Με πονάει ο σβέρκος μου όταν κάθομαι ώρες μπροστά στον υπολογιστή, γι’ αυτό προσπαθώ να γυμνάζομαι πιο συχνά.

Both are possible, but Με πονάει ο σβέρκος μου is a very natural Greek way to say My neck hurts.

The structure is:

• με = me
• πονάει = hurts
• ο σβέρκος μου = my neck (literally the neck of me)

So literally it is something like:

• My neck is hurting me

Greek often uses this pattern with body parts and pain:

• Με πονάει το κεφάλι μου = My head hurts
• Με πονάνε τα πόδια μου = My legs hurt

Putting με first is very common because the speaker is emphasizing the person affected.

In με πονάει:

• με is the weak form of the pronoun εμένα and means me
• πονάει is he/she/it hurts or is hurting

So με πονάει literally means it hurts me.

Then the subject is added after it:

• ο σβέρκος μου = my neck

So the full structure is:

• Με πονάει ο σβέρκος μου = My neck hurts / My neck is hurting me

This is a very common Greek pattern for physical pain.

Greek usually keeps the definite article with body parts and possessed nouns.

So Greek says:

• ο σβέρκος μου = literally the neck my
• το κεφάλι μου = my head
• τα χέρια μου = my hands

English drops the in this kind of phrase, but Greek normally does not.

So:

• ο σβέρκος μου is the standard form
• leaving out ο would sound unnatural here

Greek possessive weak pronouns usually come after the noun:

• ο φίλος μου = my friend
• το σπίτι μου = my house
• ο σβέρκος μου = my neck

So μου here means my, but grammatically it is really the weak genitive form of me.

That is why Greek often looks like:

• the neck of me rather than
• my neck

σβέρκος usually refers to the back of the neck or nape.

That is slightly more specific than the English word neck.

Some related words are:

• ο λαιμός = the neck / throat area
• ο αυχένας = the neck, often in a more anatomical or medical sense
• ο σβέρκος = the back of the neck, nape

In this sentence, σβέρκος fits very well because sitting at a computer for hours often causes pain in the back of the neck.

κάθομαι is 1st person singular present of the verb κάθομαι, meaning I sit or I am sitting.

So:

• όταν κάθομαι = when I sit / when I am sitting

This verb is one of those Greek verbs that has middle/passive-style endings in the present, even though its meaning is active in English.

A few forms:

• κάθομαι = I sit
• κάθεσαι = you sit
• κάθεται = he/she/it sits

Because Greek often uses the accusative by itself to show duration of time.

So:

• κάθομαι ώρες = I sit for hours
• περίμενα δύο ώρες = I waited for two hours
• δούλευε όλη μέρα = he/she was working all day

English usually needs for here, but Greek often does not.

So ώρες here means:

• for hours
• for many hours

ώρες is the plural of ώρα.

Here it means for hours, in a general, indefinite sense. It does not mean specific counted hours like τρεις ώρες (three hours), but rather long stretches of time.

So:

• κάθομαι ώρες = I sit for hours
• it suggests a long time, not a precise number

This is a very natural Greek expression.

Literally it means:

• μπροστά = in front
• στον υπολογιστή = to/on the computer as part of the fixed phrase

So the whole phrase means:

• in front of the computer

Greek often says μπροστά σε + noun for in front of.

Examples:

• μπροστά στο σπίτι = in front of the house
• μπροστά στην πόρτα = in front of the door
• μπροστά στον υπολογιστή = in front of the computer

Because στον is the contracted form of:

• σε + τον = στον

This contraction is standard in Modern Greek.

Other common contractions are:

• σε + το = στο
• σε + τη(ν) = στη(ν)
• σε + τους = στους
• σε + τις = στις

So:

• μπροστά στον υπολογιστή = in front of the computer

Greek uses the definite article much more often than English.

So even where English says:

• in front of the computer

Greek naturally says:

• μπροστά στον υπολογιστή

The article is not unusual here at all. In fact, it is what you would expect.

