Learn Hardcore Greek: Κάνω άσκηση τακτικά στο πάρκο μετά τη δουλειά. - I exercise regularly in the park after work.

However, κάνω άσκηση (literally “I do exercise”) is also very common and perfectly natural. Greek, like English, often uses κάνω (“do / make”) with a noun to express activities:

κάνω άσκηση – I (do) exercise
κάνω μπάνιο – I take a bath / I have a shower
κάνω διάλειμμα – I take a break

In your sentence, Κάνω άσκηση τακτικά… and Γυμνάζομαι τακτικά… are both good. Κάνω άσκηση is a bit more neutral/colloquial; γυμνάζομαι sounds a bit more “sporty/fitness” by itself.

Why is there no article before άσκηση? Why not Κάνω την άσκηση?

Άσκηση here means “exercise” in a general, uncountable sense: doing exercise / working out.

When άσκηση means “exercise” as an activity, Greek usually does not use an article:

Κάνω άσκηση κάθε μέρα. – I exercise every day.

If you use the article (την άσκηση), it normally refers to a specific exercise, for example an exercise in a book or a particular gym exercise:

Κάνω την άσκηση 3 στο βιβλίο. – I’m doing exercise 3 in the book.
Κάνω την άσκηση για τους κοιλιακούς. – I’m doing the abs exercise.

So:

Κάνω άσκηση = I exercise (in general)
Κάνω την άσκηση = I am doing that particular exercise

What tense/aspect is κάνω here? Does it mean “I exercise” or “I am exercising”?

Κάνω is:

present tense
indicative mood
active voice
1st person singular
imperfective aspect

In Greek, the present tense with imperfective aspect usually covers both:

English simple present (“I exercise”)
English present continuous (“I am exercising”)

The exact English translation depends on context. Because your sentence includes τακτικά (“regularly”), it clearly describes a habit, so in English we translate:

Κάνω άσκηση τακτικά… → “I exercise regularly…”

But grammatically, Greek is just using the ordinary present; the “habitual” meaning comes from context and from the adverb τακτικά, not from a special tense.

What exactly is τακτικά? Is it an adverb? What does it literally mean?

Yes, τακτικά is being used as an adverb meaning “regularly” / “on a regular basis”.

Formally, it is the neuter plural form of the adjective τακτικός, -ή, -ό (“regular, frequent, orderly”). Greek very often uses the neuter plural of adjectives as adverbs:

καλός → καλά (well)
γρήγορος → γρήγορα (quickly)
τακτικός → τακτικά (regularly)

So:

Κάνω άσκηση τακτικά – I exercise regularly / I work out on a regular basis.

Where can τακτικά go in the sentence? Is the word order flexible?

Word order in Greek is quite flexible, especially for adverbs like τακτικά. All of these are grammatically correct, with slightly different emphasis:

Κάνω άσκηση τακτικά στο πάρκο μετά τη δουλειά.
Κάνω τακτικά άσκηση στο πάρκο μετά τη δουλειά.
Τακτικά κάνω άσκηση στο πάρκο μετά τη δουλειά.

General tendencies:

Putting τακτικά close to κάνω or άσκηση is most natural for “I regularly exercise”.
Moving τακτικά to the beginning (Τακτικά κάνω…) can emphasize the frequency: “Regularly, I exercise in the park…”

All are fine in everyday speech; learners don’t need to worry too much as long as τακτικά stays near the verb phrase.

What is στο in στο πάρκο? What does it consist of?

Στο is a contraction of:

σε (preposition: in / at / to)
το (neuter singular definite article: the)

So:

σε + το → στο

Thus στο πάρκο literally is “in/at/to the park”. Greek very often contracts σε + article:

σε + τον → στον (στον δρόμο – in/on the road)
σε + την → στην (στην πόλη – in the city)
σε + το → στο (στο πάρκο – in the park)

Does στο πάρκο mean “in the park”, “at the park”, or “to the park”?

Στο with the accusative (στο πάρκο) is quite flexible. It can mean:

in the park (location inside)
at the park (more general location)
sometimes to the park (movement towards)

The exact nuance comes from context and the verb:

Είμαι στο πάρκο. – I am in/at the park. (location)
Πηγαίνω στο πάρκο. – I am going to the park. (movement)

In your sentence (Κάνω άσκηση τακτικά στο πάρκο…), it’s clearly a location where you exercise, so the natural English is:

“I exercise regularly in the park after work.”
or “I exercise regularly at the park after work.”

