| Let's look at the sentence pattern. |
| This pattern is the structure that all of our examples will follow. |
| Subject + avoir mal à + [definite article] + [body part]. |
| "Subject + to have pain in + [definite article] + [body part]." |
| Let's look at the beginning of the pattern first. |
| We start with the subject, which tells us who is experiencing the pain. |
| Then we use the verb avoir, meaning "to have," which is conjugated to match the subject. |
| Mal follows, which refers to pain or discomfort. |
| Next is the preposition à, which links the pain to a specific body part. |
| This is followed by a definite article—le, la, l', or les—depending on the gender and number of the body part. |
| Finally, we add the body part itself. |
| So the full structure Subject + avoir mal à + [definite article] + [body part] is used to say someone has pain in a particular area of the body. |
| Let's see how a line from the dialogue follows this pattern. |
| J'ai mal à la tête. J'ai aussi mal à l'estomac. |
| "I have a headache. I also have a stomachache." |
| In the first sentence: |
| J'ai is a contraction of je ai, meaning "I have." Je is the subject, meaning "I." |
| Ai is the form of the verb avoir, "to have," conjugated for je, meaning "I have." |
| Mal indicates pain, ache, or discomfort. |
| À la is the preposition à "to" or "at" or "in," combined with la, the feminine singular definite article. |
| Tête means "head," and it is a feminine singular noun. |
| Together, this follows the full pattern and means "I have a headache." |
| In the second sentence: |
| J' is again the subject, and ai is still the verb from avoir. |
| Aussi is an adverb meaning "also." This isn't part of the main sentence pattern. |
| Mal indicates pain. |
| Next, we say à l'estomac because estomac begins with a vowel. In French, à combines with le or la as needed — before a vowel, it becomes à l'. |
| Estomac means "stomach." |
| So the second sentence means "I also have a stomachache." It follows the same pattern as the first. |
| With this pattern, [Subject plus avoir mal à plus [definite article] plus [body part].] you can describe feeling pain anywhere on your body! |
| Now let's look at some speaking examples. |
| J'ai mal aux genoux. |
| "My knees hurt." |
| Can you see how the pattern applies here? |
| Let's break it down: |
| Here, J' is the subject, short for je, meaning "I." |
| Ai is the verb from avoir, meaning "have." |
| Altogether, J'ai means "I have." |
| Mal indicates pain or discomfort. |
| Aux is a contraction of à plus les. It's used because genoux is a plural noun. This matches the pattern's à plus definite article section. |
| Genoux is the noun for "knees." |
| So, J'ai mal aux genoux fits the pattern Subject + avoir mal à + [definite article] + [body part], and it means "My knees hurt." |
| Here's another example |
| Pierre a mal à la jambe. |
| "Pierre has a sore leg." |
| Pierre a mal à la jambe. |
| "Pierre has a sore leg." |
| Let's try one more, |
| J'ai mal à l'oreille. J'ai aussi mal aux dents. |
| "I have an earache. I also have a toothache." |
| J'ai mal à l'oreille. J'ai aussi mal aux dents. |
| "I have an earache. I also have a toothache." |
| Another one. |
| Sophie a mal aux yeux. |
| "Sophie has sore eyes." |
| Sophie a mal aux yeux. |
| "Sophie has sore eyes." |
| One last example. |
| J'ai mal au dos. |
| "I have back pain." |
| Here, au is a contraction of à plus le. It's used because dos is a masculine singular noun. |
| J'ai mal au dos. |
| "I have back pain." |
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