Νομίζεις ότι αυτό το κόκκινο φόρεμα ταιριάζει με τα μαύρα παπούτσια μου;

Do you think this red dress matches my black shoes?

Breakdown of Νομίζεις ότι αυτό το κόκκινο φόρεμα ταιριάζει με τα μαύρα παπούτσια μου;

• αυτός: this
• μου: my
• ότι: that
• νομίζω: to think
• μαύρος: black
• κόκκινος: red
• το φόρεμα: the dress
• το παπούτσι: the shoe
• ταιριάζω με: to go with

Questions & Answers about Νομίζεις ότι αυτό το κόκκινο φόρεμα ταιριάζει με τα μαύρα παπούτσια μου;

Why does Νομίζεις mean Do you think…? and who is the subject?

Νομίζεις is the 2nd person singular present tense of νομίζω (I think / I believe / I suppose).
Greek often drops subject pronouns, so εσύ (you) is understood.
So Νομίζεις…; = Do you think…? (informal you, singular).

How would I say this more formally (to someone I don’t know well)?

Use the formal/plural you form:

• Νομίζετε ότι αυτό το κόκκινο φόρεμα ταιριάζει με τα μαύρα παπούτσια μου;

What role does ότι play here, and can it be omitted?

ότι means that and introduces a content clause: Do you think that…
In everyday Greek it’s often possible to omit ότι (especially in speech) without changing the meaning much:

• Νομίζεις αυτό το κόκκινο φόρεμα ταιριάζει με τα μαύρα παπούτσια μου;
  Including ότι is very common and keeps the structure clear.

Why is it αυτό το κόκκινο φόρεμα and not αυτή η or αυτός ο?

Because φόρεμα (dress) is neuter in Greek.
So the demonstrative and article must agree in gender/number/case:

• αυτό (neuter singular) + το (neuter singular article) + φόρεμα (neuter singular noun)

Why is there both αυτό and το—isn’t one of them enough?

In Greek, a demonstrative like αυτό typically appears together with the definite article:

• αυτό το φόρεμα = this dress
  You can also just say το κόκκινο φόρεμα = the red dress (less “this”).

Why does the adjective come before the noun: το κόκκινο φόρεμα?

Adjectives commonly come before the noun in Greek, especially in neutral descriptions:

• το κόκκινο φόρεμα = the red dress
  They can also come after the noun for a different feel (often more emphatic or descriptive):
• το φόρεμα το κόκκινο (more like the dress, the red one)

How do I know κόκκινο is the right form of red here?

Adjectives agree with the noun. Since φόρεμα is neuter singular nominative/accusative, the adjective is:

• κόκκινο (neuter singular)
  Compare:
• masculine: κόκκινος (e.g., κόκκινος καναπές)
• feminine: κόκκινη (e.g., κόκκινη τσάντα)

What does ταιριάζει mean exactly, and what is its grammar?

ταιριάζει means it matches / it goes (well).
It’s 3rd person singular present of ταιριάζω. The subject is αυτό το κόκκινο φόρεμα (singular), so the verb is singular: ταιριάζει.

Why do we use με in ταιριάζει με τα μαύρα παπούτσια μου?

ταιριάζω commonly takes με to mean match/go with:

• ταιριάζει με + accusative = matches/goes with
  So με τα μαύρα παπούτσια uses the accusative after με.

Why is it τα μαύρα παπούτσια (plural) and not singular?

Because in English we usually say shoes as a pair, and Greek does the same very often:

• παπούτσια = shoes (plural)
  You can say singular if you mean one shoe:
• το μαύρο παπούτσι = the black shoe

Why is μαύρα and not μαύρες or μαύρο?

Because παπούτσια is neuter plural, so the adjective must be neuter plural too:

• τα μαύρα παπούτσια
  Feminine plural would be μαύρες (for feminine nouns), and neuter singular would be μαύρο.

Why is μου at the very end? Can it go elsewhere?

μου is a clitic possessive pronoun (my) and commonly comes after the noun phrase it modifies:

• τα μαύρα παπούτσια μου = my black shoes
  It can’t normally go before the noun like English (μου παπούτσια is not the standard pattern).

Is the punctuation normal? Why does it look like a semicolon ;?

Yes—Greek uses ; as a question mark.
So Νομίζεις ότι…; is written with ; at the end to indicate a question.

How is ταιριάζει pronounced and where is the stress?

It’s stressed on the second-to-last syllable: ται-ρι-Α-ζει.
A helpful approximate rendering: teer-YA-zee (with Greek sounds).