"Πώς είναι τα αγόρια;"

[Sollihein]

Why is there an accent on ω in πώς when it is the only vowel present? Is it to distinguish between the question word and the non-question word (e.g. this is not how we do it)?

[troll1995]

It is there to separate the question adverb πως=how, with the conjuction πως=that. Του είπα πως θα φύγω=I told him that I will leave, Του είπα πώς θα φύγω=I told him how I'll leave. In spoken Greek, there is also a difference in pronounciation, with πώς being accented and emphasized.

[Sollihein]

thank you! wow this keeps getting more and more interesting

[mizinamo]

Other single-vowel accented words are:

• πού "where" as opposed to που "that, which"
• ή "or" as opposed to η "the"

It's a bit like French "où" or "à" where the accent just serves to distinguish words that are spelled the same.

[Stergi3]

In interrogative pronouns with one syllable the only one I know that has no accent is ποιος/α/ο (sing.), ποιοι/ες/α (pl.) =who?/which? (whom?) in all declensions. Also τι=what? has no accent. Because there are not like them similar in written form.

[Hank_Williams_Sr]

Can I say "Πώς είναι τις γυναίκες;" - How are the women?

[mizinamo]

It would have to be Πώς είναι οι γυναίκες; — nominative case for the subject “the women”.