Learn Hardcore Russian: Доктор сказал, что из‑за стресса у меня болит голова и шея. - The doctor said that because of stress my head and neck hurt.

«у меня» literally means “at me,” but functionally it marks who is experiencing the pain. Russian uses this pattern for many states and possessions:

у меня есть машина – I have a car
у меня температура – I have a fever
у меня болит зуб – I have a toothache / my tooth hurts

Why is the verb «болит» (singular) used with two nouns «голова и шея»? Shouldn’t it be plural «болят»?

Both are possible, but the singular «болит» is very common and completely natural here:

У меня болит голова и шея.
У меня болят голова и шея.

In practice:

Singular «болит» with a list (голова и шея) is very frequent, especially in speech. It can feel like the speaker is talking about one combined area that hurts.
Plural «болят» treats them more clearly as two separate subjects and is grammatically stricter, but many native speakers still use the singular in everyday language.

So you can use either; «болит голова и шея» will not sound wrong to Russians.

Why is it «из‑за стресса» and not «из‑за стресс»? What case is that?

«из‑за» always requires the genitive case.

стресс – nominative
стресса – genitive singular

So the rule is:

из‑за + genitive → из‑за стресса, из‑за дождя, из‑за работы, etc.

Literally, «из‑за стресса» means “because of stress / due to stress / on account of stress.”

What is the nuance of «из‑за стресса» compared with other ways to say “because of stress,” like «от стресса»?

All of these are possible, but they have slightly different flavors:

из‑за стресса – very common and neutral; “because of stress / due to stress,” often with a negative result:
- У меня болит голова из‑за стресса.
от стресса – often used with causes like illness, emotions, or physical reactions:
- Он заболел от стресса. – He got sick from stress.
- Она плачет от стресса. – She’s crying from stress.

In this particular sentence, из‑за стресса is the most natural wording for “because of stress.”

What is the role of «что» in «Доктор сказал, что…»?

Here «что» is a conjunction meaning “that”, not the question word “what.”

Доктор сказал, что… = “The doctor said that…”

It introduces a subordinate clause (reported speech):

Доктор сказал, что у меня болит голова и шея.
→ “The doctor said that I have pain in my head and neck.” / “…that my head and neck hurt.”

Why is there a comma before «что» in «Доктор сказал, что…»?

In Russian, a comma is normally placed before subordinate clauses introduced by conjunctions like:

что (that)
когда (when)
потому что (because)
если (if), etc.

So:

Доктор сказал, что из‑за стресса у меня болит голова и шея.

The main clause: Доктор сказал
The subordinate clause: что из‑за стресса у меня болит голова и шея

They are separated by a comma.

Why is it «болит голова и шея» and not «болит голову и шею» (accusative)?

Because голова and шея are the subjects of the verb болит, not direct objects.

In the pattern:

[something] болит = “[something] hurts / aches”

the “hurting thing” is the subject in the nominative case:

Голова болит. – The head hurts.
Шея болит. – The neck hurts.
Голова и шея болят. – The head and neck hurt.

That’s why we use:

голова и шея (nominative)
and not
голову и шею (accusative).

What tense and aspect is «сказал»? How would the meaning change with «говорит» or «говорил»?

«сказал» is:

past tense
perfective aspect
masculine form

It presents the action as a completed single event in the past:

Доктор сказал… – The doctor said (once, at a specific time).

Other options:

Доктор говорит, что… – “The doctor says that…” (present tense, ongoing or general statement).
Доктор говорил, что… – “The doctor was saying / used to say / had said that…” (past tense, imperfective; focuses on duration, repetition, or background, not on a single completed act).

In your sentence we’re reporting one specific statement already made, so «сказал» is the natural choice.

What is the difference between «доктор» and «врач»?

Both can often translate as “doctor”, but there are nuances:

врач – more formal, specifically a medical doctor. Used in official contexts, documents, job titles:
- врач‑терапевт – general practitioner
- врач сказал…
доктор – can be:
- a polite or slightly informal way to address a medical doctor (like “Doctor!”), or
- a general “doctor” (including academic degree holders, like a PhD).

In everyday speech, «Доктор сказал…» sounds very natural, similar to “The doctor said…” when you talk about your physician. «Врач сказал…» is also correct, just a bit more neutral/formal.

Why do we need «у меня» at all? Could we just say «болит голова и шея»?

Yes, you can say:

Болит голова и шея.

This is grammatically fine and would usually be understood as “My head and neck hurt” from context.

However, «у меня» makes it explicit who is experiencing the pain:

У меня болит голова и шея. – I have pain in my head and neck.
У него болит голова и шея. – He has pain in his head and neck.
У неё болит голова и шея. – She has pain in her head and neck.

So «у меня» is helpful when you need to clearly indicate the person.

Could I say «моя голова и шея болят из‑за стресса» instead? Does it sound natural?

You can say:

Моя голова и шея болят из‑за стресса.

It is grammatically correct, but it sounds less natural than «у меня болит голова и шея».

With body parts, Russian usually avoids possessive adjectives (моя, твоя, его…) unless there’s a special emphasis or contrast. The normal, neutral way is:

У меня болит голова и шея.

Use «моя голова» when you really want to stress whose head, for contrast:

Не его голова болит, а моя голова болит. – It’s not his head that hurts; it’s my head.

How would I say just “I have a headache” in Russian, based on this sentence?

The most natural, everyday versions are:

У меня болит голова. – My head hurts.
У меня головная боль. – I have a headache. (more formal/medical)

Using the pattern from your sentence, «У меня болит голова» is the standard way.

In «из‑за», why is there a hyphen? Is it one word or two?

«из‑за» is written with a hyphen and is treated as one compound preposition.

It is not из за (two separate words).
The only correct spelling is из‑за.

Other compound prepositions behave similarly:

из‑под стола – from under the table
из‑за стресса – because of stress

How is this sentence pronounced, and where are the main stresses?

Approximate stress pattern (stressed syllables in bold):

ДОктор сказАл, что ИЗ‑за стрЕсса у менЯ́ болИ́т головА́ и ШЕя.

Very rough “English‑style” approximation:

DOk-tar ska‑ZAL, shto IZ‑za STRYE‑sa u mi‑NYA bo‑LEET ga-la‑VA i SHE‑ya.

Key points:

дОктор, not доктОр
стрЕсса, stress on the first е
менЯ, болИт, головА, Шея – stress moves toward the end of each word as shown.