Learn Hardcore Greek: Το διαμέρισμά μας δεν είναι μεγάλο, αλλά είναι ήσυχο. - Our apartment is not big, but it is quiet.

In Greek, the unstressed possessive pronouns (μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους) usually come after the noun they modify, not before it as in English.

Why does διαμέρισμα become διαμέρισμά with an accent on the last syllable?

The base word is διαμέρισμα (stress on μέ: dia‑ME‑ris‑ma).

When you add an enclitic like μας (our), Greek accent rules treat διαμέρισμα μας as one unit. The main stress is not allowed to be too far from the end of this unit, so it shifts toward the end of the word. This is why you see:

διαμέρισμα → διαμέρισμά μας

So:

without a clitic: διαμέρισμα
with a clitic (μας, μου, σου, του, της, σας, τους): διαμέρισμά μας

As a learner, the practical rule is:

If a word normally has the stress three syllables from the end and is followed by μας / μου / σου / του / της / σας / τους, its written accent usually moves closer to the end (as in διαμέρισμά μας).

Why is μας placed after διαμέρισμά and not before, like English “our apartment”?

Greek has two main types of possessive forms:

Weak (clitic) possessives – μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους
These go after the noun:
- το βιβλίο μου – my book
- το διαμέρισμά μας – our apartment
Strong (stressed) possessive adjectives – δικός μου, δικός σου, δικός του…
These can stand either before or after the noun and add emphasis:
- το δικό μας διαμέρισμα – our apartment (as opposed to someone else’s)
- αυτό είναι το διαμέρισμα το δικό μας – this is our apartment.

In your sentence, μας is the normal, unstressed weak form, so it follows the noun: διαμέρισμά μας.

What is the difference between μας and εμείς?

εμείς means “we” (subject pronoun):
- Εμείς μένουμε εδώ. – We live here.
μας has two main uses:
1. Weak object form: us
  - Μας βλέπουν. – They see us.
2. Weak possessive form: our
  - το διαμέρισμά μας – our apartment.

In your sentence, μας is possessive: it shows that the apartment belongs to us.

How does δεν είναι mean “is not”? Why is δεν before είναι?

Negation of verbs in Greek normally works like this:

δεν + verb → not + verb

So:

είναι – is
δεν είναι – is not

δεν is a negative particle and always comes before the verb it negates:

δεν μένω εδώ. – I do not live here.
Δεν είναι μεγάλο. – It is not big.

In your sentence:

Το διαμέρισμά μας δεν είναι μεγάλο…
literally “Our apartment not is big…”, i.e. “Our apartment is not big…”

What is the difference between δεν and μην / μη?

Both are negative, but they are used in different contexts:

δεν is used with indicative verbs (normal statements and questions):
- Δεν είναι μεγάλο. – It is not big.
- Δεν μένω εκεί. – I do not live there.
μη / μην is used mainly with:
- imperatives (commands):
  - Μη μιλάς! – Don’t talk!
- subjunctive forms (with να, για να, πριν να, etc.):
  - Να μην αργήσεις. – Don’t be late.

In your sentence we have a simple statement (“is not”), so δεν is the correct choice: δεν είναι.

Why is είναι used without an explicit subject pronoun like “it” or “he/she”?

Greek is a “pro-drop” language: subject pronouns are often omitted when the verb ending already shows the subject.

είναι is 3rd person singular: he / she / it is.

In the sentence:

Το διαμέρισμά μας δεν είναι μεγάλο, αλλά είναι ήσυχο.

the subject of both είναι verbs is Το διαμέρισμά μας (“our apartment”). Greek does not need a separate word for “it”:

(Το διαμέρισμά μας) δεν είναι μεγάλο, αλλά είναι ήσυχο.
(Our apartment) is not big, but is quiet.

The subject is understood from context and verb form.

Why do μεγάλο and ήσυχο end in -ο? Are they related to διαμέρισμα?

Yes. In Greek, adjectives agree with the noun they describe in:

gender
number
case

διαμέρισμα is:

neuter
singular
nominative (subject)

So the adjectives describing it must also be neuter singular nominative:

μεγάλο – big (neuter, sg, nom.)
ήσυχο – quiet (neuter, sg, nom.)

That’s why they both end in -ο:

Το διαμέρισμά μας δεν είναι μεγάλο, αλλά είναι ήσυχο.
Our apartment (neuter) is not big (neuter), but it is quiet (neuter).

Why don’t μεγάλο and ήσυχο have an article (το) in front of them?

Here μεγάλο and ήσυχο are predicative adjectives: they come after the verb είναι and say something about the subject.

In Greek, predicative adjectives after είμαι and similar verbs normally do not take an article:

Το σπίτι είναι μεγάλο. – The house is big.
Η πόλη είναι όμορφη. – The city is beautiful.
Το διαμέρισμα είναι ήσυχο. – The apartment is quiet.

If you add an article before the adjective (το μεγάλο διαμέρισμα), the adjective becomes attributive and directly modifies the noun in a noun phrase, e.g. το μεγάλο διαμέρισμα – the big apartment.

In your sentence, we are making a statement about the apartment, so the adjectives are predicative and appear without an article: είναι μεγάλο, είναι ήσυχο.

Do we really need the second είναι? Could we say …δεν είναι μεγάλο, αλλά ήσυχο?

Both are possible in Greek:

With the verb repeated (your sentence):
- Το διαμέρισμά μας δεν είναι μεγάλο, αλλά είναι ήσυχο.
  → very clear and fully explicit.
With the verb omitted in the second part:
- Το διαμέρισμά μας δεν είναι μεγάλο, αλλά ήσυχο.

In the second version, είναι is understood but left out (ellipsis), something like English:

“Our apartment is not big, but (it is) quiet.”

The version with the second είναι is more neutral and explicit; the version without it is slightly more compact and you will see and hear it quite often.

Why is there a comma before αλλά?

In this sentence, αλλά (“but”) connects two clauses:

Το διαμέρισμά μας δεν είναι μεγάλο – Our apartment is not big
(αλλά) είναι ήσυχο – but it is quiet

Greek normally uses a comma before αλλά when it introduces a new clause that contrasts with the previous one, much like English:

Δεν είναι μεγάλο, αλλά είναι ήσυχο.
It’s not big, but it’s quiet.

So the comma marks the boundary between the two contrasting parts of the sentence.

Could we omit Το and say Διαμέρισμά μας δεν είναι μεγάλο, αλλά είναι ήσυχο?

In normal, neutral Greek you would not omit the article here. The natural form is:

Το διαμέρισμά μας δεν είναι μεγάλο, αλλά είναι ήσυχο.

Greek uses the definite article much more frequently than English, especially with:

specific things already known from context
family members, body parts, general nouns in many situations.

Leaving out the article (Διαμέρισμά μας…) can sound either poetic, very informal, or simply wrong in everyday speech. For a learner, assume that when you refer to “our apartment” as a specific thing, you should say:

Το διαμέρισμά μας… – Our apartment…