Ο φίλος μου είναι πολύ γνωστός στην πόλη μας.

My friend is very well-known in our city.

Breakdown of Ο φίλος μου είναι πολύ γνωστός στην πόλη μας.

• είμαι: to be
• πολύ: very
• μου: my
• ο φίλος: the male friend
• σε: in
• η πόλη: the city
• μας: our
• γνωστός: familiar

Questions & Answers about Ο φίλος μου είναι πολύ γνωστός στην πόλη μας.

What does Ο φίλος μου είναι πολύ γνωστός στην πόλη μας literally say, word by word?

• Ο – the (masculine, singular, subject form)
• φίλος – friend (male friend)
• μου – my
• είναι – is
• πολύ – very
• γνωστός – known / well‑known (masculine form)
• στην – in the / at the (feminine, singular object form)
• πόλη – city / town
• μας – our

So, literally: The friend my is very known in‑the city our.
In good English: My friend is very well‑known in our town/city.

Why does the sentence start with Ο φίλος and what does Ο tell us?

Ο is the definite article “the” for a masculine, singular, subject noun.

• Ο φίλος = the (male) friend.
  It shows:
• gender: masculine
• number: singular
• role: subject of the sentence (nominative case)

Greek uses articles more than English, so where English might say “My friend…”, Greek very often uses “Ο φίλος μου…” (the friend my).

Why is the possessive μου after the noun (φίλος μου) instead of before it like in English (my friend)?

In Greek, the unstressed possessive pronouns (μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους) usually come after the noun they belong to:

• ο φίλος μου = my friend
• η πόλη μας = our city / town

They are called enclitics (they “lean” on the word before them).
If you put a possessive before the noun, you normally use a different, stressed form, e.g.:

• ο δικός μου φίλος = my friend (as opposed to someone else’s)

So φίλος μου is the normal, neutral way to say “my friend.”

Could I drop the article and say Φίλος μου είναι πολύ γνωστός στην πόλη μας?

You can say Φίλος μου είναι πολύ γνωστός στην πόλη μας, but the nuance changes slightly:

• Ο φίλος μου… = my (specific) friend (the one you know I’m talking about)
• Φίλος μου… can feel closer to “A friend of mine…” or can sound a bit more descriptive or stylistic.

In everyday speech, Ο φίλος μου… is the most neutral and common way to say “My friend…” in this context.

What form of the verb είμαι is είναι, and what is the subject here?

είναι is the 3rd person singular (he/she/it is) and also the 3rd person plural (they are) form of είμαι (to be).
In this sentence, it is 3rd person singular, because the subject is:

• Ο φίλος μου = my friend (he)

So: Ο φίλος μου είναι… = My friend is…

What does πολύ mean here, and why is it written like that (not πολλή or πολλοί)?

Here πολύ means “very” and works as an adverb, modifying the adjective γνωστός:

• πολύ γνωστός = very well‑known

When πολύ is an adverb (very, a lot), it is invariable – it does not change form.

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

• πολύς χρόνος – much time (masc.)
• πολλή δουλειά – much work (fem.)
• πολλά παιδιά – many children (neut.)

In this sentence we need “very”, so the correct form is πολύ.

Why is γνωστός in the masculine form, and what does it agree with?

γνωστός is an adjective meaning known / well‑known.
It is in the masculine singular nominative form because it agrees with the subject:

• subject: Ο φίλος (μου) – masculine, singular
• adjective: γνωστός – masculine, singular

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

If the subject changed, the adjective would change:

• Η φίλη μου είναι πολύ γνωστή. – My (female) friend is very well‑known.
• Οι φίλοι μου είναι πολύ γνωστοί. – My friends are very well‑known.

Is γνωστός related to the verb γνωρίζω (“to know”)? How is it used?

Yes. γνωστός is related to the verb γνωρίζω (to know, to be acquainted with).
It can mean:

• known / familiar – ένα γνωστό τραγούδι (a well‑known song)
• acquaintance (as a noun) – Έχω έναν γνωστό στην Αθήνα. (I have an acquaintance in Athens.)

In this sentence it is an adjective used predicatively after είναι:

• είναι γνωστός = is well‑known

What exactly is στην in στην πόλη μας?

στην is a combination of:

• σε (preposition: in, at, to)
• την (feminine singular definite article in the object form, accusative)

So:

• σε + την = στην

We use it because πόλη is a feminine singular noun used here as the object of the preposition σε:

• στην πόλη μας = in our city/town

Why is it στην πόλη and not something like στη πόλη or σε την πόλη?

The standard forms are:

• σε + την → στην
• σε + τη → στη (informal / before some consonants)

σε την πόλη is “split apart” in grammar explanations, but in real Greek you normally contract it to στην πόλη.

στη πόλη is also heard in casual speech, but στην πόλη is the more careful, standard form.

What can πόλη mean – city or town – and what gender is it?

πόλη is a feminine noun. It can be translated as either city or town, depending on context; Greek doesn’t always draw a sharp line between the two.

Basic forms:

• η πόλη – the city / town (subject form)
• την πόλη – the city / town (object form)
• στην πόλη – in the city / town

In the sentence, στην πόλη μας = in our town / in our city – both are acceptable translations.

Why is the possessive μας also at the end (πόλη μας) and not before the noun?

Like μου, μας in πόλη μας is an unstressed, enclitic possessive pronoun meaning “our”. It usually comes after the noun:

• η πόλη μας – our city
• το σπίτι μας – our house

If you want to stress the possessor, you can use the stressed form:

• η δική μας πόλη – our city (as opposed to someone else’s)

But the neutral, normal order is noun + enclitic possessive: πόλη μας.

How flexible is the word order? Could I say Στην πόλη μας ο φίλος μου είναι πολύ γνωστός?

Yes, Greek word order is quite flexible, especially with clear endings and articles.

All of these are grammatically correct and natural, with slight differences in emphasis:

• Ο φίλος μου είναι πολύ γνωστός στην πόλη μας. (neutral)
• Στην πόλη μας ο φίλος μου είναι πολύ γνωστός. (emphasis on in our town)
• Ο φίλος μου στην πόλη μας είναι πολύ γνωστός. (mild focus on my friend in our town)

The core relationships (who is known where) stay the same; word order mainly affects focus and emphasis, not basic meaning.

How would the sentence change if the friend were female, or if there were several friends?

You must change the article, the noun, the adjective, and possibly the verb:

• Female friend

  • Η φίλη μου είναι πολύ γνωστή στην πόλη μας.
    
    • Η – feminine singular article
    • φίλη – female friend
    • γνωστή – feminine form of γνωστός

• Several friends (mixed group or only males)

  • Οι φίλοι μου είναι πολύ γνωστοί στην πόλη μας.
    
    • Οι – plural article
    • φίλοι – friends
    • είναι – here: they are
    • γνωστοί – masculine plural form

The rest (πολύ, στην πόλη μας) stays the same.

How is πολύ γνωστός different from just γνωστός in terms of meaning?

• γνωστός = known / well‑known
• πολύ γνωστός = very well‑known / really well‑known

Adding πολύ intensifies the adjective, just like very in English.
So Ο φίλος μου είναι γνωστός… = My friend is well‑known…
and Ο φίλος μου είναι πολύ γνωστός… = My friend is very well‑known…