Όταν φορτώνω πολλά πράγματα μόνος μου, στο τέλος με πονάει και η πλάτη και ο σβέρκος.

Here Όταν means when/whenever and introduces a time clause.

In this sentence, Όταν φορτώνω πολλά πράγματα μόνος μου means something like:

• When I load/carry a lot of things by myself
• or more naturally in English, Whenever I load a lot of things by myself

Greek όταν often covers both ideas, and English chooses when or whenever depending on context.

A useful pattern is:

• Όταν + present, present
  = a habitual/general situation

So this sentence describes something that happens regularly, not one single event.

Because the sentence describes a repeated or typical situation, not a one-time event.

φορτώνω = I load / I am loading

In English, for general habits we often use the simple present:

• When I load a lot of things by myself, ...

Greek does the same here. The present tense after όταν is very common when talking about something that generally happens.

If the speaker were talking about one specific past event, the tense would be different.

Φορτώνω literally means to load. Depending on context, it can mean:

• to load things onto something
• to carry a heavy load
• to pile things on
• sometimes figuratively, to burden someone

In this sentence, because of πολλά πράγματα and the later mention of back and neck pain, it suggests:

• I load/carry a lot of things
• possibly I move a lot of stuff

So the exact English wording depends on the situation, but the Greek idea is clear: the speaker is physically handling many things.

Because πράγματα is:

• neuter
• plural
• in the accusative case here, as the object of φορτώνω

So the adjective has to match:

• πολλά = neuter plural accusative/nominative
• πράγματα = neuter plural accusative/nominative

Together: πολλά πράγματα = many things / a lot of things

This is normal agreement in Greek: adjectives match the noun in gender, number, and case.

μόνος μου means by myself / on my own.

It has two parts:

• μόνος = alone, by oneself
• μου = literally my, but here it is part of the fixed pattern meaning by myself

Greek commonly uses:

• μόνος μου = by myself
• μόνος σου = by yourself
• μόνος του / της = by himself / herself

Because the speaker is I, the phrase is μόνος μου.

If the speaker were female, she would usually say:

• μόνη μου

So this phrase changes for both person and gender.

Because μόνος agrees with the speaker’s gender.

• μόνος μου = said by a male speaker
• μόνη μου = said by a female speaker

So the sentence as written sounds as if the speaker is male, or it is being given in the masculine as the default dictionary-style form.

Yes, literally it means at the end, but here the natural meaning is:

• in the end
• eventually
• afterwards
• by the time it’s over

So στο τέλος does not necessarily mean the physical end of a place; it refers to the result after doing the activity.

In this sentence:

• στο τέλος με πονάει... = in the end / afterwards, ... hurts

Because Greek uses the verb πονάω / πονώ in a structure that often works like:

• something hurts me

So:

• με = me
• πονάει = hurts

Literally:

• my back and neck hurt me

Natural English:

• my back and neck hurt
• my back and neck start hurting
• I get pain in my back and neck

This is a very common Greek pattern with body pain:

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

με is the weak object pronoun meaning me.

Greek commonly uses it with πονάει to show who feels the pain:

• με πονάει η πλάτη = my back hurts
  • literally: the back hurts me

So με is not optional in this structure if you want to say it hurts me / I have pain there.

Compare:

• Πονάει η πλάτη μου = My back hurts
  This is also possible, but the structure is slightly different in emphasis.
• Με πονάει η πλάτη = My back is hurting me

Both are natural, but the version with με is very common.

Good question. You might expect πονάνε because there are two subjects.

A few things are going on:

1. Greek often builds this pattern incrementally:

   • με πονάει και η πλάτη και ο σβέρκος
   • literally, almost it hurts me, both the back and the neck

2. With coordinated nouns introduced by και ... και ..., speakers sometimes keep a singular verb, especially when the idea is felt as a single overall physical condition rather than two fully separate items.

3. In more strictly grammatical or carefully edited style, many speakers would also accept or prefer:

   • στο τέλος με πονάνε και η πλάτη και ο σβέρκος

So the sentence as given is natural colloquial Greek, even though an English learner may expect a plural verb.

The repeated και ... και ... means both ... and ....

So:

• και η πλάτη και ο σβέρκος = both my back and my neck

This is a very common Greek structure.

Examples:

• Και ο Γιάννης και η Μαρία ήρθαν. = Both Giannis and Maria came.

So here the repetition of και is not unnecessary; it is the normal way to emphasize both items.

Because Greek often leaves out the possessive μου when it is obvious whose body part is meant.

Since the sentence already has με πονάει (it hurts me), it is clear that we are talking about my back and my neck.

So Greek naturally says:

• με πονάει η πλάτη rather than always
• με πονάει η πλάτη μου

Both are possible, but omitting the possessive is very common with body parts when the owner is obvious from context.

Ο σβέρκος refers specifically to the back of the neck or nape.

So it is not exactly the whole neutral English word neck in every context.

That means:

• η πλάτη = back
• ο σβέρκος = nape / back of the neck

In natural English, many people would still translate it simply as neck, because that sounds more normal in everyday speech. But the Greek word is more specific.

Yes, Greek word order is flexible.

This order sounds natural because it presents the idea in a flowing way:

1. στο τέλος = sets the time/result: in the end
2. με πονάει = introduces the pain
3. και η πλάτη και ο σβέρκος = names what hurts

You could also hear variations such as:

• Στο τέλος πονάει η πλάτη μου και ο σβέρκος μου.
• Στο τέλος με πονάνε η πλάτη και ο σβέρκος.

The original version is colloquial and expressive. Greek often places short pronouns like με before the verb, which is one reason the sentence looks different from English.

Yes. Several features make it sound like everyday spoken Greek:

• μόνος μου for by myself
• στο τέλος for in the end / afterwards
• με πονάει for bodily pain
• και ... και ... for both ... and ...
• omission of possessives with body parts

So even if a textbook might present a more neatly symmetrical version, this sentence sounds very natural in conversation.

Definitely. Depending on the context, natural translations could be:

• When I carry a lot of things by myself, in the end both my back and my neck hurt.
• Whenever I load a lot of stuff on my own, my back and neck end up hurting.
• When I move a lot of things by myself, I end up with pain in my back and neck.

That is useful to remember: Greek and English do not always match word-for-word, especially with expressions like με πονάει.