Vocabulary · Lesson 15

Health & the body: describe what is happening clearly

A useful health message does more than name one symptom. Say what you notice, where it is, when it started, how long it has continued, and how serious it feels. Then understand the next question or instruction.

50–60 min coresymptom · location · onsetduration · severity · urgency15–20 min listening and retrieval

NoticeFind six kinds of information in one fictional call.

DiscoverChoose have, feel, hurt, or pain in.

BuildAdd body location, onset, duration, severity, and questions.

UseComplete a fictional clinic intake and clarify instructions.

Can-do: By the end, you can describe common symptoms and body locations; say when a problem started and how long it has continued; report severity; answer common health questions; distinguish general advice from reported instructions; and use direct language to request urgent help.

Communication lesson, not medical advice

This page teaches English for sharing information. It cannot diagnose a condition or tell a person which treatment or medicine is right. A real health care professional or medicine label supplies the medical instruction; the learner practices understanding and reporting it accurately.

Two-minute retrieval

Three checks from earlier lessons

Use advice, a state continuing to now, and the finished time when it began.

1The speaker offers a useful idea, not a rule: You call the clinic for advice.

2The cough began three days ago and continues now: I this cough for three days.

3The sentence asks about the finished beginning last night: The pain last night.

Notice six kinds of health information

Harbor Clinic phone call

“I have a bad cough, and I feel dizzy. I also have pain in my lower back. The cough started on Monday, so I’ve had it for three days. The back pain is a six out of ten. I can breathe normally, and I have not fainted.”

Which phrases name the symptom, feeling, and body location?
Which phrase gives the finished starting time? Which one measures the duration to now?
Which information reports severity and which reports current urgent-warning status?

Discovery check: identify the information job

1In have a bad cough, a cough names a .

2In feel dizzy, the adjective after feel reports a .

3In pain in my lower back, the preposition phrase gives the .

4In started on Monday, past simple locates the .

5In I’ve had it for three days, present perfect connects the symptom to now and reports its .

6In a six out of ten, the number gives a .

Get to the root: report observations, not a diagnosis

A learner does not need to know the medical cause. Clear everyday English reports what the person can observe or feel. Choose the pattern that fits the kind of information.

pattern	use	examples
have + symptom noun	name a symptom	a headache, a cough, a fever, a cold, a sore throat
feel + adjective	describe the person’s state	sick, dizzy, nauseous, tired, weak, short of breath
body part + hurt	name the painful part	My back hurts. My feet hurt.
have pain in + location	locate pain more precisely	I have pain in my chest. I have pain in my left knee.

Have does not always require a. Use an article with singular countable symptom phrases such as a cough or a headache. Do not add one before uncountable pain: I have pain in my shoulder, not a pain in this neutral pattern.

Drill 1: choose the symptom pattern

1The caller names the symptom caused by head pain: I .

2The caller describes an unsteady feeling with an adjective: I when I stand up.

3One singular body part is painful: My left knee when I walk.

4Two plural body parts are painful: My feet after the long walk.

5The caller gives a precise uncountable pain location: I have my lower back.

6The caller means the common respiratory illness, not low body temperature: I , but I do not have a fever.

Locate the problem with useful body groups

Learn nearby parts together so you can point to a precise area. A health professional may ask Where does it hurt? or Where is the pain?

area	useful body words	location example
head and face	head, eye, ear, nose, mouth, tooth, throat, neck	My right ear hurts.
upper body	shoulder, chest, upper back, lower back, stomach	I have pain in my right shoulder.
arm and hand	arm, elbow, wrist, hand, finger	My left wrist hurts.
leg and foot	hip, leg, knee, ankle, foot, toe	My knees hurt after I run.
inside the body	heart, lungs, bone, muscle	The doctor listened to my lungs.

Use left, right, upper, and lower when the side or area matters: my left ankle, my right shoulder, my upper back, my lower stomach. One part takes hurts; plural parts take hurt. The plurals feet and teeth are irregular.

Drill 2: make the body location precise

1Speaking and swallowing are painful in the passage behind the mouth: I have a sore , and it hurts when I swallow.

2The pain is below the waist on the back side of the body: I have pain in my .

3The painful joint connects the hand to the arm: My right hurts when I move my hand.

4The painful joint connects the foot to the leg: My left hurts when I walk.

5More than one tooth is painful, so use the irregular plural and base verb: My when I drink something cold.

