Στην πόλη μου υπάρχουν όχι μόνο μουσεία αλλά και μικρές γκαλερί τέχνης.

In my city there are not only museums but also small art galleries.

Breakdown of Στην πόλη μου υπάρχουν όχι μόνο μουσεία αλλά και μικρές γκαλερί τέχνης.

• μου: my
• μικρός: small
• σε: in
• η πόλη: the city
• υπάρχω: to exist
• το μουσείο: the museum
• η τέχνη: the art
• όχι μόνο ... αλλά και: not only ... but also
• η γκαλερί: the gallery

Questions & Answers about Στην πόλη μου υπάρχουν όχι μόνο μουσεία αλλά και μικρές γκαλερί τέχνης.

Why is it Στην πόλη and not σε την πόλη or στο πόλη?

Σε is a preposition meaning in / at / to.
In normal speech and writing, σε almost always contracts with the definite article:

• σε + την → στην (feminine singular)
• σε + τη → στη (also common)
• σε + το → στο (neuter singular)
• σε + τον → στον (masculine singular)

Because πόλη (city) is a feminine noun and we want “in the city”, we need σε την πόλη → στην πόλη.

You cannot say στο πόλη, because στο is used with neuter nouns, and πόλη is feminine.

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What case is πόλη in here, and why?

Πόλη is in the accusative singular: την πόλη → στην πόλη.

In Modern Greek, the preposition σε always takes the accusative case.
So any noun after σε will be in the accusative:

• στο σπίτι (from το σπίτι – neuter acc.)
• στον κήπο (from ο κήπος – masc. acc.)
• στην πόλη (from η πόλη – fem. acc.)

So πόλη is accusative because it follows σε (inside the contraction στην).

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Why does μου (my) come after the noun in Στην πόλη μου instead of before it, like in English?

In Greek, the unstressed possessive pronouns (μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους) normally come after the noun:

• η πόλη μου = my city
• το σπίτι σου = your house
• ο φίλος μας = our friend

They are clitics, so they depend on the noun and don’t take the article themselves.

If you want to emphasize the possessor, you can use a stressed form before the noun with an article, e.g.:

• η δική μου πόλη = my city (as opposed to someone else’s)

But the neutral, everyday form is noun + μου, as in η πόλη μου / στην πόλη μου.

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What is the function of υπάρχουν here, and how is it different from είναι?

Υπάρχουν means “(they) exist” or “there are”.

In this sentence:

• Υπάρχουν όχι μόνο μουσεία αλλά και μικρές γκαλερί τέχνης
  = There are not only museums but also small art galleries.

Use υπάρχει / υπάρχουν when you want to say that something exists / is present / is available somewhere:

• Στην πόλη μου υπάρχουν πολλά πάρκα.
  = In my city there are many parks.

Use είναι when you are identifying or describing something rather than just saying it exists:

• Η πόλη μου είναι μεγάλη.
  = My city is big.
• Αυτά τα κτίρια είναι μουσεία.
  = These buildings are museums.

So here, υπάρχουν is exactly the English “there are”.

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How does the structure όχι μόνο … αλλά και … work?

Όχι μόνο … αλλά (και) … means “not only … but (also) …”.

Pattern:

• όχι μόνο
  • thing A
• αλλά (και)
  • thing B

In the sentence:

• όχι μόνο μουσεία
• αλλά και μικρές γκαλερί τέχνης

= not only museums but also small art galleries.

A few notes:

• και after αλλά is optional but very common: αλλά και.
• όχι does not make the whole sentence negative; it just sets up the contrast (“not only A, but also B”).
• You place όχι μόνο immediately before what you’re contrasting (a word, phrase, or whole clause).

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Why doesn’t μουσεία have an article (no τα μουσεία)?

In Greek, the definite article is used more often than in English, but it’s still not obligatory in every plural, generic statement.

Here, μουσεία is used in a somewhat indefinite / non-specific plural sense:

• υπάρχουν όχι μόνο μουσεία
  = there are museums (among other things)

If we said:

• υπάρχουν όχι μόνο τα μουσεία αλλά και…

it would usually sound like we’re referring to some specific, known museums already in the context.

So:

• υπάρχουν μουσεία → some number of museums exist (general information)
• υπάρχουν τα μουσεία → those particular museums (previously identified) exist/are there

In this kind of “there are X and Y in my city” statement, Greek commonly omits the article.

