Η ηλεκτροδότηση άρχισε.

A good learner-friendly pronunciation is:

ee ee-lek-tro-THO-ti-si AR-hi-se

More exactly in IPA: /i ilektroˈðotisi ˈarçise/

A few useful points:

• η is pronounced ee
• δ sounds like th in this
• χ here is not English ch; before ι it is a softer sound, a bit like German ich
• The stress falls on δό in ηλεκτροδότηση and on άρ in άρχισε

So the rhythm is: i i-lek-tro-DO-ti-si AR-hi-se

Η is the definite article the.

Here it is:

• feminine
• singular
• nominative

Greek articles change according to:

• gender
• number
• case

So:

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

Because ηλεκτροδότηση is feminine singular, the article is η.

Because η is the nominative feminine singular article, which is the form normally used for the subject.

So η ηλεκτροδότηση means the electrification as the thing that began.

If it were a direct object, you would normally expect:

• την ηλεκτροδότηση

That difference between η and την is an important clue.

One useful clue is the ending -ηση.

Many Greek nouns ending in:

• -ση
• -ηση

are feminine.

For example:

• η κίνηση
• η λύση
• η χρηματοδότηση

So when you see ηλεκτροδότηση, it is very natural to expect a feminine article: η ηλεκτροδότηση.

Yes, and that can help a lot with vocabulary building.

ηλεκτροδότηση can be understood as:

• ηλεκτρο- = electricity / electric
• -δότηση = supplying / provision

So this is a common compound pattern in Greek.

You can compare:

• χρηματοδότηση = financing
• υδροδότηση = water supply
• τροφοδότηση = feeding / supply / input

So even if you forget the exact word, the parts can help you guess its general meaning.

Άρχισε is the aorist (simple past) form of αρχίζω, meaning begin / start.

In this sentence it is:

• 3rd person singular
• active
• aorist

So it means:

• it began
• or with this subject, the electrification began

Dictionary form:

• αρχίζω = I begin / I start

Useful comparison:

• αρχίζει = it begins / it is beginning
• άρχισε = it began

This is a question of aspect, which is very important in Greek.

• άρχισε = aorist, showing the beginning as a whole event: began
• άρχιζε = imperfect, showing an ongoing, repeated, or background action: was beginning / used to begin

So:

• Η ηλεκτροδότηση άρχισε = The electrification began
• Η ηλεκτροδότηση άρχιζε would suggest something more like The electrification was beginning, which is much less natural in many contexts

The aorist is the normal choice when you mean a simple completed past event.

Yes, by itself άρχισε can also be the singular imperative:

• Start!
• Begin!

But not in this sentence.

Here, because we already have the subject η ηλεκτροδότηση, the only natural reading is:

• the electrification began

So the structure of the sentence removes the ambiguity.

Greek often does not use subject pronouns unless they are needed for emphasis or contrast.

In English, we often need a subject like it:

• It began

In Greek, the verb form itself already shows the person and number, and here the subject is stated explicitly anyway:

• η ηλεκτροδότηση άρχισε

So adding a pronoun would be unnecessary.

Yes. Greek word order is more flexible than English word order.

You can say:

• Η ηλεκτροδότηση άρχισε
• Άρχισε η ηλεκτροδότηση

Both are grammatical.

The difference is usually one of focus or style, not basic meaning.

Very roughly:

• Η ηλεκτροδότηση άρχισε puts the subject first in a neutral way
• Άρχισε η ηλεκτροδότηση can sound a bit more like The electrification has started / The electrification began with attention on the event

Greek uses the definite article more often than English.

Even with abstract, general, or institutional nouns, Greek often keeps the article where English might drop it.

So η ηλεκτροδότηση is completely normal Greek.

Depending on context, it can refer to:

• a specific electrification project already known in the conversation
• the electrification in a certain area
• or sometimes the concept/event in a fairly general way

So do not expect article use in Greek to match English exactly.

They show which syllable is stressed.

In this sentence:

• ηλεκτροδότηση → stress on δό
• άρχισε → stress on άρ

So:

• η-λε-κτρο-ΔΟ-τη-ση
• ΑΡ-χι-σε

The article η has no accent because it is only one syllable, and one-syllable words usually do not need one.

Accent marks matter in Greek spelling, so it is worth learning to notice them early.

For the noun, you can search exactly as it appears:

• ηλεκτροδότηση

That is already the normal dictionary form:

• nominative singular

For the verb, search for the present-tense dictionary form:

• αρχίζω

That is because Greek dictionaries usually list verbs in the 1st person singular present:

• αρχίζω = I begin / I start

So a good habit is:

• nouns: look for the singular dictionary form
• verbs: convert the form you see back to the basic verb form if possible