May 28th, 2007 In this edition: more aches and pains, illnesses and useful language for a visit to the pharmacy Lesson 29 Notes CoffeeBreakSpanish.com Necesita tomar estos comprimidos Lesson 29 Programme Notes Welcome to Coffee Break Spanish, the podcast aimed at independent learners of Spanish. In Coffee Break Spanish we ll be guiding you through the basics of the Spanish language and helping you to learn to communicate in Spain and Spanish-speaking countries. This lesson continues where the previous lesson left off and covers more language which will help you if you re not feeling well and have to visit a doctor or a pharmacist. We already know that the word duele(n) has something to do with pain. It comes from the verb doler which can be translated literally as to hurt. Doler is linked to the Spanish noun el dolor, meaning pain. So in addition to saying me duele la cabeza, we can also say: tengo dolor de cabeza I have a headache (lit. I have pain of head ) Recap In last week s lesson we learned a number of body parts and the phrase me duele / me duelen. This allowed us to explain where the pain was. Have a look at these examples and see if you remember how they are formed: me duele la cabeza I have a sore head / my head hurts me duele el hombro I have a sore shoulder / my shoulder hurts We also covered the phrase: tengo dolor de estómago I have a sore stomach (lit. I have pain of stomach ) It may seem a little silly to be learning two ways of saying the same thing. However, now that we know what the phrase for headache or sore stomach is, we can now ask do you have something for a headache in a pharmacy situation: tiene algo para el dolor de cabeza? do you have something for a headache? Dolor de cabeza, dolor de garganta, etc. can be added to a list of illnesses and complaints. Here is a list of some possible problems: dónde le duele? where is it sore? / where does it hurt? A little more pain... In this week s lesson we ll be learning an alternative way to talk about parts of your body which are sore. la tos una infección un sarpullido la diarrea una quemadura de sol cough infection rash diarrhoea sunburn 1
All of these words can be combined with tiene algo para...? in a pharmacy situation: tiene algo para la tos? do you have something for a cough? tiene algo para la diarrea? do you have something for diarrhoea? Other symptoms Before we learn some likely responses from the doctor or pharmacist, here are some further symptoms you may need to describe. estoy mareado/a I feel dizzy / queasy Note that mareado is an adjective and therefore changes its ending depending on who is feeling dizzy. Note also that because feeling dizzy or queasy is thankfully a temporary feeling, you use the verb estar. If there are things that you can t do because of your illness, you can use the phrase: no puedo... I cannot... necesita tomar esto you need to take this They may be more specific and use a phrase like: necesita tomar estos comprimidos necesita poner esta crema you need to put on this cream We ve already covered the various ways to say this and these, but here is a reminder of the forms. First, let s consider the general word for this. This is used when you re not referring to something specifically. esto this (general) When you re being specific about something, ie. saying this cream, these pills, etc. you use the following forms: Here are some examples using this: no puedo dormir I can t sleep no puedo respirar I can t breathe este esta estos estas this (masc sing) this (fem sing) these (masc plur) these (fem plur) Your prescription Having explained your symptoms to the doctor or the pharmacist you may be given one or more of the following items: una píldora un comprimido una crema pill pill, tablet cream If the doctor or pharmacist wants you to take or use the above items, he or she is likely to say: If you re given a cream or tablets then it s important to know how often you need to take them. You can ask: cuántas veces al día? how many times per day? The word vez means time, as in occasion : cuántas veces al día? - how many times per day. You may therefore hear something like: cuatro veces al día four times daily Coffee Break Spanish: Lesson 29 page 2
necesita tomar estos comprimidos dos veces al día twice daily It is also possible that the doctor or pharmacist specifies: antes de comer before eating después de comer after eating Note that in Spanish to say after doing something or before doing something you use the phrase antes de or después de followed by the infinitive. Now, you may be wondering why the infinitive isn t translated as to eat in this situation. It is in fact very common for the -ing form of the verb in English to be translated by the infinitive in Spanish. Think of the phrase me gusta cantar. You should remember that this means I like to sing. It can also, however, be translated as I like singing, but the infinitive cantar is always used in Spanish. Let s practise the construction before/after doing something with a short exercise. You already know many infinitives, so you can now see how much new language you can create by translating these short phrases. Answers can be found at the end of this week s guide. 1. before singing 2. after buying a coffee 3. before drinking a glass of wine 4. after listening to music 5. before turning right Coffee Break Spanish: Lesson 29 page 3
el dolor CoffeeBreakSpanish: Lesson 29 - Basic Vocabulary el dolor de cabeza el dolor de estómago pain headache stomach ache tiene algo para...? do you have something for...? la tos una infección un sarpullido la diarrea una quemadura de sol mareado/a cough infection rash diarrhoea sunburn dizzy, queasy no puedo... I cannot... dormir respirar una píldora un comprimido una crema necesita tomar esto necesita tomar estos comprimidos necesita poner esta crema cuántas veces al día? dos veces al día tres veces al día una vez antes de + infinitive después de + infinitive to sleep to breathe pill tablet cream you need to take this you need to put on this cream how many times a day? twice daily three times daily one time / once before doing something after doing something CoffeeBreakSpanish: Lesson 29 - Bonus Vocabulary tengo alergía a I m allergic to... tengo alergía a los antibióticos tengo alergía a la penicilina tengo alergía al polen estoy embarazada necesito darle una inyección tiene que ir al hospital es algo grave? I m allergic to antibiotics I m allergic to penicillin I have hay fever I m pregnant I need to give you an injection you heed to go to hospital is it serious? Coffee Break Spanish: Lesson 29 page 4
no es nada grave tengo fiebre necesita terminar el tratamiento tengo el tobillo hinchado pica mucho it s nothing serious I have a temperature / fever you must finish the course (antibiotics) my ankle is swollen* it itches a lot / it s very itchy Answers to exercise 1. antes de dormir 2. después de comprar un café 3. antes de beber una copa de vino 4. después de escuchar música 5. antes de girar / doblar a la derecha CoffeeBreakSpanish.com All materials Copyright Radio Lingua International 2007 Coffee Break Spanish: Lesson 29 page 5