Ο φίλος μου είναι λογικός.

My (male) friend is reasonable.

Breakdown of Ο φίλος μου είναι λογικός.

• είμαι: to be
• μου: my
• ο φίλος: the male friend
• λογικός: reasonable

Questions & Answers about Ο φίλος μου είναι λογικός.

Why do we say Ο φίλος μου with the article Ο? In English we just say “my friend”, not “the my friend”.

In Modern Greek, a noun that has a possessive pronoun (like μου, σου, του, etc.) almost always also takes the definite article:

• ο φίλος μου = my friend
• το βιβλίο σου = your book
• η μητέρα του = his mother

So ο here is the normal definite article, masculine singular nominative, and this pattern is standard and natural in Greek.

You can sometimes find φίλος μου without ο, but that usually sounds:

• more informal or expressive, or
• like part of a fixed phrase (e.g. vocatives: Έλα εδώ, φίλος μου! – “Come here, my friend!”).

In regular statements, ο φίλος μου is the default.

Why is the article Ο capitalized?

It’s capitalized just because it is the first word of the sentence.

Normally:

• ο (lowercase) in the middle of a sentence
• Ο (uppercase) at the beginning of a sentence

The same applies to all Greek words, not just articles: the first letter of the first word in a sentence is capitalized.

Why is it φίλος and not another form like φίλο or φίλου?

Φίλος is in the nominative case, which is used for the subject of the sentence.

Basic forms of φίλος (masculine “friend”):

• Nominative (subject): ο φίλος – the friend
• Genitive (possession): του φίλου – of the friend
• Accusative (object): τον φίλο – the friend (object)
• Vocative (calling someone): φίλε! – hey friend!

In Ο φίλος μου είναι λογικός, “my friend” is the subject of the verb είναι (is), so the nominative φίλος is required.

Why does μου come after φίλος? Can I say μου φίλος?

The unstressed possessive pronouns (μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους) normally come after the noun:

• ο φίλος μου – my friend
• το σπίτι μας – our house
• η δουλειά σου – your job

Putting μου before the noun (μου φίλος) is not standard Modern Greek; it will sound wrong or foreign in almost all contexts.

So the natural order is: > article + noun + possessive clitic
> ο φίλος μου

What exactly is μου here? Is it like “my” or “me”?

Μου is an unstressed (clitic) possessive pronoun meaning “my” in this context.

It’s historically related to the word for “me”, but in Modern Greek:

• as a clitic after a noun or verb, μου = my / to me / for me

  • ο φίλος μου = my friend
  • μου είπε = he/she told me

• as a stressed form, you’d use εμένα for “me”:

  • Εμένα μου το είπε. = He told it to me (in particular).

Here in ο φίλος μου, μου is possessive: my.

Why is it λογικός and not λογική or λογικό?

Adjectives in Greek agree with the noun in:

• gender (masculine, feminine, neuter)
• number (singular, plural)
• case (nominative, accusative, etc.)

Φίλος is:

• masculine
• singular
• nominative

So λογικός must also be:

• masculine singular nominative.

If the friend were female, you’d change both the noun and the adjective to feminine:

• Η φίλη μου είναι λογική.
  
  • η φίλη = feminine friend
  • λογική = feminine form of the adjective

For a neuter noun, you’d use λογικό:

• Το παιδί είναι λογικό. – The child is reasonable.

What does λογικός really mean? Is it “logical” or “reasonable”? Is it positive or negative?

Λογικός usually means:

• reasonable, sensible, rational – someone who thinks clearly, listens to arguments, doesn’t overreact.

It can also mean:

• logical in the sense of following logic.

In everyday speech, είναι λογικός is generally positive:

• “He’s reasonable / He’s a sensible person.”

Context decides whether the emphasis is on:

• calm, balanced behavior, or
• strict logic.

Some related words:

• λογική (noun) = logic, reasoning
• λογικά (adverb) = logically, reasonably

Can I change the word order and say Ο φίλος μου λογικός είναι?

For this simple sentence, the normal, neutral order is:

Ο φίλος μου είναι λογικός.

You can sometimes move the verb or adjective for emphasis or in poetry, but:

• Ο φίλος μου λογικός είναι. would sound marked, poetic, or unnatural in ordinary speech.
• In everyday modern Greek, you would not change the order here.

So, stick with: > Subject – verb – complement
> Ο φίλος μου είναι λογικός.

Could we also say Είναι λογικός ο φίλος μου? Is that different?

Yes, Είναι λογικός ο φίλος μου is grammatically correct and natural.

Both mean the same thing, but the focus can shift slightly:

• Ο φίλος μου είναι λογικός.

  • Neutral statement about my friend.

• Είναι λογικός ο φίλος μου.

  • Often used to emphasize λογικός or to contrast with something else:
    • He *IS reasonable, my friend (unlike others / despite what you think).*

In everyday conversation, the first version is more common as a plain statement.

Why do we need the verb είναι? In some languages you can say “My friend logical” without “is”.

In Modern Greek, the verb “to be” (είμαι) is normally required in the present tense. You cannot normally omit it the way you might in Russian or Arabic.

Conjugation of είμαι (to be) in the present:

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

In Ο φίλος μου είναι λογικός, we have:

• είναι = he is (referring to ο φίλος μου).

Saying Ο φίλος μου λογικός without είναι sounds incomplete or incorrect in normal modern Greek.

Where does the stress fall in Ο φίλος μου είναι λογικός and how do you pronounce it?

Stress marks in Greek show which syllable is stressed:

• Ο φίλος μου είναι λογικός.
  
  • Φίλος → ΦΙ-λος (stress on the first syllable)
  • λογικός → λο-γι-ΚΟΣ (stress on the last syllable)

Approximate pronunciation (Modern Greek):

• Ο → [o] (like “o” in “not”, but shorter, no “h” sound)
• φίλος → [ˈfi.los] (FEE-los)
• μου → [mu] (moo)
• είναι → [ˈi.ne] (EE-neh)
• λογικός → [lo.ʝiˈkos] (lo-yee-KOS)

Full sentence:
> [o ˈfi.los mu ˈi.ne lo.ʝiˈkos]

How would this sentence change if I were talking about a female friend or more than one friend?

You need to change the noun, article, and adjective to match gender and number.

1. Female friend (singular)

   • Η φίλη μου είναι λογική.
     
     • η φίλη – my (female) friend
     • λογική – feminine form of the adjective

2. Male friends (plural)

   • Οι φίλοι μου είναι λογικοί.
     
     • οι φίλοι – my (male / mixed) friends
     • λογικοί – masculine plural form

3. Female friends (plural)

   • Οι φίλες μου είναι λογικές.
     
     • οι φίλες – my (female) friends
     • λογικές – feminine plural form

The possessive μου stays the same in all these cases.