Όταν βγαίνουμε έξω, ο φίλος μου παίρνει πάντα σουβλάκι, ενώ εγώ συχνά διαλέγω πίτα.

Yes, both are related to the idea of going out:

• βγαίνω = I go out / I come out
• έξω = outside / out

So literally, βγαίνουμε έξω is something like we go out outside, which sounds repetitive in English. But in Greek, this is very natural and common. It works like an everyday expression meaning we go out.

You can also hear just βγαίνουμε, but βγαίνουμε έξω is very idiomatic and often used in casual speech.

They are all in the present tense.

In this sentence, the present tense is used for habitual actions, not for something happening right now. So it means:

• Όταν βγαίνουμε έξω = When we go out
• ο φίλος μου παίρνει πάντα... = my friend always gets/orders...
• εγώ συχνά διαλέγω... = I often choose...

This is very similar to English using the present simple for routines:

• When we go out, my friend always gets...

Όταν means when.

It introduces a time clause:

• Όταν βγαίνουμε έξω = When we go out

In sentences like this, όταν is used for repeated or general situations too, not only for one specific event. So here it means something like:

• Whenever we go out
• When we go out

Both are good English translations depending on context.

Good question. Greek uses the definite article very often with people and possessed nouns:

• ο φίλος μου = my friend
  • literally: the friend of mine

That is completely normal in Greek.

But with food items after verbs like παίρνω or διαλέγω, Greek often leaves out the article when talking about what someone gets/chooses in a general sense:

• παίρνει πάντα σουβλάκι = he always gets souvlaki
• διαλέγω πίτα = I choose pita

If you added the article, it could sound more specific:

• το σουβλάκι
• την πίτα

So the version without the article is natural when talking about someone’s usual food choice.

Yes, παίρνω literally means take, but in everyday Greek it has several common meanings depending on context.

Here, παίρνει means something like:

• gets
• orders
• has

So:

• ο φίλος μου παίρνει πάντα σουβλάκι = my friend always gets/orders souvlaki

This is a very common use of παίρνω with food, drinks, tickets, transport, and so on.

Ενώ often means:

• while
• whereas
• but in a contrastive sense

Here it introduces a contrast between two people’s usual choices:

• ο φίλος μου παίρνει πάντα σουβλάκι, ενώ εγώ συχνά διαλέγω πίτα
• my friend always gets souvlaki, while I often choose pita

So ενώ is not exactly the basic word but in all situations, but here it works very much like whereas / while / while on the other hand.

Yes, Greek could leave it out.

Greek is a pro-drop language, which means subject pronouns are often omitted because the verb ending already shows the person:

• διαλέγω already means I choose

So the sentence could say:

• ενώ συχνά διαλέγω πίτα

But εγώ is added for contrast and emphasis:

• my friend does one thing, I do another

So ενώ εγώ feels like:

• whereas I...
• but I...

These are adverbs of frequency:

• πάντα = always
• συχνά = often

In Greek, adverbs like these often go before the main verb:

• παίρνει πάντα σουβλάκι
• εγώ συχνά διαλέγω πίτα

Greek word order is fairly flexible, but these placements are very natural.

A learner should notice that Greek does not always match English adverb placement exactly, but in this sentence the structure is straightforward and idiomatic.

Μου means my here.

More literally, it is a weak possessive form related to of me. Greek usually places this kind of possessive after the noun:

• ο φίλος μου = my friend
• η αδερφή μου = my sister
• το σπίτι μου = my house

So unlike English, Greek normally says:

• the friend my rather than putting my before the noun.

Of course, in real translation we simply say my friend.

In everyday Greek food vocabulary:

• σουβλάκι usually refers to souvlaki, often skewered meat or, depending on region, a wrapped street food item
• πίτα literally means pie or flatbread, but in this kind of context it can refer to a pita or a pita-based food choice

Exactly what each word refers to can vary by region in Greece, especially with fast-food vocabulary. That is why learners sometimes get confused: food terms are not always used the same way everywhere.

In this sentence, the important point grammatically is that both are singular nouns naming food items someone might choose.

Yes, both could work, but they are not exactly the same.

• παίρνω = get / take / order
• διαλέγω = choose

So:

• παίρνω πίτα focuses on what you end up getting
• διαλέγω πίτα focuses on the act of choosing it

In this sentence, the speaker contrasts the friend’s usual order with their own usual preference, so διαλέγω gives a nice sense of personal choice:

• my friend always gets souvlaki, while I often choose pita

They are in the accusative case, because they are the direct objects of the verbs:

• παίρνει σουβλάκι
• διαλέγω πίτα

For σουβλάκι, the nominative and accusative singular look the same:

• το σουβλάκι → nominative/accusative singular

For πίτα, the accusative singular is also the same in this article-less form:

• η πίτα = nominative
• την πίτα = accusative with article
• without article, you just see πίτα

So even though the forms look simple, their role in the sentence is as direct objects.

It sounds like neutral everyday Greek.

Nothing in it is especially formal, literary, or slangy. It is the kind of sentence you could easily hear in normal conversation.

That makes it a good example for learners because it includes several very common patterns:

• Όταν
  • present for routine situations
• βγαίνουμε έξω as an everyday expression
• παίρνω used for ordering/getting food
• ενώ εγώ for contrast
• adverbs like πάντα and συχνά in natural positions