Learn Hardcore Greek: Όταν ήρθες, είχα ήδη αρχίσει τη συνάντηση. - When you came, I had already started the meeting.

Ήρθες is the aorist (simple past) of έρχομαι, used for a single, completed event: you came. Ερχόσουν is the imperfect (you were coming), which describes an ongoing or habitual past action, not a single arrival. Here we need the completed event.

What tense is είχα ήδη αρχίσει and what does it express?

It’s the past perfect: είχα (I had) + the perfective form αρχίσει. It expresses an action completed before another past point. So the starting of the meeting happened before your arrival.

Can I move ήδη to other positions?

Yes. All of these are natural:

Ήδη είχα αρχίσει τη συνάντηση.
Είχα αρχίσει ήδη τη συνάντηση.
Είχα ήδη αρχίσει τη συνάντηση. The meaning is the same; slight differences are about emphasis and flow.

Why is it τη συνάντηση and not την συνάντηση?

The final -ν of the feminine article την is often dropped before most consonants. Standard modern practice keeps -ν before vowels and the consonants κ, π, τ, ξ, ψ, μπ, ντ, γκ, τσ, τζ, and drops it elsewhere. Since συνάντηση starts with σ, τη συνάντηση is standard. Keeping την is also acceptable in careful/formal writing.

What case is τη συνάντηση?

Accusative singular feminine, used for the direct object of the verb. The article agrees with the noun in gender, number, and case: η (nom.), της (gen.), τη(ν) (acc.).

Do I need the comma after Όταν ήρθες?

Yes, when the όταν-clause comes first, Greek uses a comma: Όταν ήρθες, … If the main clause comes first, you normally omit it: Είχα ήδη αρχίσει τη συνάντηση όταν ήρθες.

Why not just say άρχισα instead of είχα αρχίσει?

Άρχισα is the simple past (aorist) “I started,” which does not show that it happened before another past event. Είχα αρχίσει makes the sequence explicit: the starting preceded your arrival.

Can I use ξεκινήσει instead of αρχίσει?

Yes: Είχα ήδη ξεκινήσει τη συνάντηση is very natural. Αρχίζω and ξεκινώ often overlap; ξεκινώ can feel a touch more neutral/colloquial in some contexts, but both fit here.

Is ήρθες from έρχομαι? What are the key forms?

Yes. Key principal forms:

Present: έρχομαι (I come)
Aorist (simple past): ήρθα (I came), 2sg ήρθες
Future (perfective): θα έρθω (I will come)
Imperfect: ερχόμουν (I was coming), 2sg ερχόσουν
Subjunctive (perfective): να έρθω

Do I need to say εσύ or εγώ?

No. Greek drops subject pronouns unless you want emphasis or contrast. Ήρθες already tells us “you came,” and είχα αρχίσει tells us “I had started.”

Can I make “the meeting” the subject, like “The meeting had already started when you came”?

Yes: Η συνάντηση είχε ήδη αρχίσει όταν ήρθες. This shifts focus from “I had started it” (active) to “it had begun” (intransitive/passive-like).

Is Όταν ήρθες, είχα ήδη αρχίσει τη συνάντηση the only natural word order?

You can also say: Είχα ήδη αρχίσει τη συνάντηση όταν ήρθες. Both are common; choose based on what you want to foreground.

What’s the difference between ήδη and κιόλας here?

Both mean “already.” Ήδη is neutral/formal; κιόλας is more conversational: Είχα κιόλας αρχίσει τη συνάντηση. Same meaning in this context.

Could I replace συνάντηση with another word?

Yes, depending on context:

σύσκεψη = a work/committee meeting
ραντεβού = appointment
μίτινγκ (loanword) = informal/business “meeting” Pick the one that best matches the situation.

Is the article τη here the same as the object pronoun την?

No. Τη(ν) before a noun is the definite article “the.” The clitic object pronoun την means “her/it.” If you replace the noun, you can say: Την είχα ήδη αρχίσει (“I had already started it”), referring to the meeting.

How do I pronounce the sentence?

Approximation (English-friendly):

Όταν: OH-tan
ήρθες: EER-thes (th as in “thin”)
είχα: EE-kha (kh like the ch in “Bach”)
ήδη: EE-dhi (dh like the th in “this”)
αρχίσει: ar-KHEE-see (kh = Greek χ)
τη: tee
συνάντηση: see-NÁN-tee-see Stress the capitalized syllables.

Could I use μέχρι να to mean “by the time you came”?

Yes: Μέχρι να έρθεις, είχα ήδη αρχίσει τη συνάντηση. This emphasizes completion before the point of arrival and uses the subjunctive να έρθεις.

Is ήλθες acceptable instead of ήρθες?

Ήλθες is a more formal/older variant. In everyday modern Greek, ήρθες is standard.

Why not είχα ήδη αρχίζει?

Because Greek perfect tenses take the perfective form (αρχίσει), not the present form (αρχίζει). The correct structure is έχω/είχα + perfective form: είχα αρχίσει.