Το καρούλι είναι δίπλα στη ραπτομηχανή.

Το is the definite article meaning the for a neuter singular noun.

• το καρούλι = the spool
• The noun καρούλι is neuter, so it takes το

In Greek, nouns have gender and the article must match the noun:

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

So το καρούλι means the spool.

Καρούλι is neuter.

A common clue is the ending -ι, which is very often neuter in Greek, though not always in every case. Since it is neuter singular, it takes the article το:

• το καρούλι

So if you learn the noun together with its article, that helps a lot:

• το καρούλι = the spool

Είναι means is or are, depending on the subject.

In this sentence:

• Το καρούλι είναι δίπλα στη ραπτομηχανή.
• = The spool is next to the sewing machine.

So είναι is the verb to be, in the third person singular/plural form.

Examples:

• Το καρούλι είναι... = The spool is...
• Τα καρούλια είναι... = The spools are...

Greek uses the same form είναι for both is and are.

Δίπλα means next to or beside.

It is often used with σε + article:

• δίπλα σε... = next to...
• δίπλα στη ραπτομηχανή = next to the sewing machine

You may also hear:

• δίπλα στο τραπέζι = next to the table
• δίπλα στην πόρτα = next to the door

So in this sentence, δίπλα tells you the location of the spool.

Στη is the contracted form of σε τη.

• σε = in / at / to / on, depending on context
• τη = the feminine singular article in this form
• σε τη → στη

So:

• στη ραπτομηχανή = at / by / next to the sewing machine

This contraction is extremely common in modern Greek:

• σε + το = στο
• σε + τη = στη
• σε + τον = στον

You may sometimes see the full form written for emphasis, but στη is the normal everyday form.

Because after σε (here contracted in στη), the noun appears in the accusative case, not the nominative.

So:

• nominative: η ραπτομηχανή = the sewing machine (subject form)
• accusative: τη ραπτομηχανή = the sewing machine (object / after certain prepositions)

Since δίπλα is followed by σε, we get:

• δίπλα στη ραπτομηχανή

This is very normal in Greek: prepositions often require a certain case, and σε takes the accusative.

Yes, ραπτομηχανή is feminine.

You can tell from the article:

• η ραπτομηχανή = the sewing machine

Also, many nouns ending in -ή are feminine. In this sentence, after σε, the article changes form:

• nominative: η ραπτομηχανή
• accusative: τη ραπτομηχανή
• contracted with σε: στη ραπτομηχανή

So the noun is still feminine; only the article changes because of the grammar.

Yes. Greek word order is fairly flexible, though some orders sound more neutral than others.

The sentence:

• Το καρούλι είναι δίπλα στη ραπτομηχανή.

is a very natural, neutral way to say it:

• The spool is next to the sewing machine.

You could also hear:

• Δίπλα στη ραπτομηχανή είναι το καρούλι.

That version gives more emphasis to the location, almost like:

• Next to the sewing machine is the spool.

So the original order is the most straightforward and common for a learner to use.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

To ka-ROO-lee EE-neh THEE-plah stee rap-to-mee-ha-NEE

A few notes:

• το sounds like toh
• καρούλι has the stress on ρού
• είναι is pronounced roughly EE-neh
• δίπλα has the stress on δί
• στη sounds like stee
• ραπτομηχανή has the stress on the last syllable: -νή

The stress marks in Greek are important because they show which syllable is emphasized.

The accent mark shows which syllable is stressed when you speak.

For example:

• είναι → stress on εί
• δίπλα → stress on δί
• ραπτομηχανή → stress on the final νή

Stress matters in Greek pronunciation, and sometimes it can even help distinguish forms. So when learning vocabulary, it is best to memorize the stress together with the word.

No, that would sound wrong in normal Greek.

Greek uses articles much more regularly than English in many situations. In this sentence, both nouns normally need their articles:

• Το καρούλι = the spool
• στη ραπτομηχανή = next to the sewing machine

So the full sentence should be:

• Το καρούλι είναι δίπλα στη ραπτομηχανή.

Leaving out the articles would usually sound unnatural or ungrammatical here.

You would change the subject noun and its article to plural, and the verb είναι stays the same.

Singular:

• Το καρούλι είναι δίπλα στη ραπτομηχανή.
• The spool is next to the sewing machine.

Plural:

• Τα καρούλια είναι δίπλα στη ραπτομηχανή.
• The spools are next to the sewing machine.

Changes:

• το καρούλι → τα καρούλια
• είναι stays είναι

So Greek does not change είναι between is and are.

Very close, yes.

Literally, Greek is structured more like:

• beside / next-to at-the sewing machine

But in natural English, the correct translation is:

• next to the sewing machine

So even if the Greek uses δίπλα plus σε, you should understand and translate it naturally, not word-for-word.