Η τιμωρία ήταν αυστηρή.

A good approximation is:

ee tee-mo-REE-a EE-tan af-stee-REE

More precisely in Modern Greek: /i timoˈria ˈitan afstiˈri/

A few useful points:

• Η is pronounced ee
• τιμωρία is stressed on -ρί-
• ήταν is stressed on the first syllable
• αυ in αυστηρή is pronounced af because it comes before the voiceless consonant σ

So αυστηρή sounds like af-stee-REE.

Η is the feminine singular definite article, meaning the.

So:

• η τιμωρία = the punishment

Greek normally uses the definite article more often than English does. In this sentence, τιμωρία is a specific noun and it is feminine singular, so the article must match it:

• η for feminine singular
• compare ο for masculine singular
• compare το for neuter singular

Also, this Η is just capitalized because it is the first word of the sentence.

Yes, τιμωρία is a feminine noun.

You can tell in two ways here:

1. It takes the feminine article η
2. The adjective also appears in the feminine form: αυστηρή

Many Greek nouns ending in -ία are feminine, and τιμωρία is one of them.

So the sentence shows agreement:

• η = feminine singular article
• τιμωρία = feminine singular noun
• αυστηρή = feminine singular adjective

ήταν is the past form of είμαι (to be).

In this sentence, it means was.

So:

• είναι = is
• ήταν = was

Strictly speaking, ήταν is the imperfect form of είμαι, but very often English learners can think of it simply as the normal past form was/were.

It can also be used for plural subjects.

So ήταν may mean:

• he/she/it was
• they were

You tell from the subject.

In this sentence:

• Η τιμωρία is singular
• so ήταν means was

Because the adjective has to agree with the noun it describes.

The dictionary form is usually the masculine singular:

• αυστηρός = strict

But the full set is:

• αυστηρός = masculine
• αυστηρή = feminine
• αυστηρό = neuter

Since τιμωρία is feminine singular, the adjective must also be feminine singular:

• η τιμωρία ήταν αυστηρή

They are in the nominative.

Why?

• η τιμωρία is the subject of the sentence
• after the verb είμαι (to be), the adjective that describes the subject also stays in the nominative

So this is a normal pattern in Greek:

• subject in nominative
• predicate adjective in nominative

That is why you get:

• η τιμωρία
• αυστηρή

Because this sentence uses the adjective predicatively, not attributively.

There is an important difference:

• Η τιμωρία ήταν αυστηρή = The punishment was strict
• Η αυστηρή τιμωρία = The strict punishment

So:

1. Predicate use
   The adjective comes after the verb to be

   • Η τιμωρία ήταν αυστηρή

2. Attributive use
   The adjective goes next to the noun inside the noun phrase

   • Η αυστηρή τιμωρία

These do not mean exactly the same thing grammatically.

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

The neutral, standard order is:

• Η τιμωρία ήταν αυστηρή

But you could also say:

• Αυστηρή ήταν η τιμωρία

This gives extra emphasis to αυστηρή.

So the meaning stays basically the same, but the focus changes. For learners, it is best to start with the neutral order:

• Η τιμωρία ήταν αυστηρή

In Modern Greek, accent marks show which syllable is stressed.

So:

• τιμωρία → stress on ρί
• ήταν → stress on ή
• αυστηρή → stress on ρή

This is very important, because stress is part of correct pronunciation in Greek.

Notice that Η at the beginning has no accent mark. That is normal here:

• η = the article
• it is a one-syllable word, and Greek usually does not write an accent on it

Normally, no. In ordinary Greek, that sounds unnatural.

You would usually say:

• Η τιμωρία ήταν αυστηρή

Greek uses articles more regularly than English. Even when English might sometimes say something like Punishment was severe in a general or stylistic way, Greek usually wants the article in a normal sentence like this.

So for a learner, the safe choice is:

• η τιμωρία

It can overlap with strict, harsh, or severe, depending on context.

With punishment, αυστηρή often feels like:

• strict
• severe
• sometimes harsh

So the exact English word can vary a little depending on the situation. That is very common when translating adjectives between Greek and English.

It would be:

Η τιμωρία είναι αυστηρή.
= The punishment is strict.

So compare:

• είναι = is
• ήταν = was

This is a useful pair to learn:

• Η τιμωρία είναι αυστηρή.
• Η τιμωρία ήταν αυστηρή.