Αυτά τα ρούχα είναι πολύ φαρδιά για εμένα.

These clothes are too loose for me.

Breakdown of Αυτά τα ρούχα είναι πολύ φαρδιά για εμένα.

• είμαι: to be
• πολύ: very
• για: for
• το ρούχο: the garment
• εμένα: me
• φαρδύς: loose
• αυτά: these

Questions & Answers about Αυτά τα ρούχα είναι πολύ φαρδιά για εμένα.

What does Αυτά mean here, and how is it different from αυτός / αυτή / αυτό?

Αυτά means “these” for neuter plural nouns.

Greek demonstratives agree with the noun in gender and number:

• αυτός – this (masculine singular)
• αυτή – this (feminine singular)
• αυτό – this (neuter singular)
• αυτοί – these (masculine plural)
• αυτές – these (feminine plural)
• αυτά – these (neuter plural)

Because ρούχα is a neuter plural noun, you must use Αυτά (“these” – neuter plural) with it.

Why do we have both Αυτά and τα? Aren’t they both like “these/the”?

They play different roles:

• Αυτά = demonstrative pronoun/adjective: “these”
• τα = definite article: “the”

In Greek, it’s normal to use a demonstrative together with the article:

• Αυτά τα ρούχα = these clothes (literally “these the clothes”)

You cannot normally drop the article and say ✗ Αυτά ρούχα. The usual pattern is:

• αυτό το ρούχο – this (the) item of clothing
• αυτά τα ρούχα – these (the) clothes

What gender and number is ρούχα, and what is the singular form?

ρούχα is neuter plural. The singular is:

• το ρούχο – the piece of clothing / garment
• τα ρούχα – the clothes

Many neuter nouns form the plural in -α:

• το παιδί → τα παιδιά (child → children)
• το βιβλίο → τα βιβλία (book → books)
• το ρούχο → τα ρούχα (item of clothing → clothes)

So τα ρούχα is grammatically plural, which is why the verb is είναι (3rd person plural “are”), not a singular form.

Why is the verb είναι and not something else? How is it conjugated?

είναι is the 3rd person singular and plural form of the verb είμαι (“to be”) in the present tense. In this sentence it is used as “are” because the subject is plural (ρούχα = clothes).

Present tense of είμαι:

• (εγώ) είμαι – I am
• (εσύ) είσαι – you are (singular)
• (αυτός/αυτή/αυτό) είναι – he/she/it is
• (εμείς) είμαστε / είμεθα – we are
• (εσείς) είστε / είσαστε – you are (plural/polite)
• (αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά) είναι – they are

Here: Αυτά τα ρούχα → “they” → είναι = “are”.

What exactly does φαρδιά mean? Is it just “big”?

φαρδιά literally means “wide” or “loose” (too wide around the body). It refers more to the width/fit, not just the size in general.

Rough differences:

• μεγάλα ρούχα – big clothes (general size; could be long, large overall)
• φαρδιά ρούχα – loose, baggy, wide clothes (too much room, not tight)

In this sentence, πολύ φαρδιά implies the clothes are too loose on you, not tight or form-fitting.

Why does φαρδιά end in -ά here? What is it agreeing with?

φαρδιά is an adjective that agrees with ρούχα in:

• gender: neuter
• number: plural
• case: nominative (subject of the verb)

The base adjective is:

• φαρδύς, φαρδιά, φαρδύ
  (masc., fem., neut. singular)

For neuter plural nominative, this type of adjective takes -ά:

• φαρδύ (neuter singular) → φαρδιά (neuter plural)

So we get:

• το φαρδύ ρούχο – the wide/loose item of clothing
• τα φαρδιά ρούχα – the wide/loose clothes

What does πολύ add to the meaning? Could we leave it out?

πολύ means “very” (or “too” in some contexts).

• φαρδιά – wide/loose
• πολύ φαρδιά – very wide/loose, too loose

If you say:

• Αυτά τα ρούχα είναι φαρδιά για εμένα.
  → These clothes are loose for me.

vs.

• Αυτά τα ρούχα είναι πολύ φαρδιά για εμένα.
  → These clothes are very / too loose for me.

So yes, you can leave πολύ out, but the sentence becomes weaker (just “loose” rather than “very loose”).

What is για doing here? Does it always translate as “for”?

In this sentence, για means “for” in the sense of “suitable for / appropriate for”:

• πολύ φαρδιά για εμένα – too loose for me

Common meanings of για:

• for:
  
  • Αυτό είναι για εσένα. – This is for you.
• about:
  
  • Μιλάμε για το βιβλίο. – We’re talking about the book.
• in order to (in some fixed phrases):
  
  • για να φύγω – in order to leave

Here it introduces the person for whom the clothes are (not) suitable.

Why is it για εμένα and not για εγώ? What case is εμένα?

εγώ is the nominative (subject) form of “I”.

εμένα is the accusative (object) form: “me”.

After the preposition για, Greek uses the accusative case, so you must say:

• για εμένα – for me
  not ✗ για εγώ

So:

• εγώ = I (subject)
• εμένα = me (after prepositions / as object)

What’s the difference between εμένα and μένα? Which should I use?

εμένα and μένα are essentially the same word (accusative of εγώ). μένα is the shorter, more colloquial form.

• για εμένα – for me (slightly more emphatic / careful)
• για μένα – for me (very common in everyday speech)

Both are correct. In spoken Greek you’ll hear για μένα very often.
In writing (especially more formal), για εμένα is also common.

Why isn’t there a pronoun like “they” in the Greek sentence?

In Greek, the subject pronoun is usually dropped because the verb form or the noun itself shows who/what the subject is.

Here the explicit subject is Αυτά τα ρούχα (“these clothes”), so there is no need for “they”:

• English: These clothes, they are very loose for me.
• Greek: Αυτά τα ρούχα είναι πολύ φαρδιά για εμένα.

If you added a pronoun, it would sound unnatural or redundant:

• ✗ Αυτά τα ρούχα αυτά είναι πολύ φαρδιά… (incorrect / very odd)

Can I change the word order, for example put πολύ φαρδιά earlier?

Greek word order is relatively flexible, but some orders sound more natural. Your sentence:

• Αυτά τα ρούχα είναι πολύ φαρδιά για εμένα. – very natural.

Possible, but less neutral, alternatives:

• Αυτά τα ρούχα για εμένα είναι πολύ φαρδιά.
  (emphasis on “for me”)
• Πολύ φαρδιά είναι αυτά τα ρούχα για εμένα.
  (emphasis on “very loose”)

You generally keep the article + noun + adjective together:

• τα ρούχα είναι πολύ φαρδιά (normal)
• ✗ τα ρούχα πολύ φαρδιά είναι (awkward in most contexts)

How do you pronounce ρούχα and φαρδιά?

Approximate English-style pronunciation:

• ρούχα → ROO-kha

  • ρ = rolled r
  • ου = “oo” as in “food”
  • χ = a hard “h” sound, like the ch in German Bach or Spanish j in jamón

• φαρδιά → far-THYÁ

  • φ = “f”
  • ρ = rolled r
  • δ = like th in “this”, “that”
  • ιά = “ya”, stressed on that syllable

So the whole sentence:

• Αυτά τα ρούχα είναι πολύ φαρδιά για εμένα.
  → roughly: af-TÁ ta ROO-kha ÉE-ne po-LEE far-THYÁ ya e-MÉ-na