Στην καινούρια γειτονιά υπάρχει ένας μεγάλος πεζόδρομος χωρίς αυτοκίνητα.

In the new neighborhood there is a big pedestrian street without cars.

Breakdown of Στην καινούρια γειτονιά υπάρχει ένας μεγάλος πεζόδρομος χωρίς αυτοκίνητα.

• μεγάλος: big
• σε: in
• υπάρχω: to exist
• το αυτοκίνητο: the car
• χωρίς: without
• ένας: one
• καινούριος: new
• η γειτονιά: the neighborhood
• ο πεζόδρομος: the pedestrian street

Questions & Answers about Στην καινούρια γειτονιά υπάρχει ένας μεγάλος πεζόδρομος χωρίς αυτοκίνητα.

What exactly does Στην mean here, and why is it written as one word?

Στην is a contraction of the preposition σε (in / at / to) and the feminine definite article την (the).

• σε + την γειτονιά → στην γειτονιά → Στην γειτονιά at the beginning of the sentence
• Similarly:
  • σε + τον δρόμο → στον δρόμο
  • σε + το σπίτι → στο σπίτι

So Στην καινούρια γειτονιά literally is In the new neighborhood.

Modern Greek almost always uses these contracted forms (στον, στην, στο, στους, στις, στα) in speech and in normal writing.

Why is γειτονιά in this form? Which case is it, and why?

γειτονιά is in the accusative singular, feminine.

• Nominative: η γειτονιά (the neighborhood – subject)
• Accusative: τη(ν) γειτονιά (the neighborhood – object / after prepositions)

The reason: the preposition σε (in, at, to) always takes the accusative case.

So:

• στην γειτονιά = σε (preposition) + την γειτονιά (accusative)
• meaning: in the neighborhood / to the neighborhood

What is the difference between καινούρια and νέα for new?

Both καινούρια and νέα can mean new, but there is a nuance:

• καινούρια γειτονιά
  Emphasizes new to me / recently created / fresh, often with a more concrete, everyday feel.
  → a new (to us) neighborhood; a recently developed neighborhood

• νέα γειτονιά
  Also new, but can sound a bit more neutral or formal, and can sometimes mean another / different, later (like new vs old in a sequence).

In this sentence, καινούρια nicely suggests a recently built or newly moved-into neighborhood.

Why is it καινούρια γειτονιά and not καινούριο γειτονιά?

In Greek, adjectives must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun they describe.

• γειτονιά is:
  • gender: feminine
  • number: singular
  • case: accusative

So the adjective must also be feminine, singular, accusative:

• καινούρια (γειτονιά) = feminine, singular, accusative

Forms of this adjective:

• masculine: καινούριος (ο καινούριος δρόμος)
• feminine: καινούρια (η καινούρια γειτονιά)
• neuter: καινούριο (το καινούριο σπίτι)

καινούριο γειτονιά would be wrong because καινούριο is neuter, while γειτονιά is feminine.

Could I say στη γειτονιά την καινούρια instead of στην καινούρια γειτονιά?

Yes, you can say στη γειτονιά την καινούρια, but the nuance changes slightly.

• στην καινούρια γειτονιά
  → neutral, most common order: adjective before noun.

• στη γειτονιά την καινούρια
  → puts slight emphasis or contrast on καινούρια, as if distinguishing this neighborhood from some other one:

  • in the neighborhood – the new one (not the old one)

The standard, everyday form is the one in the sentence: Στην καινούρια γειτονιά…

What does υπάρχει mean, and how is it used?

υπάρχει comes from the verb υπάρχω and means there is.

• υπάρχει = there is (for singular or uncountable things)
• υπάρχουν = there are (for plural)

Examples:

• Υπάρχει ένας μεγάλος πεζόδρομος.
  → There is a big pedestrian street.
• Υπάρχουν πολλά πάρκα στη γειτονιά.
  → There are many parks in the neighborhood.

