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Learn Hardcore Greek: Το σημάδι είναι μικρό. - The mark is small.

Hardcore Greek
/Checking and maintaining a bicycle
/Το σημάδι είναι μικρό.

Το σημάδι είναι μικρό.

Word

Το σημάδι είναι μικρό.

Meaning

The mark is small.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Lesson

Checking and maintaining a bicycle

Breakdown of Το σημάδι είναι μικρό.

το σημάδι

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Questions & Answers about Το σημάδι είναι μικρό.

What does το mean here?

Το is the definite article, meaning the.

In this sentence, it is the neuter singular form of the, because σημάδι is a neuter singular noun.

Greek articles change form depending on:

gender: masculine, feminine, neuter
number: singular or plural
case

Here, το σημάδι = the sign.

Is σημάδι masculine, feminine, or neuter?

Σημάδι is neuter.

One clue is the article το, which is the neuter singular form of the. Another clue is the adjective form μικρό, which is also neuter singular.

So the sentence shows agreement:

το = neuter singular article
σημάδι = neuter singular noun
μικρό = neuter singular adjective

Why is it μικρό and not μικρός or μικρή?

Because adjectives in Greek must agree with the noun they describe.

The adjective μικρός means small, but it changes form:

μικρός = masculine singular
μικρή = feminine singular
μικρό = neuter singular

Since σημάδι is neuter singular, the correct form is μικρό.

What does είναι mean?

Είναι means is or are, depending on context.

In this sentence:

Το σημάδι είναι μικρό.
The sign is small.

So here είναι means is.

It is the present tense form of the verb to be.

Why is there no separate word for it?

Greek often does not need an explicit subject pronoun when the subject is already clear from the noun or context.

In English, you might think of the structure as The sign — it is small, but in Greek that extra it is unnecessary.

The subject is already stated:

Το σημάδι = the sign

So Greek simply says:

Το σημάδι είναι μικρό.

Is the word order fixed?

This is the most neutral and common word order:

Το σημάδι είναι μικρό.

It follows the pattern:

subject + verb + adjective

Greek word order is often more flexible than English, especially for emphasis. But for a basic learner sentence, this order is the safest and most natural.

So yes, other orders may be possible in certain contexts, but Το σημάδι είναι μικρό is the standard way to say it.

Why does μικρό come after είναι instead of before the noun?

Here μικρό is not being used directly before the noun, like a small sign. It is part of the predicate after the verb είναι.

So this sentence works like:

The sign is small

not:

the small sign

That is why the structure is:

Το σημάδι = the sign
είναι = is
μικρό = small

If you wanted the small sign, you would normally say:

το μικρό σημάδι

What do the accent marks mean in σημάδι, είναι, and μικρό?

The accent mark shows which syllable is stressed.

So:

σημάδι is stressed on -μά-
είναι is stressed on εί-
μικρό is stressed on the last syllable -κρό

Stress matters in Greek, so it is important to learn words with their accents.

A rough pronunciation guide:

το = toh
σημάδι = see-MA-thee
είναι = EE-ne
μικρό = mee-KRO

Is σημάδι the dictionary form of the noun?

Yes. Σημάδι is the basic dictionary form, the singular nominative.

That is the form you would usually look up in a dictionary.

In this sentence, the noun appears in that basic form because it is the subject of the sentence:

Το σημάδι = the sign

How would I say The signs are small?

You would say:

Τα σημάδια είναι μικρά.

Notice how everything changes to plural:

το → τα
σημάδι → σημάδια
μικρό → μικρά
είναι stays είναι

So Greek shows agreement across the article, noun, and adjective.

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