Learn Hardcore Greek: Ο ελληνικός καφές είναι πολύ καλός.

Ο ελληνικός καφές = “the Greek coffee.”
In Greek, the definite article is used much more often than in English, especially when talking generally about a whole category:
- Ο ελληνικός καφές είναι πολύ καλός. = “Greek coffee is very good (in general).”
The article is capitalized here only because it’s the first word of the sentence; normally it’s written ο.

Why is ελληνικός before καφές? Could it come after, like in some other languages?

The normal position for an adjective in Greek is between the article and the noun:

ο ελληνικός καφές = the Greek coffee
(article + adjective + noun)

You can see adjectives after the noun, but that is marked or emphatic:

ο καφές ο ελληνικός – literally “the coffee, the Greek one,” with a more contrastive or descriptive feel (e.g. distinguishing it from some other coffee).

For a neutral statement like this, ο ελληνικός καφές is the standard order.

Why does ελληνικός end in -ός? What is that telling me?

The ending -ός shows that ελληνικός is:

masculine
singular
nominative case

It has to agree with καφές, which is also masculine singular nominative. The basic forms of this adjective are:

ελληνικός (masculine)
ελληνική (feminine)
ελληνικό (neuter)

So:

ο ελληνικός καφές – the Greek coffee
η ελληνική κουζίνα – the Greek cuisine
το ελληνικό κρασί – the Greek wine

Why is καφές masculine? How can I tell the gender?

Καφές is grammatically masculine. You can see that from:

its article: ο καφές (ο is masculine),
its common pattern: many masculine nouns end in -ς in the nominative singular, and -ές is a frequent masculine ending (e.g. ο καφές, ο μαθητής).

In a dictionary you will usually find it as ο καφές, which tells you:

ο = masculine article
καφές = nominative singular form

You mostly learn the gender with the noun (e.g. “ο καφές – masculine”), just like learning gender in other languages.

Is there a subject pronoun like “it” or “he” here? Why is it missing?

Greek usually drops subject pronouns because the verb form already shows the person and number.

είναι can mean “he is / she is / it is / they are” depending on context.
In Ο ελληνικός καφές είναι πολύ καλός, the subject is clearly ο ελληνικός καφές, so there is no need for a separate pronoun.

You could add a pronoun for emphasis in other sentences (e.g. αυτός είναι καλός – “he is good”), but here it’s not needed and would sound unnatural.

What exactly does είναι mean and how is it formed?

Είναι is the present tense form of the verb είμαι (to be):

είμαι – I am
είσαι – you (singular) are
είναι – he / she / it is; they are
είμαστε – we are
είστε – you (plural / formal) are

So in this sentence, είναι means “is” (agreeing with ο ελληνικός καφές as the subject).

Why is it πολύ καλός and not πολύς καλός or something else?

Here πολύ is an adverb meaning “very.” As an adverb, it is invariable: it does not change for gender, number, or case.

είναι πολύ καλός – he/it is very good (masculine)
είναι πολύ καλή – she/it is very good (feminine)
είναι πολύ καλό – it is very good (neuter)

There is also an adjective meaning “much / many”:

πολύς, πολλή, πολύ (and plurals πολλοί, πολλές, πολλά), which does change:
- πολύς καφές – much coffee
- πολλοί καφέδες – many coffees

In this sentence we are not saying “much good,” but “very good,” so we use the adverb πολύ.

Why is it καλός and not καλό or καλή?

Καλός has to agree with ο ελληνικός καφές, which is masculine singular nominative.

Basic forms of the adjective good:

καλός – masculine
καλή – feminine
καλό – neuter

So:

ο καφές είναι καλός – the coffee is good
η μπύρα είναι καλή – the beer is good
το κρασί είναι καλό – the wine is good

Even though καλός comes after the verb, it’s still describing the subject, so it stays in the nominative.

Could I change the word order, like Πολύ καλός είναι ο ελληνικός καφές?

Yes. Greek word order is flexible, and changes the emphasis more than the basic meaning.

Some possible orders:

Ο ελληνικός καφές είναι πολύ καλός.
Neutral: statement about Greek coffee.
Πολύ καλός είναι ο ελληνικός καφές.
Emphasizes “very good” – something like “Very good, Greek coffee is.”
Είναι πολύ καλός ο ελληνικός καφές.
Slight emphasis on the predicate; often used in spoken Greek.

However, καλός πολύ at the end (…είναι καλός πολύ) is possible but sounds more colloquial / poetic; the standard everyday pattern is πολύ + adjective.

Why isn’t ελληνικός capitalized like “Greek” in English?

In Greek, adjectives of nationality (and most language names) are written with a lowercase initial, unless they start the sentence.

ελληνικός καφές – Greek coffee
γαλλικό κρασί – French wine
αγγλικά – English (language)

So ελληνικός is lowercase here because it’s an adjective in the middle of the sentence. Only the first word of the sentence (Ο) is capitalized.

What are the accents on ελληνικός, καφές, and καλός for?

The accent marks (´) in Greek show the stressed syllable:

ελληνικός – e-lli-ni-KÓS
καφές – ka-FÉS
καλός – ka-LÓS

Stress is important in Greek:

It affects pronunciation,
It can distinguish between different words and forms in some cases.

Every multi-syllable word in Modern Greek has one main stress, and it is always marked in writing (except on capitalized monosyllabic words like Ο here).

How would I say “Greek coffees are very good”? What changes in the sentence?

You need the plural of the article, adjective, and noun, and the plural of καλός:

Οι ελληνικοί καφέδες είναι πολύ καλοί.
= Greek coffees are very good.

Changes:

Ο → Οι (masculine nominative plural article)
ελληνικός → ελληνικοί (masculine nominative plural adjective)
καφές → καφέδες (masculine nominative plural noun)
καλός → καλοί (masculine nominative plural adjective)

How would I say “A Greek coffee is very good” instead of “The Greek coffee is very good”?

You use the indefinite article for masculine singular: ένας.

Ένας ελληνικός καφές είναι πολύ καλός.
= A Greek coffee is very good.

So the pattern is:

ο ελληνικός καφές – the Greek coffee
ένας ελληνικός καφές – a Greek coffee

The rest of the sentence stays the same.