El verbo DOLER
El verbo DOLER (o → ue) Literally, it means to have pain in..., but in English we use it in translating sentences with hurt. It is used like the verb GUSTAR. Used with indirect object pronouns (IOP) me, te, le, nos, os, les The IOP refers to the individual(s) experiencing the pain and not the object causing the pain. Example: Me duele la cabeza. NOT, Mi cabeza duele. (Pronoun comes before the conjugated verb) Remember, if what is causing the pain is plural (knees, feet, legs) then you must use the 3rd person plural (ellos) form of DOLER. Example: Me duelen los pies.
Cómo usar el verbo DOLER FORMULA (Clarifier) + IOP + duele/duelen + body part(s) Clarifiers only necessary in 3rd person forms (a él, a ellas, etc.)
El verbo DOLER (continued) Like with “GUSTAR” you will typically only use the third person singular (él & ella) and plural (ellos & ellas) forms of the verb. DOLER is a stem changing verb in the present tense → (O to UE). Examples: Te duele la garganta. A ella le duelen las piernas.
El verbo DOLER (continued) In the imperfect tense, there are no changes during conjugation. IMPERFECT-dolía, dolían La semana pasada, me dolía el pie. Last week, my foot was hurting me. It is more common to place the direct object of the verb (whatever is causing pain) after the verb. However, it is also acceptable to place it before the verb. Examples: A ella le duele el estómago. El estómago le duele a ella.
Referring to body parts Use the definite article (el/la/los/las) when referring to your or somebody else’s body parts. Do not use possessive adjectives like my, your, his/her, etc. (mi/mis, tu/tus, su/sus, etc.) Examples: ENGLISH: My knees hurt. ESPAÑOL CORRECTO: Me duelen las rodillas. ESPAÑOL DE GRINGO: Me duelen mis rodillas. ENGLISH: Your ankle hurts. ESPAÑOL: Te duele el tobillo.
¿Qué te duele? → What hurts? Questions with DOLER ¿Qué te duele? → What hurts? ¿Te duele el/la/los/las (parte del cuerpo)? → Does your (body part) hurt?
Practice sentences My leg hurts. Your (tú) back hurts. Her head hurts. Your (Ud.) ankles hurt. The kids throats hurt. Our stomach (belly) hurts. Your (ustedes) knees hurt. His feet hurt.
Practice sentences Me duele la pierna. Te duele la espalda. (A ella) Le duele la cabeza. (A usted) le duelen los tobillos. (A los niños) les duele la garganta. Nos duele la panza. Les duelen las rodillas. (A él) le duelen los pies.
What would hurt in the following situations? You fall down hard while playing basketball. You have a horrible case of the flu. You have food poisoning. You’ve been writing for too long and you have a cramp. You have strep throat. You have been lifting a lot of heavy boxes. You’ve been walking for a long time without a rest.