Let’s practice talking about pain in basic English.
What is pain? It’s hard to describe, isn’t it? Give it a try. Can you define it in your own words?
Let’s learn some vocabulary so you can talk about physical pain in English.
HURT, INJURE, WOUND, ACHE, AND SORE
Hurt/Injure/Wound – verb – To cause damage
Subject + hurt/injured + poss. adj. + body part
I hurt my knee. (General)
He injured his ankle. (Accident or attack)
She wounded her shoulder. (Usually refers to a hole or cut)
As a noun, a wound is damaged part of the body, a cut or a hole.
The noun of injure is injury. Injury is physical harm due to accident or attack.
Poss. adj. + body part + hurt
My knee hurts.
His ankle hurts.
Subject + hurt/injured + reflexive pronoun
I hurt myself.
People often hurt themselves when skiing.
Ache – Verb/Noun – Continuous, unpleasant but weak pain
Poss. adj. + body part + ache
My tooth aches.
His back aches.
As a noun, ache is usually combined with certain body parts:
Tomas has a…
headache
toothache
earache
stomach ache
backache
heartache (emotional)
Sore – Adjective/Noun – Uncomfortable due to injury or infection
Poss. adj. + body part + to be + sore
My neck is sore.
His knees are sore.
As a noun, a sore is a painful, infected patch of skin.
PAIN
Pain is a noun that is often combined with an adjective to be more specific.
I have a/an ___ pain in my arm.
Adjectives:
acute
sharp
dull
chronic
throbbing
LET’S PRACTICE!
Correct or incorrect?
1.) I have a hurt.
2.) I am in pain.
3.) Tom has a backache.
4.) The patient has a wound in her leg.
5.) You hurt his feelings.
6.) The child has sore lip.
7.) They hurt themself yesterday.
8.) Are you okay? You have an injured.
What do you want to learn about next?
