Ο προϊστάμενος είπε ότι η συνάντηση αρχίζει στις εννέα.

Greek normally uses the definite article much more often than English.

• Ο προϊστάμενος = the manager / the supervisor
• η συνάντηση = the meeting

The forms here are:

• ο = masculine singular nominative
• η = feminine singular nominative

They match the gender and grammatical role of the noun they go with.

προϊστάμενος usually means supervisor, manager, or person in charge.

It comes from the verb προΐσταμαι, meaning to be in charge of or to preside over. In everyday modern Greek, ο προϊστάμενος is a common workplace word for someone above you in the hierarchy.

The two dots over ϊ show that ο and ι are pronounced in separate syllables, not as one vowel sound.

So προϊστάμενος is pronounced roughly as:

• pro-i-STA-me-nos

Without the diaeresis, a learner might try to read οι as the common Greek vowel combination pronounced like ee.

This is very normal in Greek.

• είπε = said → past
• αρχίζει = starts / is starting → present

Greek often keeps the verb in the subordinate clause in the present tense when the statement is still valid or is presented as the content of what was said.

So the sentence means something like:

• He said that the meeting starts at nine.

This is similar to English, where you can say either:

• He said that the meeting starts at nine, or
• He said that the meeting started at nine

depending on context. Greek very naturally uses the present here.

είπε is the aorist form of λέω (to say).

In this sentence, it means:

• he said

The aorist usually presents the action as a single complete event. So είπε is the normal way to say said here.

αρχίζει is the present tense, third person singular, from αρχίζω (to begin / start).

So:

• αρχίζει = it starts / it is starting

Because η συνάντηση is singular, the verb is also singular.

ότι introduces a clause meaning that:

• είπε ότι... = he said that...

It connects the main clause to the reported statement.

In many cases, Greek can also use πως in similar contexts:

• είπε ότι...
• είπε πως...

Both can mean said that..., though ότι is often taught first in this kind of sentence.

Because η συνάντηση is the subject of the verb αρχίζει.

Inside the clause ότι η συνάντηση αρχίζει στις εννέα:

• η συνάντηση = the subject
• αρχίζει = the verb

So it stays in the nominative case.

Greek usually uses a preposition with clock time.

• στις εννέα = at nine

This comes from:

• σε + τις = στις

Literally, it is the standard expression for at a certain hour.

Examples:

• στις δύο = at two
• στις πέντε = at five
• στις εννέα = at nine

Because Greek is really using an implied phrase like at the nine o’clock hour. The article inside στις comes from τις, which is the feminine plural accusative article.

This is part of a fixed time-telling pattern in Greek:

• στη μία = at one
• στις δύο = at two
• στις εννέα = at nine

You do not need to analyze it every time; it is best learned as the normal way to say clock times.

Because μία is singular, while the other hour expressions normally use the plural form.

• στη μία = at one
• στις δύο / τρεις / εννέα = at two / three / nine

This is simply the standard Greek pattern for telling time.

Yes. Greek word order is more flexible than English because the endings and articles help show grammatical roles.

The neutral order here is:

• Ο προϊστάμενος είπε ότι η συνάντηση αρχίζει στις εννέα.

But Greek could move things around for emphasis, for example:

• Ο προϊστάμενος είπε ότι στις εννέα αρχίζει η συνάντηση.

That would put more focus on the time.

Both are correct.

• begins is a bit more formal
• starts is more everyday English

In Greek, αρχίζει covers both ideas.

Sometimes in informal speech, speakers may omit it, especially when the sentence is clear from context. But in standard learner-friendly Greek, keeping ότι is completely normal and often preferable:

• Ο προϊστάμενος είπε ότι...

It makes the structure clear.

Greek often does not need subject pronouns because the verb ending already tells you the person and number.

• είπε already means he/she/it said

So Greek usually leaves out the pronoun unless it is needed for emphasis or contrast.

If you added αυτός, it would sound more emphatic:

• Αυτός είπε ότι... = He said that... / It was he who said that...

By itself, είπε could mean:

• he said
• she said
• sometimes even it said, depending on context

But here the subject is explicitly given:

• Ο προϊστάμενος = a masculine noun

So the meaning is clearly he said.

Yes, συνάντηση is a very common word meaning meeting.

It is feminine, which is why it takes:

• η συνάντηση

Its ending -ηση is a very common feminine noun pattern in Greek.