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Après la marche, j'ai mal aux genoux.

Après la marche, j'ai mal aux genoux.
After the walk, my knees hurt.
From Lesson 244:Jobs, school and sport·French

Questions & Answers about Après la marche, j'ai mal aux genoux.

Why does the French sentence say j'ai mal aux instead of translating "my knees" directly?
In French, you don't typically say "my [body part] hurts". Instead, you use the expression avoir mal à, which roughly means "to have pain at". Because the sentence starts with j'ai (I have), it is already clear whose knees are hurting. Therefore, French uses the definite article (the) rather than a possessive word like mes (my). Since genoux is plural, the preposition à and the article les combine into aux.
I thought marche was a verb. Can it also be a noun?
Yes! While marche is a conjugated form of the verb marcher (to walk), it is also a feminine noun meaning "a walk" or "walking". In this sentence, la marche refers to the physical activity of the walk you just took. Another common noun you will see for a leisurely walk or stroll is la promenade.
Why does the plural word genoux end in an "x" instead of an "s"?
Most French nouns add an "s" to become plural, but words ending in "-ou" can be tricky. There are seven specific "-ou" nouns that take an "x" instead. They are bijou (jewel), caillou (stone), chou (cabbage), genou (knee), hibou (owl), joujou (toy), and pou (louse). Because of this rule, one knee is un genou, and two knees are des genoux.

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