Ο μετρητής είναι έξω.

to be

Breakdown of Ο μετρητής είναι έξω.

• έξω: outside
• ο μετρητής: meter

Questions & Answers about Ο μετρητής είναι έξω.

What does ο mean here, and why is it needed?

ο is the masculine singular definite article, equivalent to the.

So ο μετρητής means the meter. In Greek, the article usually has to agree with the noun in gender, number, and case. Here:

• ο = masculine, singular, nominative
• μετρητής = masculine, singular, nominative

Greek uses articles very naturally and often more regularly than English does.

How do I know that μετρητής is masculine?

You can tell mainly from the article ο.

Also, many Greek nouns ending in -τής are masculine, so μετρητής fits a very common pattern.

This is grammatical gender, not biological sex. Even an object can be masculine in Greek.

A few related forms are:

• ο μετρητής = the meter
• του μετρητή = of the meter
• οι μετρητές = the meters

What form is είναι?

είναι is the present tense form of είμαι (to be).

In this sentence, it means is. A useful thing to know is that είναι is also the form for they are.

So:

• ο μετρητής είναι = the meter is
• οι μετρητές είναι = the meters are

It does not change for gender:

• ο ... είναι
• η ... είναι
• το ... είναι