Το κουνέλι της φίλης μου τρώει καρότο και κοιμάται ήσυχα.

Το is the definite article, meaning the. Greek usually uses the article in places where English does, so Το κουνέλι means the rabbit.

A few useful points:

• το = the for singular neuter nouns
• κουνέλι is a neuter noun
• together: το κουνέλι = the rabbit

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

Because κουνέλι is simply a noun whose grammatical gender is neuter. In Greek, grammatical gender is a property of the noun itself and does not always match biological sex.

So even though a rabbit can be male or female in real life, the word κουνέλι is grammatically neuter.

That affects:

• the article: το κουνέλι
• adjectives referring to it, if any
• sometimes pronouns that refer back to it

This is something you usually learn together with each noun: not just rabbit, but το κουνέλι.

Greek often shows possession with the genitive case instead of using ’s as English does.

So:

• η φίλη = the friend (feminine, nominative)
• της φίλης = of the friend / the friend’s
• μου = my

Put together:

• της φίλης μου = of my friend = my friend’s

So the structure is basically:

• Το κουνέλι της φίλης μου = the rabbit of my friend = my friend’s rabbit

This is a very normal Greek way to express possession.

Because the noun has changed into the genitive case.

The basic form is:

• η φίλη = the friend

But after a possessed noun, Greek uses the genitive:

• της φίλης = of the friend

So φίλη becomes φίλης because the sentence needs of my friend, not just friend.

This is one of the most important patterns in Greek:

• nominative: η φίλη
• genitive: της φίλης

Here της is the genitive singular feminine definite article.

It goes with φίλης:

• της φίλης = of the friend

So in this sentence, της does not mean her. It is functioning like the in the genitive case.

This is a common source of confusion because της can mean different things in different contexts. Here it is part of the noun phrase της φίλης μου.

In Greek, unstressed possessive pronouns such as μου (my) usually come after the noun.

So Greek says:

• η φίλη μου = my friend
• literally something like the friend my

In the genitive phrase:

• της φίλης μου = of my friend

This post-noun position is completely normal in Greek.

Because Greek often expresses meanings like of through case endings rather than a separate word.

English uses a preposition:

• the rabbit of my friend

Greek changes the form of the noun phrase instead:

• της φίλης μου

So the idea of of is built into the genitive case. That is why you do not need a separate Greek word for of here.

Τρώει is the third person singular present tense form of τρώω (to eat).

So:

• τρώω = I eat
• τρώει = he/she/it eats

The subject here is Το κουνέλι, which is singular, so the verb must also be singular:

• Το κουνέλι τρώει = The rabbit eats

In Greek, the verb ending often tells you the subject, so you do not need a separate word for it.

Greek usually drops subject pronouns when they are not needed, because the verb ending already shows the person and number.

So Greek normally says:

• τρώει = it eats / he eats / she eats
• κοιμάται = it sleeps / he sleeps / she sleeps

Since Το κουνέλι is already stated, adding a separate pronoun would usually be unnecessary.

This is very common in Greek and is called a pro-drop feature.

Greek often leaves out the article with a direct object when speaking in a general or indefinite way.

So:

• τρώει καρότο can mean it eats carrot in a general sense, or more naturally in English, it eats a carrot / it eats carrot

If the speaker wanted something more specific, they might say:

• τρώει ένα καρότο = it is eating a carrot
• τρώει το καρότο = it is eating the carrot

So the article is omitted here because the object is being mentioned in a fairly general, non-specific way.

Κοιμάται is the normal present-tense form of κοιμάμαι, which means to sleep.

This verb is one of those Greek verbs that use middle/passive-looking endings but have an active meaning.

So:

• κοιμάμαι = I sleep
• κοιμάται = he/she/it sleeps

Even though the ending may look unusual if you are expecting a more straightforward active pattern, this is simply how this verb is conjugated.

Και means and.

It links the two actions done by the same subject:

• τρώει = eats
• κοιμάται = sleeps

So:

• τρώει καρότο και κοιμάται ήσυχα
• eats carrot and sleeps quietly

This is exactly like English using and to connect two verbs with the same subject.

Because ήσυχα here is an adverb, not an adjective.

It modifies the verb κοιμάται:

• κοιμάται ήσυχα = sleeps quietly

If you used ήσυχος / ήσυχη / ήσυχο, those would be adjective forms meaning quiet/calm, and they would describe a noun, not the action.

Compare:

• Το κουνέλι είναι ήσυχο. = The rabbit is quiet.
  Here ήσυχο is an adjective describing rabbit.

• Το κουνέλι κοιμάται ήσυχα. = The rabbit sleeps quietly.
  Here ήσυχα is an adverb describing how it sleeps.

Yes, Greek word order is often more flexible than English word order.

This sentence uses a very natural neutral order:

• Το κουνέλι της φίλης μου τρώει καρότο και κοιμάται ήσυχα.

That order clearly presents:

1. the subject: Το κουνέλι της φίλης μου
2. the actions: τρώει and κοιμάται
3. the object and adverb: καρότο, ήσυχα

Greek can sometimes move things around for emphasis, but this version is standard and straightforward.

Yes, the accent marks are important in Greek because they show which syllable is stressed.

For example:

• κουνέλι
• φίλης
• τρώει
• ήσυχα

If you place stress incorrectly, your Greek may sound unnatural, and in some cases it can even create confusion with another form.

For a learner, it is a very good habit to learn each word together with its accent.

Yes. The sentence is in the present tense.

Greek present tense can often correspond to either:

• a simple present: eats, sleeps
• or a present progressive, depending on context: is eating, is sleeping

So this sentence could be understood as:

• My friend’s rabbit eats carrot and sleeps quietly
• or, depending on the situation, My friend’s rabbit is eating a carrot and sleeping quietly

Context usually tells you which reading is more natural.

Yes. Η φίλη μου normally means my female friend, because φίλη is the feminine form.

So:

• της φίλης μου = of my female friend / my female friend’s

If you wanted my male friend’s, you would use the masculine noun:

• του φίλου μου = of my male friend / my male friend’s

So the sentence as written specifically refers to a female friend.