A2 · Unit 15 · 40 words, 3 texts with translation
Understand what the doctor tells you
Go to the doctor and the pharmacy: say what hurts, name medicines and understand what the doctor tells you to do.
Texts in this unit
Grammar in this unit
Commands for usted and vosotros: tome, abra, pasad
You already know how to tell a friend to do something: toma, abre, pon. That's the tú command (unit 6). Now you'll learn the same thing for usted (that's how a doctor or a pharmacist talks to you) and for a group of friends.
For usted. Take the yo form of the present tense, drop the -o and add the "opposite" vowel: -ar verbs get -e, -er and -ir verbs get -a.
| Verb | yo form | usted command |
|---|---|---|
| tomar | tomo | tome — take |
| beber | bebo | beba — drink |
| abrir | abro | abra — open |
| volver | vuelvo | vuelva — come back |
| poner | pongo | ponga — put |
| decir | digo | diga — say, tell |
If the yo form is irregular (vuelvo, pongo, digo), the command keeps that change by itself. A few verbs break the rule; for now, just learn the most useful one: ir → vaya (go).
For vosotros: when you talk to several people and call each of them tú. Change the -r of the infinitive to -d. There are no exceptions: pasar → pasad, beber → bebed, abrir → abrid.
A pronoun is attached to the end of the command, and a written accent appears: dígame — tell me, cuídese — take care of yourself.
- Pase y espere aquí, por favor. — Come in and wait here, please.
- Tome el jarabe y beba mucha agua. — Take the syrup and drink lots of water.
- Chicos, pasad y coged una silla. — Guys, come in and grab a chair.
Common mistake. In English, "come in" works for anyone: one person or several, a friend or a stranger. Spanish uses a different word for each: to an elderly neighbor you say pase (usted), to two friends pasad (vosotros). And pasa is for one friend (tú).
Tricky gender: el problema, la mano, el agua
You already know that words ending in -o are usually masculine and words ending in -a are usually feminine (A1, unit 1). When you talk about health, you meet three exceptions right away, and almost everyone gets them wrong.
1. Many words ending in -ma are masculine: el problema, el síntoma, el idioma. But not all of them: la cama, la crema. Two more masculine words in -a: el día and el mapa. The article and the adjective are masculine too: un problema serio, muchos síntomas.
2. Ends in -o, but feminine. The main word is la mano (hand). The short word la foto (photo) belongs here too. So you say la mano derecha, una foto bonita.
3. el agua is feminine but takes el. The word starts with a stressed a, and two a's in a row (la agua) are hard to say, so in the singular the article changes to el. The word itself is still feminine: el agua fría, mucha agua, las aguas. El hambre (hunger) works the same way: mucha hambre.
- Tengo un problema: me duele la mano derecha. — I have a problem: my right hand hurts.
- ¿Tiene algún otro síntoma? — Do you have any other symptoms?
- El agua está muy fría. — The water is very cold.
- Beba mucha agua. — Drink lots of water.
Common mistake: guessing the gender from the ending: ✗ la problema, ✗ el mano, ✗ el agua frío, ✗ mucho agua. All four are wrong.
For words ending in -e or in a consonant, you can't tell the gender by looking: la sangre, la piel, la tos, but el jarabe, el análisis. So learn every new word together with its article.
Words in this unit
el doctor — doctor
Buenos días, doctor. — Good morning, doctor.
el/la paciente — patient
El paciente espera en la sala. — The patient is waiting in the room.
la consulta — doctor's appointment, doctor's office
Tengo consulta con el médico a las cinco. — I have an appointment with the doctor at five.
cita previa — appointment (booked in advance)
Quiero pedir cita previa con el médico. — I want to make an appointment with the doctor.
sala de espera — waiting room
Espere en la sala de espera, por favor. — Wait in the waiting room, please. (formal)
tarjeta sanitaria — health card
Necesito mi tarjeta sanitaria para la cita. — I need my health card for the appointment.
las urgencias — ER, emergency room
Voy a urgencias, me duele mucho. — I'm going to the ER, it really hurts.
el síntoma — symptom
¿Qué síntomas tiene? — What symptoms do you have? (formal)
grave — serious
No es nada grave, es un resfriado. — It's nothing serious, it's a cold.
mareado — dizzy, queasy
Estoy mareada y me duele la cabeza. — I'm dizzy and my head hurts (woman speaking).
débil — weak
Me siento muy débil. — I feel very weak.
toser — to cough
Toso mucho por la noche. — I cough a lot at night.
respirar — to breathe
Respire hondo, por favor. — Breathe deeply, please. (formal)
estornudar — to sneeze
Estornudo mucho en primavera. — I sneeze a lot in the spring.
picar — to itch, to bite (insects)
Me pica la espalda. — My back itches.
hinchado — swollen
Tengo el pie hinchado. — My foot is swollen.
la herida — wound, cut
Tengo una herida en la mano. — I have a cut on my hand.
la sangre — blood
Me sale sangre de la nariz. — My nose is bleeding.
el pecho — chest
Me duele el pecho al respirar. — My chest hurts when I breathe.
la piel — skin
Tengo la piel muy seca. — My skin is very dry.
la alergia — allergy
Tengo alergia al polen. — I have a pollen allergy.
el análisis — test, lab test
Tengo que hacerme un análisis de sangre. — I have to get a blood test.
la radiografía — X-ray
Me hacen una radiografía del pie. — They're doing an X-ray of my foot.
la tensión — blood pressure
La enfermera me toma la tensión. — The nurse is taking my blood pressure.
curar — to cure, to heal
El médico cura a los enfermos. — The doctor heals the sick.
empeorar — to get worse
Si empeora, vuelva mañana. — If you get worse, come back tomorrow. (formal)
cuidarse — to take care of yourself
Cuídate mucho, que hace frío. — Take good care of yourself, it's cold out.
recetar — to prescribe
El médico me receta un jarabe. — The doctor prescribes a syrup for me.
el jarabe — syrup (medicine)
Tome el jarabe tres veces al día. — Take the syrup three times a day. (formal)
la gota — drop
Tome diez gotas antes de comer. — Take ten drops before meals. (formal)
la crema — cream, ointment
Aplique la crema dos veces al día. — Apply the cream twice a day. (formal)
la tirita — Band-Aid, adhesive bandage
Necesito una tirita, me he cortado. — I need a Band-Aid, I cut myself.
la venda — bandage
Necesito una venda para el dedo. — I need a bandage for my finger.
el termómetro — thermometer
Mira el termómetro: ¿tienes fiebre? — Look at the thermometer: do you have a fever?
la inyección — shot, injection
No me gustan las inyecciones. — I don't like shots.
la vacuna — vaccine
Me pongo la vacuna de la gripe cada año. — I get the flu shot every year.
el farmacéutico — pharmacist
El farmacéutico me explica cómo tomar el jarabe. — The pharmacist explains to me how to take the syrup.
sano — healthy
Es una comida muy sana. — It's very healthy food.
el embarazo — pregnancy
El embarazo dura nueve meses. — Pregnancy lasts nine months.
que te mejores — get well soon
Adiós, Pablo. ¡Que te mejores! — Bye, Pablo. Get well soon!
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