Η μελίγκρα είναι πάνω στον βλαστό.

Η is the definite article meaning the for a feminine singular noun in the nominative case.

So:

• η μελίγκρα = the aphid

Greek articles change for gender, number, and case, unlike English the, which always stays the same.

In this sentence, you know it is feminine because it takes the feminine article η.

So:

• η μελίγκρα = feminine singular

The noun itself is also grammatically feminine. In Greek, grammatical gender is something you usually learn together with the noun, so it is helpful to memorize vocabulary as:

• η μελίγκρα
• ο βλαστός

rather than just the bare noun alone.

Είναι means is here.

It is the present tense of είμαι = to be.

So:

• Η μελίγκρα είναι... = The aphid is...

A useful thing to remember is that είναι can mean:

• is
• are

depending on the subject.

In this sentence, the subject is singular, so the natural English translation uses is.

Greek often does not use subject pronouns when they are not necessary, because the verb form and the context already make the meaning clear.

In English, you often need a subject like it or she or he. In Greek, if the noun is already there, you usually do not repeat the pronoun.

So Greek says:

• Η μελίγκρα είναι πάνω στον βλαστό.

not something like:

• Η μελίγκρα αυτή είναι... unless you want extra emphasis.

Πάνω basically means up, above, or on top.

In this sentence, it is part of the expression:

• πάνω σε = on, on top of

So:

• πάνω στον βλαστό = on the stem

This is a very common pattern in Greek.

Because σε + τον normally contracts to στον.

So:

• σε τον → στον

This is extremely common in Greek. Similar contractions are:

• σε το → στο
• σε τη / την → στη / στην
• σε τους → στους

So πάνω στον βλαστό literally comes from:

• πάνω σε τον βλαστό

but Greeks normally say:

• πάνω στον βλαστό

Because after σε (here hidden inside στον), the noun goes in the accusative case.

The dictionary form is:

• ο βλαστός = the stem (nominative)

But after σε, it becomes:

• τον βλαστό = the stem (accusative)

So:

• πάνω στον βλαστό

This is a very common masculine pattern:

• ο φίλος → τον φίλο
• ο δρόμος → τον δρόμο
• ο βλαστός → τον βλαστό

Στον contains two parts:

• σ- / στ- from σε = in, at, to, on
• τον = the masculine singular accusative definite article

So στον means something like:

• on the
• in the
• to the
• at the

depending on context.

In this sentence, because of πάνω, it means on the:

• πάνω στον βλαστό = on the stem

Greek uses the definite article very often, sometimes more often than English does.

Here, στον βλαστό means on the stem. That sounds natural because it refers to a specific stem in the situation being described.

You can say σε βλαστό in some contexts, but it would sound more like:

• on a stem
• on stem tissue
• less specific, more general

So in this sentence, στον βλαστό is the normal choice.

No, Greek word order is often more flexible than English word order.

The neutral, straightforward order here is:

• Η μελίγκρα είναι πάνω στον βλαστό.

But Greek could change the order for emphasis, for example:

• Πάνω στον βλαστό είναι η μελίγκρα.
• Η μελίγκρα πάνω στον βλαστό είναι. (more marked / less neutral)

Even when the order changes, the articles and case endings help show what each word is doing.

For a learner, the sentence you have is the best neutral pattern to remember.

A rough pronunciation is:

ee meh-LEEN-gra EH-neh PA-no ston vla-STO

A few notes:

• Η sounds like ee
• μελίγκρα has the stress on -λί-
• είναι in modern Greek is pronounced roughly EH-neh
• πάνω has the stress on πά-
• βλαστό has the stress on the last syllable: -στό

So the stressed syllables are:

• μελίγκρα
• είναι
• πάνω
• βλαστό

Yes. Επάνω and πάνω are closely related, and in many contexts both can mean on / above / up.

So you may also hear:

• Η μελίγκρα είναι επάνω στον βλαστό.

In everyday modern Greek, πάνω is very common and natural. For a learner, it is perfectly fine to focus on πάνω first.

In this sentence:

• η μελίγκρα is in the nominative case, because it is the subject
• τον βλαστό is in the accusative case, because it comes after σε / στον

So the structure is:

• subject: Η μελίγκρα
• verb: είναι
• location phrase: πάνω στον βλαστό

This is a useful pattern to recognize in many Greek sentences.

A good way to learn the words is with their articles:

• η μελίγκρα = the aphid
• είμαι / είναι = to be / is
• πάνω = on, above, up
• ο βλαστός = the stem

Learning nouns with their article is especially important in Greek, because it helps you remember their gender and how they behave in sentences.