Breakdown of Tengo dolor de garganta y quiero descansar en mi cuarto.
yo
I
querer
to want
tener
to have
en
in
mi
my
y
and
el cuarto
the room
descansar
to rest
de
of
el dolor
the pain
la garganta
the throat
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Questions & Answers about Tengo dolor de garganta y quiero descansar en mi cuarto.
Why do we say Tengo dolor de garganta instead of something like Estoy dolor de garganta?
In Spanish, tener (to have) is used to describe many physical conditions or states, such as tener hambre (to be hungry), tener sed (to be thirsty), and tener fiebre (to have a fever). So, to express having pain in your throat, you say Tengo dolor de garganta ("I have a sore throat"). Using estar ("to be") is not correct in this context.
What is the difference between Tengo dolor de garganta and Me duele la garganta?
Both are correct, but they have slightly different structures.
• Tengo dolor de garganta literally means "I have a pain of throat.”
• Me duele la garganta means "My throat hurts (me).”
They convey the same idea. The choice often comes down to personal preference or regional usage.
Why is descansar used here, instead of, for example, descansarse?
In standard European Spanish, descansar is used without a reflexive pronoun to mean “to rest.” The form descansarse exists but is much less common and often carries nuances of resting oneself in older or dialectal contexts. In day-to-day usage, descansar is the natural choice.
Could cuarto be replaced with another word like habitación?
Yes, you could say descansar en mi habitación or even descansar en mi dormitorio. They all mean "my room," but cuarto is very common and colloquial in Spain. Habitación can sound a bit more formal or might also be used for “hotel room,” and dormitorio specifically refers to a bedroom.
Do I need to say quiero or can I say quisiera?
• Quiero is the present indicative of querer, meaning “I want.” It is straightforward and direct.
• Quisiera is a more polite or conditional form, translating roughly as “I would like.”
In everyday speech, both can be used, but quiero sounds more direct, while quisiera sounds more polite or tentative.