Questions & Answers about Η εικόνα είναι ευκρινής.
How do I pronounce Η εικόνα είναι ευκρινής?
A rough pronunciation guide is:
ee ee-KO-na EE-ne ef-kree-NEES
IPA: /i iˈkona ˈine efkriˈnis/
A few useful details:
- Η is pronounced ee
- εικόνα is stressed on -κό-
- είναι is pronounced EE-ne
- In ευκρινής, the ευ becomes ef before κ, so it sounds like ef-kri-NEES
Also, the first letter Η may look like English H, but it is not pronounced h in Modern Greek.
Why is there an Η at the beginning? Is that the English letter H?
No. In Greek, Η here is the feminine singular definite article, meaning the.
So:
- η εικόνα = the image / the picture
It just happens that capital Greek Η looks like English H. In Modern Greek, this letter is pronounced ee, not h.
Why is εικόνα feminine?
Because Greek nouns have grammatical gender. εικόνα is a feminine noun.
That means words connected to it must match it grammatically, especially:
- the article: η
- adjectives describing it
This does not mean the image itself is female in any real-world sense. It is simply a grammar category.
What is είναι exactly?
είναι is the present-tense form of είμαι, meaning to be.
In this sentence, είναι means is.
So the structure is:
- Η εικόνα = the image
- είναι = is
- ευκρινής = clear / sharp / distinct
A useful extra point: είναι is also the form used for they are in Modern Greek, so context tells you whether it is singular or plural.
Why is ευκρινής after είναι instead of before εικόνα?
Because here ευκρινής is a predicate adjective: it comes after the verb to be and tells us something about the subject.
So:
- Η εικόνα είναι ευκρινής = The image is clear
If you put the adjective directly with the noun, you get a different structure:
- η ευκρινής εικόνα = the clear image
That is a noun phrase, not the same kind of full statement.
How does ευκρινής agree with εικόνα?
In Greek, adjectives agree with the noun in:
- gender
- number
- case
Here, εικόνα is:
- feminine
- singular
- nominative
So the adjective must match that.
With ευκρινής, the masculine and feminine nominative singular forms are the same:
- masculine/feminine singular: ευκρινής
- neuter singular: ευκρινές
For example:
- Η εικόνα είναι ευκρινής.
- Το κείμενο είναι ευκρινές. = the text is clear / legible
What does ευκρινής mean exactly? Is it a common word?
ευκρινής means something like:
- clear
- distinct
- sharp
- sometimes legible, depending on context
For an image, it often suggests that the image is sharp or clearly visible.
It is a perfectly good Modern Greek word, though it can sound a little more formal or precise than some everyday alternatives in certain contexts.
Where does the stress go in each word?
The stress is shown by the accent marks:
- εικόνα → stress on κό
- είναι → stress on εί
- ευκρινής → stress on the last syllable, νής
So you say:
- e-KO-na
- EE-ne
- ef-kri-NEES
Stress matters in Greek, so it is worth learning it together with each word.
Can the word order change?
Yes, Greek word order is more flexible than English, but the sentence you have is the most neutral and natural basic order:
- Η εικόνα είναι ευκρινής.
You may also see a more emphatic order, such as:
- Ευκρινής είναι η εικόνα.
That gives special emphasis to ευκρινής.
For a learner, the original version is the best one to use first.
Could Greek leave out είναι here?
In standard Modern Greek, with this kind of sentence, you normally keep είναι.
So:
- Η εικόνα είναι ευκρινής. is the normal full sentence.
Dropping είναι would not be the standard way to say this in ordinary neutral Greek.
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