Breakdown of Ο διαιτητής σφυρίζει και το παιχνίδι αρχίζει.
και
and
το παιχνίδι
the game
αρχίζω
to begin
ο διαιτητής
the referee
Questions & Answers about Ο διαιτητής σφυρίζει και το παιχνίδι αρχίζει.
Why is the sentence Ο διαιτητής σφυρίζει και το παιχνίδι αρχίζει and not just διαιτητής σφυρίζει και παιχνίδι αρχίζει?
Greek normally uses the definite article much more often than English.
- Ο διαιτητής = the referee
- το παιχνίδι = the game / the match
So in natural Greek, the articles ο and το sound normal here. Leaving them out would usually sound unnatural unless you were speaking in a very special style, like headlines or notes.
What do the individual words mean?
Word by word:
- Ο = the (masculine singular)
- διαιτητής = referee
- σφυρίζει = whistles / blows the whistle
- και = and
- το = the (neuter singular)
- παιχνίδι = game / match
- αρχίζει = begins / starts
So the structure is very close to English: The referee whistles and the game begins.
Why are there different words for the: ο and το?