Δεν μου αρέσουν τα πολύ φαρδιά ρούχα, προτιμώ κάτι πιο στενό.

I don't like very loose clothes; I prefer something narrower.

Breakdown of Δεν μου αρέσουν τα πολύ φαρδιά ρούχα, προτιμώ κάτι πιο στενό.

• πολύ: very
• δεν: not
• μου: me
• πιο: more
• κάτι: something
• προτιμάω: to prefer
• το ρούχο: the garment
• αρέσω: to like
• στενός: narrow
• φαρδύς: loose

Questions & Answers about Δεν μου αρέσουν τα πολύ φαρδιά ρούχα, προτιμώ κάτι πιο στενό.

What does μου mean in Δεν μου αρέσουν and why is it before the verb?

Μου is the unstressed (clitic) form of εμένα (to me).

The Greek verb αρέσω literally means to be pleasing. So:

• Μου αρέσουν τα ρούχα = The clothes are pleasing to me → I like the clothes.

Because μου is an unstressed pronoun, it normally goes before the verb:

• Μου αρέσουν (to-me are-pleasing)
• With negation: Δεν μου αρέσουν (not to-me are-pleasing) → I don’t like.

Putting μου after the verb (αρέσουν μου) is wrong in modern standard Greek.

Why is it αρέσουν and not αρέσει?

The verb αρέσουν agrees with the thing that is liked, not with the person:

• Τα πολύ φαρδιά ρούχα = they (plural)
• So the verb must be plural: αρέσουν.

Compare:

• Μου αρέσει το ρούχο. – I like the (single) piece of clothing.
• Μου αρέσουν τα ρούχα. – I like the clothes.

Why can’t I say δεν αρέσω τα πολύ φαρδιά ρούχα to mean “I don’t like very baggy clothes”?

Because in Greek αρέσω doesn’t work like English to like.

• Αρέσω σε κάποιον = to be liked by someone (literally: I please someone).
  • Αρέσω στα παιδιά. = The children like me.

In your sentence, the clothes are what please or don’t please someone:

• Δεν μου αρέσουν τα πολύ φαρδιά ρούχα.
  Literally: The very baggy clothes are not pleasing to me → I don’t like very baggy clothes.

So you must use the structure [indirect object] + αρέσει/αρέσουν + [thing liked], not αρέσω + object.

Why is there a τα before πολύ φαρδιά ρούχα when in English we say “I don’t like very baggy clothes” (no “the”)?

Greek often uses the definite article (ο, η, το, οι, τα) with nouns in a general or generic sense where English uses no article.

• Δεν μου αρέσουν τα πολύ φαρδιά ρούχα.
  → I don’t like very baggy clothes (in general).

Using τα ρούχα here doesn’t mean those specific clothes; it can mean clothes of that type in general.

Leaving the article out (Δεν μου αρέσουν πολύ φαρδιά ρούχα) is also possible, but tends to sound a bit more like “I don’t like (any) very baggy clothes” in a more indefinite sense. Both are grammatically correct; the version with τα is very natural here.

Why is φαρδιά used with ρούχα? Isn’t an ending in -ά usually feminine?

The adjective here is φαρδύς, φαρδιά, φαρδύ (wide, baggy).

Its forms are:

• Masculine: φαρδύς (sg.), φαρδείς (pl.)
• Feminine: φαρδιά (sg.), φαρδιές (pl.)
• Neuter: φαρδύ (sg.), φαρδιά (pl.)

So φαρδιά can be either:

• feminine singular, or
• neuter plural.

Since ρούχα is neuter plural, φαρδιά here is neuter plural agreeing with ρούχα:

• τα (neut. pl.) πολύ φαρδιά (neut. pl.) ρούχα (neut. pl.)

The fact it ends in -ά doesn’t always mean feminine; it depends on the adjective’s pattern.

What is the role of πολύ in τα πολύ φαρδιά ρούχα, and how is it different from πολλά?

In πολύ φαρδιά ρούχα, πολύ is an adverb meaning very and it modifies the adjective:

• πολύ φαρδιά ρούχα = very baggy clothes.

As an adverb, πολύ is invariable (it doesn’t change form):

• πολύ φαρδύ, πολύ φαρδιά, πολύ στενό, πολύ ωραία etc.

Πολλά, on the other hand, is an adjective (neuter plural of πολύς, πολλή, πολύ) and means many / a lot of:

• πολλά ρούχα = many clothes.

So:

• πολύ φαρδιά ρούχα = very baggy clothes (degree of bagginess)
• πολλά ρούχα = many clothes (quantity)

Why is it κάτι πιο στενό and not κάτι πιο στενά?

Κάτι is a neuter singular pronoun meaning something.

Adjectives in Greek must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun or pronoun they describe. So the adjective after κάτι must also be neuter singular:

• κάτι καλό – something good
• κάτι ενδιαφέρον – something interesting
• κάτι πιο στενό – something tighter.

Στενά would be neuter plural, which would not agree with κάτι. The focus here is not on “tighter clothes” as a plural noun phrase but on “something (in general) that is tighter.”

Why is στενό singular when we were just talking about plural ρούχα?

The first part talks about clothes in general:

• τα πολύ φαρδιά ρούχα – (very) baggy clothes (plural).

The second part shifts to an indefinite “something”:

• προτιμώ κάτι πιο στενό – I prefer something tighter.

Grammatically, κάτι is neuter singular, so στενό must also be neuter singular. You’re not explicitly saying “tighter clothes” there; you’re saying “something tighter” (which could be a tighter outfit, garment, style, etc.).

You could also say:

• …προτιμώ πιο στενά ρούχα. – I prefer tighter clothes.

Here both στενά and ρούχα are neuter plural.

What does πιο mean in κάτι πιο στενό and how is it different from πολύ στενό?

Πιο is the usual word for more when forming a comparative:

• στενό – tight
• πιο στενό – tighter / more tight.

So κάτι πιο στενό = something tighter (compared to what was mentioned before).

Πολύ στενό uses πολύ as an adverb meaning very:

• πολύ στενό – very tight.

So:

• πιο στενό → comparative: tighter (than something else)
• πολύ στενό → degree: very tight (no explicit comparison, just strong).

Why is the word order Δεν μου αρέσουν and not Μου δεν αρέσουν?

In standard modern Greek:

• The negation δεν (or δε before consonants) comes right before the verb.
• Unstressed pronouns like μου, σου, του normally come before the verb, but after δεν.

So the normal order is:

• Δεν μου αρέσουν… – I don’t like…
  (not Μου δεν αρέσουν…, which sounds wrong.)

The typical pattern is:

Δεν + (clitic pronouns) + verb
Δεν μου αρέσουν…
Δεν του είπε…
Δεν το είδα…

Could I replace the comma with αλλά or και? For example: Δεν μου αρέσουν τα πολύ φαρδιά ρούχα, αλλά προτιμώ κάτι πιο στενό.

Yes, you can, and it’s very natural:

• Δεν μου αρέσουν τα πολύ φαρδιά ρούχα, προτιμώ κάτι πιο στενό.
  – Two clauses linked just by a comma; the contrast is understood from the meaning.

• Δεν μου αρέσουν τα πολύ φαρδιά ρούχα, αλλά προτιμώ κάτι πιο στενό.
  – Explicit contrast with αλλά (but).

• Δεν μου αρέσουν τα πολύ φαρδιά ρούχα και προτιμώ κάτι πιο στενό.
  – Uses και (and), but the overall idea is still contrastive from context.

Αλλά makes the contrast (I don’t like X, but I prefer Y) very clear and is often a good choice in careful or written Greek.