Τα μάτια μου κουράζονται εύκολα όταν δουλεύω πολλές ώρες στον υπολογιστή.

My eyes get tired easily when I work many hours on the computer.

Breakdown of Τα μάτια μου κουράζονται εύκολα όταν δουλεύω πολλές ώρες στον υπολογιστή.

• μου: my
• δουλεύω: to work
• σε: on
• πολύς: many
• όταν: when
• ο υπολογιστής: the computer
• εύκολα: easily
• η ώρα: the hour
• κουράζομαι: to get tired
• το μάτι: the eye

Questions & Answers about Τα μάτια μου κουράζονται εύκολα όταν δουλεύω πολλές ώρες στον υπολογιστή.

Why is μάτια plural in Greek when in English we just say “my eyes” as if it were singular?

In English eyes is also grammatically plural, but you don’t feel it as strongly because the verb doesn’t change:

• My eyes get tired. (same verb form as My eye gets tired)

In Greek, the verb has to agree clearly in number with the subject:

• Τα μάτια μου κουράζονται…
  
  • μάτια = eyes (plural)
  • κουράζονται = they get tired (3rd person plural)

So:

• Το μάτι μου κουράζεται… = My eye gets tired… (one eye)
• Τα μάτια μου κουράζονται… = My eyes get tired… (both eyes)

Greek simply follows the actual number (one eye vs. two eyes) more transparently in the verb form.

What exactly is μου here? Is it “my” or “me”?

Μου is an unstressed (clitic) pronoun in the genitive case. In this sentence it means “my” / “of me” and shows possession:

• τα μάτια μου = my eyes (literally: the eyes of me)

A few points:

• It always comes right after the noun:
  το βιβλίο μου (my book), η δουλειά μου (my job), τα μάτια μου (my eyes).
• It doesn’t change for gender or number of the thing you own; it only refers to you:
  ο φίλος μου (my male friend), η φίλη μου (my female friend), τα παιδιά μου (my children).

You could also say the more emphatic τα δικά μου μάτια (my own eyes), but the normal, neutral way is τα μάτια μου.

Why is the verb κουράζονται in the middle/passive voice and not in the active? How does that work?

Greek often uses the “middle/passive” form for verbs that in English are expressed with “get/become + adjective” or “get + past participle”.

• κουράζω (active): I tire (someone else), I make someone tired
• κουράζομαι (middle/passive): I get tired / I become tired

In the sentence:

• Τα μάτια μου κουράζονται εύκολα…
  literally: My eyes get tired easily…

Grammar details:

• κουράζομαι = I get tired
• κουράζεσαι = you get tired
• κουράζεται = he/she/it gets tired
• κουραζόμαστε = we get tired
• κουράζεστε = you (pl.) get tired
• κουράζονται = they get tired

So κουράζονται is 3rd person plural middle/passive, matching τα μάτια (they).

Could I say Τα μάτια μου είναι κουρασμένα instead? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can, but there’s a nuance:

• Τα μάτια μου κουράζονται εύκολα…
  Focus: the process or tendency – “my eyes get tired easily (as an ongoing, habitual thing).”

• Τα μάτια μου είναι κουρασμένα.
  Focus: the current state – “my eyes are tired (right now).”

If you want to talk about a general habit, the original sentence with κουράζονται is more natural.
If you are just describing your state at the moment, είναι κουρασμένα works well.

What is εύκολα grammatically, and why not εύκολο?

Εύκολα is an adverb meaning “easily.”

• εύκολος (masc. adj.) = easy
• εύκολη (fem. adj.) = easy
• εύκολο (neut. adj.) = easy
• εύκολα (adverb) = easily

In English you usually add -ly to make an adverb (easy → easily).
In Greek, many adverbs are formed from the neuter plural or feminine form ending in -α, like εύκολα.

