Breakdown of Στη ντουλάπα μου υπάρχουν ράφια για τα ρούχα και ένα συρτάρι για τις πετσέτες.
Questions & Answers about Στη ντουλάπα μου υπάρχουν ράφια για τα ρούχα και ένα συρτάρι για τις πετσέτες.
Στη is a contraction of σε + τη(ν).
- σε = in, at, on, to (very general preposition)
- τη(ν) = the (feminine, singular, accusative)
So Στη ντουλάπα literally means “in the wardrobe” / “in the closet”.
In modern Greek, σε + definite article is almost always written as one word:
- σε + το → στο
- σε + τα → στα
- σε + την → στη(ν)
- σε + τον → στον
So you don’t normally write σε τη ντουλάπα; the natural form is στη ντουλάπα (or στην ντουλάπα, see next question).
You will see both στη ντουλάπα and στην ντουλάπα in real Greek.
The final -ν of την / στην is:
- always kept before a vowel (π.χ. την άλλη μέρα)
- usually kept before some consonants (κ, π, τ, ξ, ψ, μπ, ντ, γκ, τσ, τζ)
- optional or often dropped before many other consonants
Since ντουλάπα starts with ντ, many grammar books recommend στην ντουλάπα.
In everyday writing and especially speech, people often drop the final -ν, so στη ντουλάπα is also common and clearly understood.
So for a learner:
- Στην ντουλάπα μου = very correct and “by the book”
- Στη ντουλάπα μου = totally normal in everyday Greek
In Greek, the weak possessive pronouns (my, your, his, etc.) normally go after the noun:
- η ντουλάπα μου = my closet
- το βιβλίο σου = your book
- τα ρούχα του = his clothes
So Στη ντουλάπα μου literally is “in the closet my”, but in natural English we say “in my closet”.
If you want to put something before the noun to stress the possession, you use the stressed form:
- η δική μου ντουλάπα = my own closet (emphasising mine)
But the neutral, everyday pattern is: article + noun + weak possessive.
Greek often uses two different verbs where English uses “to be”:
- είμαι = to be (identity, description)
- υπάρχω = to exist, to be there (existence / presence somewhere)
In sentences like “There are X (in some place)”, Greek normally uses υπάρχει / υπάρχουν:
- Στο δωμάτιο υπάρχει ένα κρεβάτι. = There is a bed in the room.
- Στο δωμάτιο υπάρχουν δύο κρεβάτια. = There are two beds in the room.
So:
- Στη ντουλάπα μου υπάρχουν ράφια...
= Literally: In my closet exist shelves...
= Natural English: In my closet there are shelves...
You can sometimes hear είναι used similarly in colloquial speech, but υπάρχουν is the most natural and clear choice for “there are …”.
The verb υπάρχουν has to agree in number with its subject.
The subject here is the whole phrase:
- ράφια για τα ρούχα και ένα συρτάρι για τις πετσέτες
(shelves for the clothes and a drawer for the towels)
This is a compound subject: shelves (+) a drawer = more than one thing → plural.
So:
- One item:
Στη ντουλάπα μου υπάρχει ένα συρτάρι. = There is a drawer. - Several items:
Στη ντουλάπα μου υπάρχουν ράφια και ένα συρτάρι. = There are shelves and a drawer.
Hence, υπάρχουν is required.
Two different things happening here:
Plural indefinite nouns usually have no article in Greek.
- ράφι = shelf (singular)
- ράφια = shelves (plural)
- υπάρχουν ράφια = there are (some) shelves
Greek doesn’t have a special word for “some” in most cases; the lack of article usually signals an indefinite plural.
Indefinite singular often uses “ένας / μία / ένα”.
- ένα συρτάρι = a drawer / one drawer
Here ένα is both the indefinite article (“a”) and the numeral “one”.
In this sentence, it emphasises there is one drawer (as opposed to several).
- ένα συρτάρι = a drawer / one drawer
Could you omit ένα?
- Grammatically, υπάρχει συρτάρι is possible in some contexts.
