Breakdown of Η ανακοίνωση έλεγε ότι ο τερματικός σταθμός αυτής της γραμμής είναι ο επόμενος.
Questions & Answers about Η ανακοίνωση έλεγε ότι ο τερματικός σταθμός αυτής της γραμμής είναι ο επόμενος.
Έλεγε is the imperfect of λέω and often means was saying or kept saying.
In a sentence like this, Η ανακοίνωση έλεγε..., Greek is treating the announcement as something whose message was being stated/displayed, rather than as one single completed act of speaking.
So:
- έλεγε = said / was saying
- είπε = said in the sense of said once
With things like signs, notices, labels, and announcements, Greek often uses the imperfect in a way that sounds very natural, even where English might simply use said.
Because Greek often keeps the verb in the subordinate clause in the present when the statement is still valid at that moment or is being reported as content.
So in:
- Η ανακοίνωση έλεγε ότι... είναι...
the announcement said that the terminal station is the next one.
This is similar to English, where you can say either:
- The announcement said that the next stop is the terminal
- or ...was the terminal
Greek very naturally allows είναι here. It reflects the content of the announcement directly, almost as if repeating its words.