Υποτίθεται ότι το φυτό θέλει φως.

Υποτίθεται literally comes from a verb meaning to suppose / to assume, but in this kind of sentence it is usually used impersonally.

So Υποτίθεται ότι... means something like:

• It is supposed that...
• It is assumed that...
• Supposedly...

In everyday English, you would often translate the whole sentence more naturally rather than word-for-word.

Because this is an impersonal expression. Greek often uses third person singular forms in statements where English uses it:

• Υποτίθεται ότι... = It is supposed that...
• Φαίνεται ότι... = It seems that...

There is no real subject here in the usual sense. The verb just appears in the fixed third person singular form.

ότι means that and introduces a content clause:

• Υποτίθεται ότι...
• It is supposed that...

So everything after ότι is the thing that is being supposed or assumed:

• το φυτό θέλει φως = the plant wants light

A learner should also know that ότι is different from ό,τι:

• ότι = that
• ό,τι = whatever / anything that

Here it is definitely ότι = that.

φυτό means plant, and it is a neuter noun in Greek. Neuter singular nouns usually take the article το in the nominative singular.

So:

• το φυτό = the plant

This is also the subject of θέλει.

θέλει is the third person singular form of θέλω (to want), because the subject is το φυτό (the plant), which is singular.

So:

• εγώ θέλω = I want
• εσύ θέλεις = you want
• αυτό / το φυτό θέλει = it / the plant wants

The verb agrees with the subject in person and number.

Not necessarily. In Greek, θέλω can sometimes be used in a broader, more natural sense like:

• needs
• requires

So το φυτό θέλει φως could be understood very naturally as:

• the plant wants light
• the plant needs light

The exact English wording depends on context, but the Greek structure is completely normal.

Greek often leaves out the article when talking about something in a general or uncountable sense.

Here φως means light in general, not the light referring to one specific light source.

So:

• θέλει φως = needs light / wants light
• θέλει το φως would sound more like wants the light or wants the specific light

Because φως here is being used in a general sense, no article is needed.

It is in the accusative case, because it is the direct object of θέλει.

The plant wants what?
→ φως

A useful detail is that some neuter nouns have the same form in the nominative and accusative singular. That is what happens here:

• nominative: το φως
• accusative: το φως

Without the article, the form is still φως.

Because Greek does not always show case differences clearly on the noun itself, especially with neuter nouns.

Here:

• το φυτό is the subject
• φως is the object

You understand their roles mainly from:

1. the article and noun phrase
2. the verb
3. the sentence structure
4. meaning

Greek learners often expect every subject and object to have visibly different endings, but that is not always the case.

The given word order is natural and straightforward, but Greek word order is more flexible than English word order.

This order is basically:

• Υποτίθεται ότι = introductory expression
• το φυτό = subject
• θέλει = verb
• φως = object

You might see variations in other contexts for emphasis, but this version is the most neutral and easy to understand.

Yes. That is also possible.

Putting το φυτό first can make the sentence feel a bit more centered on the plant:

• Το φυτό υποτίθεται ότι θέλει φως.

Both are grammatical. The difference is mostly one of focus or style, not basic meaning.

Yes, it is quite common, especially in speech and informal writing.

It can express:

• a neutral assumption: it is assumed that
• mild doubt or irony: supposedly
• a reminder of what is expected: it’s supposed to

So depending on tone, Υποτίθεται ότι το φυτό θέλει φως could sound like:

• a neutral factual statement
• or slightly skeptical, like Well, the plant is supposed to need light

Tone and context matter a lot with this expression.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

ee-po-THE-teh-teh O-ti to fee-TO THE-lee fos

More carefully:

• Υποτίθεται → ee-po-THE-teh-teh
• ότι → O-ti
• το φυτό → to fee-TO
• θέλει → THE-lee
• φως → fos

The stressed syllables are:

• υποτίθεται
• ότι
• φυτό
• θέλει
• φως (monosyllabic)

That ending is part of the modern Greek conjugation pattern for many verbs in the third person singular.

For θέλω:

• θέλω = I want
• θέλεις = you want
• θέλει = he/she/it wants

So the -ει ending here marks third person singular.

It is a very common verb ending, and you will see it in many high-frequency verbs.

Only partly. A very literal breakdown would be:

• Υποτίθεται = it is supposed / it is assumed
• ότι = that
• το φυτό = the plant
• θέλει = wants
• φως = light

So word-for-word:

It is supposed that the plant wants light.

But more natural English might be:

• The plant is supposed to need light.
• It is assumed that the plant needs light.
• Supposedly, the plant needs light.

Greek and English do not always line up perfectly in the most natural phrasing.