Η πόρτα στο σαλόνι είναι ανοιχτή τώρα.

The door in the living room is open now.

Breakdown of Η πόρτα στο σαλόνι είναι ανοιχτή τώρα.

• είμαι: to be
• τώρα: now
• σε: in
• η πόρτα: the door
• το σαλόνι: the living room
• ανοιχτός: on

Questions & Answers about Η πόρτα στο σαλόνι είναι ανοιχτή τώρα.

In the sentence Η πόρτα στο σαλόνι είναι ανοιχτή τώρα., what does each word correspond to in English?

Very close, word by word:

• Η = the (feminine, singular, nominative article)
• πόρτα = door
• στο = in the / at the (contraction of σε
  • το)
• σαλόνι = living room
• είναι = is
• ανοιχτή = open (feminine form of the adjective)
• τώρα = now

So the structure is: The door in-the living-room is open now.

Why is the article Η used with πόρτα? Why not Το or Ο?

Greek nouns have grammatical gender: masculine, feminine, or neuter.

• πόρτα is a feminine noun.
• The feminine definite article in the nominative singular is Η.

The basic nominative singular articles are:

• Ο for masculine nouns (e.g. ο άνθρωπος – the man)
• Η for feminine nouns (e.g. η πόρτα – the door)
• Το for neuter nouns (e.g. το σπίτι – the house)

So you must say η πόρτα, not το πόρτα or ο πόρτα.

How do I know that πόρτα is feminine? It doesn’t look obvious.

In Greek, gender is mostly grammatical, not logical, so it has to be learned with each noun. However, there are patterns:

• Many nouns ending in -α or -η are feminine:
  
  • η πόρτα (door)
  • η καρέκλα (chair)
  • η μέρα (day)
  • η ψυχή (soul)

There are exceptions, but as a beginner you can use this rule:
If a noun ends in -α or -η, it is often feminine, so it will usually take η in the nominative singular.

When you learn a new noun, always learn it together with its article, e.g. η πόρτα, not just πόρτα.

What exactly is στο? Why not just σε?

στο is a contraction:

• σε = in / at / to (a very general preposition)
• το = the (neuter article, singular)

When σε comes before a definite article, it usually contracts:

• σε + το → στο
• σε + τον → στον
• σε + την → στη(ν)
• σε + τους → στους
• σε + τις → στις
• σε + τα → στα

So στο σαλόνι literally is σε το σαλόνι → στο σαλόνι = in the living room.

Using the contraction is the normal, natural form in modern Greek.

Why is σαλόνι neuter (το σαλόνι) while πόρτα is feminine (η πόρτα)? Does the room’s gender affect the door’s gender?

No. Each noun has its own gender, independent of related nouns.

• η πόρτα = feminine
• το σαλόνι = neuter

The noun’s gender does not come from its meaning here; it’s part of how the word is historically formed in Greek. You just have to memorize each noun with its article:

• η πόρτα (feminine)
• το σαλόνι (neuter)
• το δωμάτιο (room, neuter)
• η κουζίνα (kitchen, feminine)

They do not “agree” in gender just because one belongs to the other.

Why is the adjective ανοιχτή and not ανοιχτό or ανοιχτός?

Adjectives in Greek must agree with the noun they describe in:

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

πόρτα is:

• feminine
• singular
• nominative (it’s the subject of the sentence)

So ανοιχτός (open) must also be:

• feminine
• singular
• nominative

That form is ανοιχτή.

Basic forms of this adjective:

• ανοιχτός – masculine (e.g. ο δρόμος είναι ανοιχτός)
• ανοιχτή – feminine (e.g. η πόρτα είναι ανοιχτή)
• ανοιχτό – neuter (e.g. το παράθυρο είναι ανοιχτό)

In our sentence, we say η πόρτα … είναι ανοιχτή because the adjective matches η πόρτα.

Is ανοιχτή an adjective or a verb form (like “opened”)?

In everyday modern Greek, ανοιχτή here is used as an adjective meaning open.

Historically it comes from a participle of the verb ανοίγω (to open), but in this sentence it behaves like a normal descriptive adjective:

• It agrees with η πόρτα (feminine, singular, nominative).
• You can use it in other adjective positions:
  
  • η ανοιχτή πόρτα = the open door

So:

• είναι ανοιχτή = is open, not is being opened or has been opened in a grammatical, tense-based sense. It simply describes the state of the door.

