Η απαισιοδοξία δεν βοηθάει· λίγη αποφασιστικότητα βοηθάει περισσότερο.

Greek often uses the definite article with abstract nouns much more than English does.

So Η απαισιοδοξία literally looks like the pessimism, but in natural English it is usually just pessimism.

This is very common in Greek:

• Η αγάπη είναι σημαντική. = Love is important.
• Η υπομονή βοηθάει. = Patience helps.

So here, the article does not necessarily make it extra specific in the way English the often does.

Δεν is the normal particle used to negate verbs in Modern Greek, and it comes directly before the verb.

So:

• βοηθάει = helps
• δεν βοηθάει = doesn’t help

This is much simpler than English, because Greek does not need a separate do/does for negation here.

Because λίγος, λίγη, λίγο changes form to match the noun it describes.

Αποφασιστικότητα is:

• feminine
• singular

So the correct form is λίγη.

The basic pattern is:

• λίγος = masculine
• λίγη = feminine
• λίγο = neuter

Examples:

• λίγος χρόνος = a little time
• λίγη υπομονή = a little patience
• λίγο νερό = a little water

Because λίγη already gives the sense of a little / some, so an article is not needed here.

Compare:

• η αποφασιστικότητα = determination, determination in general
• λίγη αποφασιστικότητα = a little determination / some determination

In English, this difference is similar to:

• Determination helps.
• A little determination helps more.

Yes, it is perfectly normal.

The sentence sets up a contrast:

• Η απαισιοδοξία δεν βοηθάει
• λίγη αποφασιστικότητα βοηθάει περισσότερο

Repeating the verb makes the comparison clear and balanced. Greek often likes this kind of parallel structure.

You could think of it as:

• Pessimism doesn’t help; a little determination helps more.

Yes. In Modern Greek, βοηθάει and βοηθά are both common forms for he/she/it helps.

So:

• βοηθάει
• βοηθά

Both are correct, and you will hear both in speech and see both in writing.

In this sentence, βοηθάει may sound slightly fuller or a bit more conversational to some speakers, but there is no big difference in meaning.

Here περισσότερο means more, and it functions as an adverb modifying βοηθάει.

So it means:

• helps more not
• more determination

That is why it is περισσότερο and not a form agreeing with αποφασιστικότητα.

Compare:

• περισσότερη αποφασιστικότητα = more determination
• βοηθάει περισσότερο = helps more

That is the Greek άνω τελεία, often written as ·.

It works roughly like:

• a semicolon
• a strong pause
• sometimes something close to a colon in English punctuation style

So in this sentence, it separates two closely connected statements:

• Η απαισιοδοξία δεν βοηθάει
• λίγη αποφασιστικότητα βοηθάει περισσότερο

Important: this is not the Greek question mark.
In Greek, the question mark looks like ;

Greek nouns have grammatical gender, and αποφασιστικότητα is a feminine noun.

That is why it goes with:

• λίγη and not
• λίγος or λίγο

Its gender is a lexical property of the noun, so it is something you generally learn together with the word.

A useful clue is that many nouns ending in -ότητα are feminine.

Yes, Greek word order is more flexible than English, because the grammar is shown more by endings and less by fixed position.

But the original order is very natural and clear:

• Η απαισιοδοξία δεν βοηθάει· λίγη αποφασιστικότητα βοηθάει περισσότερο.

If you changed the order, the emphasis might change. For example:

• Περισσότερο βοηθάει λίγη αποφασιστικότητα is possible, but more marked and less neutral.

So for a learner, the given word order is the best one to model.

The stressed syllables are:

• Η απαισιοδοξία → apesi-odo-xi-A
• δεν βοηθάει → vo-i-THA-i
• λίγη αποφασιστικότητα → LI-yi apofasi-stiko-TI-ta
• βοηθάει περισσότερο → vo-i-THA-i peris-SO-tero

A rough pronunciation guide:

• Η απαισιοδοξία = ee a-pe-si-o-tho-XEE-a
• δεν βοηθάει = then vo-ee-THA-ee
• λίγη αποφασιστικότητα = LEE-yee a-po-fa-see-stee-ko-TEE-ta
• βοηθάει περισσότερο = vo-ee-THA-ee pe-ree-SO-te-ro

The θ sound is like th in think, not like th in this.

It is usually positive here.

In English, a little determination can sometimes sound modest but encouraging, and Greek λίγη αποφασιστικότητα works similarly. It suggests that even some determination is more useful than pessimism.

So the tone is:

• not negative
• not dismissive
• more like practical encouragement

It implies that even a small amount of determination can make a difference.