Το παιδί έχει μια μικρή γρατζουνιά στο μέτωπο, αλλά δεν είναι σοβαρό.

Because παιδί is a neuter noun in Greek. Greek nouns have grammatical gender, and παιδί happens to be neuter even though it refers to a person.

So:

• ο = masculine
• η = feminine
• το = neuter

That gives:

• το παιδί = the child

This is normal Greek. If you wanted to specify boy or girl, you would usually use different words, such as το αγόρι or το κορίτσι.

Έχει means has. Greek uses the verb έχω to express possession, just like English does.

So:

• Το παιδί έχει μια μικρή γρατζουνιά = The child has a small scratch

You would not normally use είναι here, because the idea is that the child has a scratch, not that the child is a scratch.

Μια is the feminine singular form of a / one, and γρατζουνιά is a feminine noun.

So they match:

• μια = feminine singular a
• γρατζουνιά = scratch

Together:

• μια γρατζουνιά = a scratch

Also, after έχει, this noun is the direct object of the sentence, so it is in the accusative case. In this particular noun, the accusative singular looks the same as the nominative, so you do not see a change in the noun itself.

Because adjectives in Greek must agree with the noun they describe in gender, number, and case.

Here, γρατζουνιά is:

• feminine
• singular
• accusative

So the adjective must match:

• μικρή γρατζουνιά = small scratch

Compare:

• μικρός = masculine
• μικρή = feminine
• μικρό = neuter

Στο is a contraction of σε + το.

So:

• σε = in, on, at, to
• το = the
• στο = on the / in the / at the

Therefore:

• στο μέτωπο = on the forehead

Greek very often uses the definite article with body parts, where English may or may not. So στο μέτωπο is the natural way to say on the forehead.

After the preposition σε (here contracted to στο), Greek normally uses the accusative.

So in στο μέτωπο:

• στο = σε + το
• μέτωπο is accusative singular

Since μέτωπο is a neuter noun, its nominative and accusative singular forms are the same, so it still looks like μέτωπο.

This is a very common question.

In this sentence, σοβαρό is neuter because Greek is treating the idea as the situation / the injury / the matter = it is not serious, rather than directly describing the noun γρατζουνιά.

So:

• δεν είναι σοβαρό = it is not serious

This neuter form is very natural when Greek comments on a whole situation in a general way.

If you wanted to refer directly to the scratch as the subject, you could say:

• Η γρατζουνιά δεν είναι σοβαρή. = The scratch is not serious.

So both ideas are possible, but the sentence you were given uses the more general it’s not serious type of wording.

Because Greek often leaves subject pronouns out when they are understood from context.

English needs:

• it is not serious

Greek very often just says:

• δεν είναι σοβαρό

The subject is understood from the context. You could add αυτό in some situations, but here it would usually sound unnecessary.

Αλλά means but.

It connects the two ideas:

• Το παιδί έχει μια μικρή γρατζουνιά στο μέτωπο
• αλλά δεν είναι σοβαρό

So the structure is:

• The child has a small scratch on the forehead, but it is not serious.

Yes. Greek word order is more flexible than English word order because case endings and article forms help show what belongs where.

The sentence as given is very natural:

• Το παιδί έχει μια μικρή γρατζουνιά στο μέτωπο, αλλά δεν είναι σοβαρό.

But you could also hear variations such as:

• Το παιδί έχει στο μέτωπο μια μικρή γρατζουνιά.

That still means basically the same thing. The original version is straightforward and neutral.

A rough pronunciation for an English speaker is:

gra-tzoo-NYA

A few details:

• the stress is on the last syllable: -νιά
• τζ sounds like a dz/j-type sound
• νιά sounds like nya

So try something close to:

• gra-dzoo-NYA

You do not need a perfect accent right away; the main thing is to keep the stress on the last syllable.

Yes, it strongly suggests that. Μικρή literally means small, but with injuries it often also suggests minor.

So:

• μια μικρή γρατζουνιά can be understood as a small scratch or a minor scratch

That fits well with the second clause:

• αλλά δεν είναι σοβαρό = but it is not serious