Breakdown of J'ai mal au bras depuis hier.
hier
yesterday
avoir mal
to be in pain, to hurt
depuis
since/for
le bras
the arm
Questions & Answers about J'ai mal au bras depuis hier.
Why does the French sentence use the present tense (J'ai) when the English translation uses the present perfect ("has hurt")?
In French, when an action started in the past and is still continuing in the present, you use the present tense with depuis (since/for). Because your arm still hurts right now, you say J'ai mal instead of a past tense.
The English translation says "My arm", but there is no mon (my) in the French sentence. Why?
In French, you usually do not use possessive adjectives like mon or ton with body parts when it is obvious whose body part it is. Instead, you use the definite article (le, la, les). The structure avoir mal à makes it clear that it is your own arm hurting.
Why is it au bras instead of à le bras?
Is avoir mal à the only way to say that a body part hurts?