Η υπάλληλος είπε ότι το έγγραφο δεν είναι έτοιμο ακόμα, αλλά οι φωτοτυπίες είναι σωστές.

to be

Breakdown of Η υπάλληλος είπε ότι το έγγραφο δεν είναι έτοιμο ακόμα, αλλά οι φωτοτυπίες είναι σωστές.

• δεν: not
• αλλά: but
• έτοιμος: ready

Questions & Answers about Η υπάλληλος είπε ότι το έγγραφο δεν είναι έτοιμο ακόμα, αλλά οι φωτοτυπίες είναι σωστές.

Why is it η υπάλληλος? Does υπάλληλος mean a female employee?

Υπάλληλος means employee / clerk / staff member. It can refer to either a man or a woman, and the article tells you the gender here:

• η υπάλληλος = the female employee / the clerk
• ο υπάλληλος = the male employee / the clerk

So the noun itself often stays the same, but the article changes.

What form is είπε?

Είπε is the past tense form of λέω = to say / tell.

Here it means said. More specifically, it is the aorist form, which is the normal Greek tense for a completed past action:

• λέει = he/she says
• είπε = he/she said

Greek usually does not need to say she explicitly, because the verb form already works without a subject pronoun. In this sentence, the subject is already given as η υπάλληλος.

Why is ότι used here?

Ότι introduces a reported statement, so here it means that:

• είπε ότι... = she said that...

This is very common in Greek. In everyday speech, πως can often be used in a similar way:

• είπε ότι...
• είπε πως...

Both can mean said that... in many contexts.