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What is the singular of μουσεία, and how do the forms work?

Μουσεία is the neuter plural (nominative/accusative) of:

• το μουσείο = the museum

Relevant forms:

• Singular:
  
  • nominative/accusative: το μουσείο
• Plural:
  
  • nominative/accusative: τα μουσεία

Note the stress shift:

• το μουσείο (stress on -είο)
• τα μουσεία (stress moves one syllable left)

This stress movement is normal for many -είο → -εία neuter plurals in Greek.

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Why is it μικρές γκαλερί and not something like μικρά γκαλερία?

There are two separate points here:

1. μικρές is a feminine plural adjective

   • masculine: μικρός / μικροί
   • feminine: μικρή / μικρές
   • neuter: μικρό / μικρά

   So μικρές tells us that γκαλερί is being treated as feminine plural.

2. γκαλερί is an indeclinable foreign loanword (from French galerie).

   • Singular: μία γκαλερί
   • Plural: δύο / πολλές γκαλερί
     The form does not change between singular and plural.

Number and gender are shown by the article or adjective, not by the noun’s ending:

• η γκαλερί = the gallery (sg.)
• οι μικρές γκαλερί = the small galleries (pl.)

So μικρές γκαλερί = small (fem. pl.) galleries.
There is no form γκαλερία in standard Greek.

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How can I tell that γκαλερί is plural here if the word itself doesn’t change?

You infer number from the adjective (or from an article, if present).

• μικρές is feminine plural → so the noun it modifies is plural.
• If we had the article, it would be οι μικρές γκαλερί (also clearly plural).

If it were singular, we’d say:

• (μία) μικρή γκαλερί = a small gallery

So in:

• αλλά και μικρές γκαλερί τέχνης

the combination μικρές + context (= there are museums and galleries) makes it unmistakably plural.

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Why is τέχνης in the genitive, and what exactly does γκαλερί τέχνης mean literally?

Τέχνης is the genitive singular of η τέχνη = art.

Greek often uses the genitive to link two nouns in a “X of Y” relationship, where English often uses noun–noun compounds:

• γκαλερί τέχνης = gallery of art → art gallery
• κατάστημα ρούχων = shop of clothes → clothes shop
• μουσείο φυσικής ιστορίας = museum of natural history → natural history museum

So γκαλερί τέχνης literally = gallery of art, which is exactly “art gallery” in English.

This [Noun1 + Noun2 (genitive)] structure is extremely common in Greek.

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Why is μικρές placed before γκαλερί? Can it come after the noun?

By default, adjectives usually come before the noun in Greek when you’re using the article:

• οι μικρές γκαλερί
• το μεγάλο μουσείο

Without the article, both orders are possible, but adjective + noun is more neutral and common:

• μικρές γκαλερί τέχνης
• (less typical here) γκαλερί τέχνης μικρές

The version with the adjective after the noun often sounds more marked or emphatic, or poetic, depending on context.

So μικρές γκαλερί τέχνης is the natural, standard word order for “small art galleries”.

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How do you pronounce γκαλερί, and why does it start with γκ?

Γκαλερί is pronounced approximately:

• [ga-le-REE], with stress on the last syllable.

In Modern Greek spelling:

• γγ / γκ can represent the /g/ sound (as in go), especially before front vowels.
• Word-initial γκ is the usual way to spell an initial /g/ in foreign loanwords.

So γκ at the start of γκαλερί is there to represent the hard g sound from the original word (galerie).

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Is the sentence negative because of όχι?

No. In όχι μόνο … αλλά και …, the όχι does not make the whole sentence negative.

It functions as part of a correlative pair:

• όχι μόνο = not only
• αλλά (και) = but (also)

The overall meaning is affirmative, just adding emphasis and contrast:

• Στην πόλη μου υπάρχουν μουσεία και μικρές γκαλερί τέχνης.
  = There are museums and small art galleries in my city. (simple statement)

• Στην πόλη μου υπάρχουν όχι μόνο μουσεία αλλά και μικρές γκαλερί τέχνης.
  = In my city, there are not only museums, but also small art galleries. (stronger, more contrastive)

So όχι here is part of a rhetorical structure, not a simple sentence negation like δεν.