Me duele el hombro derecho cuando levanto el brazo.

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Breakdown of Me duele el hombro derecho cuando levanto el brazo.

• me: me
• cuando: when
• levantar: to raise

Questions & Answers about Me duele el hombro derecho cuando levanto el brazo.

In me duele el hombro derecho, who is the subject: me or el hombro?

The grammatical subject is el hombro (derecho), not me.

• doler works like gustar:
  • Me duele el hombro. = The shoulder hurts me / My shoulder hurts.
  • Me gusta el libro. = The book pleases me / I like the book.

So:

• duele is 3rd person singular because it agrees with el hombro.
• me is an indirect object pronoun meaning “to me”.

Literally: El hombro (derecho) duele a mí. → The (right) shoulder is painful to me.

How would the sentence change if more than one thing hurt?

With plural things, doler becomes duelen:

• Me duele el hombro. – My shoulder hurts.
• Me duelen los hombros. – My shoulders hurt.
• Me duele el hombro y el cuello. – My shoulder and neck hurt.
• Me duelen el hombro y el cuello. – My shoulder and neck hurt. (also possible: plural verb because the logical subject is plural)

So the verb agrees in number with what is painful, not with the person who feels the pain.

What exactly does me mean here? How do I change it for other people?