UNIT 8 LESSON 02: WHAT´S THE MATTER?

LESSON 02: WHAT’S THE MATTER?

Let’s talk about health problems! 🤒

🎯 WHAT WILL YOU LEARN?

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

talk about common health problems
understand and use words such as headache, cough and toothache
ask What’s the matter? and What’s wrong?
say what is wrong using I’ve got…
say when you don’t feel well
understand simple conversations about health

Ready? Let’s talk about how you feel! 😊

Volver al principio

🤒 COMMON HEALTH PROBLEMS

When we don’t feel well, we can use different words to explain what is wrong.

English	Spanish
a headache	dolor de cabeza
an earache	dolor de oído
a toothache	dolor de muelas
a stomachache	dolor de estómago
a backache	dolor de espalda
a sore throat	dolor de garganta
a cough	tos
a cold	resfriado
a fever	fiebre
a temperature	temperatura / fiebre
a runny nose	moqueo
to feel sick	sentirse mal / tener náuseas
to feel tired	sentirse cansado/a

💡 Remember: Many health problems use a/an: a headache, an earache, a cough.

❓ WHAT’S THE MATTER?

We can ask someone about their health in two easy ways:

Question	Example answer
What’s the matter?	I’ve got a headache.
What’s wrong?	I’ve got a sore throat.

I’ve got…

We can use I’ve got + health problem to say what is wrong.

I’ve got a headache.
I’ve got a cough.
I’ve got a cold.
I’ve got a stomachache.

I don’t feel well.

Sometimes we don’t know exactly what the problem is. We can simply say:

I don’t feel well.
I feel sick.
I feel tired.

🗣️ A SHORT CONVERSATION

Emma: Hi, Leo. What’s the matter?

Leo: I don’t feel well. I’ve got a headache.

Emma: Oh no! Have you got a temperature?

Leo: No, I haven’t. But I’ve got a sore throat too.

Emma: I’m sorry! I hope you feel better soon.

Leo: Thanks!

Check your understanding

Who doesn’t feel well?
What does Leo have?
Has Leo got a temperature?
What does Emma say at the end?

🔎 WHAT’S WRONG?

Can you choose the correct health problem?

I have a pain in my head. → I’ve got a headache.
My throat hurts. → I’ve got a sore throat.
I keep coughing. → I’ve got a cough.
My tooth hurts. → I’ve got a toothache.
My stomach hurts. → I’ve got a stomachache.

✏️ TALK ABOUT YOUR HEALTH

Imagine that you are not feeling well. Complete these sentences:

I’ve got…
My … hurts.
I don’t feel…
I feel…

Now ask someone:

What’s the matter?
What’s wrong?

🏆 A2 CHALLENGE

Read the clues and guess the health problem.

My head hurts and I don’t feel well. → I’ve got a headache.
It hurts when I swallow. → I’ve got a sore throat.
I can’t stop coughing. → I’ve got a cough.
My tooth hurts a lot. → I’ve got a toothache.
My body is hot and I’m not feeling well. → I’ve got a fever.

🎮 GAMES — Practise health problems!

Practise the vocabulary and questions from this lesson!

JUEGO 1

JUEGO 2

JUEGO 3

¿Cómo pregunto a alguien qué le pasa?

Puedes decir What’s the matter? o What’s wrong?.

¿Cómo digo «me duele la cabeza»?

Una forma sencilla es I’ve got a headache.

¿Por qué usamos a en a headache?

Porque headache es un sustantivo contable. Decimos a headache, a cough o a cold.

¿Por qué decimos an earache?

Usamos an delante de palabras que empiezan por sonido vocálico: an earache.

¿Puedo decir I have a headache?

Sí. I have a headache y I’ve got a headache son formas correctas de expresar el mismo problema.

¿Cuál es la diferencia entre a cold y a cough?

A cold es un resfriado y a cough es tos. Puedes tener los dos al mismo tiempo.

¿Qué digo si simplemente no me encuentro bien?

Puedes decir I don’t feel well o I feel sick.

¿Ya tengo que aprender a dar consejos?

No. En esta lección aprendemos a hablar de problemas de salud. En la siguiente aprenderemos a dar consejos con should y shouldn’t.

📥 Fichas descargables

📝 Ficha de ejercicios — Health Problems. Nivel sencillo

📝 Ficha de ejercicios — Health Problems. Nivel avanzado

📝 Resumen

En esta lección de inglés A2 aprendemos a hablar de problemas de salud y a explicar cómo nos sentimos. Practicamos vocabulario como headache, stomachache, toothache, cough, cold, sore throat y temperature, además de expresiones útiles como What’s the matter?, What’s wrong?, I’ve got… e I don’t feel well. También trabajamos pequeñas conversaciones para aprender a preguntar y responder sobre la salud.

Volver al principio