Learn Hardcore Greek: Η φίλη μου προτιμάει ένα άθλημα, γιατί δεν της αρέσει τόσο η τέχνη. - My friend female prefers a sport because she doesn't like art so much.

Η φίλη μου προτιμάει ένα άθλημα, γιατί δεν της αρέσει τόσο η τέχνη.

My friend (female) prefers a sport because she doesn't like art so much.

Breakdown of Η φίλη μου προτιμάει ένα άθλημα, γιατί δεν της αρέσει τόσο η τέχνη.

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Questions & Answers about Η φίλη μου προτιμάει ένα άθλημα, γιατί δεν της αρέσει τόσο η τέχνη.

What does μου mean in η φίλη μου, and why does it come after the noun instead of before it like in English?

Μου here means my. It’s an unstressed possessive pronoun (also called a clitic).

In Greek, the usual, neutral way to say my friend is:

η φίλη μου = my (female) friend
ο φίλος μου = my (male) friend

So the pattern is: article + noun + μου / σου / του / της / μας / σας / τους

You don’t normally say μου φίλη for my friend; that would only appear in special emphatic or poetic contexts. In ordinary speech and writing, μου goes after the noun.

Why is it η φίλη and not ο φίλη? How do I know the gender here?

Φίλη is the feminine form of friend, and φίλος is the masculine form:

η φίλη = (female) friend
ο φίλος = (male) friend

The article shows gender:

η = feminine singular
ο = masculine singular
το = neuter singular

So if you’re talking about a female friend you say η φίλη, and if you’re talking about a male friend you say ο φίλος. The possessive μου does not change for gender; it stays the same.

What’s the difference between προτιμάει and προτιμά? Which one should I use?

Both προτιμάει and προτιμά are correct 3rd person singular forms of the verb προτιμώ (to prefer) in the present tense:

αυτός/αυτή/αυτό προτιμά
αυτός/αυτή/αυτό προτιμάει

Προτιμά is slightly more common in writing and sounds a bit more “neutral” or standard.
Προτιμάει is often heard in everyday spoken Greek and is also perfectly correct.

In your sentence, you could say:

Η φίλη μου προτιμά ένα άθλημα …
Η φίλη μου προτιμάει ένα άθλημα …

No difference in meaning. Choose one style and stay consistent.

Why is it ένα άθλημα and not just άθλημα without an article?

Ένα is the indefinite article (a / an).

ένα άθλημα = a sport (one sport, not specified which)

If you said just άθλημα with no article, in modern Greek that would usually sound incomplete or incorrect in this position. Greek tends to use an article (definite or indefinite) much more than English.

Compare:

προτιμάει ένα άθλημα = she prefers a sport (some sport rather than art)
προτιμάει τα αθλήματα = she prefers (the) sports (in general)

Why is άθλημα neuter with ένα and not masculine or feminine?

Each Greek noun has a fixed grammatical gender. Άθλημα happens to be neuter, so it takes neuter articles and adjectives:

το άθλημα = the sport
ένα άθλημα = a sport
τα αθλήματα = the sports

You just have to learn the gender with the noun: for vocabulary, memorize them together as το άθλημα.

What does γιατί do in this sentence, and how is it different from its use in questions?

Γιατί can mean both why and because, depending on context:

As a question word (why):
- Γιατί δεν της αρέσει η τέχνη; = Why doesn’t she like art?
As a conjunction (because):
- Προτιμάει ένα άθλημα, γιατί δεν της αρέσει η τέχνη.
  = She prefers a sport, because she doesn’t like art.

In your sentence, γιατί introduces the reason for the preference, so it means because. The position and the fact that the sentence is not a question make this clear.

How does δεν της αρέσει work? Why do we use της and not αυτή?

The verb αρέσει works differently from English to like. It’s more like to be pleasing to.

Structure:

[something] αρέσει σε [someone]
literally: [something] is pleasing to [someone]

With pronouns, Greek usually uses unstressed genitive pronouns instead of σε + pronoun:

στην Μαρία αρέσει η τέχνη = art is pleasing to Maria
της αρέσει η τέχνη = she likes art

So:

δεν της αρέσει η τέχνη
literally: art is not pleasing to her
meaning: she doesn’t like art

We don’t say δεν αρέσει αυτή η τέχνη to mean she doesn’t like art.
Αυτή is a stressed subject pronoun (she), but here we need an indirect object (to her), so we use της.

Where does της go in the sentence? Could we say δεν αρέσει της η τέχνη?

Unstressed object pronouns like της come before the verb in normal sentences with one verb:

της αρέσει
δεν της αρέσει

You cannot say δεν αρέσει της η τέχνη in standard modern Greek; that word order is wrong.

Acceptable alternatives (with slightly different emphasis):

Δεν της αρέσει τόσο η τέχνη.
Η τέχνη δεν της αρέσει τόσο. (emphasis on art)

But the pronoun still appears before αρέσει.

What exactly does τόσο add to δεν της αρέσει τόσο η τέχνη?

Τόσο here means so much / that much and softens the negation a bit:

Δεν της αρέσει η τέχνη. = She doesn’t like art.
Δεν της αρέσει τόσο η τέχνη. = She doesn’t like art that much / so much.

So the sentence suggests she doesn’t particularly like art, rather than that she completely hates it. It’s a more moderate, nuanced way to express dislike.

Why do we say η τέχνη with the definite article, even though in English we just say “art” without the?

Greek uses the definite article with abstract or general nouns much more than English does:

η τέχνη = art (in general)
η μουσική = music
η ζωή = life

So:

δεν της αρέσει η τέχνη
literally: the art is not pleasing to her
natural English: she doesn’t like art

Leaving out the article (δεν της αρέσει τέχνη) is unusual and sounds wrong here. For general concepts like art, life, love, Greek normally keeps the article.

Can we change the word order in the second part, like η τέχνη δεν της αρέσει τόσο? Does the meaning change?

Yes, you can say:

Η τέχνη δεν της αρέσει τόσο.

This is grammatically correct. The basic meaning is the same, but the emphasis is slightly different:

Δεν της αρέσει τόσο η τέχνη.
Neutral order; focus more on her not liking art that much.
Η τέχνη δεν της αρέσει τόσο.
Puts η τέχνη at the front, so it slightly emphasizes art as the topic:
As for art, she doesn’t like it that much.

Greek allows relatively flexible word order, but changes in order usually change which part is highlighted.

Is the tense here only “simple present”, or can προτιμάει also mean “is preferring / tends to prefer”?

The Greek present tense covers both the English simple present and present continuous:

Η φίλη μου προτιμάει ένα άθλημα.
can mean:
- My friend prefers a sport (in general, as a habit)
- My friend is preferring / chooses a sport (instead of art) in this context

You normally don’t need a separate continuous form in Greek; context tells you whether it’s habitual or about a specific situation.