About This Lesson
Use Talking about a sore back to practice French conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.
Dialogue
A
J'ai mal au dos.
zhay mal oh DOH My back feels sore.
B
Essaie de t'asseoir le dos bien droit.
eh-SAY duh tah-SWAHR luh doh byan DWAH Try to sit up straight.
A
Je suis resté assis trop longtemps aujourd'hui.
zhuh SWEE reh-STAY ah-SEE troh lohn-TAHN oh-zhoor-DWEE I sat too long today.
B
Étire-toi doucement si tu peux.
ay-TEER-twah doo-suh-MAHN see tyoo PUH Stretch slowly if you can.
A
Cette chaise est plus confortable.
set SHEZ eh ploo kohn-for-TAHBL This chair feels better.
B
Reste là quelques minutes.
REST lah kelk-uh mee-NYOOT Stay there for a few minutes.
A
Un peu de repos devrait aider.
uhn puh duh ruh-POH duh duh-VRAY ay-DAY A short rest should help.
B
Bouge lentement quand tu te lèves.
BOOZH lahn-tuh-MAHN kahn tyoo tuh LEHV Move slowly when you stand up.Word by Word
J'ai
In “J'ai mal au dos”, “J'ai” helps express that the speaker has back pain. It is the first-person form of “avoir” used in this expression. A reusable pattern is “J'ai mal à...” for pain in a body part.
mal
In “J'ai mal au dos”, “mal” refers to pain or discomfort. The whole expression “avoir mal” means to feel pain, so “mal” does not mean “bad” here. You can reuse it with a body part after “à”.
au
In “mal au dos”, “au” introduces the body part where the pain is felt. It is the form used before “dos” in this expression. A reusable pattern is “avoir mal au...” for pain in a masculine body part.
dos
“Dos” means “back” in “J'ai mal au dos”. It is the body part named as the source of the pain. You can reuse it in “le dos” when talking about the back.
Essaie
In “Essaie de t'asseoir”, “Essaie” tells someone to try something. It is the informal command form of “essayer”. A reusable pattern is “Essaie de...” followed by an infinitive.
de
In “Essaie de t'asseoir”, “de” connects “Essaie” to the action being attempted. It is used before the infinitive “t'asseoir” in this construction. Reuse the pattern “essayer de” plus an infinitive.
t'asseoir
In “Essaie de t'asseoir”, “t'asseoir” means to sit down. The shortened “t'” is part of the reflexive form before the vowel in “asseoir”. Reuse it after “Essaie de” when telling someone to try sitting down.
le
In “le dos bien droit”, “le” is the definite article before “dos”. Together, “le dos” means “the back”. You can reuse “le” before a known masculine noun.
bien
In “le dos bien droit”, “bien” strengthens the description and means “properly” or “well”. It helps describe how straight the back should be. A reusable pattern is “bien” before an adjective or description.
droit
In “le dos bien droit”, “droit” means “straight” and describes the position of the back. It is part of the instruction to keep the back straight. You can reuse it to describe a straight position or direction.
Je
“Je” means “I” in “Je suis resté assis trop longtemps aujourd'hui”. It identifies the speaker as the person who remained seated. It is commonly placed before the verb in a statement about oneself.
suis
In “Je suis resté assis”, “suis” is the first-person form of “être” used as part of the completed-action expression. Here it works with “resté” to say that the speaker remained seated. Reuse the pattern “Je suis resté...” when describing having remained somewhere or in a state.
resté
In “Je suis resté assis”, “resté” contributes the meaning of having remained. It is the past participle used with “suis” in this completed-action expression. A reusable pattern is “être resté” followed by a place or description.
assis
In “Je suis resté assis”, “assis” means seated and describes the speaker's position. It completes the idea of remaining seated after “resté”. You can reuse “rester assis” when saying that someone stays seated.
trop
In “trop longtemps”, “trop” means “too” and shows that the amount of time was excessive. It modifies “longtemps” in this sentence. Reuse “trop” before a quantity or description that is more than wanted.
longtemps
In “Je suis resté assis trop longtemps”, “longtemps” means for a long time. It describes the duration of remaining seated. You can reuse it after a verb to talk about an action lasting a long time.
aujourd'hui
“Aujourd'hui” means “today” in “Je suis resté assis trop longtemps aujourd'hui”. It places the action on the current day. You can use it to say when something happens or happened today.
