Η κοπέλα χαιρετάει το αγόρι και κάθονται μαζί στο παγκάκι.

Because Greek grammatical gender does not always match natural gender.

The noun αγόρι is grammatically neuter, so it takes:

• the neuter article το
• neuter adjective forms
• neuter pronouns

So even though the person is male, Greek still says το αγόρι. This is normal. Other common examples are:

• το παιδί = the child
• το κορίτσι = the girl

So here, το is just the correct grammatical form for αγόρι.

χαιρετάει is the 3rd person singular present form of the verb χαιρετάω / χαιρετώ.

Here it means:

• greets
• is greeting
• says hello to

So Η κοπέλα χαιρετάει το αγόρι means The girl greets the boy or The girl is greeting the boy.

You will also often see the shorter form χαιρετά, which means the same thing in everyday Modern Greek.

Yes. In Modern Greek, both are common.

• χαιρετάει
• χαιρετά

Both mean he/she greets or he/she is greeting.

The longer -άει form and the shorter -ά form are both standard in everyday use. A learner should recognize both as the same verb form.

Because the subject of κάθονται is no longer just the girl.

The sentence means that:

1. The girl greets the boy
2. Then the girl and the boy sit together on the bench

So κάθονται is plural because it refers to both of them.

Greek often leaves that combined subject unstated if it is obvious from the context.

Because Greek very often drops subject pronouns.

The verb ending already tells you the person and number:

• κάθονται = they sit / they are sitting

So Greek does not need to say they explicitly unless there is a special reason, such as emphasis or contrast.

An English speaker may expect something like and they sit together, but Greek naturally says just και κάθονται μαζί.

κάθονται is the 3rd person plural present form of κάθομαι, which means I sit or I am sitting.

This verb belongs to a group of Greek verbs that use middle/passive-looking endings but have an active meaning.

So:

• κάθομαι = I sit / I am sitting
• κάθονται = they sit / they are sitting

It does not mean they are sat in a passive sense. It is simply the normal form of this verb.

It can mean either, depending on context.

In Modern Greek, the present tense often covers both:

• simple present: greets, sit
• present progressive: is greeting, are sitting

So:

• χαιρετάει can mean greets or is greeting
• κάθονται can mean sit or are sitting

If this sentence is describing a scene or picture, the progressive-style translation is often more natural in English.

μαζί means together.

So κάθονται μαζί means:

• they sit together
• they are sitting together

It is an adverb, and in this sentence it shows that the girl and the boy are acting jointly.

στο is a contraction of:

• σε = in, at, on, to
• το = the

So:

• σε + το = στο

Therefore:

• στο παγκάκι = on the bench

This contraction is extremely common in Greek. You will see the same thing with other article forms too, such as:

• στη
• στην
• στους
• στις

In this sentence, η κοπέλα is the subject and το αγόρι is the direct object.

Greek uses case, but here that is a little less visible because αγόρι is a neuter singular noun, and neuter singular often looks the same in the nominative and accusative.

So in this sentence, you mainly understand the roles from:

• the normal word order
• the meaning of the verb
• the context

A useful comparison is:

• Η κοπέλα χαιρετάει το αγόρι = The girl greets the boy
• Το αγόρι χαιρετάει την κοπέλα = The boy greets the girl

Notice how την κοπέλα clearly shows the object form, while το αγόρι looks the same in subject and object position.

Not as strictly as in English.

This sentence uses a very natural Greek order:

• Η κοπέλα χαιρετάει το αγόρι
• και κάθονται μαζί στο παγκάκι

Greek word order is fairly flexible, and speakers can move things around for emphasis, style, or focus. But the version given is straightforward and natural.

English depends more heavily on word order to show who does what. Greek can rely more on:

• verb endings
• articles
• case
• context