Η συνέχεια της ιστορίας είναι πολύ ενδιαφέρουσα.

The rest of the story is very interesting.

Breakdown of Η συνέχεια της ιστορίας είναι πολύ ενδιαφέρουσα.

• είμαι: to be
• πολύ: very
• ενδιαφέρων: interesting
• η ιστορία: the story
• η συνέχεια: the continuation

Questions & Answers about Η συνέχεια της ιστορίας είναι πολύ ενδιαφέρουσα.

What does η συνέχεια literally mean? Is it the same as saying “the rest (of the story)” in English?

Literally, η συνέχεια means “the continuation” or “the sequel”.

In this sentence, Η συνέχεια της ιστορίας is best understood as “the continuation of the story”, i.e. what comes next in the story.

It can often correspond to English “the rest (of the story)”, but note:

• η συνέχεια emphasizes continuation or what follows, not just “the remaining part” in a purely quantitative sense.
• You also see it in:
  • συνέχεια της ταινίας = the movie’s sequel
  • θα έχει και συνέχεια = there will be more / it will be continued

Why is there Η at the beginning? Is it just a capital version of η?

Yes. Η is simply the capital form of η, which is:

• the feminine singular nominative article, meaning “the”.
• pronounced like “ee” in English.

Because the sentence starts a new line, η is capitalized to Η. If it were in the middle of a sentence, it would be written η συνέχεια.

Why is συνέχεια feminine? How can I tell its gender?

In modern Greek, συνέχεια is a feminine noun. Often, but not always, nouns ending in -α (and -η) are feminine.

A quick rule of thumb (with exceptions):

• Many -α and -η nouns → feminine
  
  • η πόρτα (the door)
  • η ιστορία (the story)
  • η συνέχεια (the continuation)

You usually learn the gender of each noun together with its article:

• η συνέχεια – feminine
• ο άνθρωπος – masculine
• το βιβλίο – neuter

What is the role of της ιστορίας here? Why is ιστορίας not just ιστορία?

της ιστορίας is in the genitive case and means “of the story”.

• η ιστορία = the story (nominative)
• της ιστορίας = of the story (genitive)

Greek often uses the genitive case instead of the English construction with “of”:

• η συνέχεια της ιστορίας = the continuation of the story
• ο τίτλος του βιβλίου = the title of the book
• το τέλος της ταινίας = the end of the movie

So της is the feminine genitive singular article (“of the”), and ιστορίας is the genitive form of ιστορία.

Why is the verb είναι used here? Is it like “is” in English?

Yes. είναι is the 3rd person singular (and plural) form of the verb είμαι = to be.

In this sentence:

• (Η συνέχεια…) είναι πολύ ενδιαφέρουσα.
  → “(The continuation…) is very interesting.”

So είναι = “is” here. Same form would also be used for “they are” in other contexts, but here it clearly matches η συνέχεια (singular subject).

What does πολύ mean here, and why doesn’t it change form?

Here πολύ means “very” and it works as an adverb modifying the adjective ενδιαφέρουσα:

• πολύ ενδιαφέρουσα = very interesting

As an adverb, πολύ is invariable (it does not change form):

• πολύ ενδιαφέρων (very interesting – masculine)
• πολύ ενδιαφέρουσα (very interesting – feminine)
• πολύ ενδιαφέρον (very interesting – neuter)

When πολύ is an adjective meaning “much / many”, it does change:

• πολύς χρόνος (much time – masculine)
• πολλή δουλειά (much work – feminine)
• πολλά βιβλία (many books – neuter plural)

Why is ενδιαφέρουσα in the feminine form?

Greek adjectives must agree with the noun they describe in:

• gender (masculine / feminine / neuter)
• number (singular / plural)
• case (nominative / genitive / etc.)

The noun here is η συνέχεια:

• gender: feminine
• number: singular
• case: nominative (subject)

So the adjective ενδιαφέρων / ενδιαφέρουσα / ενδιαφέρον takes the feminine nominative singular form:

• ενδιαφέρων – masculine
• ενδιαφέρουσα – feminine
• ενδιαφέρον – neuter

Thus:
Η συνέχεια … είναι πολύ ενδιαφέρουσα.

Could I say just Η ιστορία είναι πολύ ενδιαφέρουσα? What difference in meaning would that have?

Yes, Η ιστορία είναι πολύ ενδιαφέρουσα is a correct sentence and means:

• “The story is very interesting.”

The nuance:

• Η ιστορία είναι πολύ ενδιαφέρουσα: You’re talking about the whole story in general.
• Η συνέχεια της ιστορίας είναι πολύ ενδιαφέρουσα: You’re talking specifically about what comes next / the later part / the continuation of the story being very interesting (perhaps more than the beginning).

Is the word order Η συνέχεια της ιστορίας είναι πολύ ενδιαφέρουσα fixed, or can it change?

Greek word order is fairly flexible, though this sentence is in the most neutral, natural order:

• [Subject] [Genitive phrase] [Verb] [Adverbs/Adjectives]
  → Η συνέχεια της ιστορίας είναι πολύ ενδιαφέρουσα.

You could move some parts around for emphasis, for example:

• Πολύ ενδιαφέρουσα είναι η συνέχεια της ιστορίας.
  → Emphasizes “very interesting”.
• Είναι πολύ ενδιαφέρουσα η συνέχεια της ιστορίας.
  → Slightly different rhythm, still natural.

But the original order is the most straightforward and typical.

How do you pronounce συνέχεια and ενδιαφέρουσα?

Approximate pronunciation (stress marked with bold):

• συνέχεια → see-NEH-khee-ah

  • συ = see
  • νέ = NEH (stressed)
  • χεια = khee-ah (the χ is like the “ch” in German “Bach”)

• ενδιαφέρουσα → en-dee-ah-FEH-roo-sah

  • εν = en
  • δια = thee-ah / dee-ah (the δ is like English “th” in this)
  • φέ = FEH (stressed)
  • ρου = roo
  • σα = sah

In both words, the accent mark (´) shows you where to put the main stress of the word.