- But in this specific descriptive sentence, Greeks strongly prefer ένα συρτάρι to make clear “there is one drawer”.
Let’s separate them by function:
Subjects of “υπάρχουν”
- ράφια
- (και) ένα συρτάρι
These are the subject, so they are in the nominative case.
They look like accusative, but for neuter nouns the nominative and accusative forms are identical (ράφι → ράφια, συρτάρι → συρτάρι).Objects of the preposition “για”
- για τα ρούχα
- για τις πετσέτες
The preposition για always takes the accusative.
So τα ρούχα (neuter plural accusative) and τις πετσέτες (feminine plural accusative) are in the accusative case.
Both are possible, but they have slightly different nuances:
- για ρούχα = for clothes (in general, by function)
- ράφια για ρούχα = shelves for clothes (the type of shelves)
- για τα ρούχα = for the clothes (more specific – often meaning “my/the particular clothes we have in mind”)
- ράφια για τα ρούχα = shelves for the clothes (that we are talking about)
In practice:
- If you’re describing the general function of a piece of furniture, you will often hear για ρούχα, για βιβλία, etc.
- In a very concrete, personal context (e.g. “In my wardrobe, there are shelves for the clothes and a drawer for the towels”), για τα ρούχα is also completely natural; it points to the actual clothes you own.
So the sentence as given is fine and idiomatic; just remember Greek uses the definite article more often than English.
Because the nouns have different gender and both are in the accusative plural:
- ρούχα = clothes
- gender: neuter
- accusative plural article: τα → τα ρούχα
- πετσέτες = towels
- from η πετσέτα (feminine)
- accusative plural article: τις → τις πετσέτες
Greek definite articles change with gender, number, and case.
Here:
- για τα ρούχα = for the clothes (neuter, plural, accusative)
- για τις πετσέτες = for the towels (feminine, plural, accusative)
You could say:
- Στη ντουλάπα μου είναι ράφια και ένα συρτάρι.
It would be understood, but it sounds less natural, a bit awkward.
The pattern “Σε X υπάρχουν Y” (In X there are Y) is the standard way to express existence / presence of things in a place. Using είναι in that kind of existential “there is/there are” meaning is not wrong, but it’s less idiomatic in this particular sentence.
So for “there are shelves and a drawer in my closet”, υπάρχουν is the best choice.
Yes. In colloquial spoken Greek, especially:
- Στη ντουλάπα μου έχει ράφια και ένα συρτάρι.
Literally: In my closet it has shelves and a drawer.
This impersonal “έχει” (like French “il y a”, or Brazilian Portuguese “tem”) is very common in everyday speech. It is natural and widely used.
Difference in tone:
- υπάρχουν ράφια → a bit more neutral / standard, good for all registers
- έχει ράφια → more informal / conversational
Both are good to know, but υπάρχουν is more clearly “textbook-correct” for learners.
Yes, Greek word order here is fairly flexible. You can say:
- Στη ντουλάπα μου υπάρχουν ράφια για τα ρούχα...
- Υπάρχουν ράφια για τα ρούχα στη ντουλάπα μου...
Both are correct and natural. The difference is mostly about emphasis:
- Starting with Στη ντουλάπα μου puts focus first on the place (in my closet...).
- Starting with Υπάρχουν ράφια puts focus first on the existence of the shelves.
For a learner, either order is fine; the original one is very typical.
ντουλάπα is a fairly flexible word in Greek:
- Free-standing wardrobe for clothes → ντουλάπα
- Built-in closet for clothes → often also ντουλάπα
- Sometimes, a large cupboard (e.g. in a hallway or bedroom) can be called ντουλάπα, especially if it stores clothes, towels, linen, etc.
For kitchen cupboards people more often say ντουλάπι (neuter), not ντουλάπα.
So in English you might translate ντουλάπα as wardrobe, closet, or cupboard, depending on context. In this sentence—with clothes and towels stored inside—wardrobe or closet is a very natural translation.