Could I say Η πόρτα του σαλονιού είναι ανοιχτή τώρα. instead of Η πόρτα στο σαλόνι είναι ανοιχτή τώρα.? What’s the difference?

Yes, both are grammatically correct, but they are not identical in meaning.

• Η πόρτα στο σαλόνι είναι ανοιχτή τώρα.
  = The door that is in the living room is open now.
  Emphasis: the location of the door (in the living room).

• Η πόρτα του σαλονιού είναι ανοιχτή τώρα.
  = The living room door is open now.
  Emphasis: it is the door belonging to / of the living room (genitive του σαλονιού = of the living room).

Often in context they overlap, but:

• στο σαλόνι stresses place (in the room).
• του σαλονιού stresses possession / association (the room’s door).

Can the word order change? For example, can I say Η πόρτα στο σαλόνι τώρα είναι ανοιχτή or Τώρα η πόρτα στο σαλόνι είναι ανοιχτή?

Yes. Greek word order is quite flexible, and all these are possible:

• Η πόρτα στο σαλόνι είναι ανοιχτή τώρα.
• Τώρα η πόρτα στο σαλόνι είναι ανοιχτή.
• Η πόρτα στο σαλόνι τώρα είναι ανοιχτή.
• Η πόρτα στο σαλόνι είναι τώρα ανοιχτή.

They are all grammatical. The differences are mostly about emphasis and rhythm:

• Τώρα η πόρτα… → slight emphasis on now (contrasting with before).
• …είναι τώρα ανοιχτή → can highlight the change of state now.

For everyday speech, Η πόρτα στο σαλόνι είναι ανοιχτή τώρα. and Τώρα η πόρτα στο σαλόνι είναι ανοιχτή. are the most neutral.

Is τώρα necessary? Could I just say Η πόρτα στο σαλόνι είναι ανοιχτή.?

Yes, you can omit τώρα.

• Η πόρτα στο σαλόνι είναι ανοιχτή. = The door in the living room is open.
• … είναι ανοιχτή τώρα. = The door in the living room is open now (explicit reference to time, often implying contrast with another time).

Use τώρα when you:

• Want to contrast with the past or future:
  
  • Πριν ήταν κλειστή, αλλά τώρα είναι ανοιχτή.
• Want to clearly answer a “when” question.

Otherwise, the version without τώρα is perfectly fine.

In English we would say “it is open now”. Why is there no word for “it” in είναι ανοιχτή τώρα?

Greek usually drops subject pronouns when they are obvious from context or from the verb form. This is called a pro‑drop language.

• In English you must say: it is.
• In Greek, the subject is understood from context: Η πόρτα… is the subject.

So:

• Η πόρτα στο σαλόνι είναι ανοιχτή τώρα.
  Literally: The door in the living room is open now.
  You never say αυτή είναι ανοιχτή τώρα unless you want to strongly emphasize she/that one, e.g. in a contrast:
  
  • Η μία είναι κλειστή, αλλά αυτή είναι ανοιχτή.
    (One is closed, but this one is open.)

In normal sentences, Greek leaves out he / she / it when it is clear.

What is the difference between ανοιχτή and ανοικτή? I’ve seen both spellings.

Both exist:

• ανοιχτή is the standard modern spelling in everyday language.
• ανοικτή is more traditional / older spelling, still seen in more formal or technical contexts, signs, or older texts.

Pronunciation is the same in modern Greek.

For normal spoken and written modern Greek, you should use ανοιχτή (and ανοιχτός, ανοιχτό).

Could I use σε instead of στο, like Η πόρτα σε σαλόνι είναι ανοιχτή τώρα?

No, that sounds unnatural and, in this case, wrong.

With a specific, definite place, you almost always use σε + definite article, which contracts:

• σε το σαλόνι → στο σαλόνι

σε σαλόνι (without article) would mean “in a living room” in a very generic sense, but even then Greek usually prefers a different structure, e.g.:

• Μια πόρτα σε σαλόνι είναι συνήθως εσωτερική.
  (A door in a living room is usually an interior door.)

In your sentence you are talking about a specific, known living room, so you need:

• Η πόρτα στο σαλόνι είναι ανοιχτή τώρα.