Both “in” and “at” are valid translations here, depending on your English preference.

What case is το πάρκο, and what case is τη δουλειά?

Both το πάρκο and τη δουλειά are in the accusative case.

στο πάρκο – contraction of σε + το πάρκο
- The preposition σε takes the accusative, so το πάρκο is accusative.
μετά τη δουλειά – “after work / after the work”
- The preposition μετά (in its time meaning “after”) also takes the accusative, so τη δουλειά is accusative.

So:

το πάρκο – neuter singular accusative
τη δουλειά – feminine singular accusative

Why is it τη δουλειά and not η δουλειά? And why do we sometimes see την δουλειά?

Η δουλειά is the nominative form (“the work” as subject).
After a preposition like μετά, you must use the accusative:

nominative: η δουλειά
accusative: τη(ν) δουλειά

So:

μετά τη δουλειά – after work / after the job

About τη vs την:

The full form is την (feminine accusative article).
In modern spelling, the final -ν is often dropped before many consonants, so you see τη δουλειά instead of την δουλειά.
Both spellings are understood; τη δουλειά is the usual modern form in this context.

Why do we say μετά τη δουλειά with the (τη), when in English we usually just say “after work”? Can we drop τη?

Greek uses the definite article much more often than English, especially with general activities like δουλειά (“work”, “one’s job”).

μετά τη δουλειά literally = “after the work/the job”
Natural English = “after work” / “after I finish work”

You cannot normally drop the article here in Greek:

✅ μετά τη δουλειά
❌ μετά δουλειά

The version μετά δουλειά sounds wrong to a native speaker.

You may also hear/see:

μετά από τη δουλειά – also correct; similar meaning.
- μετά
  - accusative or μετά από
    - accusative are both used for “after (time)”.
- μετά τη δουλειά is just a bit shorter and very common in speech.

Can I move μετά τη δουλειά to the beginning of the sentence?

Yes. Greek allows time expressions to move quite freely. For example:

Κάνω άσκηση τακτικά στο πάρκο μετά τη δουλειά.
Μετά τη δουλειά κάνω άσκηση τακτικά στο πάρκο.

Both are correct.

Putting Μετά τη δουλειά first slightly emphasizes the time frame:

“After work, I exercise regularly in the park.”

The meaning stays the same; only the focus changes a little.

What is the difference between κάνω άσκηση and γυμνάζομαι?

Both can describe physical exercise, but there are some nuances:

κάνω άσκηση
- Literally: “I do exercise.”
- Very common in everyday speech.
- Stresses the activity rather than the type.
- Can also mean “I do an exercise” (e.g. from a book), if used with an article or more context.
γυμνάζομαι
- Literally: “I exercise / I work out / I train.”
- Reflexive/middle verb (ends in -ομαι).
- Feels more explicitly about physical training / working out.
- Often used alone: Γυμνάζομαι κάθε μέρα. – I work out every day.

In your sentence, you could say:

Γυμνάζομαι τακτικά στο πάρκο μετά τη δουλειά.

This is just as natural as Κάνω άσκηση…, maybe with a slight extra focus on “working out” as a fitness routine.

Could Κάνω άσκηση τακτικά στο πάρκο μετά τη δουλειά. also mean “I regularly do exercises (like homework) in the park after work”?

In isolation, κάνω άσκηση can indeed mean either:

physical exercise (working out), or
an exercise in a book / homework / practice task.

In everyday context, though, when people say:

Κάνω άσκηση στο πάρκο

most listeners will assume physical exercise (running, stretching, working out), because “the park” is a typical place for that.

If you wanted to be clear that you mean homework exercises, you’d usually add context:

Κάνω ασκήσεις μαθηματικών στο πάρκο. – I do math exercises in the park.
Λύνω τις ασκήσεις στο πάρκο. – I solve the exercises in the park.

Your sentence as given is naturally understood as physical exercise.

How would I change the sentence to say “I usually exercise in the park after work” instead of “I exercise regularly”?

You can replace τακτικά (“regularly”) with συνήθως (“usually”):

Κάνω άσκηση συνήθως στο πάρκο μετά τη δουλειά.
Or (very natural word order): Συνήθως κάνω άσκηση στο πάρκο μετά τη δουλειά.

Both mean:

“I usually exercise in the park after work.”

If you use γυμνάζομαι:

Συνήθως γυμνάζομαι στο πάρκο μετά τη δουλειά.