Log inSign up

Me duelen el codo y la rodilla.

Me duelen el codo y la rodilla.
My elbow and my knee hurt.
From Lesson 49:Verbs like gustar (encantar, doler)·Spanish (Latin America)

Breakdown of Me duelen el codo y la rodilla.

y
and
doler
to hurt / to ache
la rodilla
the knee
el codo
the elbow

Questions & Answers about Me duelen el codo y la rodilla.

Why is the verb plural (duelen) if the body parts are singular words?
Just like gustar, the verb doler (to hurt) matches the things causing the feeling. Even though el codo (the elbow) and la rodilla (the knee) are singular on their own, together they make a plural subject (elbow and knee). Since two things are hurting you, we use the plural form duelen.
The translation says 'my elbow', but the Spanish uses el (the). Why not use mi codo?
In Spanish, we use definite articles (el, la, los, las) instead of possessive words (like mi or mis) when talking about our own body parts. The listener already knows whose elbow and knee are hurting because of the me (to me) at the beginning of the sentence.
How exactly does the word order work here with Me duelen?
Doler works just like gustar. Instead of saying 'I hurt my elbow', the Spanish phrasing is closer to 'The elbow and the knee cause pain to me.' The me tells us who is receiving the pain, and it comes right before the verb.
The dictionary form is doler, so why is it spelled with a 'ue' in duelen?
Doler is a stem-changing verb. When we conjugate it in the present tense, the o in the root of the word changes to ue. That is why we say duele (it hurts) and duelen (they hurt).

Learn Me duelen el codo y la rodilla and more in Spanish

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Spanish →