Breakdown of Η εικόνα στον τοίχο είναι πολύ όμορφη.
Questions & Answers about Η εικόνα στον τοίχο είναι πολύ όμορφη.
Η is the feminine singular definite article in the nominative case.
It tells you three things about εικόνα:
- The noun is definite (so the picture, not a picture).
- The noun is feminine in gender.
- The noun is the subject of the sentence (nominative case).
In dictionaries, you will usually see this noun as η εικόνα (picture, image, painting), and the η is part of how you learn its gender.
Greek usually contracts the preposition σε (in, at, on) with the definite article.
- σε + τον → στον
- σε + τον τοίχο → στον τοίχο
Also, ο τοίχος is nominative (dictionary form), but after a preposition like σε, Greek uses the accusative case, so it becomes τον τοίχο.
So the “full” underlying phrase is σε τον τοίχο, which is then contracted to στον τοίχο.
ο τοίχος is the nominative (subject) form.
In this sentence, τοίχο is the object of the preposition σε, so it appears in the accusative case:
- Nominative: ο τοίχος (the wall – subject)
- Accusative: τον τοίχο (the wall – object, after prepositions)
The ending -ο here is part of the accusative form τοίχο. Greek masculine nouns in -ος very often change to -ο in the accusative singular (ο φίλος → τον φίλο, ο δρόμος → τον δρόμο, etc.).
The adjective όμορφη agrees with the noun εικόνα in gender, number, and case.
- εικόνα is feminine, singular, nominative (subject).
- So the adjective must also be feminine singular nominative → όμορφη.
The basic forms of this adjective are:
- Masculine: όμορφος (ο όμορφος άντρας)
- Feminine: όμορφη (η όμορφη εικόνα)
- Neuter: όμορφο (το όμορφο σπίτι)
Because the subject is η εικόνα, you must use όμορφη.
Here πολύ is an adverb meaning very. As an adverb, it is indeclinable (it doesn’t change form), and it goes in front of adjectives:
- πολύ όμορφη = very beautiful
- πολύ καλός = very good
- πολύ μικρό = very small
πολλή is a feminine adjective and means much/a lot of when used with nouns, e.g. πολλή δουλειά (a lot of work).
So: before adjectives we say πολύ, not πολλή.
Yes.
- πολύ όμορφη = very beautiful
- πάρα πολύ όμορφη = extremely / very, very beautiful
πάρα intensifies πολύ, so πάρα πολύ is a common way in Greek to say really, really or super in front of an adjective.
The grammar stays the same; it just adds emotional emphasis.
In normal, standard sentences you cannot leave out είναι.
Greek generally needs the verb είμαι (to be) expressed:
- Correct standard: Η εικόνα στον τοίχο είναι πολύ όμορφη.
A phrase like Η εικόνα στον τοίχο, πολύ όμορφη! could appear as a fragment or an exclamation in speech or writing (like saying “The picture on the wall – very beautiful!”), but that is not a full, standard sentence.
For learning and normal usage, keep είναι in place.
Yes. The present tense forms of είμαι (to be) are:
- εγώ είμαι – I am
- εσύ είσαι – you are (singular)
- αυτός / αυτή / αυτό είναι – he / she / it is
- εμείς είμαστε – we are
- εσείς είστε – you are (plural or polite)
- αυτοί / αυτές / αυτά είναι – they are
So είναι is used for both he/she/it is and they are.
In this sentence, the subject η εικόνα is singular, so είναι is translated as is.
- Η εικόνα = the picture (a specific picture that both speakers know about).
- Μια εικόνα = a picture (any picture, not specified).
So:
- Η εικόνα στον τοίχο είναι πολύ όμορφη. → The picture on the wall is very beautiful.
- Μια εικόνα στον τοίχο είναι πολύ όμορφη. → A picture on the wall is very beautiful.
The second sentence is grammatically fine but sounds more like a general or hypothetical statement (e.g. in a discussion about interior decoration), not about a particular, known picture.
Yes, you can say:
- Η εικόνα στον τοίχο είναι πολύ όμορφη.
- Η εικόνα είναι πολύ όμορφη στον τοίχο.
Both are grammatically correct and both can mean The picture on the wall is very beautiful.
Subtle nuance:
- Η εικόνα στον τοίχο είναι πολύ όμορφη. slightly highlights which picture (the one on the wall).
- Η εικόνα είναι πολύ όμορφη στον τοίχο. can sound more like The picture (in general) looks very beautiful when it’s on the wall (emphasis a bit more on the location as where it looks beautiful).
In everyday speech, both are perfectly natural; the difference is small and mostly about emphasis.
You need to make the subject and adjective plural feminine:
- Singular: Η εικόνα στον τοίχο είναι πολύ όμορφη.
- Plural: Οι εικόνες στον τοίχο είναι πολύ όμορφες.
Changes:
- Η → Οι (feminine plural article, nominative).
- εικόνα → εικόνες (plural noun).
- όμορφη → όμορφες (feminine plural adjective agreeing with εικόνες).
- είναι stays the same (it’s used for both is and are).
Approximate pronunciation with stress in CAPS (Latin letters):
- Η εικόνα → i iKÓ-na
- στον τοίχο → ston TÍ-ho
- είναι → Í-ne
- πολύ → po-LÍ
- όμορφη → Ó-mor-fi
Key sounds:
- η, ει, οι are all pronounced like i (as in machine).
- οι in τοίχο is also i.
- χ in τοίχο is a hard ch like in German Bach or Spanish j in jota.
- The accent mark (´) shows which syllable is stressed.
Modern Greek uses one written stress accent on words of two or more syllables to show which syllable is stressed when you pronounce the word:
- εικόνα – stress on κό
- όμορφη – stress on ό
- πολύ – stress on λύ
The accent doesn’t change the vowel quality, only the stress.
It’s important because stress can sometimes distinguish different words or forms, and correct stress is a big part of sounding natural in Greek.