Because it describes how the eyes get tired (the manner), it must be an adverb, not an adjective:

• Τα μάτια μου κουράζονται εύκολα. = My eyes get tired easily.
• If you said κουράζονται εύκολο, that would be grammatically wrong; εύκολο is an adjective and doesn’t fit here.

Why is όταν used here, and not αν? Both translate as “when” sometimes, right?

Both can sometimes be translated as “when,” but they’re not interchangeable:

• όταν = when (meaning whenever / every time that / at the time that)
• αν = if

In your sentence:

• …όταν δουλεύω πολλές ώρες…
  = “when(ever) I work many hours…”

This expresses something that regularly happens in that situation, so όταν is correct.

If you said:

• …αν δουλεύω πολλές ώρες…
  That would mean: “if I work many hours…” – more hypothetical/conditional.

So for habitual, general-time “when,” you want όταν, not αν.

Why is δουλεύω in the present tense if the meaning is more like “when I work (in general)”?

Greek uses the present tense for:

• actions happening now, and
• habitual or general truths (like English “I work on Mondays”, “Water boils at 100°C.”)

So:

• όταν δουλεύω πολλές ώρες…
  literally: “when I work many hours…”
  but in meaning: “whenever I (tend to) work many hours…”

Greek doesn’t need a special tense here; simple present covers that habitual meaning. English also uses simple present for habits, so it matches quite well.

Why is it πολλές ώρες and not πολύ ώρες or something else?

Πολλές is an adjective meaning “many”, and it must agree with the noun in:

• gender
• number
• case

Ώρα (hour) is:

• feminine gender
• plural here (ώρες)
• accusative case (object of the verb δουλεύω)

So:

• feminine, plural, accusative of πολύς → πολλές
  πολλές ώρες = many hours

Compare:

• πολύς χρόνος (masc. sing.) = much time / a lot of time
• πολλοί άνθρωποι (masc. pl.) = many people
• πολλή δουλειά (fem. sing.) = a lot of work
• πολλά χρήματα (neut. pl.) = a lot of money

Πολύ ώρες is ungrammatical; πολύ would have to agree and change form to πολλές to match ώρες.

What exactly is στον υπολογιστή? Why στον and not στο?

Στον is a contraction of the preposition σε + the masculine article τον:

• σε = in/on/at/to (rough equivalent)
• τον = the (masc. sing. accusative)
• υπολογιστή = computer (masc. noun, accusative here)

So:

• σε + τον υπολογιστή → στον υπολογιστή

You get similar contractions:

• σε + το → στο (for neuter nouns)
  
  • στο σπίτι (in/at the house)
• σε + την → στη(ν) (for feminine nouns)
  
  • στη δουλειά (at work)

We use the accusative after σε in this kind of expression, which is why τον υπολογιστή is in that form.

Why does Greek say δουλεύω στον υπολογιστή and not something like “με τον υπολογιστή” for “on the computer”?

Greek often uses σε + article to express what English handles with several different prepositions (in, on, at, to, by). Here, σε(ν) / στο(ν) works like “on the computer”/“at the computer”:

• δουλεύω στον υπολογιστή
  = I work on/at the computer

Με τον υπολογιστή would usually mean “with the computer” in the sense of “together with, accompanied by,” or “by using the computer” in a more instrument-like sense, and it sounds less natural in this specific collocation.

So:

• δουλεύω στον υπολογιστή is the standard, idiomatic way to say I work on the computer.

Can I move εύκολα to another position in the sentence, or must it stay after κουράζονται?

Greek word order is relatively flexible, especially with adverbs. You’ll mostly hear:

• Τα μάτια μου κουράζονται εύκολα… (most natural)

You can also say:

• Τα μάτια μου εύκολα κουράζονται όταν… (a bit more emphatic on easily)
• Εύκολα κουράζονται τα μάτια μου όταν… (strong emphasis on easily)

All are grammatically correct. The neutral, most common version is exactly as in your sentence: κουράζονται εύκολα (verb + adverb).