Το συμβούλιο εγκρίνει τη διαταγή.

Because Greek articles change form depending on gender, number, and case.

• το = neuter singular
• τη(ν) = feminine singular accusative

In this sentence:

• το συμβούλιο is the subject, so it uses the neuter form το
• τη διαταγή is the direct object, so it uses the feminine accusative form τη

English uses just the for everything, but Greek changes it.

Because many feminine nouns ending in -ή have the same form in the nominative singular and the accusative singular.

So you get:

• η διαταγή = the order, as a subject
• τη διαταγή = the order, as an object

The noun itself stays διαταγή. What changes is mainly the article: η becomes τη(ν).

The full form is την, but the final -ν is often dropped before many consonants in Modern Greek.

Since διαταγή starts with δ, τη διαταγή is very common and natural.

A useful rule of thumb:

• Greek usually keeps the final -ν before vowels and before some consonants such as κ, π, τ, ξ, ψ
• before many other consonants, it may be dropped

So τη διαταγή is perfectly normal. You may also see την διαταγή, especially in more careful or formal writing.

The dictionary form is εγκρίνω.

Greek dictionaries normally list verbs in the 1st person singular present form, literally the form meaning I approve.

So if you want to look up εγκρίνει, you would usually search for εγκρίνω.

It tells you the verb is 3rd person singular present active.

So:

• εγκρίνω = I approve
• εγκρίνεις = you approve
• εγκρίνει = he/she/it approves

Here the subject is το συμβούλιο, which is singular, so the verb is singular too: εγκρίνει.

It can mean either, depending on context.

The Modern Greek present tense often covers both:

• simple present: approves
• progressive meaning: is approving

So Το συμβούλιο εγκρίνει τη διαταγή could mean either of these in the right context. Out of context, English often translates it as approves.

Greek shows this through case and article forms.

• το συμβούλιο is in the nominative, so it is the subject
• τη διαταγή is in the accusative, so it is the direct object

So the sentence structure is:

• subject: το συμβούλιο
• verb: εγκρίνει
• object: τη διαταγή

This is especially helpful because διαταγή looks the same in nominative and accusative; the article is what makes the role clear.

Yes. In Greek, grammatical gender is not the same thing as biological sex or natural gender.

συμβούλιο is a neuter noun, so it takes:

• the neuter article το
• a singular verb, because it is grammatically singular

This is similar to how English words like committee or government refer to groups of people but are still treated as single nouns.

The given order is the most neutral one: subject + verb + object.

But Greek word order is more flexible than English, because case marking helps show what each word is doing.

For example, you might also hear:

• Τη διαταγή την εγκρίνει το συμβούλιο.

That puts extra emphasis on τη διαταγή. When the object moves to the front, Greek often repeats it with a small object pronoun like την.

So yes, the order can change, but the original sentence is the most straightforward form for learners.

Yes, the accent marks matter: they show which syllable is stressed.

Approximate stress:

• Το = to
• συμΒΟΥλιο = sim-VOO-lee-o
• εγΚΡΙνει = eng-GREE-nee or e-GREE-nee, depending on accent and speaking style
• διαταΓΗ = thee-a-ta-GHEE or thya-ta-GHEE, depending on how smoothly the vowels run together

A few pronunciation notes:

• συμβούλιο is pronounced with stress on -βού-
• εγκρίνει has a hard g sound in γκ
• διαταγή is stressed on the last syllable

So a rough pronunciation of the whole sentence is:

to sim-VOO-lee-o eng-GREE-nee ti thya-ta-GHEE

That is only an approximation, but it is good enough to get started.