Ο μάρτυρας περιμένει έξω.

The witness is waiting outside.

Breakdown of Ο μάρτυρας περιμένει έξω.

• περιμένω: to wait
• έξω: outside
• ο μάρτυρας: witness

Questions & Answers about Ο μάρτυρας περιμένει έξω.

Why does the sentence start with ο?

ο is the definite article in Greek, equivalent to the in English.

In this sentence:

• ο = the
• μάρτυρας = witness

So ο μάρτυρας means the witness.

Because μάρτυρας is singular and here it is used as the subject, Greek uses the masculine singular subject-form article ο.

Is μάρτυρας masculine, and can it refer to a woman?

Grammatically, μάρτυρας is usually treated as a masculine noun in Modern Greek, which is why it takes ο here.

However, in real usage it can refer to a witness of either sex, depending on context. Greek sometimes uses masculine grammatical forms for nouns referring to people regardless of natural gender, though in some contexts speakers may prefer other wording to make gender explicit.

So in this sentence, ο μάρτυρας is grammatically masculine, but the actual person could be male or female unless context tells you more.

Why does μάρτυρας end in -ας?

The ending -ας is a very common ending for masculine nouns in Greek.

Many masculine nouns look like this in the dictionary form / subject form:

• ο μαθητής = the student
• ο πατέρας = the father
• ο μάρτυρας = the witness

So -ας is not unusual at all. It is simply part of the noun’s declension pattern.