Η μαμά είπε ότι το εμβόλιο είναι σημαντικό, ακόμα κι αν το παιδί φοβάται λίγο.

to be

Breakdown of Η μαμά είπε ότι το εμβόλιο είναι σημαντικό, ακόμα κι αν το παιδί φοβάται λίγο.

• λίγο: a little
• η μαμά: the mom
• το παιδί: the child

Questions & Answers about Η μαμά είπε ότι το εμβόλιο είναι σημαντικό, ακόμα κι αν το παιδί φοβάται λίγο.

Why does the sentence start with Η μαμά instead of just μαμά?

Η is the feminine singular definite article, meaning the. So η μαμά literally means the mom / the mother, but in natural English we usually translate it as Mom or the mother, depending on context.

Greek uses the definite article much more often than English, so seeing η μαμά is completely normal.

What form is είπε, and why is it used here?

Είπε is the 3rd person singular aorist of λέω (to say / to tell). It means said.

So:

• λέω = I say
• είπε = he/she/it said

Here it matches η μαμά, so Η μαμά είπε = Mom said.

The aorist is used because this is a completed past action: she said it at some point.

What does ότι do in this sentence?

Ότι means that and introduces a content clause, just like English that in She said that...

So:

• Η μαμά είπε ότι... = Mom said that...

A very useful detail: ότι (that) is different from ό,τι (whatever / anything that). The punctuation and meaning are different.

Why is it το εμβόλιο?