Το φυτό φαίνεται κάπως ξηρό.

Because φυτό is a neuter singular noun, and Greek words that go with it have to agree with it.

• το = the neuter singular form of the
• φυτό = plant, a neuter singular noun
• ξηρό = dry, here in the neuter singular form to match φυτό

So the pattern is:

• το φυτό = the plant
• ξηρό = dry for a neuter singular thing

This kind of agreement is very important in Greek.

Φαίνεται means seems, appears, or looks.

It is the 3rd person singular form of φαίνομαι.

So:

• εγώ φαίνομαι = I seem / I appear
• αυτό φαίνεται = it seems / it appears

In this sentence, Το φυτό φαίνεται κάπως ξηρό, it means the plant seems or looks somewhat dry.

A useful point for learners: although φαίνεται has a form that looks passive/middle, it is very often translated with an active English meaning like seems or appears.

Because φαίνεται and είναι do not mean the same thing.

• είναι = is
• φαίνεται = seems / appears / looks

So compare:

• Το φυτό είναι ξηρό. = The plant is dry.
• Το φυτό φαίνεται ξηρό. = The plant seems / looks dry.

With φαίνεται, the speaker is being less direct and is describing an impression, not stating a definite fact.

Κάπως means something like:

• somewhat
• rather
• kind of
• a bit

So it softens the description:

• ξηρό = dry
• κάπως ξηρό = somewhat dry / kind of dry

It makes the statement less absolute. The plant does not look completely dry, just somewhat dry.

Because ξηρό is being used as a predicate adjective, not as an adjective directly attached to the noun.

Compare:

• το ξηρό φυτό = the dry plant
  Here ξηρό comes directly before the noun and describes it inside the noun phrase.

• το φυτό φαίνεται ξηρό = the plant seems dry
  Here ξηρό comes after the verb and describes the subject through the verb.

This is similar to English:

• the dry plant
• the plant seems dry

You do not say the plant seems the dry in English, and Greek works similarly here.

Yes, ξηρός, ξηρή, ξηρό is a standard adjective meaning dry.

Its forms change by gender:

• ξηρός = masculine
• ξηρή = feminine
• ξηρό = neuter

Since φυτό is neuter, the sentence uses ξηρό.

You may also see related forms in other sentences, for example:

• ο αέρας είναι ξηρός = the air is dry
• η γη είναι ξηρή = the soil/land is dry
• το φυτό είναι ξηρό = the plant is dry

Yes, Greek word order is more flexible than English, although some orders sound more natural than others.

The neutral order here is:

• Το φυτό φαίνεται κάπως ξηρό.

But Greek can move things around for emphasis, for example:

• Κάπως ξηρό φαίνεται το φυτό.

This can sound like The plant looks somewhat dry with extra focus on κάπως ξηρό.

Still, for a learner, the original order is the safest and most natural one to produce.

It is in the nominative singular, because it is the subject of the sentence.

• Το φυτό = the subject
• φαίνεται = the verb
• κάπως ξηρό = description of the subject

Greek keeps the subject in the nominative with verbs like φαίνεται.

Yes. A very common pattern in Greek is:

[noun] + φαίνεται + [adjective]

Examples:

• Το παιδί φαίνεται κουρασμένο. = The child seems tired.
• Ο ουρανός φαίνεται σκοτεινός. = The sky looks dark.
• Το νερό φαίνεται καθαρό. = The water looks clean.

So Το φυτό φαίνεται κάπως ξηρό follows a very useful and common structure.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

To fy-TÓ FÉ-ne-te KÁ-pos ksi-RÓ

A few notes:

• φ sounds like English f
• υ here sounds like ee
• αι in φαίνεται sounds like e
• ξ sounds like ks
• the stressed syllables are:
  • φυτό
  • φαίνεται
  • κάπως
  • ξηρό

So the rhythm is quite clear once you know where the stress falls.