Η Μαρία δεν απαντάει στο τηλέφωνο· θα κοιμάται, γιατί είχε βήχα όλη νύχτα.

In Greek, it is very common to use the definite article with people’s names, especially in everyday speech.

So Η Μαρία simply means Maria. The article does not make it mean the Maria in the strange way that would sound in English.

Here:

• Η = feminine singular nominative article
• Μαρία = Maria

You will hear this a lot:

• Ο Γιάννης
• Η Ελένη
• Η Μαρία

In English we usually do not do this, so it feels unusual at first, but in Greek it is normal.

Δεν is the standard negation word for verbs in Modern Greek, and it normally goes directly before the verb or the verbal group.

So:

• δεν απαντάει = is not answering / doesn’t answer

This is the normal word order. You do not put it after the verb the way some learners may want to from English patterns.

Compare:

• Απαντάει. = She answers / She is answering.
• Δεν απαντάει. = She isn’t answering.

Yes. In this sentence, απαντάει and απαντά are just two common present-tense forms of the same verb.

The verb can appear as:

• απαντάω
• απαντώ

So the 3rd person singular can be:

• απαντάει
• απαντά

Both are natural. Απαντάει often sounds a bit more colloquial and conversational, while απαντά can sound a bit shorter or slightly more neutral/formal, but both are very common.

Στο is a contraction of:

• σε
  • το = στο

Literally, σε often means to, at, or in, depending on context.

With απαντάω/απαντώ, Greek commonly says:

• απαντάω στο τηλέφωνο

This is the normal idiomatic way to say answer the phone.

So even though English says answer the phone without a preposition, Greek uses σε here. It is best to learn it as a set phrase:

• απαντάω στο τηλέφωνο = answer the phone

This is a very important and very common Greek pattern.

Yes, θα often marks the future, but it can also express a guess, assumption, or probability.

So here:

• θα κοιμάται does not mean she will sleep
• it means something like she is probably sleeping or she’ll be sleeping

This is similar to English:

• She’s not answering the phone; she’ll be sleeping.

In English, will can also express a present assumption, not just a future action. Greek θα works similarly here.

Because the verb κοιμάμαι is one of those Greek verbs that has middle/passive-looking endings but an active meaning.

So:

• κοιμάμαι = I sleep / I am sleeping
• κοιμάται = he/she sleeps / is sleeping

Even though the form looks passive to an English speaker, it is not passive in meaning here. It is simply the normal form of the verb to sleep.

This is something you just get used to in Greek:

• some verbs have passive-type forms but active meanings

Because the speaker is giving the reason for the present guess, and that reason belongs to the previous night.

• είχε βήχα όλη νύχτα = she had a cough all night

The coughing happened during the night, so Greek uses the past.

More specifically, είχε is the imperfect form of έχω. The imperfect is used for an ongoing or repeated situation in the past. That fits well here, because the cough lasted over a period of time:

• all night

So the idea is:

• She isn’t answering.
• She’s probably sleeping.
• The reason is that she had a cough throughout the night.

In Greek, when talking about illnesses, symptoms, or general physical conditions, it is very common to use the noun without an article.

So:

• είχε βήχα = she had a cough

This sounds natural in Greek.

If you said είχε έναν βήχα, that would usually sound more specific or more like you are emphasizing a certain cough. In this sentence, the simple unarticled form is the normal choice.

You will see the same pattern with other symptoms too.

Όλη νύχτα means all night.

Here:

• όλη = feminine singular accusative of όλος = all, whole
• νύχτα = night, also in the accusative here

This is an example of the accusative being used for duration of time:

• όλη νύχτα = all night
• όλη μέρα = all day

You may also hear:

• όλη τη νύχτα

That version includes the article and is also very common. Both mean all night.

Here it means because.

Greek γιατί can mean either:

• why?
• because

The context tells you which meaning it has.

In this sentence, it introduces a reason:

• θα κοιμάται, γιατί είχε βήχα όλη νύχτα
• she’s probably sleeping, because she had a cough all night

If it were a question, the context and intonation would make that clear.

Greek does not separate the simple present and present continuous as strictly as English does.

So:

• απαντάει can mean answers
• or is answering

The context tells you which one is meant.

Here, because of the situation, δεν απαντάει στο τηλέφωνο is understood as:

• she isn’t answering the phone

This is perfectly normal Greek. You do not need a separate progressive form like English is answering.

That mark is called άνω τελεία in Greek. It functions roughly like a semicolon or a strong pause.

So in this sentence:

• Η Μαρία δεν απαντάει στο τηλέφωνο· θα κοιμάται...

it separates two closely related clauses:

1. Maria isn’t answering the phone.
2. The speaker’s likely explanation: she’s probably sleeping.

Important: this is not the Greek question mark.

In Greek:

• ; is the question mark
• · is the raised dot, like a semicolon/strong pause

That often surprises English speakers.

By itself, θα κοιμάται could be understood in different ways depending on context.

It can mean:

• she will be sleeping in the future
• or she is probably sleeping as a present guess

In this sentence, the context makes the second meaning clear:

• she is not answering the phone now
• so the speaker guesses she is asleep now

That is why the natural interpretation here is:

• she’s probably sleeping

Context is what tells you whether θα + imperfective is true future or present probability.