Sickness and pain
Enfermedad y dolor
- Express sickness and pain.
- Express your medical condition at the doctor's office.
- Adverbs of manner
Learn essential Spanish vocabulary and expressions for discussing sickness, symptoms like "la fiebre" (fever) and "el dolor" (pain), and interacting with healthcare professionals such as "el doctor" and using phrases like "me duele la cabeza" (my head hurts).
Listening & reading materials
Practice vocabulary in context with real materials.
Vocabulary (12) Share Copied!
Exercises Share Copied!
These exercises can be done together during conversation lessons or as homework.
Exercise 1: Reorder sentences
Instruction: Make correct sentences and translate.
Exercise 2: Match a word
Instruction: Match the translations
Exercise 3: Cluster the words
Instruction: Classify the words into the two categories as appropriate: symptoms and ailments, or places and health professionals.
Síntomas y dolencias
Lugares y profesionales de la salud
Exercise 4: Translate and use in a sentence
Instruction: Pick a word, translated and use the word in a sentence or dialogue.
1
Toser
To cough
2
Ayudar
To help
3
El medicamento
The medicine
4
Doler
To hurt
5
Los síntomas
The symptoms
Ejercicio 5: Conversation exercise
Instrucción:
- Describe the symptoms of each person. (Describe the symptoms of each person.)
- Play a dialogue at the doctor's office. (Play a dialogue at the doctor's office.)
Teaching guidelines +/- 10 minutes
Example phrases:
|
Tiene dolor en el cuello. He has pain in the neck. |
|
Tienes fiebre. You have a fever. |
|
Me duele la espalda. My back hurts. |
|
¿Dónde te duele? Where does it hurt? |
|
Tengo tos. I have a cough. |
|
Tengo dolor de cabeza. I have a headache. |
|
Tengo dolor de estómago. I have a stomachache. |
|
Me siento mareado. I feel nauseous. |
| ... |
Exercise 6: Dialogue Cards
Instruction: Select a situation and practice the conversation with your teacher or fellow students.
Exercise 7: Multiple Choice
Instruction: Choose the correct solution
1. Cuando me ______________ la cabeza, normalmente tomo un medicamento.
(When my head ______________ hurts, I usually take medicine.)2. Mi madre siempre me ______________ bien cuando estoy enfermo.
(My mother always ______________ helps me well when I am sick.)3. En el hospital, el doctor me pregunta si ______________ mucho.
(At the hospital, the doctor asks me if ______________ I cough a lot.)4. El medicamento funciona ______________ y reduce la fiebre.
(The medicine works ______________ quickly and reduces the fever.)Exercise 8: A Visit to the Doctor for a Headache
Instruction:
Verb Tables
Doler - Doler
Presente
- yo duelo
- tú dueles
- él/ella/Ud. duele
- nosotros/nosotras dolemos
- vosotros/vosotras doléis
- ellos/ellas/Uds. duelen
Ir - Ir
Presente
- yo voy
- tú vas
- él/ella/Ud. va
- nosotros/nosotras vamos
- vosotros/vosotras vais
- ellos/ellas/Uds. van
Llegar - Llegar
Presente
- yo llego
- tú llegas
- él/ella/Ud. llega
- nosotros/nosotras llegamos
- vosotros/vosotras llegáis
- ellos/ellas/Uds. llegan
Estar - Estar
Presente
- yo estoy
- tú estás
- él/ella/Ud. está
- nosotros/nosotras estamos
- vosotros/vosotras estáis
- ellos/ellas/Uds. están
Tener - Tener
Presente
- yo tengo
- tú tienes
- él/ella/Ud. tiene
- nosotros/nosotras tenemos
- vosotros/vosotras tenéis
- ellos/ellas/Uds. tienen
Examinar - Examinar
Presente
- yo examino
- tú examinas
- él/ella/Ud. examina
- nosotros/nosotras examinamos
- vosotros/vosotras examináis
- ellos/ellas/Uds. examinan
Recetar - Recetar
Presente
- yo receto
- tú recetas
- él/ella/Ud. receta
- nosotros/nosotras recetamos
- vosotros/vosotras recetáis
- ellos/ellas/Uds. recetan
Deber - Deber
Presente
- yo debo
- tú debes
- él/ella/Ud. debe
- nosotros/nosotras debemos
- vosotros/vosotras debéis
- ellos/ellas/Uds. deben
Bajar - Bajar
Presente
- yo bajo
- tú bajas
- él/ella/Ud. baja
- nosotros/nosotras bajamos
- vosotros/vosotras bajáis
- ellos/ellas/Uds. bajan
Volver - Volver
Presente
- yo vuelvo
- tú vuelves
- él/ella/Ud. vuelve
- nosotros/nosotras volvemos
- vosotros/vosotras volvéis
- ellos/ellas/Uds. vuelven
Exercise 9: Adverbios de modo
Instruction: Fill in the correct word.
Grammar: Adverbs of manner
Show translation Show answersnecesariamente, rápidamente, con dificultad, mal, con cuidado, bien, fácilmente, lentamente
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Verb conjugation tables for this lesson Share Copied!
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Lesson Overview: Sickness and Pain in Spanish
This lesson introduces essential vocabulary and phrases to describe common symptoms and health-related situations in Spanish. It is designed for A1-level learners aiming to communicate basic feelings of illness, visit a doctor or pharmacy, and understand related conversations.
Key Topics Covered
- Symptoms and Ailments: Words like el dolor (pain), la fiebre (fever), la alergia (allergy), la gripe (flu), and la tos (cough) help learners express how they feel.
- Healthcare Places and Professionals: Terms such as el doctor (doctor), el hospital (hospital), and el medicamento (medicine) enable conversations about medical visits and treatments.
- Useful Phrases and Dialogues: Practical dialogues simulate visits to the doctor, pharmacy interactions, and phone calls to request appointments, allowing students to practice describing symptoms, asking for help, and following medical advice.
- Adverbs and Expressions of Manner: Words like rapidamente (quickly) and tranquilamente (calmly) enhance sentence fluency and detail.
Highlights and Example Sentences
- Doctor, me duele la cabeza y tengo fiebre. (Doctor, I have a headache and a fever.)
- Para prevenir la gripe, es importante vacunarse regularmente. (To prevent the flu, it is important to get vaccinated regularly.)
- Cuando estoy enfermo, descanso tranquilamente para mejorar rápido. (When I am sick, I rest calmly to recover quickly.)
Grammar Focus
The lesson includes present tense verbs commonly used to describe health situations, such as doler (to hurt), tener (to have), descansar (to rest), and modal verbs like deber (should/must) followed by an infinitive to express obligations.
Instruction vs. Spanish: Tips and Useful Expressions
In English, symptoms are often described using the verb "to have," such as "I have a headache." In Spanish, pain and symptoms frequently use the verb doler (to hurt), which structures sentences differently. For example, "Me duele la cabeza" literally means "The head hurts me." Another useful verb is sentirse (to feel), e.g., Me siento enfermo (I feel sick).
Some key phrases and words for daily communication:
- ¿Dónde le duele? – Where does it hurt?
- Tengo fiebre. – I have a fever.
- Debe descansar. – You should rest.
- ¿Cómo se siente hoy? – How do you feel today?
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