Η προκαταβολή είναι μικρή.

A natural pronunciation is:

i pro-ka-ta-vo-LEE EE-ne mi-KREE

More approximately in IPA:

[i prokatavoˈli ˈine miˈkri]

A few notes:

• Η is pronounced ee
• προκαταβολή has the stress on the last syllable: -λή
• είναι is usually pronounced EE-ne
• μικρή has the stress on the last syllable: -κρή

Greek stress matters, so pay attention to the accent marks.

Η is the definite article for a feminine singular noun in the nominative case.

So here it means the.

In this sentence:

• Η = the
• προκαταβολή is a feminine singular noun

That is why the article is η and not ο or το.

In Greek, every noun has a grammatical gender: masculine, feminine, or neuter.

προκαταβολή is a feminine noun. One clue is its ending: nouns ending in -ή are very often feminine.

Because it is feminine, other words connected to it must match it:

• η προκαταβολή
• μικρή

This is called agreement.

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

• gender
• number
• case

Since προκαταβολή is:

• feminine
• singular
• nominative

the adjective must also be feminine singular nominative:

• masculine: μικρός
• feminine: μικρή
• neuter: μικρό

So μικρή is the correct form here.

Because in this sentence, μικρή is a predicate adjective, not an adjective directly attached to the noun.

Compare:

• Η προκαταβολή είναι μικρή = The deposit is small
  
  • here μικρή comes after είναι
• Η μικρή προκαταβολή = the small deposit
  
  • here the adjective is directly attached to the noun

So the position changes depending on the structure:

• noun + είναι + adjective = X is Y
• article + adjective + noun = the Y noun

είναι is the 3rd person singular form of the verb είμαι = to be.

Here it means is.

So:

• είμαι = I am
• είσαι = you are
• είναι = he/she/it is

In Modern Greek, είναι is also used for they are:

• αυτός είναι = he is
• αυτή είναι = she is
• αυτό είναι = it is
• αυτοί είναι = they are

Usually, yes, if you mean a specific thing.

Η προκαταβολή είναι μικρή sounds natural if you mean the deposit/down payment in a particular situation.

If you remove the article, the sentence usually sounds incomplete or unnatural in ordinary speech:

• Προκαταβολή είναι μικρή → not the normal way to say it

If you wanted a deposit is small or the deposit amount is small in a more indefinite sense, you would normally restructure the sentence.

Greek uses the definite article quite often, sometimes more often than English.

Yes. Greek word order is more flexible than English, although not completely free.

The neutral, standard order is:

• Η προκαταβολή είναι μικρή.

But you can change it for emphasis:

• Μικρή είναι η προκαταβολή.
  = It is the deposit that is small / The deposit is small

This puts emphasis on μικρή.

So the basic meaning stays similar, but the focus can shift.

The accent mark in Greek shows which syllable is stressed.

• προκαταβολή → stress on -λή
• είναι → stress on εί-
• μικρή → stress on -κρή

Stress is important in Greek pronunciation and sometimes also helps distinguish forms.

Even if several vowels are pronounced similarly in Modern Greek, the written accent still tells you where to place the stress.

No, it is the same word.

• Η = capital form
• η = lowercase form

It is capitalized because it is the first word of the sentence.

So:

• Η προκαταβολή είναι μικρή.
• η προκαταβολή

Both use the same article; only capitalization changes.

You add δεν before the verb:

• Η προκαταβολή δεν είναι μικρή.

That means The deposit is not small.

This is the normal way to negate είναι.

Pattern:

• X είναι Y = X is Y
• X δεν είναι Y = X is not Y

In Greek, yes/no questions are often made just by using intonation, not by changing the word order.

So you can say:

• Η προκαταβολή είναι μικρή;

In writing, Greek often uses the semicolon as the question mark:

• Η προκαταβολή είναι μικρή;

So be careful: in Greek typography,

• ; = ?

This exact form, μικρή, is specifically feminine singular nominative/vocative and also appears in some other matching contexts depending on the declension pattern.

For basic learning, the important point is:

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

So in this sentence, because the noun is feminine singular, μικρή is the correct choice.

Then both the article and the adjective would change to match.

For example:

• Ο λογαριασμός είναι μικρός.
  masculine singular
• Το ποσό είναι μικρό.
  neuter singular

So the pattern is:

• η ... μικρή for feminine
• ο ... μικρός for masculine
• το ... μικρό for neuter

This matching system is a very important part of Greek grammar.