Learn Hardcore Greek: Ο παππούς μου δεν είναι διάσημος, αλλά για εμένα είναι ο μεγαλύτερος ήρωας, και η γιαγιά μου είναι η πιο ήρεμη ηρωίδα στην οικογένεια. - My grandfather is not famous, but for me he is the greatest hero, and my grandmother is the calmest heroine in the family.

You can say ο δικός μου παππούς (“my own grandfather / my grandfather, in contrast to someone else’s”), but the normal neutral way is ο παππούς μου, with μου after the noun.

Why is the negation written as δεν είναι and not in some other order?

Modern Greek uses δεν (or δε in informal speech) before the verb to make a negation.

είναι διάσημος = he is famous
δεν είναι διάσημος = he is not famous

The normal order is:

[subject] + δεν + [verb] + (rest of the sentence)

So:

Ο παππούς μου δεν είναι διάσημος
= My grandfather is not famous.

You can change word order a bit for emphasis, but δεν still stays closely attached to the verb:

Δεν είναι διάσημος ο παππούς μου (more emphasis on “not famous”).

Why is there no article before διάσημος in δεν είναι διάσημος?

Here διάσημος is an adjective used as a predicate after the verb είμαι (to be). In Greek, when you are simply describing someone’s state or quality, you usually do not use an article:

Είναι κουρασμένος. = He is tired.
Δεν είναι έτοιμη. = She is not ready.
Δεν είναι διάσημος. = He is not famous.

You would use an article if you were talking about a specific role or identity more like a noun, e.g.:

Είναι ο διάσημος ηθοποιός. = He is the famous actor.

In the sentence you gave, you are just saying “he is not famous (in general),” so no article.

What does για εμένα mean, and why not just εγώ?

Για εμένα literally means “for me”.

για = for
εμένα = me (strong form of “me”)

So:

αλλά για εμένα είναι ο μεγαλύτερος ήρωας
= but for me he is the greatest hero.

You cannot just put εγώ (“I”) there, because after a preposition like για (“for”), Greek uses the strong object form:

για εμένα / για μένα = for me
για εσένα / για σένα = for you
για εκείνον = for him

Για μένα is simply a shorter, very common version of για εμένα; both are correct. Using εγώ alone would be ungrammatical in this position.

How does the superlative ο μεγαλύτερος work here? Does it mean “bigger” or “biggest/greatest”?

Μεγαλύτερος can be:

comparative: bigger / older
superlative: biggest / greatest

In Greek, context and the article decide the meaning:

Είναι μεγαλύτερος από εμένα.
= He is older/bigger than me. (comparative, with από)
Είναι ο μεγαλύτερος ήρωας.
= He is the greatest/biggest hero. (superlative: article + μεγαλύτερος + noun)

In your sentence:

…για εμένα είναι ο μεγαλύτερος ήρωας…

This clearly means “the greatest hero” (superlative), not just “a bigger hero.”

Why do we have ο μεγαλύτερος ήρωας but η πιο ήρεμη ηρωίδα? Why different ways of forming the “-est” meaning?

Modern Greek has two ways to form comparative/superlative:

Ending -τερος, -τερη, -τερο
- μεγάλος → μεγαλύτερος (big → bigger / biggest)
- όμορφος → ομορφότερος (beautiful → more beautiful)
Using “πιο” (more) before the adjective
- ήρεμος → πιο ήρεμος (calm → calmer / more calm)
- ήρεμος → ο πιο ήρεμος (the calmest / the most calm)

In your sentence:

ο μεγαλύτερος ήρωας → “the greatest hero” (using the -τερος form)
η πιο ήρεμη ηρωίδα → “the calmest heroine” (using πιο)

Both systems are correct and productive. For many adjectives, especially in everyday speech, πιο is more common than forming the -τερος form (ηρεμότερη would sound formal or unusual).

Why do ο, η, μεγαλύτερος, ήρεμη, ήρωας, and ηρωίδα all change form like that? How does gender agreement work here?

Greek has grammatical gender (masculine, feminine, neuter), and adjectives and articles must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun.

ο παππούς (masc. sg.) → ο μεγαλύτερος ήρωας
- ο (masc. article)
- μεγαλύτερος (masc. adjective)
- ήρωας (masc. noun)
η γιαγιά (fem. sg.) → η πιο ήρεμη ηρωίδα
- η (fem. article)
- πιο ήρεμη (fem. adjective)
- ηρωίδα (fem. noun)

So you cannot mix them, e.g. η μεγαλύτερος ήρωας would be wrong, because η is feminine but μεγαλύτερος and ήρωας are masculine.

Why is ηρωίδα used for the grandmother instead of ήρωας?

Ήρωας is the masculine form: hero (male, or generic but grammatically masculine).
Ηρωίδα is the feminine form: heroine (female).

Since η γιαγιά (grandmother) is feminine, Greek normally uses the feminine noun:

ο ήρωας = the hero (masc.)
η ηρωίδα = the heroine (fem.)

So:

ο παππούς μου … είναι ο μεγαλύτερος ήρωας
η γιαγιά μου … είναι η πιο ήρεμη ηρωίδα

Why is it στην οικογένεια and what exactly does στην mean?

Στην is a contraction of:

σε (in, at, to) + την (the, feminine singular)

So:

στην οικογένεια = in the family

We do the same with other genders/numbers:

στον πατέρα = σε + τον πατέρα (to/in the father)
στο σπίτι = σε + το σπίτι (in the house)
στις οικογένειες = σε + τις οικογένειες (in the families)

In your sentence:

…η πιο ήρεμη ηρωίδα στην οικογένεια.
= the calmest heroine in the family.

Why do we say στην οικογένεια instead of just οικογένεια, without the article?

In Greek, the definite article (ο, η, το, etc.) is used much more often than “the” in English, especially:

with general groups or institutions:
- η οικογένεια = the family
- το σχολείο = (the) school
- η δουλειά = (the) work

After prepositions like σε, you almost always get σε + article + noun:

στην οικογένεια = in the family
στο σχολείο = at school
στη δουλειά = at work

Saying just σε οικογένεια would sound incomplete or wrong in this meaning.

Why is there a comma before και η γιαγιά μου? Is that normal in Greek?

Yes, it is normal here. The sentence actually has three parts:

Ο παππούς μου δεν είναι διάσημος,
αλλά για εμένα είναι ο μεγαλύτερος ήρωας,
και η γιαγιά μου είναι η πιο ήρεμη ηρωίδα στην οικογένεια.

The commas separate clauses and make the long sentence easier to read. You could also write it as two sentences in English:

My grandfather is not famous, but for me he is the greatest hero,
and my grandmother is the calmest heroine in the family.

Greek punctuation with commas is quite similar to English in such coordinated clauses, especially when you have αλλά (but) and και (and) joining whole clauses.

Could I change the word order, for example: Ο παππούς μου δεν είναι διάσημος, αλλά είναι ο μεγαλύτερος ήρωας για εμένα?

Yes, that is grammatically correct. Greek word order is flexible, and you can move για εμένα around:

…αλλά για εμένα είναι ο μεγαλύτερος ήρωας…
…αλλά είναι για εμένα ο μεγαλύτερος ήρωας…
…αλλά είναι ο μεγαλύτερος ήρωας για εμένα…

All of these are acceptable; the differences are mostly about rhythm and emphasis, not correctness. Placing για εμένα earlier often emphasizes “for me” a bit more.

Is there any difference between για εμένα and για μένα here?

There is no difference in meaning:

για εμένα = for me
για μένα = for me

Για μένα is simply the shorter, more colloquial form, used constantly in spoken Greek and in informal writing. Για εμένα can feel a bit more careful or formal, but is also perfectly normal.

In your sentence, both:

αλλά για εμένα είναι ο μεγαλύτερος ήρωας
αλλά για μένα είναι ο μεγαλύτερος ήρωας

are correct and natural.