Breakdown of El glotón tuvo una indigestión terrible y le dolió la panza.
y
and
tener
to have
una
a, an (feminine)
le
to him / to her / to you (formal)
doler
to hurt / to ache
la
the (feminine)
terrible
terrible / awful
la indigestión
the indigestion
la panza
the belly
el glotón
the glutton
Questions & Answers about El glotón tuvo una indigestión terrible y le dolió la panza.
Since this lesson is about the affective dative, is the "le" in "le dolió" an example of it?
It is very closely related, but with a key difference! This is a "dative of possession" (or sympathetic dative). While an affective dative is an extra, technically redundant pronoun added for emotional flavor, the le here is structurally required. Because Spanish avoids possessive adjectives with body parts, the indirect object pronoun le is mandatory to show whose belly is hurting.
Why does the sentence use "la panza" instead of "su panza" for "his belly"?
In Spanish, you almost always use the definite article (el, la, etc.) instead of possessive adjectives (mi, tu, su) for body parts and clothing. The pronoun le earlier in the clause already makes it completely clear whose belly is hurting.
How does the verb "doler" work here grammatically?
Is "panza" the standard word for stomach in Latin America?
While estómago is the literal, anatomical word for stomach, panza is the incredibly common, everyday word for "belly" or "tummy" everywhere in Latin America. It pairs perfectly with the slightly informal tone of glotón.
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