Αυτά είναι βιβλία στα ελληνικά.

to be

Breakdown of Αυτά είναι βιβλία στα ελληνικά.

• σε: in
• το βιβλίο: the book
• τα ελληνικά: the Greek language
• αυτά: these

Questions & Answers about Αυτά είναι βιβλία στα ελληνικά.

Why is Αυτά used here instead of Αυτοί or Αυτές for these?

Greek demonstratives (αυτός, αυτή, αυτό = this; αυτοί, αυτές, αυτά = these) must agree in gender and number with the noun (or understood noun).

• βιβλία (books) is neuter plural (singular: βιβλίο).
• So the matching demonstrative is the neuter plural: Αυτά.
• Αυτοί is masculine plural.
• Αυτές is feminine plural.

Because βιβλία is neuter plural, you must say Αυτά.

Is Αυτά the subject of the sentence, or is βιβλία the subject?

In Αυτά είναι βιβλία στα ελληνικά, both Αυτά (these) and βιβλία (books) are in the nominative case and are linked by the verb είναι (to be).

• Grammatically, Αυτά is the explicit subject: These (things) are …
• βιβλία is the predicate noun (the thing that these are).

So structurally it’s:
Αυτά (subject) είναι (verb) βιβλία (predicate noun).

What is the singular form of βιβλία, and what gender is it?

• Singular: βιβλίο = a book.
• Plural: βιβλία = books.
• Gender: neuter.

So the full paradigm (nominative) is:

• το βιβλίο – the book
• τα βιβλία – the books

Why is there no word for a / some before βιβλία?

Modern Greek does not have a true indefinite article like English a / an / some.

• βιβλία on its own can mean books or some books, depending on context.
• If you want to emphasize “some (but not all)”, you can say μερικά βιβλία (some books), but it’s not required.

So Αυτά είναι βιβλία στα ελληνικά is naturally understood as These are (some) books in Greek.

Does είναι mean is or are here? Why doesn’t it change?

Είναι is the 3rd person form of “to be” used for both:

• he / she / it is
• they are

It’s the same form in both singular and plural:

• Αυτό είναι βιβλίο. – This is a book.
• Αυτά είναι βιβλία. – These are books.

So είναι here means are, but its form doesn’t change between singular and plural.

What exactly is στα? Why not just σε τα?

Στα is a contraction of:

• σε (in, at, on) +
• τα (the – neuter plural, accusative)

So:

• σε + τα = στα

Greek very often contracts σε with the definite article:

• σε + τον = στον
• σε + την = στην
• σε + το = στο
• σε + τους = στους
• σε + τις = στις
• σε + τα = στα

Here, στα ελληνικά literally means in the Greek (things), idiomatically in Greek (language).

Why is it ελληνικά (neuter plural) and not ελληνικό or ελληνική?

There are two ideas here:

1. Languages in Greek often appear as neuter plural forms.

   • τα ελληνικά – Greek (language)
   • τα αγγλικά – English
   • τα γαλλικά – French

   Historically these meant “Greek things / Greek words”, but in modern Greek they simply mean the language.

2. Σε (in/at) takes the accusative case, so we use:

   • τα ελληνικά (accusative neuter plural)

Στα ελληνικά is therefore a set phrase meaning in Greek (language), not in Greek things.

What’s the difference between Αυτά είναι βιβλία στα ελληνικά and Αυτά είναι ελληνικά βιβλία?

They are not the same:

• Αυτά είναι βιβλία στα ελληνικά.
  = These are books in Greek (language).
  Focus: The language the books are written in.

• Αυτά είναι ελληνικά βιβλία.
  = These are Greek books.
  Focus: The books are Greek (e.g. from Greece, by Greek authors, or relating to Greece) – not necessarily that the text is in Greek; it usually is, but grammatically the focus is origin/nationality, not language.

So στα ελληνικά answers “In what language?”, while ελληνικά βιβλία describes the kind/origin of books.

Could I say Αυτά είναι στα ελληνικά βιβλία with στα ελληνικά before βιβλία?

No, that word order is not natural in Greek.

• Αυτά είναι βιβλία στα ελληνικά. ✅ natural
• Αυτά είναι στα ελληνικά βιβλία. ❌ sounds wrong / confusing

The usual patterns are:

• βιβλία στα ελληνικά – books in Greek
• ταινίες στα αγγλικά – films in English

The phrase στα ελληνικά typically comes after the noun it modifies.

Why is ελληνικά written with a lowercase ε, while in English we write Greek with a capital G?

In modern Greek, names of languages are usually written with a lowercase initial:

• τα ελληνικά – Greek (language)
• τα αγγλικά – English
• τα γερμανικά – German

Adjectives for nationality can be capitalized when referring to people or ethnic groups, but for the language, lowercase ελληνικά is standard in most everyday writing.

So στα ελληνικά with a lowercase ε is perfectly normal.

Why are Αυτά and βιβλία in the same case? In English, we don’t see this.

In Greek, the verb είμαι (to be) usually links two nominative nouns/adjectives:

• Αυτά – nominative plural (subject)
• βιβλία – nominative plural (predicate noun)

This is called a copular construction: the verb to be doesn’t take an object; it links the subject to a complement that is also in the nominative.

Compare:

• Αυτό είναι βιβλίο. – This is a book. (both nominative)
• Η Μαρία είναι δασκάλα. – Maria is a teacher. (both nominative)

Can I drop Αυτά and just say Είναι βιβλία στα ελληνικά?

Yes, that is grammatically correct and sounds natural in the right context.

• Είναι βιβλία στα ελληνικά. = They are books in Greek.

Greek often omits subject pronouns when the subject is clear from context. Here:

• With Αυτά είναι βιβλία στα ελληνικά, you are explicitly pointing at these things.
• With Είναι βιβλία στα ελληνικά, the subject they is understood from context (e.g. you’ve already mentioned the things, or are pointing at them).

Both are correct; Αυτά just makes the demonstrative “these” explicit.