Ο προϊστάμενος είπε ότι η παρουσία στη σύσκεψη είναι υποχρεωτική και ότι αυτό είναι βασικό καθήκον όλων.

It is pronounced roughly pro-i-STA-me-nos.

The diaeresis on ϊ shows that ο and ι are pronounced separately, not as one combined vowel sound. So:

• προϊ- = pro-i
• not a single sound like proy-

The stress falls on στά.

Greek uses the definite article much more often than English does. In this sentence, ο προϊστάμενος means the supervisor / the manager / the person in charge.

Using the article is normal when referring to a specific person in a role. In English, you might sometimes say the boss said..., and Greek does the same very naturally here.

Είπε is the aorist form of λέω or λέγω, meaning he/she said.

Here it refers to one completed act of speaking, so the aorist is the natural choice.

Compare:

• είπε = said once, as a complete event
• έλεγε = was saying / used to say / kept saying

So ο προϊστάμενος είπε means the supervisor said in a simple past sense.

Ότι introduces a content clause, like English that after verbs such as say, know, believe, and so on.

So:

• είπε ότι... = said that...

It connects the verb είπε to what was said.

In Modern Greek, ότι and πως can often both be used in this kind of sentence:

• είπε ότι...
• είπε πως...

Both are common, though ότι often feels a bit more neutral or formal in writing.

Because there are two separate clauses after είπε:

• ότι η παρουσία στη σύσκεψη είναι υποχρεωτική
• και ότι αυτό είναι βασικό καθήκον όλων

Greek often repeats ότι after και for clarity. This is very natural, especially in more formal style.

English sometimes does the same:

• He said that attendance was mandatory and that this was everyone’s basic duty.

In both languages, the second that can sometimes be omitted, but keeping it makes the structure clearer.

Παρουσία literally means presence, but in this context it means attendance.

So:

• η παρουσία στη σύσκεψη = attendance at the meeting

It is a feminine noun, which is why it takes the article η.

Greek often uses the article with nouns like this, even where English might be a bit less likely to.

Στη is the contracted form of:

• σε + τη → στη

So:

• στη σύσκεψη = at the meeting / in the meeting

A few useful points:

• σύσκεψη is a feminine noun
• after σε, the noun goes with the accusative article
• for this noun, σύσκεψη looks the same in nominative and accusative, but the article changes:
  • nominative: η σύσκεψη
  • accusative: τη σύσκεψη

So στη σύσκεψη is really σε τη σύσκεψη in contracted form.

Because it agrees with η παρουσία, which is feminine singular.

In Greek, adjectives agree with the noun they describe in:

• gender
• number
• sometimes case

Here:

• η παρουσία = feminine singular
• υποχρεωτική = feminine singular

So η παρουσία ... είναι υποχρεωτική means attendance is mandatory.

If the noun were neuter, for example, the adjective would change:

• το μάθημα είναι υποχρεωτικό = the course is mandatory

Because αυτό does not refer only to the noun παρουσία. It refers to the whole previous idea:

• the fact that attendance at the meeting is mandatory

In Greek, when referring to an entire statement or situation, the neuter singular is very common:

• αυτό είναι... = this is... / that is...

If Greek wanted to refer specifically back to η παρουσία, then αυτή might be possible in a different context. But here the idea is broader: this fact / this requirement.

After είναι, Greek often uses a noun phrase without the article when describing what something is.

So:

• είναι βασικό καθήκον = it is a basic duty

This is similar to English is a basic duty, not is the basic duty.

Compare:

• είναι βασικό καθήκον = it is a basic duty
• είναι το βασικό καθήκον = it is the basic duty, meaning a more specific or exclusive idea

So the article is omitted because the sentence is classifying or describing, not identifying one unique duty.

Because καθήκον is a neuter noun.

So the adjective must match it:

• βασικό καθήκον

Both are neuter singular.

This phrase is the complement of είναι:

• αυτό είναι βασικό καθήκον = this is a basic duty

Όλων is the genitive plural of όλος, and here it means of all or of everyone.

So:

• βασικό καθήκον όλων = everyone’s basic duty / a basic duty of all

This is a very common Greek structure:

• το σπίτι του φίλου μου = my friend’s house
• η ευθύνη όλων = everyone’s responsibility
• καθήκον όλων = everyone’s duty

So όλων is used because Greek expresses possession or belonging here with the genitive.

Not completely. Greek word order is more flexible than English word order, because case endings and articles help show the relationships between words.

This sentence has a neutral, natural, fairly formal order:

• Ο προϊστάμενος είπε ότι...

You could change parts of the sentence for emphasis, but the given version sounds very standard.

For example, Greek could emphasize υποχρεωτική or βασικό καθήκον, but the original order is probably what you would expect in formal speech or writing.