| Let's look at the sentence pattern. |
| Do you remember how the character said, |
| "Excuse me, how much does this painting cost?" |
| Συγγνώμη, πόσο κοστίζει αυτός ο πίνακας; (Signómi, póso kostízi aftós o pínakas?) |
| Συγγνώμη, πόσο κοστίζει αυτός ο πίνακας; (Signómi, póso kostízi aftós o pínakas?) |
| This sentence follows the pattern here: |
| Πόσο κοστίζει + [Demonstrative] + [Definite Article] + [Noun]; |
| Póso kostízi + [Demonstrative] + [Definite Article] + [Noun]; |
| "How much does [that item] cost?" |
| This is a common question structure used to ask about the price of something. |
| Let's see how the line from the dialogue uses the pattern. |
| Συγγνώμη, πόσο κοστίζει αυτός ο πίνακας; (Signómi, póso kostízi aftós o pínakas?) |
| "Excuse me, how much does this painting cost?" |
| Let's break it down: |
| Πόσο κοστίζει (Póso kostízi) means "how much does it cost?" |
| Αυτός (Aftós) is the masculine demonstrative meaning "this." |
| Ο (o) is the masculine definite article meaning "the." |
| Πίνακας (Pínakas) means "painting." |
| So the whole sentence literally means: |
| "How much does this painting cost?" |
| Or more naturally in English: |
| "How much is this painting?" |
| Now, let's look at our second pattern: |
| [Demonstrative] + [Definite Article] + [Noun] + κοστίζει + [Price] |
| "This [item] costs [price]." |
| The line from the dialogue was: |
| Αυτός ο πίνακας κοστίζει 5.000 ευρώ. (Aftós o pínakas kostízi pénte iliádes evró.) |
| "This painting costs 5,000 euros." |
| Αυτός (Aftós) — the masculine singular demonstrative, meaning "this" |
| It agrees with the masculine noun πίνακας (pínakas) "painting." |
| Ο (o) — the masculine singular definite article, meaning "the" |
| Also agrees in gender and number with πίνακας (pínakas). |
| Πίνακας (Pínakas) — a masculine noun, meaning "painting." |
| Κοστίζει (Kostízi) — the third person singular present tense of κοστίζω "to cost," meaning "costs." |
| 5.000 ευρώ (Pénte iliádes evró) — meaning "5,000 euros" |
| Πέντε χιλιάδες ευρώ (Pénte iliádes evró) = five thousand euros |
| This sentence follows the declarative price-giving pattern: |
| [Demonstrative] + [Definite Article] + [Noun] + κοστίζει + [Price] |
| It's a natural and common way to state how much something costs when giving information. |
| But what about asking the price of plural items, such as shoes? |
| We've learned that the verb κοστίζει (kostízi) means "costs" and is used when talking about one item. |
| On the other hand, κοστίζουν (kostízun) is the plural form of the same verb, |
| and it's used when talking about more than one item. |
| In Greek, the verb must always match the number of the subject—singular for one thing, plural for many. |
| These two patterns are essential when shopping or asking about prices in Greek. |
| Now you can use these structures to talk about the price of anything when shopping in Greece! |
| Let's quickly review the Greek definite articles and demonstratives "this" and "that" so you can ask about price clearly and correctly. |
| In the singular, the definite article is: |
| ο (o) for masculine nouns, |
| η (i) for feminine, |
| and το (to) for neuter. |
| In the plural, we use: |
| οι (i) for both masculine and feminine nouns, |
| and τα (ta) for neuter nouns. |
| For demonstratives meaning "this," the singular forms are: |
| αυτός (aftós) for masculine, |
| αυτή (aftí) for feminine, |
| and αυτό (aftó) for neuter. |
| In the plural, "this" becomes: |
| αυτοί (aftí) for masculine, |
| αυτές (aftés) for feminine, |
| and αυτά (aftá) for neuter. |
| Greek also uses a second set of demonstratives to say "that." |
| In the singular, we use: |
| εκείνος (ekínos) for masculine, |
| εκείνη (ekíni) for feminine, |
| and εκείνο (ekíno) for neuter. |
| In the plural, we say: |
| εκείνοι (ekíni) for masculine, |
| εκείνες (ekínes) for feminine, |
| and εκείνα (ekína) for neuter. |
| Both the article and the demonstrative must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe. |
| Understanding these patterns will help you ask and answer clearly when shopping or pointing out specific items in Greek. |
| Now let's look at some speaking examples. |
| Πόσο κοστίζει αυτό το ποδήλατο; (Póso kostízi aftó to podílato?) |
| "How much does this bicycle cost?" |
| Can you see how the pattern applies here? |
| Let's break it down: |
| Πόσο κοστίζει (Póso kostízi) — means "how much does it cost?" This is the standard question form for asking about price. |
| Αυτό (Aftó) — the neuter singular demonstrative, meaning "this." |
| It matches the neuter noun ποδήλατο "bicycle." |
| Το (to) — the neuter singular definite article, meaning "the." |
| Ποδήλατο (Podílato) — a neuter noun, meaning "bicycle." |
| So, altogether: |
| "How much does this bicycle cost?" |
| This follows the pattern: |
| Πόσο κοστίζει + [Demonstrative] + [Definite Article] + [Noun]? |
| Here's another example |
| Πόσο κοστίζει εκείνη η φωτογραφική μηχανή; (Póso kostízi ekíni i fotografikí michaní?) |
| "How much does that camera cost?" |
| Πόσο κοστίζει εκείνη η φωτογραφική μηχανή; (Póso kostízi ekíni i fotografikí michaní?) |
| "How much does that camera cost?" |
| Let's try one more, |
| Αυτό το σακίδιο κοστίζει 85 ευρώ. (Aftó to sakídio kostízi ogdónda pénte evró.) |
| "This backpack costs 85 euros." |
| Αυτό το σακίδιο κοστίζει 85 ευρώ. (Aftó to sakídio kostízi ogdónda pénte evró.) |
| "This backpack costs 85 euros." |
| Now you know how to ask for the price in Greek. |
| ...and now let's move on to the practice. |
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