Η ποινή τελειώνει αύριο.

Η is the feminine singular definite article, so here it means the.

It only looks like the English letter H. In Greek, this is the capital letter eta, and in Modern Greek it is pronounced ee.

So:

• Η ποινή = the punishment / the sentence

Because ποινή is a feminine noun in Greek. Greek nouns have grammatical gender, and the article has to match the noun.

Here the match is:

• Η = feminine singular nominative article
• ποινή = feminine singular noun

So Greek shows agreement between article and noun in gender, number, and case.

It is in the nominative singular, because it is the subject of the sentence.

In Η ποινή τελειώνει αύριο, the thing doing the verb action is the punishment / the sentence, so Greek uses the nominative.

τελειώνει is the 3rd person singular present form of τελειώνω.

That means it goes with a singular subject like:

• η ποινή = the punishment / sentence
• η ταινία = the film
• η μέρα = the day

So:

• Η ποινή τελειώνει = The sentence/punishment ends

This is very common in Greek. A present tense can be used for a future event, especially when there is a time word like αύριο (tomorrow) that makes the time clear.

So τελειώνει αύριο literally looks like ends tomorrow, but in natural English that is also fine: The sentence ends tomorrow.

Greek can also use a more explicit future form:

• Η ποινή θα τελειώσει αύριο.

That also means The sentence will end tomorrow.

Very roughly:

• τελειώνει αύριο = more like a scheduled/plain statement
• θα τελειώσει αύριο = more explicitly future

It can mean either, depending on context.

In this sentence, the most natural English translation is:

• The sentence ends tomorrow

But Greek present forms can sometimes overlap with English simple present and present progressive, depending on context.

Here, because of αύριο, ends tomorrow is the best fit.

Yes, Greek word order is more flexible than English.

Η ποινή τελειώνει αύριο is a very normal, neutral order:

• subject + verb + time expression

But you could also say:

• Αύριο τελειώνει η ποινή.

This means the same thing, but it puts more focus on tomorrow.

So the end position is natural, but not the only possibility.

No. Here ποινή means penalty, punishment, or a legal sentence.

If you mean a sentence in grammar, Greek uses:

• πρόταση = sentence

So:

• ποινή = punishment / penalty / legal sentence
• πρόταση = grammatical sentence

That is a very common thing for English speakers to wonder about.

A helpful pronunciation guide is:

• ee pee-NEE te-lee-OH-nee AV-ree-o

More accurately in Modern Greek:

• [i piˈni teliˈoni ˈavrio]

A few notes:

• Η sounds like ee
• ποινή is stressed on the last syllable: pi-NI
• τελειώνει is stressed on -ώ-: te-li-O-ni
• αύριο is pronounced AV-rio, because αυ before a voiced sound is pronounced av

In this sentence, the article is normally needed because we are talking about a specific punishment or sentence: the sentence.

So:

• Η ποινή τελειώνει αύριο = The sentence ends tomorrow

Without the article, Ποινή τελειώνει αύριο, it sounds unnatural in ordinary Greek.

Greek often uses the definite article in places where English may or may not use one, so learners should get used to seeing articles very often.

The accent marks show which syllable is stressed.

In this sentence:

• ποινή → stress on -νή
• τελειώνει → stress on -ώ-
• αύριο → stress on αύ-

Stress matters in Greek pronunciation, so the accent marks are not optional in normal writing. They help you say the word correctly and can sometimes distinguish between different words or forms.