Learn Hardcore Greek: Στο δάσος κοντά στο χωριό ζουν πολλά ζώα και πουλιά. - In the forest near the village many animals and birds live.

Many nouns in -ος are masculine:
- ο άνθρωπος (the person)
- ο φίλος (the friend)
But some -ος nouns are neuter, and they take «το»:
- το δάσος (the forest)
- το μέλος (the member)
- το τέλος (the end)

So «το δάσος» is neuter, even though it ends in -ος. You simply have to learn each noun’s gender together with its article.

What is the subject of the sentence, and how can I tell if it comes after the verb?

The subject is «πολλά ζώα και πουλιά» (many animals and birds).

Word order in Greek is flexible, so the subject often comes after the verb:

Στο δάσος κοντά στο χωριό ζουν πολλά ζώα και πουλιά.
→ In the forest near the village live many animals and birds.

You can also say:

Πολλά ζώα και πουλιά ζουν στο δάσος κοντά στο χωριό.

How do you know «πολλά ζώα και πουλιά» is the subject?

Meaning: animals and birds are the ones doing the living.
Verb form: «ζουν» is 3rd person plural, so the subject must be plural → ζώα και πουλιά.

In the neuter, nominative and accusative look the same, so case endings don’t help here; you rely on meaning + verb agreement.

Why doesn’t Greek say “many of the animals and birds” here? Why is there no article before «ζώα» and «πουλιά»?

In Greek, you generally omit the article in the plural when you mean “some / many / a lot of [in general]”, not a specific group:

πολλά ζώα και πουλιά
→ many animals and birds (in general, not a particular group)

If you said:

τα ζώα και τα πουλιά
→ the animals and the birds (a specific set, already known from context)

So here, no article is used because the sentence talks about animals and birds in general that live in the forest.

What exactly does «κοντά» mean, and do I always need «σε» after it?

«κοντά» means “near / close”.

In this sentence you have:

κοντά στο χωριό → near the village

More explicitly, it’s often:

κοντά σε + [noun]
- κοντά στο χωριό (near the village)
- κοντά στην πόλη (near the city)
- κοντά στους φίλους μου (near my friends)

In everyday speech, «σε» is often understood and not said separately because it’s included in «στο» (σε + το). So «κοντά στο χωριό» is actually «κοντά σε το χωριό» contracted.

Why is the verb «ζουν» and not something like «ζει»?

The verb is «ζουν» (they live) because the subject is plural:

πολλά ζώα και πουλιά → many animals and birds → they live

Present tense of ζω (I live):

(εγώ) ζω → I live
(εσύ) ζεις → you live (singular)
(αυτός/αυτή/αυτό) ζει → he/she/it lives
(εμείς) ζούμε → we live
(εσείς) ζείτε → you live (plural/polite)
(αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά) ζουν / ζούνε → they live

So «ζουν» is 3rd person plural: they live.

What’s the difference between «ζουν» and «ζούνε»?

«ζουν» and «ζούνε» are just two forms of the same verb, both meaning “they live”:

ζουν – slightly shorter, very common, neutral
ζούνε – slightly longer, also common, often a bit more informal or emphatic in some dialects

You could say:

Στο δάσος κοντά στο χωριό ζουν πολλά ζώα και πουλιά.
Στο δάσος κοντά στο χωριό ζούνε πολλά ζώα και πουλιά.

Both are correct and mean the same.

Why is it «πολλά ζώα και πουλιά» and not «πολλά ζώα και πολλά πουλιά»?

Both are grammatically correct:

πολλά ζώα και πουλιά
πολλά ζώα και πολλά πουλιά

In Greek, when two (or more) similar nouns are joined with «και» and share the same adjective, you can say the adjective only once before the first noun:

πολλά ζώα και (πολλά) πουλιά
μεγάλα δέντρα και (μεγάλοι) θάμνοι
ωραία ρούχα και (ωραία) παπούτσια

The second «πολλά» is simply understood. Repeating it (πολλά ζώα και πολλά πουλιά) gives a bit more emphasis to each group separately.

Why is «πολλά» used and not «πολύ»?

«Πολύς, πολλή, πολύ» is an adjective that agrees in gender and number with the noun:

πολύς καφές (masc. sing.) – much coffee
πολλή ζάχαρη (fem. sing.) – much sugar
πολύ νερό (neut. sing.) – much water

In the plural neuter, it becomes:

πολλά ζώα
πολλά πουλιά

So we use «πολλά» here because ζώα and πουλιά are neuter plural nouns.
«πολύ» is neuter singular; it would not match.

What are the singular forms of «ζώα» and «πουλιά», and how are they formed?

Singular:

το ζώο – the animal
το πουλί – the bird

Plural:

τα ζώα – the animals
- Singular ζώο loses the final -ο and takes -α → ζώο → ζώα
τα πουλιά – the birds
- Singular πουλί changes -ί to -ιά → πουλί → πουλιά (spelled πουλιά)

These are common plural patterns for many neuter nouns in Greek.

Can the word order be changed, and if so, does the meaning change?

Yes, the word order in Greek is relatively flexible, and the basic meaning stays the same. For example:

Στο δάσος κοντά στο χωριό ζουν πολλά ζώα και πουλιά.
Πολλά ζώα και πουλιά ζουν στο δάσος κοντά στο χωριό.
Πολλά ζώα και πουλιά στο δάσος κοντά στο χωριό ζουν. (less usual, but possible in some contexts for emphasis)

All mean roughly: “Many animals and birds live in the forest near the village.”

Changing the order usually affects emphasis:

Starting with «στο δάσος κοντά στο χωριό» emphasizes the place.
Starting with «πολλά ζώα και πουλιά» emphasizes the animals and birds.

Why is the preposition «σε» followed by what looks like the accusative (στο δάσος, στο χωριό)? I thought “in” used a locative or something similar.

Modern Greek no longer has a separate locative case. Prepositions like «σε» are followed by the accusative case, even when the meaning is “in/at” (location):

σε + accusative
- στο δάσος (in the forest)
- στο χωριό (in/at the village)
- στην πόλη (in the city)
- στο σπίτι (at home)

So:

Function: locative meaning (place)
Form: accusative case after «σε»

This is normal and consistent in Modern Greek.