Breakdown of Στη γειτονιά υπάρχει ένας μικρός σύλλογος που στηρίζει την τοπική κοινότητα.
Questions & Answers about Στη γειτονιά υπάρχει ένας μικρός σύλλογος που στηρίζει την τοπική κοινότητα.
Στη is the combination of the preposition σε (in/at) and the feminine definite article τη(ν) (the):
- σε + τη(ν) → στη(ν)
So Στη γειτονιά literally means in the neighborhood.
The final -ν of την is optional before many consonants. Because γειτονιά starts with γ, you will often see:
- στη γειτονιά (common, perfectly correct)
rather than - στην γειτονιά (also correct, but less common in everyday writing here).
γειτονιά is a specific noun meaning neighborhood (more like the area where you live, with people, streets, etc.).
Grammatically:
- Nominative singular: η γειτονιά (the neighborhood)
- Accusative singular: τη(ν) γειτονιά
The preposition σε always takes the accusative case, so after σε / στη, you must use γειτονιά in the accusative:
- Στη γειτονιά = In the neighborhood
(σε + τη γειτονιά, accusative)
γειτονία is a different, more abstract word (it can mean vicinity/proximity), and it is not used here.
υπάρχει means there is / there exists. It’s used to talk about the existence or presence of something somewhere.
- Στη γειτονιά υπάρχει ένας μικρός σύλλογος
= In the neighborhood, there is a small club.
είναι means is, and it usually links a subject to a description:
- Ο σύλλογος είναι μικρός = The club is small.
If you used είναι in the original sentence, it would sound incomplete or wrong:
- ✗ Στη γειτονιά είναι ένας μικρός σύλλογος
This is not how you normally express there is a small club in the neighborhood in Greek.
You really want υπάρχει for that there is meaning.
The subject is ένας μικρός σύλλογος.
Even though it comes after the verb, grammatically:
- ένας: masculine nominative singular article
- μικρός: masculine nominative singular adjective
- σύλλογος: masculine nominative singular noun
So ένας μικρός σύλλογος is in the nominative case and is the subject of υπάρχει.
Στη γειτονιά is just a prepositional phrase showing location (where the club exists).
Because σύλλογος is masculine and functions as the subject here.
- Masculine nominative singular: ένας μικρός σύλλογος
- Masculine accusative singular: έναν μικρό σύλλογο
As the subject, the noun must be in the nominative case, so:
- ένας μικρός σύλλογος = a small club (subject)
If it were an object, you would use the accusative:
- Βλέπω έναν μικρό σύλλογο. = I see a small club.
σύλλογος means a formal or semi‑formal association / club / society – an organized group, usually with members, for a specific purpose. For example:
- πολιτιστικός σύλλογος = cultural association
- αθλητικός σύλλογος = sports club
- φοιτητικός σύλλογος = student association
It’s more official than just παρέα (group of friends) and usually implies some organization, activities, maybe a committee, etc.
In Modern Greek, που is the most common relative pronoun and corresponds to English who / which / that depending on context.
In the sentence:
- ένας μικρός σύλλογος που στηρίζει την τοπική κοινότητα
που refers back to σύλλογος and means:
- which supports / that supports / that helps
So you can think of it as:
- a small club that supports the local community
More formal Greek could use ο οποίος, but που is far more frequent in everyday speech and writing.
στηρίζει is the 3rd‑person singular present tense of the verb στηρίζω.
- (εγώ) στηρίζω = I support
- (εσύ) στηρίζεις = you support
- (αυτός/αυτή/αυτό) στηρίζει = he/she/it supports
Meaning-wise, στηρίζω is to support in the sense of:
- providing help or backing
- strengthening
- standing by someone or something
It can mean both practical support and moral support, depending on context.
In this sentence, στηρίζει suggests the club actively helps or supports the local community (events, aid, activities, etc.).
In την τοπική κοινότητα, all three words agree in:
- Gender: feminine
- Number: singular
- Case: accusative
Breakdown:
- την: feminine singular accusative article
- τοπική: feminine singular accusative adjective (from τοπικός = local)
- κοινότητα: feminine singular accusative noun
Greek requires article, adjective, and noun to match. That’s why you can’t mix forms like την τοπικό κοινότητα or τη τοπικές κοινότητα – all three must be in the same gender, number, and case.
The usual, neutral order in Greek is:
- article + adjective + noun
→ την τοπική κοινότητα
You can place the adjective after the noun, but then you normally repeat the article, and it can sound more emphatic or stylistic:
- την κοινότητα την τοπική
This second version sounds marked, more poetic or emphatic: the community, the local one. In normal prose, την τοπική κοινότητα is the standard order.
Each content word in Modern Greek has one written accent mark indicating which syllable is stressed. In this sentence:
- γειτονιά → γε‑το‑νιά (stress on the last syllable)
- υπάρχει → υ‑πάρ‑χει
- μικρός → μι‑κρός
- σύλλογος → σύλ‑λο‑γος
- στηρίζει → στη‑ρί‑ζει
- τοπική → το‑πι‑κή
- κοινότητα → κοι‑νό‑τη‑τα
The accent mark does not change the vowel’s quality; it just shows where to place the stress. Putting the stress on the wrong syllable can make words harder to understand or sound unnatural.
Yes, you can change the word order:
- Στη γειτονιά υπάρχει ένας μικρός σύλλογος
- Ένας μικρός σύλλογος υπάρχει στη γειτονιά
Both are grammatically correct and mean the same thing. The difference is nuance/emphasis:
- Original order puts a bit more focus on the location (Στη γειτονιά).
- The alternative order highlights the existence of the club (Ένας μικρός σύλλογος).
In everyday speech, the original version (with Στη γειτονιά at the beginning) sounds very natural.
You would make the subject plural and match the verb:
- Στη γειτονιά υπάρχουν μικροί σύλλογοι που στηρίζουν την τοπική κοινότητα.
= In the neighborhood, there are small clubs that support the local community.
Changes:
- υπάρχει → υπάρχουν (they exist)
- ένας μικρός σύλλογος → μικροί σύλλογοι (no article here, but plural adjective + noun)
- που στηρίζει → που στηρίζουν (verb agrees with plural σύλλογοι)