Το ποδήλατο είναι δίπλα από το αυτοκίνητο.

The bicycle is next to the car.

Breakdown of Το ποδήλατο είναι δίπλα από το αυτοκίνητο.

• είμαι: to be
• το αυτοκίνητο: the car
• το ποδήλατο: the bicycle
• δίπλα από: next to

Questions & Answers about Το ποδήλατο είναι δίπλα από το αυτοκίνητο.

Why do we use το before both ποδήλατο and αυτοκίνητο?

Το is the definite article the for neuter nouns in Greek.
Greek uses the definite article more often than English, so where English says “Bicycle is next to car” only with context, Greek almost always says Το ποδήλατο and το αυτοκίνητο.
Here, both objects are specific, so το naturally corresponds to “the” in “The bicycle is next to the car.”

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What gender are ποδήλατο and αυτοκίνητο, and how can I tell?

Both ποδήλατο and αυτοκίνητο are neuter nouns.
A quick clue: many common neuter nouns in Greek end in -ο, -ι, or -μα, and they take the article το in the singular.
Their plural forms are also neuter: τα ποδήλατα (bicycles), τα αυτοκίνητα (cars).

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What form of the verb is είναι, and does it mean “is” or “are”?

Είναι is the 3rd person singular and plural form of the verb είμαι (to be) in the present tense.
It can mean “he/she/it is” or “they are”, depending on the subject.
In this sentence, the subject is το ποδήλατο (singular), so είναι means “is.”

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Is the verb είναι required here, or can I say Το ποδήλατο δίπλα από το αυτοκίνητο without it?

Greek normally requires the verb είμαι (είναι here) in such sentences.
Unlike some languages that can drop “to be” in the present, standard Greek needs είναι, so Το ποδήλατο είναι δίπλα από το αυτοκίνητο is the natural, correct version.

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What does δίπλα από literally mean, and what is the role of από here?

Δίπλα means “next to / beside”, and από usually means “from”.
In the fixed combination δίπλα από, they work together to mean “next to / beside” something:

• δίπλα από το αυτοκίνητο = next to the car.
  You will very often see δίπλα από or δίπλα σε used this way with a following noun.

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Can I say δίπλα σε instead of δίπλα από? Is there any difference?

Yes, you can also say Το ποδήλατο είναι δίπλα στο αυτοκίνητο, using δίπλα σε (here contracted to στο = σε + το).
In everyday modern Greek, δίπλα από and δίπλα σε are both very common and, in practice, mean the same thing: “next to / beside.”
Some speakers feel δίπλα σε is slightly more “textbook,” but both are fully acceptable.

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Why do το ποδήλατο and το αυτοκίνητο look the same even though one is the subject and one follows a preposition?

Greek has cases, but for neuter nouns the nominative (subject) and accusative (object, and after most prepositions) are identical in form.
So το ποδήλατο is nominative (subject of είναι), while το αυτοκίνητο is accusative (object of the preposition από), but they both look like το + noun.
You tell them apart by their function in the sentence, not by their form here.

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How is the word order working here? Can I say Δίπλα από το αυτοκίνητο είναι το ποδήλατο instead?

The basic, neutral order is Subject – Verb – Rest: Το ποδήλατο είναι δίπλα από το αυτοκίνητο.
Greek word order is fairly flexible, so Δίπλα από το αυτοκίνητο είναι το ποδήλατο is also grammatical.
The second version puts more emphasis on the location (“Next to the car is the bicycle”), as if you are specifying where it is.

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What exactly does the accent mark in ποδήλατο and αυτοκίνητο show, and how do I pronounce them?

The written accent (´) shows which syllable is stressed.

• ποδήλατο → po-DHI-la-to → [poˈði.la.to]
• αυτοκίνητο → af-to-KI-ni-to → [aftoˈci.ni.to]
  Stress is very important in Greek; putting it on the wrong syllable can make a word sound strange or even like a different word.

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If I want to say “near” instead of “next to,” how would I change this sentence?

For “near,” you typically use κοντά σε.
So you can say: Το ποδήλατο είναι κοντά στο αυτοκίνητο.
Here στο is the contraction of σε + το, and the sentence means “The bicycle is near the car.”

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How would I say just “It is next to the car,” if the bicycle is already clear from context?

You can simply say: Είναι δίπλα από το αυτοκίνητο.
Greek often drops the subject pronoun (“it”, “he”, “she”) because the subject is understood from context or from the verb form.
If you really want to emphasize “it”, you can say Αυτό είναι δίπλα από το αυτοκίνητο, using the neuter pronoun αυτό.

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Are there any contractions with το I should be aware of here, like τ’ αυτοκίνητο?

Yes. In spoken Greek and often in informal writing, το before a vowel-initial word like αυτοκίνητο can become τ’:

• το αυτοκίνητο → τ’ αυτοκίνητο.
  Your original sentence uses the full form, which is always safe and correct, but you’ll frequently hear and sometimes see the shortened τ’ αυτοκίνητο in everyday Greek.

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If I want to add an adjective like “red bicycle” or “small car,” where does it go?

In Greek, the article is usually repeated before the adjective:

• Το κόκκινο ποδήλατο είναι δίπλα από το αυτοκίνητο. – The red bicycle is next to the car.
• Το ποδήλατο είναι δίπλα από το μικρό αυτοκίνητο. – The bicycle is next to the small car.
  Article, adjective, and noun all agree in gender, number, and case (here: neuter singular).