Η εγγονή της μοιάζει στη γιαγιά της όταν χαμογελάει.

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Breakdown of Η εγγονή της μοιάζει στη γιαγιά της όταν χαμογελάει.

• της: her
• η γιαγιά: the grandmother
• χαμογελάω: to smile

Questions & Answers about Η εγγονή της μοιάζει στη γιαγιά της όταν χαμογελάει.

Why is there an Η at the beginning?

Η is the feminine singular definite article, meaning the.

So η εγγονή = the granddaughter.

Greek articles change for gender, number, and case, so you will see different forms like ο, η, το, οι, τα, τη, την, etc.

Why is της used twice?

Both instances of της mean her.

• Η εγγονή της = her granddaughter
• στη γιαγιά της = to / like her grandmother

In Greek, possessive words like my, your, his, her are often expressed with these short genitive clitic forms after the noun:

• η μητέρα μου = my mother
• ο αδερφός της = her brother

So the sentence literally contains her granddaughter and her grandmother.

Why does Greek say η εγγονή της instead of putting her before the noun like English does?

Because Greek normally places these short possessive forms after the noun:

• η φίλη μου = my friend
• ο πατέρας σου = your father
• η εγγονή της = her granddaughter

This is one of the basic word-order differences between English and Greek.

Why is it and not just ?