Breakdown of Το κατοικίδιό μας, μια μικρή γάτα, κρύβεται όταν ακούει τον συναγερμό.
Questions & Answers about Το κατοικίδιό μας, μια μικρή γάτα, κρύβεται όταν ακούει τον συναγερμό.
Because κατοικίδι(ο) (pet) is a neuter noun in Greek: το κατοικίδιο.
So the article must be neuter: το.
(If you used a different noun with a different gender, the article would change accordingly.)
The possessive μας is an enclitic (it “leans” on the previous word). Greek spelling rules often add an extra accent to the word before an enclitic to keep stress clear.
So κατοικίδιο → κατοικίδιό μας.
μας here means our and functions like a short possessive pronoun attached after the noun:
- το κατοικίδιό μας = our pet
δικός μας (or δικό μας) is more emphatic and works differently (it agrees like an adjective):
- είναι δικό μας = it is ours
- το δικό μας κατοικίδιο = our (specific/particular) pet (more emphasis)
It’s an apposition: extra identifying information about the noun phrase Το κατοικίδιό μας.
So it’s like: Our pet, a small cat, ...
Greek uses commas the same way English does for this kind of inserted clarification.
Because the grammatical gender of κατοικίδιο (neuter) is just the gender of the word, but the pet is specifically a cat, and γάτα is a feminine noun.
So the apposition agrees with γάτα:
- μια (feminine)
- μικρή (feminine)
- γάτα (feminine)
(If it were a male cat, you might see ένας μικρός γάτος in some contexts, though γάτος is less common in everyday speech than γάτα used generically.)
Both spellings exist. In modern Greek, μια is extremely common in everyday writing. μία is a more formal/older-looking spelling and can also be used to avoid ambiguity in some contexts. Here, μια is the standard casual choice.
κρύβεται is mediopassive form and is the natural way to say (it) hides / (it) hides itself as an intransitive action:
- κρύβεται = it hides (itself), it goes into hiding
κρύβει is typically transitive:
- κρύβει κάτι = it hides something (an object)
Greek is a pro-drop language: subject pronouns are often omitted because the verb ending shows the person/number.
Both verbs are 3rd person singular:
- κρύβεται = it hides
- ακούει = it hears
So the subject is understood as the pet/the cat without needing αυτό (it).
With όταν (when/whenever), Greek can use:
- present for a general/habitual situation: όταν ακούει = whenever it hears
- aorist subjunctive (often with the same spelling as a non-past perfective form) for a single future event: όταν ακούσει = when it hears (at some point in the future/once)
This sentence describes typical behavior, so όταν ακούει fits well.
ακούω (I hear) takes its direct object in the accusative case, so συναγερμός becomes συναγερμό.
The definite article τον can be used because the alarm is treated as a known or generic thing in context (like the alarm [sound/system]). You could say έναν συναγερμό if you meant an alarm more vaguely, but τον συναγερμό sounds very natural here.
Yes. Greek word order is flexible. For example:
- Όταν ακούει τον συναγερμό, το κατοικίδιό μας κρύβεται.
This is still correct and means the same thing, just with the time clause placed first for emphasis or flow.