Σήμερα έκανα την αίτηση ηλεκτρονικά και πήρα απάντηση αμέσως.

They are past-tense forms because the speaker is talking about completed actions:

• έκανα = I did / I made
• πήρα = I got / I received / I took

More specifically, these are aorist forms, which are very commonly used in Greek for single, completed events in the past.

So in this sentence, the speaker means that:

• they completed the application,
• and then they received a reply.

Yes, σήμερα means today, and it can absolutely be used with the past tense.

Greek does this just like English can:

• Today I submitted the application and got a reply immediately.

The idea is that these actions happened earlier today, and they are already completed. So σήμερα gives the time frame, while έκανα and πήρα show that the actions are finished.

Literally, yes, έκανα means I did / I made, so έκανα την αίτηση is word-for-word something like I did the application.

But in natural English, it usually means:

• I submitted the application
• I filled out the application
• sometimes I made the application

Greek often uses κάνω in places where English might prefer a more specific verb.

So this is a very normal Greek expression.

Την is the feminine singular accusative article, meaning the.

So:

• η αίτηση = the application (subject form / nominative)
• την αίτηση = the application (object form / accusative)

It appears here because αίτηση is the direct object of έκανα.

Greek uses articles more often than English in many situations, so including την sounds natural and expected here.

Good question. Greek does not always need an article before a noun.

Here:

• την αίτηση refers to a specific application, so the article makes sense.
• απάντηση appears without an article because the phrase πήρα απάντηση works like I got a reply / I received an answer.

This is similar to English, where we might say:

• I submitted the application
• and got a reply immediately

If the speaker wanted to emphasize a specific reply, they might say πήρα την απάντηση, but that would sound more like I received the answer / the reply.

It is in the accusative singular, because it is the direct object of πήρα.

For this noun:

• η απάντηση = nominative
• την απάντηση = accusative with article

Without the article, απάντηση looks the same in nominative and accusative. That is very common in Greek for many feminine nouns ending in -η.

So even though the form does not change here, its role in the sentence is still accusative.

Here ηλεκτρονικά is an adverb, meaning:

• electronically
• online

It describes how the application was done.

So:

• έκανα την αίτηση ηλεκτρονικά = I submitted/did the application electronically / online

This is not functioning as an adjective modifying αίτηση. If it were an adjective, it would have to agree with αίτηση in gender, number, and case, and the form would be different.

In this sentence, ηλεκτρονικά modifies έκανα την αίτηση, so it tells us the manner of that action.

The given placement is very natural:

• Σήμερα έκανα την αίτηση ηλεκτρονικά και πήρα απάντηση αμέσως.

Greek word order is fairly flexible, so other placements are possible, for example:

• Σήμερα ηλεκτρονικά έκανα την αίτηση...
• Την αίτηση την έκανα σήμερα ηλεκτρονικά...

But these can sound more marked, emphatic, or less neutral depending on context. The original sentence is a straightforward, natural order.

Greek often just uses και = and to connect actions in sequence.

So:

• έκανα την αίτηση ηλεκτρονικά και πήρα απάντηση αμέσως

naturally implies:

• I submitted the application electronically and got a reply immediately

The sequence is understood from the context. Greek does not need an extra word like then unless the speaker wants special emphasis.

It can mean both immediately and right away.

In this sentence, it means that the reply came very quickly after the application was submitted.

So πήρα απάντηση αμέσως can be translated as:

• I got a reply immediately
• I got a reply right away

Both are good.

Yes, very common.

Παίρνω often means receive / get in everyday Greek, not only take.

So:

• πήρα απάντηση = I got a reply / I received an answer
• πήρα μήνυμα = I got a message
• πήρα email = I got an email

This is extremely natural spoken and written Greek.

That is because they are past-tense forms and they also include the augment ε-, which is common in many Greek past forms.

For example:

• κάνω → έκανα
• παίρνω → πήρα

The accent follows Greek stress rules and is written because stress is phonemic in Greek.

For a learner, the most useful thing is simply to recognize these as standard past forms:

• κάνω → έκανα
• παίρνω → πήρα

Yes, and in fact submitted is often the most natural English translation in context.

Even though έκανα literally means did / made, the phrase έκανα την αίτηση often corresponds in English to:

• I submitted the application
• I filled out the application
• I applied

Which translation is best depends on context, but submitted the application online and got a reply immediately is a very natural interpretation of the whole sentence.