Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Después de trotar, me duele el tobillo izquierdo y masajeo el hombro con crema. - After jogging, my left ankle hurts and I massage my shoulder with cream.

In Spanish, when you want to express “after” doing something, you use Después de + infinitive. The preposition de is mandatory before the infinitive. You wouldn’t say Después trotar. If you had a noun instead of a verb, de would contract with el (masculine singular) to del, as in después del partido.

How do you pronounce después and trotar, and where is the stress?

Después is stressed on the last syllable (de-spu-ÉS), and the accent on ú marks that. Trotar is also stressed on the last syllable (tro-TAR); infinitives ending in -ar, -er, -ir carry their natural stress on the final syllable when there’s no written accent.

Why is it me duele el tobillo and not duele me el tobillo?

The verb doler works like gustar: the thing that hurts (el tobillo) is the subject, and the person feeling it is an indirect object. You place the indirect object pronoun (me, te, le, etc.) before the verb, then conjugate doler to agree with the subject. So me duele el tobillo literally means “the ankle hurts me.” Standard Spanish does not allow duele me in this construction.

Why does the adjective izquierdo come after tobillo, and why is it izquierdo instead of izquierda?

Spanish adjectives typically follow the noun they modify, so you say tobillo izquierdo, not izquierdo tobillo. Also, adjectives must agree in gender and number: tobillo is masculine singular, so the adjective is izquierdo (masculine singular), not izquierda (feminine).

In masajeo el hombro con crema, why isn’t it reflexive (me masajeo), and why do we use el before hombro?

You can use masajear as a transitive verb with a direct object: masajeo el hombro. Even though it’s your own shoulder, the reflexive pronoun (me) is optional—both masajeo el hombro and me masajeo el hombro are correct, though dropping me is common if context is clear. Spanish also generally uses the definite article before body parts (el hombro, la mano, los pies) when the possessor is indicated by a pronoun.

Can I say me doy un masaje en el hombro instead of masajeo el hombro? What’s the difference?

Yes. Dar(se) un masaje is a common reflexive construction: me doy un masaje en el hombro (“I give myself a massage on the shoulder”). Masajear names the action itself (“to massage”), while dar un masaje focuses on giving/receiving the massage. Both are correct; choose based on which phrase feels more natural or clear in context.

Could I use estoy masajeando el hombro con crema instead of masajeo el hombro con crema? When do you use the simple present vs. the present progressive?

In Spanish, the simple present often covers both habitual actions and actions happening right now. Masajeo el hombro can mean “I’m massaging my shoulder” if the context points to an ongoing action. To emphasize continuity, you can use the present progressive: estoy masajeando el hombro con crema. Both forms are correct; in Latin America, speakers frequently use the simple present even for current activities.

Why is it con crema and not con la crema or con una crema?

Con crema is indefinite and generic: “with cream” (as in “using lotion”). If you want to specify a particular cream you mentioned earlier, you could say con la crema. Or to emphasize “a cream” among several types, con una crema works. In many contexts, though, learners simply say con crema to indicate they’re applying some sort of cream.