Η νύχτα είναι ήσυχη στην πόλη.

The night is quiet in the city.

Breakdown of Η νύχτα είναι ήσυχη στην πόλη.

• είμαι: to be
• σε: in
• η πόλη: the city
• ήσυχος: quiet
• η νύχτα: the night

Questions & Answers about Η νύχτα είναι ήσυχη στην πόλη.

Why is it Η νύχτα and not Το νύχτα? How does gender work here?

In Greek, every noun has grammatical gender: masculine, feminine, or neuter.

• νύχτα (night) is a feminine noun.
• The feminine definite article in the nominative singular is η.
• So you must say η νύχτα (the night), not το νύχτα.

For comparison:

• ο ήλιος (the sun) – masculine
• η νύχτα (the night) – feminine
• το φως (the light) – neuter

Why does νύχτα have an accent? How do I stress this word?

Greek words have one stressed syllable, marked with an accent.

• νύχτα is pronounced NÝH-ta (stress on the first syllable).
• The accent on ύ tells you that the first syllable is stressed.

Orthographically:

• νύχτα = ny-hta, with stress on νύ.
• Writing νυχτα without the accent is incorrect in standard modern Greek spelling.

How do you pronounce νύχτα and πόλη exactly?

Approximate pronunciation in English-like terms:

• νύχτα: [ˈnixta]

  • ν = n
  • ύ (υ) = like i in machine
  • χ = a harsh h, like the ch in German Bach or Scottish loch
  • τα = ta

  So: NEEKH-ta (with that throaty kh sound).

• πόλη: [ˈpoli]

  • π = p
  • ό (ο) = short o, like in pot (but a bit tenser)
  • λ = l
  • η = like i in machine

  So: PO-lee (stress on PO).

What does είναι mean, and which form is it?

είναι means is / am / are.

• It’s the 3rd person singular (and also used for 3rd person plural in the present) of the verb είμαι (to be).
• In this sentence, είναι = is:
  • Η νύχτα είναι ήσυχη. → The night is quiet.

Why is it ήσυχη and not ήσυχο or ήσυχος?

Greek adjectives must agree with the noun they describe in:

• gender
• number
• case

The noun here is:

• η νύχτα – feminine, singular, nominative.

So the adjective must also be:

• feminine, singular, nominative → ήσυχη

Basic forms of this adjective:

• ήσυχος – masculine
• ήσυχη – feminine
• ήσυχο – neuter

Since νύχτα is feminine, we use ήσυχη.

Why is the article repeated in στην πόλη? Isn’t στην already like “in the city”?

Yes, στην already contains the article.

• σε = in, at, to
• την = the (feminine, accusative singular)

In speech and writing, σε + την contracts to στην.

• σε την πόλη → στην πόλη

So:

• στην πόλη literally = in the city.

Why is there a final -ν in στην? I’ve seen στη sometimes.

The final -ν in forms like στην, στην, έναν is often optional, but there are rules of usage.

It is normally kept before words that start with:

• a vowel (α, ε, η, ι, ο, υ, ω)
• or certain consonants: κ, π, τ, ξ, ψ, μπ, ντ, γκ, τσ, τζ

Since πόλη starts with π, we keep the -ν:

• στην πόλη (correct, natural)
• στη πόλη (can sound off in standard modern usage)

So: στην πόλη is the normal, recommended form.

Why is πόλη in a different form from νύχτα (nominative vs. accusative)?

Greek uses cases. In this sentence:

• Η νύχτα is the subject → nominative case (η νύχτα).
• στην πόλη is the object of the preposition σε → accusative case (την πόλη).

So:

• Nominative: η πόλη (the city – as subject)
• Accusative: την πόλη (the city – as object of prepositions like σε)

Inside the contraction στην πόλη, you still have:

• σε
  • την πόλη (accusative).

Could I say Η νύχτα στην πόλη είναι ήσυχη or Στην πόλη η νύχτα είναι ήσυχη? Do they mean the same thing?

Yes, all these are grammatically correct, with slight differences in emphasis:

1. Η νύχτα είναι ήσυχη στην πόλη.
   Neutral: The night is quiet in the city.

2. Η νύχτα στην πόλη είναι ήσυχη.
   Emphasis on the night in the city as a unit:

   • The night in the city is quiet (as opposed to, say, the night in the countryside).

3. Στην πόλη η νύχτα είναι ήσυχη.
   Emphasis on in the city:

   • In the city, the night is quiet (maybe compared with somewhere else).

All are natural; word order in Greek is flexible, but it can shift focus.

Why do we use the definite article Η in Η νύχτα? Could we say Νύχτα είναι ήσυχη στην πόλη?

In Greek, you normally use the definite article much more often than in English, even with general statements.

• Η νύχτα είναι ήσυχη στην πόλη.
  → Standard, natural Greek: The night is quiet in the city (can also mean “At night, it is quiet in the city”).

If you say:

• Νύχτα είναι ήσυχη στην πόλη.

this sounds incomplete or odd as a standalone sentence. It might be interpreted as:

• “At night, it is quiet in the city,” but it sounds elliptical, like something is missing.

For generic concepts like night, life, love, Greek typically uses the article:

• Η ζωή είναι ωραία. – Life is beautiful.
• Η νύχτα είναι ήσυχη. – The night is quiet.

What is the basic dictionary form of πόλη? Is it related to πόλις (ancient Greek)?

Yes, it is related.

• Modern Greek dictionary form: η πόλη (city, town)
• Ancient Greek: ἡ πόλις

In modern Greek, many ancient -ις nouns have become -η in the nominative singular:

• πόλις → πόλη
• κρίσις → κρίση (crisis → crisis/judgment)

So πόλη is the modern form of the older πόλις.

Is ήσυχη only for “quiet,” or can it also mean “calm” in the sense of a calm person?

ήσυχος / ήσυχη / ήσυχο can mean:

1. quiet, not noisy

   • Μια ήσυχη νύχτα. – A quiet night.

2. calm, not causing trouble; well-behaved

   • Ένα ήσυχο παιδί. – A calm / well-behaved child.

In Η νύχτα είναι ήσυχη στην πόλη, it clearly means:

• The night is quiet (not noisy) in the city.

What are the parts of speech and grammatical details of each word?

Breaking down the sentence:

• Η

  • Definite article
  • Feminine, singular, nominative
  • Modifies νύχτα

• νύχτα

  • Noun (night)
  • Feminine, singular, nominative
  • Subject of the verb

• είναι

  • Verb: είμαι (to be)
  • 3rd person singular, present tense
  • is

• ήσυχη

  • Adjective (quiet, calm)
  • Feminine, singular, nominative
  • Predicate adjective describing νύχτα; agrees with it

• στην

  • Contraction of σε (in/at/to) + την (the, fem. acc. sg.)
  • Preposition + article

• πόλη

  • Noun (city)
  • Feminine, singular, accusative
  • Object of the preposition σε (within στην πόλη)

Is νύχτα countable? How would I say “A night is quiet in the city” or “One night was quiet in the city”?

Yes, νύχτα is countable.

• η νύχτα – the night
• μια νύχτα – a night / one night

Examples:

• Μια νύχτα ήταν ήσυχη στην πόλη.
  → One night was quiet in the city.

• Μια νύχτα στην πόλη ήταν πολύ ήσυχη.
  → One night in the city was very quiet.

In your original sentence, Η νύχτα είναι ήσυχη στην πόλη, η νύχτα can be understood more generically: “At night, it is quiet in the city.”