Breakdown of Ο φωτογράφος μάς είπε ότι η φωτογράφιση δίπλα στη θάλασσα θα είναι πολύ όμορφη το απόγευμα.
είμαι
to be
πολύ
very
θα
will
ότι
that
Questions & Answers about Ο φωτογράφος μάς είπε ότι η φωτογράφιση δίπλα στη θάλασσα θα είναι πολύ όμορφη το απόγευμα.
What does μάς mean here, and why is it placed before είπε?
μάς means us or to us here: The photographer told us...
In Greek, short object pronouns like με, σε, μας, σας, τον, την usually come before a finite verb, so Greek says μάς είπε rather than something shaped like English told us.
A useful note: many people also write μας είπε without the accent. The accented spelling μάς can be used for clarity or emphasis, but the meaning is the same here.
Why is the verb είπε used here?
είπε is the aorist form of λέω, meaning said or told.
So:
- λέει = he/she says
- έλεγε = he/she was saying / used to say
- είπε = he/she said
In this sentence, the speaker is referring to one completed past event: the photographer said something. That is why είπε is the natural choice.
Also, είπε is slightly irregular, because the past form of λέω does not look like the present stem.
What does ότι do in this sentence?