Italian · CEFR Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 29
Non sto beneI'm not well
Chapter 2's «come stai?» finally reveals its verb: stare — sto bene, non sto bene, come sta? Then the body walks on stage with the mi fa male construction: not «my head hurts» but «TO-ME hurts THE head» — the sufferer is a short pronoun up front, the part arrives with the article, never the possessive. Febbre, tosse and raffreddore are attested words in CILS listening, and la mano hides the last gender surprise: feminine in -o.
Dialogue
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Mi fa male la testa— My head hurts
- GiuliaMike, oggi non parli… come stai?Mike, you're not talking today… how are you?
- MikeNon sto bene. Mi fa male la testa…I'm not well. My head hurts…
- GiuliaHo capito: hai mal di testa! Vai a casa, Mike.I see: you have a headache! Go home, Mike.
- MikeSì… vado a casa e dormo.Yes… I'll go home and sleep.
Dialogue
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Dal medico— At the doctor's
- DottoressaBuongiorno. Come sta? Che cosa si sente?Good morning. How are you? What are you feeling?
- MikeNon sto bene: ho la febbre e ho la tosse. E mi fa male la gola.I'm not well: I have a fever and a cough. And my throat hurts.
- DottoressaÈ un raffreddore. Non è grave! Questa medicina, due volte al giorno — e deve stare a casa domani.It's a cold. Nothing serious! This medicine, twice a day — and you need to stay home tomorrow.
- MikeGrazie, dottoressa. Domani sto a casa — e domenica sto bene per la partita!Thank you, doctor. Tomorrow I'll stay home — and Sunday I'll be well for the match!
Vocabulary
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- stare
verbto stay, to be (well/badly) — sto, stai, sta: come stai? finally explained; sto bene / sto a casa
- male
adverbbadly (sto male = I feel bad; bene's dark twin — and the heart of mi fa male)
- la testa
n.f.the head (mi fa male la testa / ho mal di testa — both exam-ready)
- la mano
n.f.the hand (the gender rebel: feminine in -o! la mano, le mani — learn it as a photo, not a rule)
- la gamba
n.f.the leg (mi fa male la gamba — after Sunday's bike ride)
- la gola
n.f.the throat (mi fa male la gola / ho mal di gola — the cold-season pair)
- il medico
n.m.the doctor (andare dal medico = to go to the doctor's — da + person; la dottoressa when addressing her)
- la febbre
n.f.the fever (attested CILS listening word; ho la febbre — avere with the article)
- la tosse
n.f.the cough (attested; ho la tosse — hold the ss, P4)
- il raffreddore
n.m.the cold (the illness — attested; ho il raffreddore; freddo lives inside the word)
- la medicina
n.f.the medicine (attested; prendere la medicina — prendere's third job after food and trains)
- ho mal di testa
phraseI have a headache (frozen chunk with bare mal: mal di testa, mal di gola, mal di pancia — the avere shortcut to mi fa male)
- grave
adjectiveserious (non è grave = it's nothing serious)
Grammar
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Stare and mi fa male — the body speaks
Explanation
Two tools for health. FIRST: stare — the verb inside come stai?, from chapter 2. Paradigm: sto, stai, sta, stiamo, state, stanno. With bene/male it measures health (sto bene, non sto bene, come sta? with the doctor's Lei); with a place it means to stay (sto a casa). SECOND: mi fa male + the part. The recipe has three fixed ingredients: the sufferer in front as a short pronoun (mi, ti), then fa male, then the part WITH the article — mi fa male la testa, ti fa male la gamba? Never the possessive: the mi has already said whose head it is; repeating it with «mia» would say it twice. It is mi piace's family: the thing (that hurts) drives, you stand in front. With plural parts the verb follows: mi fanno male le gambe — like piacciono. And for the most common aches there is the avere shortcut: ho mal di testa, ho la febbre, ho il raffreddore.
Examples
- Come stai? Non sto bene: ho la febbre.How are you? I'm not well: I have a fever.
- Mi fa male la testa. Ti fa male la gola?My head hurts. Does your throat hurt?
- Dopo il giro in bici mi fanno male le gambe.After the bike ride my legs hurt.
- Sto a casa: ho il raffreddore e prendo la medicina.I'm staying home: I have a cold and I'm taking the medicine.
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