Me duele la garganta cuando hace frío.

My throat hurts when it is cold.

Breakdown of Me duele la garganta cuando hace frío.

• me: me
• cuando: when
• hacer: to do, to make
• frío: cold

Questions & Answers about Me duele la garganta cuando hace frío.

Why is it me duele instead of yo duele or mi garganta duele?

Because in Spanish, doler works like gustar: the thing that hurts is the subject, and the person who feels it is an indirect object.

• Me duele la garganta = “The throat hurts me.” (natural)
• Yo duele is ungrammatical.
• Mi garganta duele is possible but sounds clinical or unusual; everyday speech prefers me duele + body part.

What exactly does me do here? Is this reflexive?

No. Me is an indirect object pronoun meaning “to me.” The verb isn’t reflexive. The structure is “X hurts to me,” where X (here, la garganta) is the subject.

Why is it duele (singular) and not duelen (plural)?

The verb agrees with what hurts. La garganta is singular, so duele. If multiple things hurt, use plural:

• Me duelen las piernas.
• ¿Te duelen los ojos?

When would I use duelen?