6Only the right shoulder is painful, so use singular agreement: My right when I lift my arm.

Add onset, duration, severity, and useful questions

information needed	question	possible answer
main problem	What brings you in today?	I have a bad cough.
location	Where does it hurt?	My lower back hurts.
finished beginning	When did it start?	It started on Monday.
duration to now	How long have you had it?	I’ve had it for three days.
severity	How bad is the pain from zero to ten?	It’s a six out of ten.
safety information	Are you allergic to any medicines?	I’m allergic to penicillin.

Use for with a duration and since with a starting point: for three days, since Monday. The onset question uses past simple because starting is a finished event. The duration question uses present perfect because the symptom continues to now.

Drill 3: choose the question the answer supports

1The patient answers, In my lower back, mostly on the left. The question was

2The patient answers, It started on Monday morning. The question was

3The patient answers, I’ve had it for three days. The question was

4The patient answers, It’s a six out of ten. The question was

5The patient answers, Yes. I’m allergic to penicillin. The question was

6The patient answers, Yes. I take one allergy tablet every morning. The question was

Advice, instructions, and urgent help are different messages

Should gives general advice: You should call the clinic. An imperative can report a direct instruction from a clinician or label: The label says, “Take one tablet with food.” Do not invent a medicine, dose, or treatment. Repeat the real instruction accurately and ask when it is unclear.

A normal health-care path is not always the same. Someone may call a clinic, schedule an appointment, see a doctor or nurse, visit a pharmacist, receive a prescription, or receive no prescription. In U.S. English, a pharmacy fills a prescription, and the patient can pick up the medicine.

Urgent-help language

If a problem seems life-threatening, use emergency services instead of waiting for a routine language practice. In the United States, call 911; elsewhere, use the local emergency number. Useful direct messages include I’m having trouble breathing. I have severe chest pain. She fainted. The bleeding won’t stop. He is suddenly confused. We need an ambulance.

Safety reference: MedlinePlus, Recognizing medical emergencies. These examples support communication and do not diagnose the cause.

Sound natural: stress the new health information

The health detail carries the strongest beat: I have a bad COUGH. My lower BACK hurts. It started on MONday. I’ve had it for THREE DAYS. Clear stress helps the listener collect symptom, location, onset, and duration.

Ache is /eɪk/ in headache and toothache. Cough ends with /f/, despite its spelling. Common U.S. speech reduces the middle of stomach /ˈstʌmək/ and medicine /ˈmɛdəsən/.

Link the duration frame: I’ve had it for three days. For is often weak /fɚ/, while three days stays clear. In Where does it hurt?, does it connects smoothly, but keep where and hurt easy to hear.

If a detail is wrong, correct it with contrastive stress: It started on MONday, not Sunday. The pain is in my LEFT knee, not my right.

Listen for the information a health professional needs

Tutor-read listening: Keep the transcript closed. Read each item once naturally and once more after the learner chooses. Do not diagnose the fictional caller or add treatment advice.

Six health-message decisions

1. What is the caller’s main symptom?

2. Where is the pain?

3. When did the symptom start?

4. How long has the symptom continued?

5. Which medicine allergy does the caller report?

6. What urgent action does the final U.S. message request?

Read the fictional clinic intake

Harbor Clinic intake note, Wednesday at 9:00

Main problem: Omar has a sore throat and a bad cough. Onset: Both started on Monday morning. Duration: He has had them for two days. Other information: He does not have a fever and can breathe normally. Allergy: He is allergic to penicillin. Current medicine: One allergy tablet every morning. Next step: A nurse will call him at 10:30. If he has trouble breathing before then, the clinic message says to call 911.

Reading check: use only the intake note

1. Which two symptoms does Omar report?

2. What does the note say about onset and duration?

3. How are penicillin and the allergy tablet different in the note?

4. According to the clinic message, when should Omar call 911?

Build duration and agreement

Drill 4: report a continuing symptom

The cough began three days ago and continues now. Build the message.

Drill 5: report two painful body parts

Both feet became painful after the walk. Build the sentence.

Notice and repair three different errors

Drill 6: repair the symptom pattern

The speaker is naming a symptom, not identifying themself as the symptom: I am a headache. Tap the verb that creates the wrong pattern.

Drill 7: repair body-part agreement

Both feet are painful: My feet hurts after the long walk. Tap the verb with singular agreement.

