Χωρίς συμπάθεια, η συνεργασία γίνεται πιο δύσκολη.

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Breakdown of Χωρίς συμπάθεια, η συνεργασία γίνεται πιο δύσκολη.

• δύσκολος: difficult
• χωρίς: without
• γίνομαι: to become

Questions & Answers about Χωρίς συμπάθεια, η συνεργασία γίνεται πιο δύσκολη.

What does χωρίς mean, and what case does it take?

Χωρίς means without.

It normally takes the accusative case, so συμπάθεια here is in the accusative: χωρίς συμπάθεια = without sympathy / without goodwill / without rapport.

A useful detail: συμπάθεια looks the same in the nominative and accusative singular, which is very common with many neuter and some feminine patterns in Modern Greek. So even though the form does not change here, the function does.

Does συμπάθεια mean exactly sympathy in the English sense?

Not always exactly.

In Greek, συμπάθεια can mean:

• sympathy
• liking
• warmth
• goodwill
• rapport

So in this sentence, it probably means something like goodwill or mutual friendliness, not just feeling sorry for someone.

That is important because an English speaker may read sympathy too narrowly. Here the idea is more like: cooperation is harder when people do not feel positively toward each other.

Why is there a comma after Χωρίς συμπάθεια?

The phrase Χωρίς συμπάθεια has been moved to the front for emphasis, and the comma helps mark it off.

So the sentence structure is roughly:

• Without sympathy/goodwill,
• cooperation becomes more difficult.

Greek punctuation often uses a comma this way when an introductory phrase comes first. In a very short sentence like this, you may also sometimes see the comma omitted, but with the fronted phrase it is very natural.