Learn Hardcore Greek: Οι πιτζάμες μου είναι καθαρές και μπλε.

In everyday Greek, people almost always talk about pajamas in the plural, just like in English (my pajamas rather than my pajama), because it refers to the whole set of clothing, not a single item.

Why is the article οι used before πιτζάμες, and not τις or something else?

Greek articles change form depending on case, gender, and number.

οι = nominative, feminine (or masculine) plural definite article
Used for the subject of the sentence.
τις = accusative, feminine plural article
Used mainly for direct objects, not subjects.

In this sentence, οι πιτζάμες μου is the subject of the verb είναι, so it must be in the nominative case, and that is why we use οι, not τις.

What gender is πιτζάμες, and how can I tell?

Πιτζάμες is feminine plural.

You can tell from:

its singular form: η πιτζάμα – the article η is feminine singular.
its article in the sentence: οι πιτζάμες – οι is used for feminine (and masculine) plural subjects.
the adjective that agrees with it: καθαρές is the feminine plural form of the adjective καθαρός, -ή, -ό.

So the set οι πιτζάμες behaves grammatically like a feminine plural noun.

Why does the possessive μου come after πιτζάμες, not before, like my pajamas in English?

In Greek, possessive pronouns like μου (my), σου (your), του (his), etc., usually come after the noun:

οι πιτζάμες μου – my pajamas
το βιβλίο σου – your book
το σπίτι του – his house

The normal pattern is: > article + noun + possessive

So:

οι πιτζάμες μου literally looks like the pajamas of-me.
You do not normally say μου πιτζάμες.

The article (οι) is still used even though English does not use the in my pajamas.

What form of the verb είμαι is είναι, and why is it used with a plural noun?

Είναι is the third person form of the verb είμαι (to be) in the present tense.

The present forms are:

είμαι – I am
είσαι – you are (singular)
είναι – he / she / it is
είμαστε – we are
είστε – you are (plural / polite)
είναι – they are

So είναι is used for he / she / it is and they are. Greek uses the same form for 3rd person singular and plural in the present tense. The subject (here, οι πιτζάμες) tells you that it means are, not is.

Why is the adjective καθαρές used here instead of καθαρό or καθαρή?

The basic adjective is:

καθαρός (masculine)
καθαρή (feminine)
καθαρό (neuter)

These are singular forms. But πιτζάμες is feminine plural, so the adjective must be feminine plural too:

feminine plural nominative: καθαρές

That is why the sentence has:

οι πιτζάμες (feminine plural)
καθαρές (feminine plural)

They must agree in gender, number, and case.

Does the color μπλε change form for gender or number?

No. Μπλε is an indeclinable adjective in modern Greek. That means its form does not change for gender, number, or case.

You use μπλε for all of these:

το μπλε φόρεμα – the blue dress (neuter singular)
η μπλε φούστα – the blue skirt (feminine singular)
οι μπλε κάλτσες – the blue socks (feminine plural)
το μπλε αυτοκίνητο – the blue car (neuter singular)

So in οι πιτζάμες μου είναι καθαρές και μπλε, the καθαρές changes to match πιτζάμες, but μπλε stays the same.

Why is there only one και between καθαρές and μπλε? Could I say καθαρές και είναι μπλε?

Here και means and, and it is connecting two adjectives that describe the same noun:

καθαρές – clean
μπλε – blue

So: > είναι καθαρές και μπλε
> are clean and blue

You do not repeat the verb είναι between them.

Καθαρές και είναι μπλε would sound unnatural and incorrect in this simple descriptive sentence. The single είναι before both adjectives is the standard way.

Can I change the word order, for example: Οι πιτζάμες μου μπλε και καθαρές είναι?

Yes, Greek word order is more flexible than English, but there are strong preferences.

The most natural and neutral order here is: > Οι πιτζάμες μου είναι καθαρές και μπλε.

Other orders like: > Οι πιτζάμες μου είναι μπλε και καθαρές.

are also fine and sound natural; you just swap the order of the adjectives.

However: > Οι πιτζάμες μου μπλε και καθαρές είναι.

is technically possible but sounds unusual or poetic, not like everyday speech. The safest pattern to learn and use is: > [Subject] + είναι + [adjectives].

How do you pronounce Οι πιτζάμες μου είναι καθαρές και μπλε?

Here is a rough breakdown with syllables and stress:

Οι – /i/ (like ee in see)
πι-τζά-μες – /pi-ˈd͡za-mes/
- stress on -τζά-
- τζ = like English j in jam
μου – /mu/ (like moo)
εί-ναι – /ˈi-ne/
- stress on εί-
κα-θα-ρές – /ka-θa-ˈres/
- θ = th as in think
- stress on -ρές
και – usually /ce/ (like ke in ketchup, but shorter); in many dialects it sounds like ke
μπλε – /ble/
- μπ at the start is like English b in blue

Said at normal speed, it flows something like: > /i piˈd͡za-mes mu ˈi-ne ka-θa-ˈres ce ble/

What does the accent mark on πιτζάμες and καθαρές show?

The acute accent (´) in Greek shows the stressed syllable of the word.

πιτζάμες – stress on τζά → πι-τζά-μες
καθαρές – stress on ρές → κα-θα-ρές

Stress is very important in Greek:

It can distinguish words that are otherwise spelled the same.
It helps you pronounce words correctly and sound natural.

Every multi-syllable word in modern Greek has one main stress mark.

How would I say My pajamas are not clean and blue in Greek?

To make the sentence negative, you add δεν before the verb είναι:

Οι πιτζάμες μου δεν είναι καθαρές και μπλε.
= My pajamas are not clean and blue.

Structure:

Οι πιτζάμες μου – my pajamas
δεν – not
είναι – are
καθαρές και μπλε – clean and blue

So: > δεν + είναι = are not / is not