Ο αγγειοπλάστης αρχίζει το μάθημα κεραμικής.

Ο is the masculine singular definite article, meaning the. So ο αγγειοπλάστης means the potter.

In Greek, articles are used very regularly, and they also help show the noun’s gender, number, and case.

Αγγειοπλάστης means potter. It is a masculine singular noun, and here it is in the nominative case because it is the subject of the sentence.

The ending -ης is a very common masculine noun ending in Greek.

Αρχίζει is the present tense, 3rd person singular, of αρχίζω (to begin / to start).

So it means he/she/it begins, starts, or sometimes is beginning, depending on context.

Here it matches the subject ο αγγειοπλάστης, so the meaning is the potter begins / starts.

Because the subject, ο αγγειοπλάστης, is one person: the potter.

Greek verbs change their form depending on the subject, just like English changes I begin / he begins.
So:

• εγώ αρχίζω = I begin
• ο αγγειοπλάστης αρχίζει = the potter begins

Το is the neuter singular definite article, again meaning the.

Μάθημα is a neuter noun, so it takes το.
Here το μάθημα is the direct object of the verb: it is the thing being started.

So το μάθημα = the lesson / the class.

Because μάθημα is a neuter noun, and for many neuter nouns in Modern Greek, the nominative and accusative singular look the same.

So:

• το μάθημα can be the lesson as a subject
• το μάθημα can also be the lesson as an object

You understand its role from the sentence as a whole.

Μάθημα can mean:

• lesson
• class
• subject

In this sentence, the most natural meanings are lesson or class. So το μάθημα κεραμικής can mean the ceramics lesson or the pottery class.

Κεραμικής is the genitive singular form of η κεραμική.

In Greek, the genitive often works like an English of phrase or like a noun used to describe another noun.

So:

• μάθημα κεραμικής literally = lesson of ceramics
• natural English = ceramics lesson / pottery class

Because in this kind of expression, Greek often uses a bare genitive noun after another noun to describe its type.

So μάθημα κεραμικής is a normal way to say ceramics lesson.

This is similar to how English often uses one noun to modify another, as in music lesson or history class.

Either can work, depending on context.

• κεραμική is the general word for ceramics
• in everyday English, a class where people make things from clay is often called pottery

So μάθημα κεραμικής could naturally be translated as either ceramics lesson or pottery class.

You know from both the article-noun form and the verb.

• ο αγγειοπλάστης is in the nominative, which marks the subject
• αρχίζει is 3rd person singular, matching that subject

So the potter is the one who starts something, and το μάθημα κεραμικής is what gets started.

Yes. Greek word order is more flexible than English because case and articles help show each word’s role.

The neutral order here is:

• Ο αγγειοπλάστης αρχίζει το μάθημα κεραμικής.
• The potter starts the ceramics lesson.

But Greek can move words around for emphasis. The original order is simply the most straightforward one.

The accent marks show which syllable is stressed in pronunciation.

In this sentence:

• αγγειοπλάστης
• αρχίζει
• μάθημα
• κεραμικής

Stress matters in Greek, and the written accent is normally included in standard spelling.

Yes. The Greek present tense can sometimes correspond to either the simple present or the present progressive in English, depending on context.

So αρχίζει can be understood as:

• starts
• is starting

Without more context, both are possible.