Η μητέρα εξοφλεί τον λογαριασμό.

The mother pays off the bill.

Breakdown of Η μητέρα εξοφλεί τον λογαριασμό.

• ο λογαριασμός: the bill
• εξοφλώ: to pay off (a bill)
• η μητέρα: mother

Questions & Answers about Η μητέρα εξοφλεί τον λογαριασμό.

What does Η mean here?

Η means the.

More specifically, it is the feminine singular nominative definite article, because μητέρα (mother) is:

• feminine
• singular
• the subject of the sentence

So Η μητέρα = the mother.

A useful extra note: η is also pronounced ee, and it is different from ή with an accent, which means or.

Why is it η μητέρα and not την μητέρα?

Because μητέρα is the subject of the sentence.

In Greek, the article changes depending on the noun’s case. Here, the mother is the one doing the action, so Greek uses the nominative case:

• η μητέρα = the mother as subject

If it were the object, you would use the accusative:

• τη(ν) μητέρα = the mother as object

So in this sentence, η μητέρα is correct because the mother is paying.

Why is it τον λογαριασμό and not ο λογαριασμός?