Η φίλη μου κοιμάται καλύτερα όταν ο ανεμιστήρας είναι ανοιχτός και το παντζούρι είναι λίγο κλειστό.

to be

Breakdown of Η φίλη μου κοιμάται καλύτερα όταν ο ανεμιστήρας είναι ανοιχτός και το παντζούρι είναι λίγο κλειστό.

• και: and
• λίγο: a little
• η φίλη: the female friend

Questions & Answers about Η φίλη μου κοιμάται καλύτερα όταν ο ανεμιστήρας είναι ανοιχτός και το παντζούρι είναι λίγο κλειστό.

Why is it η φίλη μου and not just φίλη μου?

In Greek, a noun with a possessive like μου usually still takes the definite article when you mean a specific person or thing. So η φίλη μου literally looks like the friend my, but it simply means my friend.

English normally says my friend without the. Greek usually keeps the article.

Why does μου come after φίλη?

The short possessive forms such as μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους normally come after the noun.

So:

• η φίλη μου = my friend
• ο αδερφός της = her brother
• το σπίτι μας = our house

This is the normal Greek pattern. English speakers often expect the possessive to come first, but Greek usually places this short form after the noun.

Why is the verb κοιμάται and not something like κοιμάει or κοιμάζουν?

Κοιμάται is the 3rd person singular form of κοιμάμαι, meaning to sleep.

It matches the subject η φίλη μου, which is singular: my friend sleeps.

A useful thing to know is that κοιμάμαι has middle/passive-style endings, even though its meaning is active. So κοιμάται does not mean is being slept. It simply means sleeps / is sleeping.