Breakdown of Ο χώρος στο σαλόνι είναι μικρός αλλά ήσυχος.
Questions & Answers about Ο χώρος στο σαλόνι είναι μικρός αλλά ήσυχος.
Ο χώρος literally means the space.
- χώρος = space / area / room (in the sense of available space).
- Ο is the definite article for masculine, singular, nominative nouns.
Greek normally uses the definite article more often than English. Where English might say “space in the living room”, Greek very often says «Ο χώρος στο σαλόνι» = “the space in the living room”. The article marks it as a specific, known space.
χώρος = space / area. It’s more general and can refer to:
- physical space (how much room there is),
- a specific section/area of a place.
δωμάτιο = room (a separate room with walls, like bedroom, living room, etc.).
In this sentence:
- Ο χώρος στο σαλόνι focuses on the available space/area in the living room, not the room itself as an independent room.
- Το δωμάτιο στο σαλόνι is odd, because σαλόνι is already a room; you wouldn’t usually call it “the room in the living room”.
If you wanted “The living room is small but quiet,” you’d say:
- Το σαλόνι είναι μικρό αλλά ήσυχο.
στο σαλόνι means in the living room.
- σε = in / at / on (a very common preposition).
- το = the (neuter, singular, accusative).
In everyday Greek, σε + το almost always contracts to στο:
- σε το σαλόνι → στο σαλόνι.
So grammatically, the article το is there, just hidden inside the contraction. That’s why you don’t see a separate article directly before σαλόνι: it’s already inside στο.
σαλόνι is in the accusative singular.
- σαλόνι is a neuter noun (το σαλόνι).
- In modern Greek, nominative and accusative are identical in the singular for neuter nouns:
- Nominative: το σαλόνι
- Accusative: το σαλόνι
The preposition σε (→ στο) normally takes the accusative case, which is why σαλόνι here is accusative. It just looks the same as the nominative because it’s neuter.
Because adjectives in Greek must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.
- χώρος is masculine, singular, nominative.
- So the adjectives describing it must also be masculine, singular, nominative.
The masculine nominative form of these adjectives is:
- μικρός (small) – masculine -ός
- ήσυχος (quiet) – masculine -ος
If the noun were neuter, for example:
- Το σαλόνι είναι μικρό αλλά ήσυχο.
- σαλόνι: neuter → adjectives: μικρό, ήσυχο (neuter form in -ό).
No, that would be ungrammatical.
- χώρος is masculine, so adjectives must be masculine:
- ✔ μικρός, ήσυχος
- ✘ μικρό, ήσυχο (those are neuter forms)
Correct options:
- Ο χώρος στο σαλόνι είναι μικρός αλλά ήσυχος.
- Or, if you change the noun to neuter:
- Το σαλόνι είναι μικρό αλλά ήσυχο.
είναι is the 3rd person singular present tense of the verb είμαι (to be).
- είμαι = I am
- είσαι = you are
- είναι = he/she/it is; they are (in modern Greek, same form for 3rd sg. & 3rd pl.)
In the sentence:
- Ο χώρος … είναι μικρός αλλά ήσυχος.
- είναι links the subject (Ο χώρος) with its adjectives (μικρός, ήσυχος), the same way English “is” does: “The space … is small but quiet.”
Greek (like English) can share one “to be” verb between multiple adjectives.
- Standard, natural form:
- Ο χώρος … είναι μικρός αλλά ήσυχος.
- Literally: “The space … is small but quiet.”
You can say:
- Ο χώρος στο σαλόνι είναι μικρός αλλά είναι ήσυχος.
This is grammatically correct but sounds a bit heavier or more emphatic, as if you are underlining both facts separately: “It’s small, but it is quiet (at least).” In normal neutral style, you skip the second είναι.
αλλά = but (a coordinating conjunction).
- μικρός αλλά ήσυχος = small but quiet.
You can also use όμως, which is more like “but / however / though”, and normally behaves like an adverb:
- Ο χώρος στο σαλόνι είναι μικρός, όμως είναι ήσυχος.
- Ο χώρος στο σαλόνι είναι μικρός. Όμως είναι ήσυχος.
So:
- αλλά sits between the things it contrasts: μικρός αλλά ήσυχος.
- όμως more often starts a clause or stands after a comma.
Both express contrast, but αλλά is the direct equivalent of “but” in this sentence.
ήσυχος has a range of meanings centred on quietness / lack of disturbance:
- quiet (not noisy)
- peaceful, calm (no stress or trouble, emotionally or atmospherically)
- well-behaved (for children: not causing trouble)
For places:
- Ένα ήσυχο σαλόνι = a quiet / peaceful living room (not much noise, relaxed atmosphere).
For people:
- Είναι πολύ ήσυχος. = He is very quiet / calm / not troublesome.
In your sentence, for the space in the living room it’s best read as “quiet / peaceful”.
You change both the noun and the adjectives to masculine plural nominative:
- Οι χώροι στο σαλόνι είναι μικροί αλλά ήσυχοι.
Breakdown:
- Οι = the (masc. pl. nom.)
- χώροι = spaces / areas
- μικροί = small (masc. pl. nom.)
- ήσυχοι = quiet (masc. pl. nom.)
Everything agrees in masculine plural nominative with οι χώροι.
Yes. Greek word order is fairly flexible, and both of these are grammatical.
Ο χώρος στο σαλόνι είναι ήσυχος αλλά μικρός.
- Same basic meaning, but now you start with being quiet and then add that it is also small. It can slightly shift the emphasis.
Στο σαλόνι ο χώρος είναι μικρός αλλά ήσυχος.
- Fronting Στο σαλόνι emphasizes the location: “In the living room, the space is small but quiet.”
All these versions are correct; changes in order mainly affect what you highlight or contrast.
Approximate pronunciation (stressed syllables in CAPS):
- Ο χώρος → o HÓ-ros [o ˈxoros]
- στο σαλόνι → sto sa-LÓ-ni [sto saˈloni]
- είναι → Í-ne [ˈine]
- μικρός → mi-KRÓS [miˈkros]
- αλλά → a-LÁ [aˈla]
- ήσυχος → Í-si-chos [ˈisixos]
So the whole sentence:
- o HÓ-ros sto sa-LÓ-ni Í-ne mi-KRÓS a-LÁ Í-si-chos.