where does it hurt?

REINFORCE YOUR VOCABULARY : ILLNESSES, ACHES AND PAINS
Where does it hurt ?
where does it hurt?
=
où est-ce que ça vous fait mal? or (more formally)
où avez-vous mal?
his leg hurts
=
sa jambe lui fait mal
(Do not confuse faire mal à qn with the phrase faire du mal à qn, which means to
harm sb.)
he has a pain in his leg
=
il a mal à la jambe
Note that with avoir mal à French uses the definite article (la) with the part of the
body, where English has a possessive (his), hence :
his head was aching
=
il avait mal à la tête
English has other ways of expressing this idea, but avoir mal à fits them too :
he had toothache
=
il avait mal aux dents
his ears hurt
=
il avait mal aux oreilles
Accidents
she broke her leg
=
elle s'est cassé la jambe
Elle s'est cassé la jambe means literally she broke to herself the leg; because the se
is an indirect object, the past participle cassé does not agree. This is true of all
such constructions :
she sprained her ankle
=
elle s'est foulé la cheville
they burned their hands
=
ils se sont brûlé les mains
Chronic conditions
Note that the French often use fragile (weak) to express a chronic condition:
he has a weak heart
=
il a le cœur fragile
he has kidney trouble
=
il a les reins fragiles
he has a bad back
=
il a le dos fragile
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Being ill
Mostly French uses the definite article with the name of an illness:
to have flu
=
avoir la grippe
to have measles
=
avoir la rougeole
to have malaria
=
avoir la malaria
This applies to most infectious diseases, including childhood illnesses. However, note
the exceptions ending in -ite (e.g. une hépatite, une méningite) below.
When the illness affects a specific part of the body, French uses the indefinite article:
to have cancer
=
avoir un cancer
to have cancer of the liver =
avoir un cancer du foie
to have pneumonia
=
avoir une pneumonie
to have cirrhosis
=
avoir une cirrhose
to have a stomach ulcer
=
avoir un ulcère à l'estomac
Most words in -ite (English -itis) work like this:
to have bronchitis
=
avoir une bronchite
to have hepatitis
=
avoir une hépatite
When the illness is a generalized condition, French tends to use du, de la or des:
to have rheumatism
=
avoir des rhumatismes
to have emphysema
=
avoir de l'emphysème
to have asthma
=
avoir de l'asthme
to have arthritis
=
avoir de l'arthrite
=
avoir le rhume des foins
One exception here is:
to have hay fever
When there is an adjective for such conditions, this is often preferred in French:
to have asthma
=
être asthmatique
to have epilepsy
=
être épileptique
Such adjectives can be used as nouns to denote the person with the illness, e.g.
un/une asthmatique and un/une épileptique etc.
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French has other specific words for people with certain illnesses:
someone with cancer
=
un cancéreux/une cancéreuse
If in doubt check in the dictionary.
English with is translated by qui a or qui ont, and this is always safe:
someone with malaria
=
quelqu'un qui a la malaria
people with Aids
=
les gens qui ont le Sida
Falling ill
The above guidelines about the use of the definite and indefinite articles in French
hold good for talking about the onset of illnesses.
French has no general equivalent of to get. However, where English can use catch,
French can use attraper:
to catch mumps
=
attraper les oreillons
to catch malaria
=
attraper la malaria
to catch bronchitis
=
attraper une bronchite
to catch a cold
=
attraper un rhume
Similarly where English uses contract, French uses contracter:
to contract Aids
=
contracter le Sida
to contract pneumonia
=
contracter une pneumonie
to contract hepatitis
=
contracter une hépatite
For attacks of chronic illnesses, French uses faire une crise de:
to have a bout of malaria =
faire une crise de malaria
to have an asthma attack =
faire une crise d'asthme
to have an epileptic fit
faire une crise d'épilepsie
=
Treatment
to be treated for polio
=
se faire soigner contre la polio
to take sth for hay fever
=
prendre qch contre le rhume des foins
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SOPODIVA Tél. +229 21 07 89 98 / +229 21 36 38 28 & +229 97 93 04 87 BP. 2046 Abomey-Calavi. BENIN
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he's taking sth for his cough
=
il prend qch contre la toux
to prescribe sth for a cough
=
prescrire un médicament contre la toux
malaria tablets
=
des cachets contre la malaria
to have a cholera vaccination
=
se faire vacciner contre le choléra
to be vaccinated against smallpox =
se faire vacciner contre la variole
to be immunized
=
se faire immuniser
against smallpox
=
contre la variole
to have a tetanus injection
=
se faire vacciner contre le tétanos
to give sb a tetanus injection
=
vacciner qn contre le tétanos
to be operated on for cancer
=
être opéré d'un cancer
to operate on sb for appendicitis =
opérer qn de l'appendicite
Exercise : Describe a sick person to whom you paid a visit in the hospital.
Do you want to learn English ? We are just in front of the main entry of the University of Abomey-Calavi
SOPODIVA Tél. +229 21 07 89 98 / +229 21 36 38 28 & +229 97 93 04 87 BP. 2046 Abomey-Calavi. BENIN
E-mail [email protected] Site Web. www.sopodiva.com
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