Learn Hardcore Greek: Η συζήτηση ήταν ενδιαφέρουσα και τελείωσε αργά το βράδυ. - The discussion was interesting and finished late in the evening.

Η συζήτηση usually means “the discussion / the conversation” in a slightly more formal or neutral sense.
It often implies people talking about a topic (e.g. a meeting, a serious chat, or a debate), not just random small talk.

More casual words for “chat” are η κουβέντα or το κουτσομπολιό (gossip), while ο διάλογος tends to mean “dialogue” (often in written or theatrical contexts).

Why is it η συζήτηση and not το συζήτηση?

Greek nouns have grammatical gender.
Συζήτηση is a feminine noun, so it takes the feminine article η:

η συζήτηση – the discussion (feminine)
της συζήτησης – of the discussion
τη συζήτηση – the discussion (object)

You just have to memorize the gender with each noun; many nouns in -ση (like η σχέση, η απόφαση, η χρήση) are feminine.

Why is it ενδιαφέρουσα and not ενδιαφέρον after η συζήτηση?

Ενδιαφέρουσα is an adjective that must agree with η συζήτηση in gender, number, and case:

η συζήτηση (feminine singular) → ενδιαφέρουσα (feminine singular form)

The basic forms of this adjective are:

ενδιαφέρων (masculine)
ενδιαφέρουσα (feminine)
ενδιαφέρον (neuter)

So ενδιαφέρον is the neuter form and would agree with a neuter noun (e.g. το θέμα ήταν ενδιαφέρον – “the topic was interesting”), but not with η συζήτηση.

Is ενδιαφέρον ever used by itself like a noun, as in “the interest”?

Yes. Το ενδιαφέρον can also be a noun meaning “interest”:

Το ενδιαφέρον της συζήτησης ήταν μεγάλο.
“The interest of the discussion was great / The discussion attracted a lot of interest.”

In your sentence though, ενδιαφέρουσα is clearly an adjective describing η συζήτηση.

What tense is ήταν and why is it used here?

Ήταν is the past tense of είμαι (“to be”) – it’s the imperfect form, used for states or descriptions in the past:

Η συζήτηση ήταν ενδιαφέρουσα.
“The discussion was interesting.”

This matches English “was” here: it describes how the discussion was during a period of time, not a single momentary event.

What tense is τελείωσε, and how is it different from τελείωνε?

Τελείωσε is the aorist (simple past) of τελειώνω (“to finish/end”).
It presents the action as a single, completed event:

τελείωσε – it ended / it finished (once, as a whole event)

Τελείωνε is the imperfect (past continuous):

τελείωνε – it was ending / it used to end (ongoing or repeated action in the past)

In your sentence, the focus is on the fact that it ended, so the aorist τελείωσε is appropriate.

If Greek usually drops the subject, how do we know that τελείωσε refers to η συζήτηση?

Greek often omits subject pronouns because the verb ending already gives person/number.
In the sequence:

Η συζήτηση ήταν ενδιαφέρουσα και τελείωσε…

the most natural subject for τελείωσε is still η συζήτηση from the first clause.
You could say …και αυτή τελείωσε… (“and it ended”) but it’s not necessary; Greek normally carries over the logical subject from the previous clause if nothing else intervenes.

Could the word order be Ήταν ενδιαφέρουσα η συζήτηση instead?

Yes. Both are grammatically correct:

Η συζήτηση ήταν ενδιαφέρουσα. (neutral: “The discussion was interesting.”)
Ήταν ενδιαφέρουσα η συζήτηση. (slight emphasis on interesting or on the discussion as opposed to something else)

Greek word order is flexible; changing it can shift emphasis or style, but the basic meaning stays the same here.

What does αργά mean here, and how is it different from αργός?

Αργά is an adverb meaning “late” (in time):

αργά το βράδυ – late in the evening

Αργός is an adjective meaning “slow”:

αργό αυτοκίνητο – a slow car

So you use αργά to modify when something happens, and αργός/αργή/αργό to describe a slow person or thing.

Why is it αργά το βράδυ and not just αργά βράδυ?

Time expressions with parts of the day usually take the definite article:

το πρωί – in the morning
το μεσημέρι – at noon
το απόγευμα – in the afternoon
το βράδυ – in the evening

So the natural phrase is αργά το βράδυ (“late in the evening”), with το βράδυ functioning almost like a fixed time phrase.
Αργά βράδυ without the article sounds incomplete or ungrammatical in standard Greek.

Why is it το βράδυ (neuter) and not η βράδυ?

Βράδυ is a neuter noun in Greek, so it takes the neuter article το:

το βράδυ – the evening / the night (early night)

It’s just a lexical fact: some time-of-day nouns are masculine (ο πρωί doesn’t exist; it’s το πρωί – also neuter), others are neuter (το απόγευμα, το μεσημέρι, το βράδυ). You learn the gender with each noun.

What’s the difference between βράδυ and νύχτα?

Roughly:

το βράδυ – evening / early night (when people are still up, going out, watching TV, etc.)
η νύχτα – night (later, darker, when people usually sleep)

There’s overlap, and in some contexts both can be translated “night”, but βράδυ tends to feel earlier and more “social”, νύχτα feels later or more literal (dark, quiet).

Why isn’t there a comma before και in this sentence?

In Greek, when και simply links two closely connected clauses with the same subject, there is usually no comma:

Η συζήτηση ήταν ενδιαφέρουσα και τελείωσε αργά το βράδυ.

A comma before και appears when there is a clearer pause, contrast, or parenthetical element, but here the two actions form one smooth narrative: the discussion was interesting and (it) ended late.

Could we replace και with another connector like αλλά?

You could, but it would change the meaning:

και – and (adds information)
αλλά – but (introduces contrast)
όμως – however

For example:

Η συζήτηση ήταν ενδιαφέρουσα, αλλά τελείωσε νωρίς.
“The discussion was interesting, but it ended early.”

In your original sentence, there’s no contrast; we’re just adding another fact, so και is the natural choice.

Are there synonyms for τελείωσε in this context?

Yes, some common alternatives are:

έληξε – it ended / it came to an end (slightly more formal)
σταμάτησε – it stopped
ολοκληρώθηκε – it was completed (more formal/passive)

You could say, for example:

Η συζήτηση ήταν ενδιαφέρουσα και έληξε αργά το βράδυ.
Η συζήτηση ήταν ενδιαφέρουσα και σταμάτησε αργά το βράδυ.

How do you pronounce η συζήτηση ήταν ενδιαφέρουσα και τελείωσε αργά το βράδυ?

Approximate phonetic breakdown (stressed syllables in CAPS):

η συζήτηση – ee see-ZEE-tee-see
ήταν – EE-tan
ενδιαφέρουσα – en-dee-a-FE-roo-sa
και – keh (or shorter, like “k”)
τελείωσε – te-LEE-o-se
αργά – ar-GA
το βράδυ – to VRA-thee (the θ is like “th” in “this”, but voiced)

Saying it smoothly:
ee see-ZEE-tee-see EE-tan en-dee-a-FE-roo-sa keh te-LEE-o-se ar-GA to VRA-thee.