Key points about illness and injuries in Spanish
Imperatives are used to give commands, orders and instructions and can be used when discussing medical advice.
Use the A word such as at, for, with, into or from which is usually followed by a noun or pronoun. Prepositions are used to show where something is in place or time. of time desde to describe how long you have been unwell for.
This guide contains a reading activity.
Vocabulary - Describing health problems
Parts of the body:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| el corazón | heart |
| el cuerpo | body |
| el diente | tooth |
| el estómago | stomach |
| el pie | foot |
| la pierna | leg |
| la rodilla | knee |
Useful nouns to talk about health (la salud) include:
| Spanish | English | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| el accidente | accident | una cita | appointment, date |
| el dentista | dentist | la farmacia | pharmacy |
| el hospital | hospital | la medicina | medicine |
| la posibilidad | possibility | el riesgo | risk |
The verb doler, meaning ‘to hurt’, is useful when talking about pain.
For example:
Me duele el estómago - My stomach hurts/I have stomach ache.
Me duelen las rodillas. - My knees hurt.
Grammar – How to use imperatives
Imperatives are used to give commands, orders and instructions. Examples of the imperative in English include:
'Eat healthily!'
'Calm down!'
Forming the positive imperative in the ‘tú’ form of regular verbs
Use the tú form of the imperative when talking to one person informally.
To form the positive (affirmative) imperative for the tú form of regular verbs, take the s off the tú form of the present tense.
For example:
hablas (you speak) → ¡Habla! (Speak!)
tratas (you try) → ¡Trata! (Try!)
comes (you eat) → ¡Come! (Eat!)
Forming the positive imperative in the ‘tú’ form of irregular verbs
Many high frequency verbs have irregular imperatives in the tú form:
| Infinitive | Imperative |
|---|---|
| decir (to say) | ¡Di! (say) |
| hacer (to make/do) | ¡Haz! (do, make) |
| ser (to be) | ¡Sé! (be) |
| tener (to have) | ¡Ten! (have) |
| ir (to go) | ¡Ve! (go) |
| poner (to put) | ¡Pon! (put) |
For example:
¡Haz más ejercicio! - Do more exercise!
¡Sé sano! - Be healthy!
¡Ten cuidado! - Be careful!
¡Ven aquí! - Come here!
Remember
Add an upside-down exclamation mark at the beginning of the command and another regular exclamation mark at the end. For example:
¡Pon el cuchillo en la mesa! - Put the knife on the table!
Imperatives – Mini quiz
Complete the following sentences in Spanish using the tú (you singular informal) form.
¡ _____ sano!
Eat healthily!
comer = to eat
¡Come sano!
Comer is a regular er verb.
To form the imperative, take off the s of the tú form of the verb.
¡ _____ de descansar!
Try to rest!
tratar = to try
¡Trata de descansar!
Tratar is a regular ar verb.
To form the imperative, take off the s of the tú form of the verb.
¡ _____ más ejercicio!
Do more exercise!
hacer = to do
¡Haz más ejercicio!
Hacer is an irregular verb.
The imperative, is ‘haz’ in the tú form.
Find out more about using the imperative in the Imperatives in Spanish guide.
Reading practice
Read the article about preventing illnesses and answer the questions below.
Muchos médicos dicen que la gente pide cita para verlos porque les duele la cabeza, pero el consejo de los médicos es que si tienes dolor de cabeza, vayas primero a la farmacia. Se pueden encontrar consejos en la red, pero es importante utilizar páginas web oficiales.
Podemos proteger a la gente contra muchas enfermedades* ahora. Si te duele un diente, debes pedir cita para ver al dentista, pero recuerda también ¡deja de comer tanto azúcar! Así evitarás el dolor de dientes.
Si tienes un accidente grave y tienes una herida en la cabeza, lo mejor es que vayas al hospital en seguida.
*enfermedades = illnesses
- Lots of doctors say that before people make appointments for a headache they should…
| A | …take medication. |
| B | …go to the pharmacy. |
| C | …get advice online. |
The answer is B
The article says … el consejo de los médicos es que si tienes dolor de cabeza, vayas primero a la farmacia… (the advice from doctors is that you should go to the pharmacy first if you have a headache)
- The article says that…
| A | …you won’t need to see a dentist if you reduce the amount of sugar you eat. |
| B | …you can avoid toothache if you brush your teeth. |
| C | …you can avoid toothache if you eat less sugar. |
The answer is C
The article says … ¡deja de comer tanto azúcar! Así evitarás el dolor de dientes… (stop eating so much sugar! This will prevent toothache.)
- The article says that if you have a serious accident…
| A | …you should go to the hospital straight away. |
| B | …you should call an ambulance. |
| C | …you might have a head injury. |
The answer is A
The article says … Si tienes un accidente grave y tienes una herida de la cabeza, lo mejor es que vayas al hospital en seguida… (If you have a serious accident and you have a head injury, the best thing to do is to go to the hospital straight away.)
