Υιοθετώ έναν σκύλο.

A good approximate pronunciation is:

ee-o-the-TO en-AN SKEE-lo

A slightly more detailed breakdown:

• Υιοθετώ → ee-o-the-TO
• έναν → EN-an or en-AN in natural speech, depending on rhythm
• σκύλο → SKEE-lo

A few helpful notes:

• θ sounds like th in think
• σκ at the start of σκύλο sounds like sk
• The written accent mark shows which syllable gets the stress:
  • υιοθετώ
  • έναν
  • σκύλο

Υιοθετώ is the 1st person singular present tense form of the verb υιοθετώ.

So it means:

• I adopt
• I am adopting

Greek present tense often covers both the simple present and the present continuous, depending on context.

Because Greek often omits subject pronouns when they are not needed.

The ending of the verb already tells you who the subject is:

• υιοθετώ = I adopt
• υιοθετείς = you adopt
• υιοθετεί = he/she/it adopts

So Εγώ υιοθετώ έναν σκύλο is possible, but usually εγώ is only added for emphasis or contrast.

Because σκύλο is the direct object of the verb υιοθετώ.

In Greek, the direct object usually goes in the accusative case.
The dictionary form is:

• ο σκύλος = the dog subject form / nominative

But after a verb like adopt, you need the accusative:

• έναν σκύλο = a dog

So:

• σκύλος = nominative
• σκύλο = accusative

This is a normal noun pattern in Greek.

σκύλος is a masculine noun. Many masculine nouns ending in -ος change like this:

• nominative singular: ο σκύλος
• accusative singular: τον σκύλο

Without the article, the noun still changes form in the accusative:

• σκύλο

So in the sentence Υιοθετώ έναν σκύλο, the -ς drops because the noun is in the accusative singular.

έναν is the masculine accusative singular form of the indefinite article ένας, which means a / one.

Its basic forms are:

• masculine: ένας
• feminine: μία / μια
• neuter: ένα

But masculine changes by case:

• nominative: ένας σκύλος
• accusative: έναν σκύλο

So έναν is used because:

1. σκύλος is masculine
2. it is the direct object, so it must be accusative

Yes, Greek can say Υιοθετώ σκύλο, but it does not feel exactly the same.

• Υιοθετώ έναν σκύλο = I’m adopting a dog / one dog
• Υιοθετώ σκύλο = more general, like I’m adopting a dog in a less specific or more generic way

In many everyday contexts, both are possible, but έναν σκύλο is very natural when you mean a particular single dog in the situation.

Because the standard form is έναν, with the stress on the first syllable.

Greek uses accent marks to show stressed syllables in normal writing.
So:

• έναν → stress on έ
• σκύλο → stress on σκύ
• υιοθετώ → stress on τώ

Accent placement matters in Greek spelling.

Yes. Greek word order is more flexible than English word order.

The neutral, ordinary order here is:

• Υιοθετώ έναν σκύλο.

But you may also hear:

• Έναν σκύλο υιοθετώ.

This changes the emphasis. For example, fronting έναν σκύλο can highlight the object.

Still, for a beginner, the best default pattern is:

verb + object
or more generally
subject + verb + object, when the subject is stated.

The dictionary form is usually the nominative singular with the definite article:

• ο σκύλος = dog

So if you look up the word in a dictionary, you usually search for σκύλος, not σκύλο.

Likewise, the basic form of the indefinite article is:

• ένας for masculine nominative singular

But in the sentence, both article and noun change because of case:

• έναν σκύλο

It is the present/imperfective form.

Greek verbs often have two stems or systems:

• an imperfective one, used for present, continuous, repeated, habitual action
• a perfective one, used in many past and subjunctive contexts for single, complete events

Here, υιοθετώ is the present imperfective form.

In context, it can mean:

• I adopt as a general statement
• I am adopting right now / around now

It would be:

Υιοθετώ τον σκύλο.

Here:

• τον = masculine accusative singular definite article
• σκύλο stays accusative singular

So compare:

• έναν σκύλο = a dog
• τον σκύλο = the dog

No. Grammatical gender is not the same as biological sex.

σκύλος is grammatically masculine as a noun, so it uses masculine articles and endings:

• ο σκύλος
• έναν σκύλο
• τον σκύλο

This does not automatically mean the animal is male in every context. It is mainly a grammar issue.

For I adopt dogs, you could say:

Υιοθετώ σκύλους.

Or with an article, depending on the meaning:

• Υιοθετώ τους σκύλους = I adopt the dogs
• Υιοθετώ σκύλους = I adopt dogs

Plural accusative of σκύλος is:

• σκύλους

Because υιοθετώ belongs to a common Greek verb pattern, often called the -ώ verb type.

Many modern Greek verbs end in either:

• -ω
• or stressed -ώ

Here the stress falls on the ending:

• υιοθετώ

This is simply part of the verb’s conjugation pattern. It is something learners gradually get used to as they learn more verbs.

Yes.

Greek present tense often covers both meanings:

• I adopt a dog
• I am adopting a dog

The exact interpretation depends on context.

For example:

• as a general statement: I adopt dogs from shelters
• as something happening now: I’m adopting a dog this week

So Υιοθετώ έναν σκύλο can naturally be understood either way.