Learn Hardcore Greek: Η ανιψιά μου είναι πιο ντροπαλή και προτιμάει ήσυχα παιχνίδια στο σαλόνι. - My niece is shyer and prefers quiet games in the living room.

If you say just ανιψιά μου, it can sound a bit more exclamatory, poetic, or incomplete in neutral context. The normal, neutral way is η ανιψιά μου.

Why is μου after ανιψιά instead of before it, like English my niece?

The possessive pronouns μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους usually come after the noun:

η ανιψιά μου = my niece
το σπίτι μας = our house

They are clitics: little unstressed words that lean on the word before them.
So the basic pattern is usually:

article + noun + possessive
η + ανιψιά + μου

Why is it ανιψιά and not some other form? What gender and case is this?

ανιψιά means niece and is a feminine noun.

In this sentence, η ανιψιά μου is the subject, so it is in the nominative case, feminine singular:

Nominative singular: η ανιψιά
Genitive singular: της ανιψιάς
Accusative singular: την ανιψιά

The article η also shows it is feminine nominative singular.

Why is it ντροπαλή and not ντροπαλός or ντροπαλό?

ντροπαλός is the masculine form of the adjective shy. The three main forms are:

Masculine: ντροπαλός
Feminine: ντροπαλή
Neuter: ντροπαλό

Adjectives agree with the noun in gender, number, and case. Since ανιψιά is feminine singular nominative, the adjective must also be feminine singular nominative:

η ανιψιά (fem. sg.) → είναι ντροπαλή (fem. sg.)

How does πιο ντροπαλή express shyer / more shy?

Modern Greek usually forms the comparative with πιο + the positive adjective:

πιο ντροπαλή = shyer, more shy
πιο ήσυχος = quieter, more quiet
πιο όμορφη = more beautiful

So είναι πιο ντροπαλή literally means she is more shy (than someone else or than before, implied from context).

There are also synthetic comparatives (e.g. καλύτερος for better), but with ντροπαλός you normally use πιο ντροπαλός / -ή / -ό.

Why is it προτιμάει and not just προτιμά? Is there a difference?

Both προτιμάει and προτιμά are correct for 3rd person singular present:

(αυτός/αυτή) προτιμά
(αυτός/αυτή) προτιμάει

In everyday spoken Greek, -άει forms are very common and sound natural and colloquial. In more formal or written style, you see προτιμά more often.

Meaning-wise they are the same: he/she prefers.

Is προτιμάει present simple or some kind of continuous tense?

Greek doesn’t distinguish simple vs continuous in the present the way English does.

προτιμάει is simply present tense, and it can correspond to:

she prefers (general habit)
she is preferring (in this context / right now)

Context tells you whether it’s a general preference or a current situation. Here, it naturally means a general preference.

What exactly is ήσυχα here – an adjective or an adverb?

In this sentence, ήσυχα is the neuter plural form of the adjective ήσυχος (quiet, calm), agreeing with παιχνίδια (games), which is also neuter plural:

ήσυχος (masc. sg.)
ήσυχη (fem. sg.)
ήσυχο (neut. sg.)
ήσυχα (neut. pl.) → matches παιχνίδια

So ήσυχα παιχνίδια = quiet games.
The agreement shows ήσυχα is functioning as an adjective here, not an adverb.

Why is it ήσυχα παιχνίδια and not ήσυχο παιχνίδι?

παιχνίδια is the plural of παιχνίδι (game, toy).

Singular: το παιχνίδι = the game / toy
Plural: τα παιχνίδια = the games / toys

The adjective must match in number and gender:

Singular: ήσυχο παιχνίδι (a quiet game)
Plural: ήσυχα παιχνίδια (quiet games)

The sentence talks about games in general, not just one game, so the plural is used.

What does στο mean, and how is it formed?

στο is a contraction of:

σε (in, at, to) + το (the, neuter singular)

So:

σε + το σαλόνι → στο σαλόνι = in the living room

Greek very often contracts σε + article:

σε + το → στο
σε + τα → στα
σε + τον → στον
σε + την → στη(ν)

Could we say … προτιμάει στο σαλόνι ήσυχα παιχνίδια instead? Is the word order fixed?

Greek word order is fairly flexible, because meaning is largely marked by endings, not position.

You could say:

Η ανιψιά μου προτιμάει ήσυχα παιχνίδια στο σαλόνι. (neutral)
Η ανιψιά μου προτιμάει στο σαλόνι ήσυχα παιχνίδια. (slight emphasis on in the living room)

Both are grammatically correct. The original order sounds very natural and neutral, but word order can shift to highlight or contrast certain parts of the sentence.

Why doesn’t Greek use something like a before ήσυχα παιχνίδια, like in English quiet games vs the quiet games?

Greek has:

definite article (ο, η, το, οι, οι, τα) – like the
no true indefinite article (a / an) in the same sense

Often, where English would say a / some, Greek simply uses no article:

ήσυχα παιχνίδια = quiet games / some quiet games
πίνω καφέ = I drink coffee / I am drinking (some) coffee

If you used τα ήσυχα παιχνίδια, it would be more like the quiet games (a specific set of games already known in the context).

Why is it σαλόνι here? Could we also say καθιστικό?

Both can refer to a living room, but there are nuances:

σαλόνι – the most common everyday word for living room.
καθιστικό – also sitting room / living room, sometimes with a slightly more “layout / design” feeling (the sitting area), or used alongside σαλόνι in house descriptions.

In this sentence, στο σαλόνι is the most natural, standard choice. στο καθιστικό would still be understandable and correct, just slightly less common in casual speech.

Do we need to repeat the subject with προτιμάει, like αυτή προτιμάει?

No. Greek is a pro‑drop language: subject pronouns are often omitted, because the verb ending usually shows the subject.

Here we already have a full noun phrase as the subject:

Η ανιψιά μου → clear subject
είναι πιο ντροπαλή και προτιμάει… → verbs referring back to η ανιψιά μου

Adding αυτή (she) would be possible but would give extra emphasis, like she (as opposed to someone else) prefers quiet games. Normally you don’t repeat it.