Questions & Answers about Αυτό είναι ένα μόσχευμα.
Why does Αυτό mean this here, and not it?
In this sentence, αυτό is being used as a demonstrative pronoun, meaning this.
So Αυτό είναι ένα μόσχευμα is literally:
- Αυτό = this
- είναι = is
- ένα μόσχευμα = a graft / a transplant
Greek αυτό can also mean it in some contexts, but here the sentence is clearly identifying something, so this is the natural interpretation.
A useful comparison:
- Αυτό είναι καλό. = This is good.
- Το βλέπω. = I see it.
Greek often uses other structures, like το, for it as an object.
Why is it ένα and not ένας or μία?
Because μόσχευμα is a neuter noun.
In Greek, the indefinite article a/an changes according to gender:
- ένας = masculine
- μία / μια = feminine
- ένα = neuter
Since μόσχευμα is neuter, it takes ένα:
- ένα μόσχευμα
This is one of the first things to check when learning a new Greek noun: its gender.