Η μητέρα ζητάει βοήθεια.

Η is the feminine singular definite article, so here it means the.

• η μητέρα = the mother
• At the start of a sentence it is capitalized: Η μητέρα
• It is pronounced i, like ee in see

It agrees with μητέρα, which is a feminine noun.

A rough pronunciation is:

ee mee-TE-ra zee-TA-ee voh-EE-thya

A few useful points:

• Η sounds like ee
• θ sounds like th in think
• The accent marks show the stressed syllable:
  • μητέρα
  • ζητάει
  • βοήθεια

μητέρα is a feminine singular noun in the nominative case, because it is the subject of the sentence.

So in this sentence, η μητέρα is the person doing the action.

It is the ordinary word for mother. In more everyday family speech, Greek also very often uses μαμά for mum / mom.

ζητάει is the 3rd person singular present tense form of the verb ζητάω / ζητώ, meaning to ask for, seek, request.

So ζητάει means:

• he asks for
• she asks for
• it asks for

In this sentence, because the subject is η μητέρα, it is understood as she.

Yes. ζητάει and ζητά are both common and correct in Modern Greek.

So these are both fine:

• Η μητέρα ζητάει βοήθεια.
• Η μητέρα ζητά βοήθεια.

They mean the same thing. As a learner, you should recognize both forms.

Because Greek usually does not need a subject pronoun when the verb ending already shows the person and number.

So ζητάει already tells you it is 3rd person singular.
Then η μητέρα makes it clear who that person is.

Greek often leaves out pronouns like αυτή unless there is special emphasis or contrast.

Because in Greek, ζητάω / ζητώ can take a direct object.

So:

• ζητάει βοήθεια = literally asks help
• but in natural English we say asks for help

This is a normal difference between the two languages. Greek does not need a separate preposition here.

Here βοήθεια is in the accusative singular, because it is the direct object of ζητάει.

A useful thing to know is that many feminine nouns ending in -α have the same form in the nominative and accusative singular.

So:

• nominative: η βοήθεια
• accusative: τη βοήθεια

Without the article, the noun by itself stays βοήθεια.

Because Greek often leaves out the article when talking about something in a general or indefinite way.

So ζητάει βοήθεια means she is asking for help in general.

If you wanted to make it more specific, you could use the article:

• ζητάει τη βοήθεια του γιατρού = she asks for the doctor’s help

In the sentence Η μητέρα ζητάει βοήθεια, having no article before βοήθεια is completely natural.

Yes. That is very natural Greek.

Because the verb already tells you 3rd person singular, Greek can often omit the subject when it is already known from context.

So:

• Η μητέρα ζητάει βοήθεια. = full version
• Ζητάει βοήθεια. = natural if the context already makes clear who is being talked about

No. Greek word order is fairly flexible.

The given sentence:

• Η μητέρα ζητάει βοήθεια.

is the most neutral order for a learner.

But you may also hear:

• Ζητάει βοήθεια η μητέρα.
• Βοήθεια ζητάει η μητέρα.

These alternatives can shift the emphasis, but the basic meaning stays the same. For beginners, the original order is the safest one to use.

No.

This is a very common beginner confusion:

• η = the feminine article, meaning the
• ή = or

The difference is the accent mark.

So in your sentence, Η μητέρα means the mother, not anything connected to or.