Learn Hardcore Greek: Η ταινία ήταν τόσο συναισθηματική που η φίλη μου έκλαψε στο τέλος. - The movie was so emotional that my friend female cried at the end.

Ταινία (movie/film) is a feminine noun in Greek.
In the nominative singular, the feminine article is η (uppercase Η at the beginning of the sentence).
So Η ταινία literally means the movie, and this is the subject of the sentence.

If the noun were masculine or neuter, the article would change:

Masculine: Ο φίλος (the friend)
Neuter: Το βιβλίο (the book)

Why is συναισθηματική ending in -η? What is it agreeing with?

Συναισθηματική is an adjective meaning emotional. In Greek, adjectives must agree with the noun they describe in gender, number, and case.

Ταινία is feminine, singular, nominative.
So the adjective also appears in feminine, singular, nominative: συναισθηματική.
Together: Η ταινία ήταν τόσο συναισθηματική = The movie was so emotional.

Other forms of the adjective would be, for example:

Masculine: συναισθηματικός (e.g. ο συναισθηματικός άνθρωπος)
Neuter: συναισθηματικό (e.g. το συναισθηματικό γράμμα)

What does τόσο mean here, and how is τόσο … που used?

In this sentence, τόσο means so (much / to such a degree) and it forms a result clause with που:

τόσο συναισθηματική που … = so emotional that …

Typical pattern:

τόσο + adjective/adverb + που + clause

Examples:

Ήταν τόσο κουρασμένος που κοιμήθηκε στον καναπέ.
He was so tired that he fell asleep on the couch.
Μίλαγε τόσο γρήγορα που δεν καταλάβαινα τίποτα.
He was talking so fast that I didn’t understand anything.

So τόσο … που = so … that (expressing result).

What is the role of που in this sentence? Is it that, because, or something else?

Here που introduces a result clause and is best translated as that in the structure so … that.

τόσο συναισθηματική που η φίλη μου έκλαψε
= so emotional that my friend cried

It is not the same as γιατί (because), which introduces a reason:

Έκλαψε γιατί η ταινία ήταν συναισθηματική.
She cried because the movie was emotional.

So in this sentence, που links the cause (the movie was so emotional) with its result (my friend cried).

Why is it η φίλη μου and not μου η φίλη? How does the possessive μου work?

In modern Greek, possessive pronouns like μου (my), σου (your), του/της (his/her), etc. usually come after the noun:

η φίλη μου = my friend
literally: the friend my

Key points:

The possessive μου is unstressed and clitic (it “leans” on the noun).
You do not normally say μου η φίλη; that sounds wrong in everyday Greek.
You also don’t need a separate word for my; μου alone is enough.

More examples:

το σπίτι μου = my house
ο πατέρας σου = your father
το παιδί της = her child

What tense is ήταν, and how does it compare to είναι?

Ήταν is the past tense of είμαι (to be) in the third person singular:

είναι = he/she/it is
ήταν = he/she/it was

So:

Η ταινία είναι συναισθηματική. = The movie is emotional. (present)
Η ταινία ήταν συναισθηματική. = The movie was emotional. (past)

In this sentence, ήταν simply places the description in the past (when you watched the movie).

What tense is έκλαψε, and how is it different from έκλαιγε?

Έκλαψε is the aorist (simple past) of the verb κλαίω (to cry), third person singular.

έκλαψε = cried (a single, completed event)
έκλαιγε = was crying / used to cry (continuous or repeated in the past – imperfect)

In this sentence:

η φίλη μου έκλαψε στο τέλος = my friend cried at the end (one event, at a specific moment).

If we said:

η φίλη μου έκλαιγε στο τέλος
it would suggest she was crying over a period of time at the end, focusing on the ongoing action rather than just the fact that it happened.

What does στο τέλος mean exactly, and what is στο?

Στο τέλος means at the end.

στο is a contraction of σε + το:
- σε = in / at / on (general preposition)
- το = the (neuter singular article)
τέλος = end (neuter noun)

So:

σε + το τέλος → στο τέλος = at the end

This contraction also appears elsewhere:

σε + το σπίτι → στο σπίτι (at home / to the house)
σε + τον δρόμο → στον δρόμο (in the street / on the road)

Why is it η φίλη μου and not ο φίλη μου? How do I know the gender?

Φίλη is the feminine form of friend, so it takes the feminine article η.

Masculine: ο φίλος = (male) friend
Feminine: η φίλη = (female) friend

So η φίλη μου means my (female) friend.
If you wanted to say my (male) friend, you would say ο φίλος μου.

Can the word order be changed, e.g. Η φίλη μου έκλαψε στο τέλος γιατί η ταινία ήταν τόσο συναισθηματική? Is that still correct?

Yes, you can change the word order and still be grammatically correct, but the structure and nuance change slightly.

Original:

Η ταινία ήταν τόσο συναισθηματική που η φίλη μου έκλαψε στο τέλος.
Focus: The movie was so emotional that my friend cried. (emphasis on degree and result)

Alternative:

Η φίλη μου έκλαψε στο τέλος γιατί η ταινία ήταν τόσο συναισθηματική.
Focus: My friend cried at the end because the movie was so emotional.

Both are correct Greek, but:

τόσο … που emphasizes result.
γιατί emphasizes reason.

Also, you could put the clauses in reverse order:

Η φίλη μου έκλαψε στο τέλος, γιατί η ταινία ήταν τόσο συναισθηματική.
Γιατί η ταινία ήταν τόσο συναισθηματική, η φίλη μου έκλαψε στο τέλος. (more formal / emphatic)

Why is it Η ταινία ήταν τόσο συναισθηματική and not Η ταινία ήταν πολύ συναισθηματική? What is the difference between τόσο and πολύ?

Both are possible, but they are used differently:

πολύ συναισθηματική = very emotional
(just a strong degree, no automatic result implied)
τόσο συναισθηματική που… = so emotional that…
(strong degree plus a result clause)

So:

Η ταινία ήταν πολύ συναισθηματική.
The movie was very emotional. (statement only)
Η ταινία ήταν τόσο συναισθηματική που η φίλη μου έκλαψε στο τέλος.
The movie was so emotional that my friend cried at the end. (degree leading to a consequence)

How is ταινία pronounced, and where is the stress?

Ταινία is pronounced approximately as teh-nee-AH in English spelling.

Phonetic approximation: [teˈni.a]
The stress mark is on the -ία: ταινΊα → ταινία

Syllables:

ται – νί – α
Stress on the second syllable (νί).

Why don’t we say Στο τέλος, η φίλη μου έκλαψε at the beginning? Would that change the meaning?

You can say Στο τέλος η φίλη μου έκλαψε at the beginning; it’s still correct Greek.

Στο τέλος η φίλη μου έκλαψε.
At the end, my friend cried.

Changing the position of στο τέλος mainly affects emphasis and rhythm, not basic meaning:

Η φίλη μου έκλαψε στο τέλος.
Neutral, common word order.
Στο τέλος, η φίλη μου έκλαψε.
Emphasizes at the end (not earlier).

Both can still be combined with Η ταινία ήταν τόσο συναισθηματική που… if you keep the τόσο … που structure intact.