Questions & Answers about Η αδερφή μου είναι μέλος σε μια ομάδα χορού στο πανεπιστήμιο.
Why is it Η αδερφή μου and not Η μου αδερφή, like in English my sister?
In Greek, the weak possessive pronouns (μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους) normally come after the noun, not before it.
The typical pattern is:
- article + noun + possessive pronoun
- η αδερφή μου = my sister
- το σπίτι σου = your house
- ο φίλος μας = our friend
You almost never say η μου αδερφή; that sounds wrong in modern Greek.
If you want to emphasize whose sister it is, you can say:
- η δικιά μου αδερφή = my sister (as opposed to someone else’s)
Why do we need the article η in Η αδερφή μου? In English we don’t say “the my sister”.
Greek almost always uses the definite article (ο, η, το) with a possessed noun:
- η αδερφή μου = my sister
- ο πατέρας του = his father
- το βιβλίο μας = our book
So in Greek, something like αδερφή μου without the article is usually either:
- poetic/literary, or
- part of a special expression (e.g. in direct address, αδερφή μου! = “my sister!”)
In everyday standard Greek, η αδερφή μου with the article is the normal form.