It is used to talk about existence or presence of something, just like English there is / there are.

Why is it ένας μεγάλος πεζόδρομος and not ο μεγάλος πεζόδρομος?

ένας is the indefinite article (a / one), while ο is the definite article (the).

• ένας μεγάλος πεζόδρομος
  → a big pedestrian street (introducing it for the first time, not previously known)

• ο μεγάλος πεζόδρομος
  → the big pedestrian street (a specific one you and the listener already know about)

In this sentence, the speaker is simply saying that such a thing exists in the new neighborhood, so Greek naturally uses ένας (indefinite), just like English a.

Why is μεγάλος in that form? How does it agree with πεζόδρομος?

πεζόδρομος (pedestrian street) is:

• gender: masculine
• number: singular
• case: nominative (it is the grammatical subject of υπάρχει)

Therefore, μεγάλος must also be:

• masculine, singular, nominative.

You can see the agreement:

• ένας (masc. nom. sg.)
• μεγάλος (masc. nom. sg.)
• πεζόδρομος (masc. nom. sg.)

If the noun changed, the adjective would change too:

• μια μεγάλη πλατεία (a big square – feminine)
• ένα μεγάλο πάρκο (a big park – neuter)

What exactly does πεζόδρομος mean, and how is it formed?

πεζόδρομος means pedestrian street / pedestrian road / pedestrian zone – a street where cars are normally not allowed.

It is a compound word:

• πεζός = pedestrian, on foot
• δρόμος = road, street

So πεζόδρομος is literally a road for people on foot.

What does χωρίς mean, and why is αυτοκίνητα in that form?

χωρίς means without and it always takes the accusative case.

αυτοκίνητα is:

• neuter
• plural
• accusative (same form as nominative in neuter)

So:

• χωρίς αυτοκίνητα = without cars

Other examples:

• χωρίς ζάχαρη (without sugar – feminine accusative)
• χωρίς προβλήματα (without problems – neuter plural accusative)

The structure is:

• χωρίς + [noun in the accusative]

Why is there no article before αυτοκίνητα? Why not χωρίς τα αυτοκίνητα?

In Greek, after χωρίς, when you mean something in a general, non-specific sense, you normally omit the article:

• χωρίς αυτοκίνητα
  → without cars (in general, no cars allowed there)

If you say χωρίς τα αυτοκίνητα, it refers to some specific cars already known from context:

• e.g. without the cars (that we talked about earlier)

In this sentence, the meaning is a pedestrian street with no cars at all there, so the generic χωρίς αυτοκίνητα is correct and natural.

Could I say Υπάρχει ένας μεγάλος πεζόδρομος στην καινούρια γειτονιά instead? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can.

Both are grammatically correct:

• Στην καινούρια γειτονιά υπάρχει ένας μεγάλος πεζόδρομος…
• Υπάρχει ένας μεγάλος πεζόδρομος στην καινούρια γειτονιά…

The difference is one of emphasis:

• Στην καινούρια γειτονιά υπάρχει…
  → puts initial focus on the new neighborhood (as the context/topic).

• Υπάρχει ένας μεγάλος πεζόδρομος στην καινούρια γειτονιά.
  → starts with there is a big pedestrian street, then adds where it is.

Both would be understood the same in everyday conversation.

What are the genders of γειτονιά, πεζόδρομος, and αυτοκίνητο?

• γειτονιά

  • gender: feminine
  • article: η γειτονιά (the neighborhood)

• πεζόδρομος

  • gender: masculine
  • article: ο πεζόδρομος (the pedestrian street)

• αυτοκίνητο (singular) / αυτοκίνητα (plural)

  • gender: neuter
  • article: το αυτοκίνητο, τα αυτοκίνητα (the car, the cars)

This is why you see:

• στην καινούρια γειτονιά (feminine forms)
• ένας μεγάλος πεζόδρομος (masculine forms)
• χωρίς αυτοκίνητα (neuter plural form)