Learn Hardcore Greek: Το πρώτο κεφάλαιο είναι εύκολο, αλλά τα επόμενα είναι πιο δύσκολα. - The first chapter is easy, but the next ones are more difficult.

but this is less neutral and can sound more emphatic or stylistic, like saying “the chapter, the first one” in English. In normal speech and writing, article + adjective + noun is the default.

Why is εύκολο neuter singular? Shouldn’t “easy” agree with “chapter” somehow?

It does agree with “chapter.”

Subject: το πρώτο κεφάλαιο – neuter singular
Predicate adjective: εύκολο – neuter singular

In sentences with είναι (“to be”), the adjective after είναι agrees in gender and number with the subject:

Ο μαθητής είναι έξυπνος. – The student (m.) is smart. (masc. sing.)
Η άσκηση είναι εύκολη. – The exercise (f.) is easy. (fem. sing.)
Το κεφάλαιο είναι εύκολο. – The chapter (n.) is easy. (neut. sing.)

Why is it τα επόμενα and not οι επόμενοι?

Τα επόμενα is neuter plural; οι επόμενοι is masculine plural.

Here, τα επόμενα really stands for τα επόμενα κεφάλαια (“the next chapters”). Since κεφάλαιο is neuter, its plural is also neuter:

Singular: το κεφάλαιο – the chapter
Plural: τα κεφάλαια – the chapters

So the adjective “next” in the plural has to be neuter plural to match that implied noun:

τα επόμενα (κεφάλαια) – the next (chapters)

If you said οι επόμενοι, you would be implying some masculine plural noun, like οι επόμενοι μαθητές (“the next students”).

Why can Greek say just τα επόμενα without repeating κεφάλαια?

In Greek, when the noun is obvious from context, you can drop it and let the adjective (with the article) stand in for “the ones”:

τα επόμενα (κεφάλαια) → “the next ones”
τα δύσκολα (μαθήματα) → “the difficult ones (lessons)”
οι καινούριοι (άνθρωποι) → “the new ones (people)”

In your sentence, we already know we’re talking about chapters from το πρώτο κεφάλαιο, so τα επόμενα naturally means “the next chapters / the next ones.”

Why is πιο δύσκολα used instead of the single-word form δυσκολότερα?

Modern Greek usually forms the comparative with πιο + adjective:

δύσκολος → πιο δύσκολος = more difficult
εύκολος → πιο εύκολος = easier / more easy

So:

τα επόμενα είναι πιο δύσκολα = the next ones are more difficult.

There is an older, more formal comparative form:

δυσκολότερος, -η, -ο (comparative of δύσκολος)
Neuter plural: δυσκολότερα

So you could say:

τα επόμενα είναι δυσκολότερα

This is correct but feels more formal or literary. In everyday speech, πιο δύσκολα is by far more common.

Why is δύσκολα plural, while εύκολο is singular?

Each adjective agrees with the subject it refers to:

Το πρώτο κεφάλαιο είναι εύκολο
- Subject: το πρώτο κεφάλαιο – neuter singular
- Adjective: εύκολο – neuter singular
τα επόμενα είναι πιο δύσκολα
- Subject: τα επόμενα (κεφάλαια) – neuter plural
- Adjective: δύσκολα – neuter plural

So the change from εύκολο to δύσκολα simply reflects the change from one chapter to several chapters.

Why is the verb είναι the same for “is” and “are” in this sentence?

In Greek, the present tense of είμαι (to be) is:

(εγώ) είμαι – I am
(εσύ) είσαι – you are (sing.)
(αυτός/αυτή/αυτό) είναι – he/she/it is
(εμείς) είμαστε – we are
(εσείς) είστε – you are (pl./formal)
(αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά) είναι – they are

So είναι is used for both:

“it is” → (αυτό) είναι
“they are” → (αυτά) είναι

In your sentence:

Το πρώτο κεφάλαιο είναι εύκολο – the first chapter is easy
Τα επόμενα είναι πιο δύσκολα – the next ones are more difficult

The Greek form είναι works for both.

Could we omit the second είναι and say: Το πρώτο κεφάλαιο είναι εύκολο, αλλά τα επόμενα πιο δύσκολα?

Yes, that is perfectly natural Greek.

You can say:

Το πρώτο κεφάλαιο είναι εύκολο, αλλά τα επόμενα (είναι) πιο δύσκολα.

The second είναι is often omitted in speech and informal writing, because it is understood from context. Including it is also correct and slightly clearer, especially for learners, but not necessary.

What exactly does αλλά mean, and could I use something else like μα or όμως?

αλλά means “but” and is the standard, neutral conjunction for contrast:

Είναι μικρό, αλλά ωραίο. – It is small but nice.

Alternatives:

μα – also “but,” a bit more informal or emotional; often used in speech.
όμως – “however / though”; it behaves more like an adverb and can move in the sentence (e.g. Τα επόμενα όμως είναι πιο δύσκολα.)

In your sentence, αλλά is the most straightforward equivalent of English “but.”

Why is there a comma before αλλά?

Greek punctuation here is similar to English:

You usually put a comma before αλλά when it links two separate clauses:
- Το πρώτο κεφάλαιο είναι εύκολο, αλλά τα επόμενα είναι πιο δύσκολα.

If the second part is very short and not a full clause, the comma can sometimes be left out, but in this sentence the comma is normal and correct.

How do you pronounce the words in this sentence?

Approximate pronunciation (stress in bold syllable):

Το – /to/
πρώτο – /ˈproto/ (PRO-to)
κεφάλαιο – /ceˈfalio/ (ke-FA-lyo)
είναι – /ˈine/ (EE-neh)
εύκολο – /ˈefkolo/ (EF-ko-lo)
αλλά – /aˈla/ (a-LA)
τα – /ta/
επόμενα – /eˈpomena/ (e-PO-me-na)
πιο – /pço/ or /pjo/ (pyo)
δύσκολα – /ˈðiskola/ (THEES-ko-la; ð as in “this”)

Stress marks in Greek (´) always show which syllable is stressed, and learners should pay close attention to them.