίστες is the subject and we are talking about the tourists, not just an unspecified “some tourists.”

What form is τουρίστες, and how would I say “one tourist”?

τουρίστες is:

• Case: nominative
• Number: plural
• Gender: grammatically masculine

It is the subject of the verb βγάζουν.

The basic singular form is:

• ο τουρίστας = “the tourist” (one male tourist, or generic “tourist”)

Plural:

• οι τουρίστες = “the tourists”

In everyday speech, οι τουρίστες is used for a mixed group (men and women), just like English “tourists”.
There is a specifically feminine plural form οι τουρίστριες, but it’s less common in everyday use.

What exactly is βγάζουν (tense, person), and what is the dictionary form?

βγάζουν is:

• Verb: from βγάζω
• Tense: present
• Person: 3rd person plural (they)
• Meaning here: “(they) take (photos)”, “(they) are taking (photos)”

The form you look up in a dictionary is βγάζω (1st person singular present).

Some present-tense forms of βγάζω:

• εγώ βγάζω – I take / am taking
• εσύ βγάζεις – you take / are taking (singular)
• αυτός/αυτή/αυτό βγάζει – he/she/it takes
• εμείς βγάζουμε – we take
• εσείς βγάζετε – you take (plural/polite)
• αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά βγάζουν – they take

In this sentence, Οι τουρίστες βγάζουν… = “The tourists take / are taking…”

Why does Greek say βγάζουν φωτογραφίες (literally “take out photos”) for “take photos”?

In Greek, βγάζω φωτογραφίες is a very common idiomatic expression meaning “to take photos/pictures”.

Literally, βγάζω can mean “to take out, to remove, to bring out, to produce”, but in this collocation:

• βγάζω μια φωτογραφία = “I take a photo”
• βγάζω φωτογραφίες = “I take photos”

You’ll also hear:

• τραβάω / τραβώ φωτογραφίες (also “to take photos”)

So although βγάζω literally has other meanings, together with φωτογραφίες it is understood as “take” in the sense of taking pictures.

Why does φωτογραφίες have no article? Why not τις φωτογραφίες?

φωτογραφίες here is used without an article to express an indefinite plural: “(some) photos” rather than “the photos”.

• βγάζουν φωτογραφίες ≈ “they are taking photos” / “they take photos”
• βγάζουν τις φωτογραφίες = “they are taking the photos” (some specific photos already known from the context)

Greek often omits the article with plural nouns when you mean them in a non-specific, general, or “some” sense. That’s what’s happening here.

What case is φωτογραφίες in, and how can I tell?

φωτογραφίες is in the accusative plural.

You can tell because:

• It is the direct object of the verb βγάζουν (they are taking what? → photos).
• Feminine nouns in -ία usually have accusative plural in -ίες.

Singular and plural of η φωτογραφία:

• Nominative singular: η φωτογραφία – the photo
• Accusative singular: τη(ν) φωτογραφία – (the) photo (object)
• Nominative plural: οι φωτογραφίες – the photos
• Accusative plural: τις φωτογραφίες – the photos (object)

In our sentence the form is φωτογραφίες (accusative plural, but without the article τις).

What does μέσα add to the meaning, and can I leave it out?

μέσα literally means “inside”, “in”.

• μέσα στο μουσείο = “inside the museum”

You could say:

• Οι τουρίστες βγάζουν φωτογραφίες στο μουσείο.
  → “The tourists are taking photos at the museum / in the museum.”

Adding μέσα makes it more explicit that they are inside the building, not just somewhere at the museum complex or area.

You can leave μέσα out grammatically, but μέσα στο μουσείο emphasizes “inside” more strongly.

What is στο, and how is it formed?

στο is a contraction of:

• σε + το → στο

σε is a preposition that often corresponds to “in, at, to” in English.
το is the neuter, singular, accusative definite article (“the”).

So:

• σε το μουσείο → στο μουσείο = “in the museum / at the museum”

In speech and writing, Greeks almost always use the contracted forms:

• σε + το → στο
• σε + τον → στον
• σε + την → στη(ν)
• σε + τους → στους
• σε + τις → στις
• σε + τα → στα

What about μουσείο – what gender and case is it here?

μουσείο is:

• Gender: neuter
• Case: accusative singular (because it follows σε / στο)
• Article here (contracted): στο = σε + το

Basic forms:

• το μουσείο – the museum (nominative/accusative singular)
• του μουσείου – of the museum (genitive singular)

In the sentence μέσα στο μουσείο, the preposition σε (in/at) requires accusative, so the form is μουσείο with the article το, contracted to στο.

Does βγάζουν mean “they take” or “they are taking”? How do I know?

Greek present tense usually covers both English simple present and present continuous:

• Οι τουρίστες βγάζουν φωτογραφίες μέσα στο μουσείο.
  can be translated as:
  • “The tourists take photos inside the museum.”
  • “The tourists are taking photos inside the museum.”

Context decides which English form sounds more natural. Greek does not need a separate form like “are taking”; the simple present βγάζουν expresses both habitual and right-now actions.

Can I change the word order of this sentence?

Yes. Greek word order is flexible, because grammatical roles are shown by endings, not only by position. The neutral, most usual order here is:

• Οι τουρίστες βγάζουν φωτογραφίες μέσα στο μουσείο.

You can change the order for emphasis:

• Μέσα στο μουσείο οι τουρίστες βγάζουν φωτογραφίες.
  → Emphasizes “inside the museum” first.

• Οι τουρίστες μέσα στο μουσείο βγάζουν φωτογραφίες.
  → Slight emphasis that it’s those tourists inside the museum (not elsewhere) who are taking photos.

All of these are grammatically correct; the differences are mostly in focus/emphasis, not in basic meaning.

How would I say “The tourists are not taking photos inside the museum”?

To make the sentence negative, you use δεν before the verb:

• Οι τουρίστες δεν βγάζουν φωτογραφίες μέσα στο μουσείο.
  = “The tourists are not taking photos inside the museum.” /
  “The tourists do not take photos inside the museum.”

Pattern:
[subject] + δεν + [verb] + [rest of the sentence].