Learn Hardcore Greek: Αυτό το μέγεθος και το μήκος δεν είναι κατάλληλα, είναι λίγο μικρότερα από όσο χρειάζομαι. - This size and length aren't suitable; they are a bit smaller than I need.

In Greek, when the subject consists of two (or more) nouns joined by και (and), the subject is treated as plural, even if each noun on its own is singular.

Here the subject is:

το μέγεθος (the size)
το μήκος (the length)

Together: το μέγεθος και το μήκος → a plural subject.

So the verb and the predicate adjective agree with this plural subject:

δεν είναι κατάλληλα = they are not suitable

κατάλληλα is neuter plural, agreeing with the combined subject (το μέγεθος και το μήκος), which counts as “they” in English.

Why are κατάλληλα and μικρότερα neuter, not masculine or feminine?

Adjectives in Greek must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun (or nouns) they refer to.

Here the two nouns are:

το μέγεθος – neuter singular
το μήκος – neuter singular

When they are combined as a plural subject, the “resulting” plural is neuter plural. So any adjective referring to them must be neuter plural:

κατάλληλα (appropriate) – neuter plural
μικρότερα (smaller) – neuter plural

If one noun were masculine and the other feminine, you would often see masculine plural agreement, but with only neuter nouns, the plural is neuter plural.

Why is it Αυτό το μέγεθος και το μήκος and not Αυτό το μέγεθος και αυτό το μήκος?

Both are grammatically possible:

Αυτό το μέγεθος και το μήκος
Αυτό το μέγεθος και αυτό το μήκος

In practice, Greek often repeats only the article with the second noun, not the demonstrative:

Αυτό το μέγεθος και το μήκος
→ literally “this the size and the length”, understood as “this size and (this) length”.

The demonstrative αυτό at the beginning is normally understood to apply to both nouns in that coordinated phrase. Repeating αυτό before μήκος is not wrong, but it can sound heavier or more emphatic, as if you are highlighting each element separately: “this size and this length” one by one.

Could I say Το μέγεθος και το μήκος αυτό instead of Αυτό το μέγεθος και το μήκος?

Yes, that is also possible, but the nuance changes slightly.

Αυτό το μέγεθος και το μήκος
– more typical, especially in everyday speech; αυτό comes before the noun phrase.
Το μέγεθος και το μήκος αυτό
– puts αυτό after the noun phrase; this word order can sound a bit more formal or stylistic, and also a bit more contrastive (as in “this particular size and length (as opposed to others)”).

Both structures are grammatically correct; the first is more common in spoken language.

What exactly does κατάλληλα mean here? Could I use σωστά or ταιριαστά instead?

Κατάλληλος / -η / -ο means “suitable, appropriate, fitting for a purpose”.

In this context:

δεν είναι κατάλληλα
→ “they are not suitable (for what I need)”.

Alternatives:

σωστά (from σωστός) usually means “correct, right”, or sometimes “the right one(s)”.
- δεν είναι σωστά could mean “they are not the right ones” / “they are not correct”, and would be understood, but it puts more emphasis on “right vs wrong” rather than “suitable for this purpose”.
ταιριαστά (from ταιριαστός) means “matching, going well together / fitting (a person, style, etc.)”.
- δεν είναι ταιριαστά would sound more like “they don’t match” or “they don’t suit (me/it)”, typically in terms of appearance or style.

So κατάλληλα is the most neutral/standard choice when you mean “suitable / appropriate in terms of size, length, function”.

How does the comparative structure μικρότερα από όσο χρειάζομαι work? Why both από and όσο?

This is a common way in Greek to say “smaller than what I need”:

μικρότερα – “smaller” (comparative of μικρά / μικρό)
από – “than” (in comparisons)
όσο – literally “as much (as) / as big (as)”
χρειάζομαι – “I need”

So μικρότερα από όσο χρειάζομαι is literally:

“smaller than as much as I need”

but functionally it means “smaller than what I need / smaller than I need”.

You could also shorten it in very colloquial speech to μικρότερα απ’ όσο τα χρειάζομαι, or even μικρότερα απ’ όσο χρειάζομαι, as in the sentence. The pattern [comparative] + από όσο + verb is very common:

μεγαλύτερο από όσο νόμιζα – bigger than I thought
περισσότερα από όσο περιμένω – more than I expect

Could I just say μικρότερα από όσο χρειάζομαι εγώ or drop όσο and say μικρότερα από ό,τι χρειάζομαι?

Yes:

μικρότερα από όσο χρειάζομαι εγώ
- Adding εγώ (I) is grammatically fine and may add emphasis (“than I (myself) need”), but it’s not necessary. Greek usually omits subject pronouns unless there’s contrast or emphasis.
μικρότερα από ό,τι χρειάζομαι
- This is also correct. ό,τι here is usually written with a comma to distinguish it from ότι (that).
- It works like “than what I need”, similar function to από όσο χρειάζομαι.

Both από όσο and από ό,τι are natural; από όσο is slightly more colloquial/flowing in everyday speech.

Why is there no εγώ before χρειάζομαι? How do I know it means “I need”?

In Greek, the verb ending shows the person and number, so the subject pronoun is usually omitted unless you want to stress it.

χρειάζομαι – 1st person singular (“I need”)
χρειάζεσαι – 2nd person singular (“you need”)
χρειάζεται – 3rd person singular (“he/she/it needs”)

Because χρειάζομαι already encodes the subject “I”, you don’t need to say εγώ:

…από όσο χρειάζομαι = “than I need”
…από όσο χρειάζομαι εγώ = “than I (personally) need” – with extra emphasis on I.

So native speakers automatically understand “I need” from the verb form.

What is the role of λίγο before μικρότερα? Is its position important?

Λίγο here is an adverb meaning “a little / slightly”. It modifies the comparative μικρότερα:

λίγο μικρότερα = “a little smaller”, “slightly smaller”.

The most natural position is before the adjective:

είναι λίγο μικρότερα – they are a bit smaller

Other positions are possible but less common or stylistically marked. For example:

είναι μικρότερα λίγο – understandable, but sounds less natural here; you’d more often hear this with time or quantity, not so much with size adjectives.

So the normal, idiomatic choice is exactly what you see in the sentence: λίγο directly before the comparative adjective.

Why is there a comma before είναι λίγο μικρότερα? Could I say …δεν είναι κατάλληλα και είναι λίγο μικρότερα… instead?

The comma separates two related statements about the same subject:

δεν είναι κατάλληλα – they are not suitable
είναι λίγο μικρότερα από όσο χρειάζομαι – they are a bit smaller than I need

Greek frequently uses a comma here where English might use a full stop, a semicolon, or and.

You could indeed say:

…δεν είναι κατάλληλα και είναι λίγο μικρότερα από όσο χρειάζομαι.

This is also correct and emphasizes the connection a bit more explicitly: “they are not suitable and they are a bit smaller than I need.”

So:

With comma: two closely related but separate remarks.
With και: makes it feel more like one combined reason/explanation.