Drill 8: repair duration to now

The cough began Monday and is still present: I have this cough since Monday. Tap the incomplete verb phrase.

Oral transforms: add the missing health information

Say each complete message before revealing it. Follow the exact information request.

1 cough, singular symptom noun. Use have.

I have a bad cough.

2 dizzy, adjective describing your state. Use feel.

I feel dizzy when I stand up.

3 lower back, precise pain location. Use pain in.

I have pain in my lower back.

4 Monday morning, finished onset. Use start.

It started on Monday morning.

5 three days, continuing duration. Use have had.

I’ve had it for three days.

6 The listener heard Sunday, but the onset was Monday. Correct the detail with contrastive stress.

It started on Monday, not Sunday.

Play and practice

Games and a short reading that recycle this lesson. Use them as a warm-up, a fast finisher, or homework. Each one checks itself.

Read

Out sick on Monday

Read once for meaning. Then read again and do the tasks below.

Email to a manager130 wordsAbout 1 min

Hi Rachel, I’m sorry, but I can’t come to work today. I have a bad cold and a sore throat. My head hurts, and I feel very tired. It started on Saturday night, so I’ve had it for two days.

Yesterday I also fell on the stairs at home and hurt my ankle and my left wrist. It’s not serious, but my ankle hurts when I walk. I called the clinic this morning, and the nurse told me to rest and keep my foot up. I have an appointment with the doctor at 4:00.

I can answer emails from home, but I can’t talk much on the phone because of my throat. Could Ben take my 2:00 call with the client? I hope to be back on Wednesday. Thanks, Marco

Find it

Tap the 7 body-part words. Two body parts appear twice, so tap every time you see them.

Check your understanding

1. How long has Marco had the cold?

2. What happened yesterday?

3. Why can’t Marco take the 2:00 call?

Crossword

Body and symptom words

Click a clue or a square, then type. Press Check when you finish.

Across

Down

Word search

Find the body parts

Find the word for each clue. Words run across, down, or diagonally. Tap the first letter, then the last.

the joint in the middle of your arm → ?
the front of your upper body, where your heart is → ?
where food goes after you eat it → ?
one of the five at the end of each foot → ?
foot, plural → ?
between your head and your shoulders → ?
one of the five at the end of each hand → ?
where your arm joins your upper body → ?

Memory

Clinic questions and answers

Flip two cards. If they belong together, they stay. Find every pair in as few turns as you can.

Communicate: complete a fictional clinic intake

You never need to disclose your real health, body, symptoms, medicines, allergies, medical history, disability, mental health, pregnancy, family, workplace, school, location, contact information, or emergency experience. Use the Harbor Clinic cards, invent a neutral case, or share personal information only when you freely choose.

Prepare the fictional case: Choose a name, one symptom noun, one feeling adjective, one body location, a starting time, a duration, and a severity from zero to ten. Add fictional allergy and current-medicine information, including none when appropriate.

Final production: give a 45–60 second fictional clinic intake. Report the main problem, precise location, onset, duration to now, severity, and relevant allergy or current-medicine information. Do not diagnose the cause or invent a treatment.

Clarify and reformulate: The listener asks three intake questions and intentionally repeats one detail incorrectly. Correct the time, side, number, or medicine with clear contrastive stress.

Report an instruction: Draw a fictional clinician or label card. Report only the instruction printed on that card, then ask a clarification question such as Did you say once or twice a day?

Final check

Four decisions with one defensible target

1. The speaker describes an unsteady feeling with the adjective dizzy. Which sentence uses the natural pattern?

2. The cough began three days ago and is still present. Which sentence reports duration to now?

3. The patient answers, It started on Monday. Which question requested that onset information?

4. In the United States, a fictional caller suddenly cannot breathe normally. Which message requests the appropriate immediate help from these choices?

Reflect and retrieve

Explain the communication path without looking back

Am I naming a symptom noun, describing a feeling, naming a painful body part, or locating pain? When did it start? How long has it continued? How serious does it feel? Am I reporting a real instruction, asking for clarification, or requesting urgent help?

Return tomorrow before rereading. Complete the five-minute next-day retrieval, then revisit only the symptom pattern, agreement, onset, duration, or urgency language that still feels slow.

Next-day retrieval

Choose from memory before looking back

1The cough began Monday and continues now: I this cough since Monday.

2Both feet are painful, so the plural subject takes the base verb: My feet after the long walk.

3The answer is It started on Monday. Ask for that finished onset: