Από την κορυφή η θέα της θάλασσας είναι πολύ εντυπωσιακή.

From the peak the view of the sea is very impressive.

Breakdown of Από την κορυφή η θέα της θάλασσας είναι πολύ εντυπωσιακή.

• είμαι: to be
• πολύ: very
• από: from
• η θάλασσα: the sea
• η κορυφή: the peak
• η θέα: the view
• εντυπωσιακός: impressive

Questions & Answers about Από την κορυφή η θέα της θάλασσας είναι πολύ εντυπωσιακή.

Why do we use Από here, and why is it followed by την κορυφή in the accusative case?

Από means from and usually expresses origin, starting point, or source (place, time, cause, etc.).
In Modern Greek, από is normally followed by the accusative case.

• η κορυφή = the top (nominative)
• την κορυφή = the top (accusative, after από)

So Από την κορυφή literally means From the top.
Other examples with από + accusative:

• Από το σπίτι – from the house
• Από την πόλη – from the city

Why is it την κορυφή and not η κορυφή after Από?

The article changes form depending on the case:

For a feminine noun like κορυφή:

• Nominative: η κορυφή (used for the subject)
• Genitive: της κορυφής
• Accusative: την κορυφή (used after από)

Since κορυφή here is the object of the preposition από, it must be in the accusative, so we use την κορυφή, not η κορυφή.

Why is η θέα in the nominative case?

Η θέα is the subject of the verb είναι (is), so it appears in the nominative case.

Structure of the sentence:

• Από την κορυφή – from the top (prepositional phrase: where/from where)
• η θέα της θάλασσας – the view of the sea (subject)
• είναι πολύ εντυπωσιακή – is very impressive (predicate)

Subjects in Greek normally stay in the nominative, so we say η θέα, not την θέα, in this position.

Why do we say της θάλασσας and not τη θάλασσα?

Της θάλασσας is in the genitive case and means of the sea.
Τη θάλασσα would be accusative and usually means the sea as a direct object.

Here we have the pattern:

• η θέα της θάλασσας = the view of the sea

This is a typical “X of Y” relation in Greek, expressed with the genitive:

• η πόρτα του σπιτιού – the door of the house
• ο χάρτης της πόλης – the map of the city
• η θέα της θάλασσας – the view of the sea

What is the difference between η θέα της θάλασσας and η θέα στη θάλασσα?

Both are possible, but the nuance changes:

• η θέα της θάλασσας
  Literally the view of the sea.
  It suggests that what you are looking at (the content of the view) is the sea itself.

• η θέα στη θάλασσα
  Literally the view to the sea.
  This focuses more on the direction of the view (toward the sea). It often has a similar meaning in practice, but it emphasises where the view looks to, not just what it consists of.

In everyday speech, both can be used for “sea view”, but η θέα της θάλασσας feels more like “the sea itself is the thing you see”.

Why is εντυπωσιακή in the feminine form?

Εντυπωσιακή is an adjective describing η θέα.
In Greek, adjectives must agree with the noun they describe in:

• gender
• number
• case

Θέα is:

• feminine
• singular
• nominative (subject)

So the adjective must also be: feminine singular nominative → εντυπωσιακή.

Basic forms of the adjective:

• masculine: εντυπωσιακός
• feminine: εντυπωσιακή
• neuter: εντυπωσιακό

Here we choose the feminine form to match η θέα.

Shouldn’t πολύ agree with εντυπωσιακή? Why don’t we say πολλή εντυπωσιακή?

Here, πολύ is an adverb meaning very, not an adjective meaning much/many.

• As an adverb, πολύ is invariable: it does not change for gender, number, or case.

  • πολύ εντυπωσιακή – very impressive
  • πολύ όμορφος / πολύ όμορφη / πολύ όμορφο – very beautiful (for all genders, πολύ stays the same)

• As an adjective, it does change:

  • πολύς κόσμος – a lot of people (masc.)
  • πολλή δουλειά – a lot of work (fem.)
  • πολύ νερό – a lot of water (neut.)

In this sentence, πολύ modifies the adjective εντυπωσιακή, so it functions as an adverb and stays πολύ.

Can we change the word order, for example: Η θέα της θάλασσας από την κορυφή είναι πολύ εντυπωσιακή?

Yes. Greek word order is relatively flexible.
These variants are all grammatically correct:

1. Από την κορυφή η θέα της θάλασσας είναι πολύ εντυπωσιακή.
   – Slight emphasis on from the top.

2. Η θέα της θάλασσας από την κορυφή είναι πολύ εντυπωσιακή.
   – Emphasis first on the sea view, then we specify from the top.

In normal speech and writing, option 2 is also very natural. The main constraint is that the pieces that belong together (like η θέα της θάλασσας) usually stay together as a group.

Why do we use articles everywhere (Από την κορυφή, η θέα, της θάλασσας)? Could we drop them?

Greek uses the definite article much more often than English. In this sentence, all three nouns refer to specific, known things:

• την κορυφή – the top (of this mountain, building, etc.)
• η θέα – the view (that you see from there)
• της θάλασσας – of the sea (a particular sea or sea area)

If you say:

• Από κορυφή, θέα θάλασσας είναι πολύ εντυπωσιακή,

it sounds ungrammatical or extremely telegraphic/poetic.

Normally, you keep the articles in such contexts. Dropping them is only natural in some fixed expressions, titles, or very specific stylistic/poetic choices.

What is the difference between Από την κορυφή and Στην κορυφή?

• Από την κορυφή = from the top
  Focuses on the starting point or the origin of something:

  • From the top, the view is impressive.
  • From the top, we started to walk down.

• Στην κορυφή = on/at the top
  Focuses on location (where something is or happens):

  • At the top, the view is impressive.
  • We are at the top.

So Από την κορυφή η θέα… = We are talking about the view seen from that top position.

How do you pronounce θέα and θάλασσας, especially the θ sound?

• θ in Greek is like th in English think, thin (not like this).

Pronunciation (roughly):

• θέα → THEH‑ah

  • two syllables: θέ‑α
  • stress on θέ (indicated by the accent)

• θάλασσας → THA‑lah‑sas

  • three syllables: θά‑λα‑σσας
  • stress on θά

Keep your tongue lightly between your teeth for θ, and blow air out, as in thin.

What genders are κορυφή, θέα, and θάλασσα, and how do their endings work?

All three nouns here are feminine:

• η κορυφή – the top, summit
  
  • ends in -ή in the nominative singular
• η θέα – the view
  
  • ends in -α
• η θάλασσα – the sea
  
  • also ends in -α

Typical feminine singular patterns:

• -η (e.g. η κορυφή, η πόλη)
• -α (e.g. η θέα, η θάλασσα, η πόρτα)

Their genitive singular forms:

• της κορυφής
• της θέας
• της θάλασσας

In the sentence you see:

• την κορυφή – accusative (after από)
• η θέα – nominative (subject)
• της θάλασσας – genitive (of the sea)

Why is there no article before πολύ εντυπωσιακή?

Πολύ εντυπωσιακή is a predicate adjective phrase, describing the subject η θέα της θάλασσας after the verb είναι.

General rule:

• When an adjective simply describes the subject after είμαι (to be), you normally don’t use an article:
  • Η πόλη είναι μεγάλη. – The city is big.
  • Το φαγητό είναι νόστιμο. – The food is tasty.
  • Η θέα… είναι πολύ εντυπωσιακή. – The view is very impressive.

You would add an article only in special cases where the adjective is used more like a noun (e.g. η μεγάλη = “the tall one”), which is not the case here.

Could I say Η θέα της θάλασσας είναι πολύ εντυπωσιακό instead of πολύ εντυπωσιακή?

No, not in this sentence.
Εντυπωσιακό is the neuter form of the adjective; it must agree with a neuter noun.

Here, the subject is η θέα (feminine), so the adjective must also be feminine: εντυπωσιακή.

• Correct:

  • Η θέα της θάλασσας είναι πολύ εντυπωσιακή.

• Where εντυπωσιακό would be correct:

  • Το θέαμα είναι πολύ εντυπωσιακό. – The spectacle is very impressive.
    (Because το θέαμα is neuter.)

So the adjective always follows the gender/number/case of the noun it describes.