May 28th, 2007 CoffeeBreakSpanish.com In this edition: more aches and pains, illnesses and useful language for a visit to the pharmacy Lesson 29 Notes 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. 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: 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. tengo dolor de cabeza I have a headache (lit. “I have pain of head”) Recap tengo dolor de estómago I have a sore stomach (lit. “I have pain of stomach”) 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 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: We also covered the phrase: ¿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. 1 la tos cough una infección infection un sarpullido rash la diarrea diarrhoea una quemadura de sol sunburn 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 ... Here are some examples using this: no puedo dormir I can’t sleep no puedo respirar I can’t breathe 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 pill un comprimido pill, tablet una crema cream If the doctor or pharmacist wants you to take or use the above items, he or she is likely to say: Coffee Break Spanish: Lesson 29 necesita tomar esto you need to take this They may be more specific and use a phrase like: necesita tomar estas píldoras you need to take these pills necesita tomar estos comprimidos you need to take these tablets 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: este this (masc sing) esta this (fem sing) estos these (masc plur) estas these (fem plur) 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: necesita tomar estas píldoras cuatro veces al día you need to take these pills four times daily page 2 necesita tomar estos comprimidos dos veces al día you need to take these tablets 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 Coffee Break Spanish: Lesson 29 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” page 3 CoffeeBreakSpanish: Lesson 29 - Basic Vocabulary el dolor pain el dolor de cabeza headache el dolor de estómago stomach ache ¿tiene algo para ....? do you have something for ...? la tos cough una infección infection un sarpullido rash la diarrea diarrhoea una quemadura de sol sunburn mareado/a dizzy, queasy no puedo ... I cannot ... dormir to sleep respirar to breathe una píldora pill un comprimido tablet una crema cream necesita tomar esto you need to take this necesita tomar estos comprimidos you need to take these tablets necesita tomar estas píldoras you need to take these pills necesita poner esta crema you need to put on this cream ¿cuántas veces al día? how many times a day? dos veces al día twice daily tres veces al día three times daily una vez one time / once antes de + infinitive before doing something después de + infinitive after doing something CoffeeBreakSpanish: Lesson 29 - Bonus Vocabulary tengo alergía a I’m allergic to ... tengo alergía a los antibióticos I’m allergic to antibiotics tengo alergía a la penicilina I’m allergic to penicillin tengo alergía al polen I have hay fever estoy embarazada I’m pregnant necesito darle una inyección I need to give you an injection tiene que ir al hospital you heed to go to hospital ¿es algo grave? is it serious? Coffee Break Spanish: Lesson 29 page 4 no es nada grave it’s nothing serious tengo fiebre I have a temperature / fever necesita terminar el tratamiento you must finish the course (antibiotics) tengo el tobillo hinchado my ankle is swollen* pica mucho it itches a lot / it’s very itchy Answers to exercise 1. antes de dormir 2. 3. después de comprar un café 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