Yes. γι’ αυτό is a shortened written form of για αυτό.

It means:

• for this
• and in context, that’s why / for that reason

So in the sentence:

• γι’ αυτό προσπαθώ... = that’s why I try...

The apostrophe shows that a vowel has been dropped in pronunciation/writing.

You may see both:

• για αυτό
• γι’ αυτό

But γι’ αυτό is very common and natural in writing.

Very often, yes, especially when it connects a cause and result.

In this sentence:

• My neck hurts when I sit for hours in front of the computer, that’s why I try to exercise more often.

So γι’ αυτό introduces the consequence.

It can also literally mean for this, depending on context, but here that’s why is the natural interpretation.

προσπαθώ means I try, and when it is followed by another verb, Greek normally uses να.

So:

• προσπαθώ να γυμνάζομαι = I try to exercise

You can think of να here as the normal linker before a dependent verb form.

Other examples:

• θέλω να φύγω = I want to leave
• μπορώ να έρθω = I can come
• προσπαθώ να μάθω = I try to learn

Because γυμνάζομαι means I exercise / I work out, while γυμνάζω usually means I train someone/something.

Compare:

• γυμνάζομαι = I exercise
• γυμνάζω τον αθλητή = I train the athlete

So in this sentence, the speaker is doing the action to themselves, not training someone else. That is why γυμνάζομαι is the correct form.

This is about aspect.

• να γυμνάζομαι is imperfective: it suggests repeated, ongoing, habitual exercise
• να γυμναστώ is perfective: it suggests a single instance or a completed event

Since the sentence says πιο συχνά (more often), the idea is clearly habitual repetition. So να γυμνάζομαι is the natural choice.

In other words:

• προσπαθώ να γυμνάζομαι πιο συχνά = I try to exercise more often
• it means I’m trying to make this a more regular habit

πιο συχνά means more often.

It is made from:

• πιο = more
• συχνά = often / frequently

Greek has two common ways to form comparisons:

1. πιο + adjective/adverb
2. a single comparative form, if one exists

So both of these can mean more often:

• πιο συχνά
• συχνότερα

In everyday language, πιο συχνά is extremely common and often feels simpler and more conversational.

Both can occur.

For the verb πονάω / πονώ (to hurt, to be in pain), you may hear:

• πονάει
• πονά

Both are used in Modern Greek, and πονάει is very common in everyday speech.

So:

• Με πονάει ο σβέρκος μου and
• Με πονά ο σβέρκος μου

are both understandable, though the first is especially common colloquially.

Greek word order is flexible, and the most natural order is not always the same as in English.

In this sentence, starting with με puts focus on the affected person:

• Με πονάει... = It hurts me...

Then the cause of the pain is named:

• ο σβέρκος μου

This order sounds very natural in Greek, especially with verbs of sensation and experience.

You could also say:

• Ο σβέρκος μου με πονάει

but it may sound slightly more marked or more focused on my neck as the topic.

Because the sentence has two connected parts:

1. Με πονάει ο σβέρκος μου όταν κάθομαι ώρες μπροστά στον υπολογιστή
2. γι’ αυτό προσπαθώ να γυμνάζομαι πιο συχνά

The second part gives the result or conclusion:

• that’s why I try to exercise more often

So the comma helps separate the cause from the consequence. This is very normal punctuation.

Yes.

Greek present tense often covers both simple and continuous meanings that English separates.

So:

• όταν κάθομαι can mean
  • when I sit
  • when I’m sitting

In this context, the meaning is more like:

• when I spend hours sitting
• when I am sitting for hours

So English often translates it more naturally with a continuous idea, even though Greek simply uses the present tense.

It sounds like normal, natural everyday Greek.

Nothing in it is especially literary or formal. In fact, several parts are very conversational and common:

• Με πονάει...
• ώρες
• μπροστά στον υπολογιστή
• γι’ αυτό
• πιο συχνά

So this is the kind of sentence a native speaker could easily say in ordinary conversation.