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Let's take a closer look at the conversation.
Do you remember how Panagiotis Papakonstantinou asks,
"Where are you from?"
Από πού είστε; (Apó pú íste?)
First is από (apó), meaning "from," in this context. Από . Από.
Next is πού (pú), "where." Πού . Πού.
Last is είστε (íste), "[you] are," when using formal Greek. Είστε . Είστε.
Note: είστε (íste) is a shortened form of εσείς είστε (esís íste), "you are," plural, as in "you all are." It's also the formal way to address a single person, as is the case here, where Panagiotis is addressing Mark.
In Greek, εσείς (esís), "you," is usually omitted, as it's understood from context.
Είστε is from the verb είμαι (íme), the dictionary form of the verb "to be." Είμαι.
All together, Από πού είστε; (Apó pú íste?) literally, "From where [you] are," but it translates as "Where are you from?"
Από πού είστε; (Apó pú íste?)
Remember this question. You'll hear it again later in this lesson.
Let's take a closer look at the response.
Do you remember how Mark Lee says,
"I'm from New York."
Είμαι από τη Νέα Υόρκη. (Íme apó ti Néa Iórki.)
First is είμαι (íme). "[I] am." Είμαι . Είμαι.
Note: είμαι (íme) is a shortened form of εγώ είμαι (egó íme), "I am." In Greek, εγώ (egó), "I," is usually omitted, as it's understood from context.
Είμαι is also the dictionary form of the verb "to be." Είμαι
Next is από (apó), "from," in this context. Από.
Last is τη Νέα Υόρκη (ti Néa Iórki). "New York." Τη Νέα Υόρκη.
Let's start with Νέα Υόρκη (Néa Iórki). "New York." Νέα Υόρκη (Néa Iórki).
Νέα Υόρκη (Néa Iórki) is in the accusative case, because it follows από (apó).
This along with its gender and number will determine the form of other words in the sentence.
Νέα Υόρκη (Néa Iórki) is feminine singular.
Therefore, Νέα Υόρκη (Néa Iórki) is feminine singular and in the accusative.
Before Νέα Υόρκη (Néa Iórki) is τη (ti). Think of it like "the" in English. Τη . Τη.
Τη is also feminine, singular, and accusative to agree with Νέα Υόρκη.
Note: in this phrase, the article τη (ti) does not have a corresponding English translation.
All together, Είμαι από τη Νέα Υόρκη. (Íme apó ti Néa Iórki.) "I'm from New York."
Είμαι από τη Νέα Υόρκη. (Íme apó ti Néa Iórki.)
The pattern is
Είμαι από LOCATION. (Íme apó {LOCATION})
"I'm from LOCATION."
Είμαι από LOCATION.
To use this pattern, simply replace the {LOCATION} placeholder with the name of your hometown.
Note: this pattern requires a proper noun in the accusative case, preceded by the corresponding definite article.
Imagine you're from Sydney. In Greek Σίδνεϊ (Sídnei).
Σίδνεϊ (Sídnei) is neuter and singular, and its corresponding definite article is το (to).
Together, το Σίδνεϊ (to Sídnei). Το Σίδνεϊ . Το Σίδνεϊ (Sídnei).
Say
"I'm from Sydney."
Ready?
Είμαι από το Σίδνεϊ. (Íme apó to Sídnei.)
"I'm from Sydney."
Είμαι από το Σίδνεϊ. (Íme apó to Sídnei.)
In Greek, all nouns are either singular or plural.
Unlike English, they also have grammatical gender and case.
For this lesson, let's review the Greek definite articles for singular nouns in the accusative case.
For singular masculine nouns in the accusative case, the corresponding article is τον (ton), as in τον Πειραιά. (ton Pireá), "Piraeus."
For singular feminine nouns in the accusative case, there are two corresponding articles:
Την (tin) precedes feminine nouns starting with a vowel or one of the following consonants: κ, π, τ, ξ, ψ or one of the following double consonants: γκ, μπ, ντ, τσ, τζ, as in την Αθήνα (tin Athína), "Athens."
For all other cases, τη (ti), as in τη Νέα Υόρκη (ti Néa Iórki.), "New York."
For singular neuter nouns in the accusative case, the corresponding article is το (to), as in το Σίδνεϊ (to Sídnei), "Sydney."

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