Click or tap on Show more to read a translation.
Translation:
Many doctors say that people are making appointments to see them because they have a headache, but the advice from doctors is that you should go to the pharmacy first if you have a headache. It's also possible to find advice online but it's important to use official web pages.
We can protect people against a lot of illnesses now. If you have toothache, you should make an appointment to see the dentist, but also, remember, stop eating so much sugar! This will prevent toothache.
If you have a serious accident and you have a head injury, the best thing to do is to go to the hospital straight away.
Vocabulary - Talking about health problems
Useful verbs for talking about health problems include:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| beber | to drink |
| comenzar, empezar | to start, begin |
| dejar de | to stop …ing |
| descansar | to rest, relax |
| despertarse | to wake up |
| doler | to hurt, be painful |
| dormir | to sleep |
| durar | to last |
| mejorar | to improve |
| pedir | to ask, ask for |
| recomendar | to recommend |
For example:
Tengo que pedir una cita. - I have to make an appointment.
Debes dejar de acostarte tan tarde. - You have to stop going to bed so late.
Debes beber más agua. - You must drink more water.
Necesitas descansar el pie. - You need to rest your foot.
All Foundation Tier vocabulary listed in this guide can be found on the vocabulary sheet below.
Grammar - Prepositions of time ‘desde’
Desde means ‘since’ in sentences when something is ongoing.
It is translated into English as the past tense, even though the Spanish verb used is in the present tense.
Desde follows the present tense verb and is followed by the relevant length of time.
For example:
Tengo el dolor de estómago desde lunes. - I’ve had a stomach ache since Monday.
Using ‘desde’ - Mini quiz
Complete the following sentences in Spanish.
______ el dolor de cabeza _____ martes.
I’ve had a headache since Tuesday.
Tengo el dolor de cabeza desde el martes.
Although the English translation is in the past tense, the present tense of the verb ‘to have’, tengo (I have) is the verb that is used with desde.
______ problemas con su rodilla _____ la semana pasada.
She’s been having problems with her knee.
Tiene problemas con su rodilla desde la semana pasada.
Although the English translation is in the past tense, the present tense of the verb ‘to have’, tiene (she has) is the verb that is used with desde.
Find out more about using desde in the Prepositions of place and time in Spanish guide.
Vocabulary sheet
Click or tap on the image below for a list of useful vocabulary to use when describing illnesses and injuries.
Higher Tier - Vocabulary - Illnesses and injuries
Useful nouns include:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| el consejo | (piece of) advice |
| el dolor de cabeza | headache |
| el dolor de dientes | toothache |
| la herida | wound, injury |
| el médico/a | doctor |
For example:
Necesito ver al médico. - I need to see the doctor.
Tengo dolor de la cabeza. - I have a headache.
Useful verbs include:
| Spanish | English | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| acostarse | to go to bed | caer, caerse | to fall, fall over |
| cuidar | to look after | evitar | to avoid |
| preocupar, preocuparse por | to worry, be a worry | quemar(se) | to burn (oneself) |
| sentirse | to feel | sufrir | to suffer, be in pain |
For example:
No me siento muy bien. - I don’t feel well.
Me preocupo porque he tenido un fuerte dolor de cabeza desde la semana pasada. - I'm worried because I've had a bad headache since last week.
All vocabulary listed in this guide can be found on the vocabulary sheet below.
Higher Tier - Grammar – The imperative
Use the vosotros form of the imperative when talking to more than one person informally. To form positive commands for the vosotros form, change the r at the end of the infinitive to a d.
hablar (to speak) → hablad (speak)
correr (to run) → corred (run)
dormir (to sleep) → dormid (sleep)
For example:
¡Cambiad vuestras dietas! – Change your diets!
¡Comed todas las verduras! - Eat all the vegetables!
¡Dormid por lo menos ocho horas! - Sleep for at least eight hours!
Find out more about using the imperative at Higher Tier in the Imperatives in Spanish guide
Higher Tier - Grammar - Prepositions of time ‘desde hace’
Desde hace is used with the present tense to say how long you have been doing something, or how long something has been happening.
For example:
Tiene problemas con su pierna desde hace tres días. - He’s been having problems with his leg for three days.
When used in a question, desde hace often comes at the start.
For example:
¿Desde hace cuánto tiempo tienes dolor? - How long have you had pain for?
Find out more about using desde and desde hace in the Prepositions of place and time in Spanish guide.
Higher Tier - Vocabulary sheet
Click or tap on the image below for a list of useful Higher Tier vocabulary to use when describing illnesses and injuries.
Now you have revised the important vocabulary and key grammar points for talking about illnesses and injuries, why not have a look at the Talking about the environment in Spanish guide.
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