Η φίλη μου δεν ήταν τόσο νηστική· πήρε μόνο έναν καπουτσίνο με πολύ αφρόγαλα.

Greek normally uses the definite article with nouns that have a possessive pronoun after them.

So:

• η φίλη μου = my friend
• ο αδερφός της = her brother
• το σπίτι μας = our house

Even though it looks a bit like the friend my word-for-word, that is just the normal Greek pattern. Here η also shows that the noun is feminine singular nominative.

The short possessive forms such as μου, σου, του, της, μας, σας, τους usually come after the noun in ordinary Greek.

So the normal order is:

• η φίλη μου = my friend
• το βιβλίο σου = your book

If you want emphasis, Greek can use a stronger form such as η δική μου φίλη, but the neutral everyday structure is noun + possessive.

Usually it means my female friend.

Depending on context, it can sometimes be understood as my girlfriend, but in modern everyday Greek, a romantic partner is often made clearer with expressions like:

• η κοπέλα μου
• η σύντροφός μου

In this sentence, the most natural reading is simply my female friend.

Ήταν is the imperfect of είμαι (to be).

It is used because the sentence is describing a past state or condition:

• δεν ήταν τόσο νηστική = she wasn’t that hungry

The imperfect is very common for background information, ongoing situations, and states in the past. Hunger here is not presented as a single completed event, but as her condition at that time.

Because τόσο and πολύ do different jobs here.

• πολύ νηστική = very hungry
• όχι / δεν τόσο νηστική = not that / not so hungry

So:

• δεν ήταν τόσο νηστική does not mean she wasn’t very hungry
• it means she wasn’t that hungry, with the idea that her level of hunger was limited

That fits the second clause: she only got a cappuccino.

Greek adjectives agree with the noun they describe in gender, number, and case.

Here the noun is:

• η φίλη = feminine, singular, nominative

So the adjective must match:

• νηστική = feminine, singular, nominative

Compare:

• ο φίλος μου ήταν νηστικός = my male friend was hungry
• η φίλη μου ήταν νηστική = my female friend was hungry
• το παιδί ήταν νηστικό = the child was hungry

That mark is the Greek άνω τελεία.

It works roughly like an English semicolon or sometimes a strong colon. It links two closely related parts of the sentence:

• Η φίλη μου δεν ήταν τόσο νηστική· πήρε μόνο έναν καπουτσίνο...

So the idea is: she wasn’t that hungry; as a result, she only got a cappuccino.

A very important note for learners: the Greek question mark looks like ;, not like this raised dot.

Because Greek often leaves out subject pronouns when they are already clear from the context.

So instead of saying she took/got, Greek can simply say:

• πήρε

The previous clause already established who we are talking about: η φίλη μου. Because of that, adding αυτή would usually sound emphatic, as if you were contrasting her with someone else.

Πήρε is the aorist of παίρνω.

Literally, παίρνω often means take, but in everyday Greek it is also very common with food and drinks in the sense of:

• got
• ordered
• had

So here πήρε μόνο έναν καπουτσίνο means something like:

• she only got a cappuccino
• she only ordered a cappuccino

not necessarily that she physically picked it up.

Because καπουτσίνο is treated as a masculine noun:

• ο καπουτσίνο = the cappuccino

After πήρε, the noun is in the accusative singular, so the indefinite article is:

• έναν καπουτσίνο

Also, the final -ν in έναν is kept before words beginning with sounds like κ, so έναν καπουτσίνο is exactly what you would expect.

Because noun gender in Greek is not decided only by the final letter.

Many learners first associate:

• -ος with masculine
• -η / -α with feminine
• -ο with neuter

Those patterns are useful, but they are not absolute. Loanwords can behave differently. Καπουτσίνο is a borrowed word, and in Greek it is commonly masculine:

• ο καπουτσίνο
• τον καπουτσίνο
• έναν καπουτσίνο

So this is a good example of why gender has to be learned with the noun.

Because μόνο usually goes right before the word or phrase it limits.

Here it limits the whole object phrase:

• μόνο έναν καπουτσίνο = only a cappuccino

So the sense is: she didn’t get food or anything more substantial; she got just that.

Greek word order is flexible, but this placement is the most natural neutral one here.

It means with a lot of milk foam or with lots of frothy milk on top.

The parts are:

• με = with
• πολύ = much / a lot of
• αφρόγαλα = milk foam / frothed milk

So the cappuccino is being described as having plenty of foam.

Because Greek often omits the article with mass nouns when speaking in a general, non-specific way, especially after quantity words like πολύ.

So:

• με πολύ αφρόγαλα = with a lot of milk foam

The phrase is about the amount, not about a specific previously mentioned foam. That is why no article is needed.