A2 · When something happens
At the doctor and the pharmacy
The minimum you need to explain what hurts and understand the answer. Written for the moment when you cannot stop to look things up.
Saying what is wrong
Me duele la cabeza.
My head hurts.
Doler works like gustar: me duele, me duelen. And body parts take the article, not the possessive.
Me duelen las piernas.
My legs hurt.
Tengo fiebre desde ayer.
I have had a fever since yesterday.
Desde for a starting point, hace for a length of time.
Me siento mal desde anoche.
I have been feeling ill since last night.
Sentirse is reflexive: me siento, te sientes.
Me cayó mal la comida.Peruvian
The food did not agree with me.
The normal way to describe an upset stomach.
At the pharmacy
¿Tiene algo para el dolor de garganta?
Do you have something for a sore throat?
Para for what the medicine is for.
¿Esto necesita receta?
Does this need a prescription?
Receta is a prescription, and also a recipe.
¿Cada cuántas horas lo tomo?
How often do I take it?
Worth memorising before you need it.
Soy alérgico a la penicilina.
I am allergic to penicillin.
A sentence to have by heart, not to look up.
What they will say to you
¿Desde cuándo se siente así?formal
How long have you been feeling like this?
What the doctor will open with, in the usted form.
Tómelo cada ocho horas.
Take it every eight hours.
A command to usted, which uses the subjunctive form.
Si no mejora, vuelva el viernes.
If it does not improve, come back on Friday.
Vuelva is the usted command of volver.
No es nada grave.
It is nothing serious.
What you hope to hear.
13 expressions in this pack