11.05.25: Level 2; topic; Mankind; the human body; accident and illness [8]

Consider yourself lucky that you never had to see a doctor in Ancient Rome, but we can practise saying what is wrong with you.

Image #1

Quid tibi est?  │What’s wrong with you?

Quid tibi dolet? │What’s hurting you? (What is causing you pain?)

Dorsum mihi dolet. │My back is hurting. (My back is causing me pain.)

doleō, -ēre [2]; doluī: hurt; cause pain can be used in the 3^rd person singular or plural to indicate what is / are hurting. In English we usually say ‘my back hurts’, but Latin expresses the idea literally as ‘the back is causing pain to me’ using the dative case of the person affected. If the noun is singular dolet is used, if the noun is plural then the verb will be dolent:

Dēns mihi dolet. │ My tooth hurts. / I have toothache.

Doletne tibi caput? │Do you have a headache?

Dentēs mihi dolent. │ My teeth hurt.

Image #2

[1] Look at the images below and, using dolet or dolent, say what is / are hurting you.

aurēs; bracchium; calcāneum; caput; collum; crūs; dēns; digitī; digitus; genū; humerus; manus; oculī; pedēs; pēs; venter

[2] Now change the phrases, this time saying what was / were hurting using the imperfect tense: dolēbat or dolēbant.

Dēns mihi dolēbat. │ My tooth was hurting / I was having toothache.

Dentēs mihi dolēbant.│ My teeth were hurting.

Reading

Puer quī aegrōtat māne ē lectō nōn surgit, neque vestēs induit, neque per scālās dēscendit. Māter ad puerum venit, cui, "Cūr," inquit, "ē lectō nōn surrēxistī?" Cūr vestēs nōn induistī?"

Cui puer, "Ō māter," inquit, "aegrōtō. Ex capite, ex ventre labōrō."

Deinde māter medicum quaerit; medicus venit et puerō, "Linguam," inquit, "mihi mōnstra." Puer linguam extendit, et medicus, "Ō tē miserum," exclāmat, "Pessima est lingua; oportet tē medicāmentum bibere. Medicāmentum tibi mittam."

aegrotō, -āre, -āvī [1]: be sick, ill

extendō, -ere, extendī [3]: stretch out

induō, -ere, induī [3]: put on (e.g. clothes); exuō, -ere, exuī [3]: take off (e.g. clothes)

(ē lectō) surgō, -ere, surrēxī [3]: get up (out of bed)

medicāmentum, -ī [2/n]: medicine

Note: another way of expressing the source of pain is using the preposition ē / ex + the ablative:

ex capite ¦ labōrō │ literally: I’m suffering ¦ from the head = I have a headache, a sore head

ex ventre ¦ labōrō │ literally: I’m suffering ¦ from the stomach = I have stomach ache, a sore stomach