J'ai mal à la tête, je prends un médicament.

I have a headache; I am taking a medication.

Breakdown of J'ai mal à la tête, je prends un médicament.

• je: I
• prendre: to take
• avoir mal à la tête: to have a headache
• le médicament: the medication

Questions & Answers about J'ai mal à la tête, je prends un médicament.

Why is it J'ai mal à la tête instead of something like Ma tête fait mal or Je suis mal à la tête?

French expresses pain with the idiom avoir mal à + definite article + body part. So you say J'ai mal à la tête (literally: I have pain at the head).

• Ma tête me fait mal is understandable and not wrong, but it’s less idiomatic in everyday speech.
• Je suis mal à la tête is incorrect for pain. Use J'ai mal à…, or for general illness, Je suis malade.

Why is it à la tête and not de la tête?

The construction is fixed: avoir mal à + body part. The preposition is à, not de. Examples:

• J'ai mal au dos (back; masculine → à + le = au)
• J'ai mal aux yeux (eyes; plural → à + les = aux)
• J'ai mal à l'estomac (vowel → à l')

Why is it la tête and not ma tête?

French normally uses the definite article with body parts when the possessor is obvious (from the subject or a reflexive verb). With avoir mal, it’s always the definite article:

• J'ai mal à la tête, Il a mal au bras, Elle a mal aux dents.

Is J'ai mal de tête correct?

In standard French (France), no: say J'ai mal à la tête.

• You may see mal de tête as a noun phrase (a headache): un mal de tête, des maux de tête.
• In Québec/Belgium, avoir mal de tête is used, but it’s regionally marked.

Can I say J'ai un mal de tête?

Yes, it exists and is understood as I have a headache, but in everyday France-French, J'ai mal à la tête is more common. Plural: J'ai des maux de tête is also common in medical or formal contexts.

Why un médicament and not something like de la médecine?

• Un médicament = a drug/medicine (a dose or product). Countable.
• La médecine = the field of medicine (what doctors study/practice). Not what you swallow.
  Other common words:
• Un comprimé / un cachet / une pilule (a pill)
• Un sirop (a liquid medicine)
• Un antidouleur / un analgésique (a painkiller)

Should it be je prend or je prends?

It’s je prends with -s (silent). Present tense of prendre:

• je prends, tu prends, il/elle prend, nous prenons, vous prenez, ils/elles prennent.

Is the present je prends the best choice here? What about je vais prendre?

Both work, with nuance:

• Je prends un médicament = I’m taking one (now) or that’s what I do (habitually).
• Je vais prendre un médicament = I’m going to take one (imminent intention).
• For advice or a plan, you might also hear Je prendrai (future) or Je prendrais (would take), depending on context.

Is the comma between the two clauses okay in French?

Yes. French tolerates a comma between two related main clauses more than English does. You could also write:

• J'ai mal à la tête, alors je prends un médicament.
• J'ai mal à la tête ; je prends un médicament.
• J'ai mal à la tête et je prends un médicament.

How do I make it negative?

Use ne… pas and change the indefinite article to de:

• Je ne prends pas de médicament.
  Other options:
• Je ne prends aucun médicament. (I don’t take any medication at all)

Can I say je bois a medicine instead of je prends?

• Je prends un médicament is the default.
• If it’s liquid, je bois du sirop is fine.
• If it’s a pill, j’avale un comprimé (I swallow a tablet) is natural.

What about article/number: un médicament vs des médicaments?

• Un médicament = one dose/product.
• Des médicaments = several medicines.
  If you mean medication in general (uncountable idea), French still uses countable forms or a specific product type: Je prends des médicaments / du paracétamol / un antidouleur.

How do I pronounce the sentence?

Approximate IPA and tips:

• J'ai [ʒe]
• mal [mal]
• à la [a la]
• tête [tɛt] (short open ê, final -e pronounced [t])
• je [ʒ(ə)] (the schwa may be very light or dropped)
• prends [pʁɑ̃] (nasal vowel; final -ds silent)
• un [œ̃] (nasal like French un)
• médicament [medikamɑ̃] (final -t silent; nasal -ment [mɑ̃])
  Slowly: [ʒe mal a la tɛt | ʒə pʁɑ̃ œ̃ medikamɑ̃]

Is there a liaison in prends un?

After a verb, liaison is optional. You may hear:

• Without liaison: [pʁɑ̃ œ̃]
• With liaison: [pʁɑ̃.z‿œ̃] (a light z-sound between prends and un)
  Both are acceptable; careful speech favors the liaison.

Why is it J'ai with an apostrophe?

It’s elision: je + ai → j'ai because ai starts with a vowel. Elision is mandatory here. You cannot write Je ai.

Could I say Ça me fait mal à la tête?

Yes, that’s natural and means roughly the same (it makes my head hurt). But the most straightforward way to report your own pain is still J'ai mal à la tête.

What are some other body-part examples with the right articles?

• J'ai mal au ventre (stomach/tummy; masculine)
• J'ai mal aux oreilles (ears; plural)
• J'ai mal à l'œil (eye; vowel/elision)
• J'ai mal à la gorge (throat; feminine)

Any pitfalls with accents and spelling here?

• tête needs the circumflex: ê.
• à has a grave accent.
• médicament has é (not medicament).
• prends ends with silent -ds.
  Leaving off these accents is considered a spelling mistake.

How would I talk about past pain and taking medicine?

• Completed event: J'ai eu mal à la tête, j'ai pris un médicament.
• Background/habit: Quand j'avais mal à la tête, je prenais un médicament.

Can I replace un médicament with a pronoun?

Yes, use en for an indefinite/partitive noun:

• Tu prends un médicament ? — Oui, j'en prends un.
• With plural: Tu prends des médicaments ? — Oui, j'en prends.
  Don’t use le/la/les unless you’re referring to a specific, previously identified medicine.