Ο λασπωτήρας είναι καθαρός.

to be

Breakdown of Ο λασπωτήρας είναι καθαρός.

• καθαρός: clean
• ο λασπωτήρας: mudguard

Questions & Answers about Ο λασπωτήρας είναι καθαρός.

What does Ο mean, and why is it capitalized?

Ο is the masculine singular form of the definite article, equivalent to the.

It is capitalized here only because it is the first word of the sentence. In the middle of a sentence, it would be written ο.

Because λασπωτήρας is a masculine noun, Greek uses ο with it. Compare:

• ο for masculine
• η for feminine
• το for neuter

How do I know that λασπωτήρας is masculine?

You can tell from two clues:

1. It takes the article ο, which is masculine nominative singular.
2. Its ending -ας is a very common masculine noun ending in Greek.

So ο λασπωτήρας is grammatically masculine singular.

This is a grammatical category, not a statement about biological sex. In Greek, all nouns have grammatical gender.

What case and number is ο λασπωτήρας in?

It is nominative singular masculine.

Why?

• nominative: it is the subject of the sentence
• singular: it refers to one thing
• masculine: shown by both the article ο and the noun pattern

So ο λασπωτήρας is the subject, meaning it is the thing being described.