Étire
In “Étire-toi doucement”, “Étire” tells someone to stretch. It is the informal command form of “étirer”. A reusable pattern is “Étire-toi” when giving someone a direct instruction to stretch.
toi
In “Étire-toi”, “toi” refers back to the person who should stretch. Together with “Étire”, it makes the instruction reflexive: stretch yourself. This pronoun appears after the verb in this informal command.
doucement
In “Étire-toi doucement”, “doucement” means gently or slowly. It tells the person how to perform the stretching. You can place it after an action to give a gentle or careful manner.
si
In “si tu peux”, “si” means “if” and introduces a condition. It makes the stretching instruction dependent on whether the person can do it. Reuse “si” before a clause describing a condition.
tu
“Tu” means “you” in “si tu peux”. It addresses one person informally. It is placed before the verb in this clause.
peux
In “si tu peux”, “peux” means “can” or “are able to”. It is the form of “pouvoir” used with “tu”. A reusable pattern is “tu peux” followed by an infinitive or used by itself when the action is understood.
Cette
In “Cette chaise”, “Cette” means “this” and points to one specific chair. It is used directly before “chaise” in the sentence. You can reuse it before a feminine singular noun when identifying something nearby or specific.
chaise
“Chaise” means “chair” in “Cette chaise est plus confortable”. It names the seat being compared. You can reuse it after a determiner such as “cette” when talking about a chair.
est
In “Cette chaise est plus confortable”, “est” means “is” and links the chair to its description. It is the form of “être” used with “cette chaise”. A reusable pattern is “... est ...” for describing a person or thing.
plus
In “plus confortable”, “plus” means “more” and marks a comparison. It shows that this chair is more comfortable than another option or the previous position. Reuse “plus” before an adjective when comparing things.
confortable
In “Cette chaise est plus confortable”, “confortable” means comfortable. It describes how the chair feels for the speaker. You can reuse it after “être” to describe a comfortable place, object, or position.
Reste
In “Reste là quelques minutes”, “Reste” tells someone to stay. It is the informal command form of “rester”. A reusable pattern is “Reste...” followed by a place or a duration.
là
In “Reste là”, “là” means there and points to the place where the person is sitting. It completes the instruction to stay in that place. You can use it after a verb of staying or movement to point to a location.
quelques
In “quelques minutes”, “quelques” means a few and indicates a small number. It comes before the plural noun “minutes”. Reuse “quelques” before a plural noun when referring to a small number of things or units of time.
minutes
“Minutes” means minutes in “quelques minutes”. It gives the duration for which the person should stay. You can use it after a number or quantity word to express a length of time.
Un
In “Un peu de repos”, “Un” helps form the quantity expression “un peu de”, meaning a little or some. Here it does not simply count one individual object. Reuse “un peu de” before an uncounted amount or substance.
peu
In “Un peu de repos”, “peu” means a small amount. Together, “un peu de repos” means a little rest. Reuse “un peu de” before a noun when asking for or describing a small amount.
repos
“Repos” means rest in “Un peu de repos devrait aider”. It refers to taking time without activity to support recovery. You can reuse it after “un peu de” when talking about getting some rest.
devrait
In “devrait aider”, “devrait” means should or is expected to. It expresses a likely helpful result rather than a certain one. A reusable pattern is “devrait” followed by an infinitive, such as “devrait aider”.
aider
In “devrait aider”, “aider” means to help. It follows “devrait” as the action that the rest is expected to perform. Reuse “aider” with a person or thing that receives help.
Bouge
In “Bouge lentement”, “Bouge” tells someone to move. It is the informal command form of “bouger”. A reusable pattern is “Bouge” followed by an adverb describing how to move.
lentement
In “Bouge lentement”, “lentement” means slowly. It tells the person how to move when standing up. You can place it after a movement verb to give the speed or manner.
quand
In “quand tu te lèves”, “quand” means “when” and introduces the time at which the movement happens. It connects the instruction to the act of standing up. Reuse “quand” before a clause describing a time or event.
te
In “tu te lèves”, “te” refers back to “tu” and marks the action as something the person does to themselves. It is placed before the verb in this clause. Together, “te lèves” expresses that you stand up or get up.
lèves
In “tu te lèves”, “lèves” contributes the meaning of standing up or getting up. It is used with the reflexive pronoun “te” and the subject “tu”. Reuse the pattern “tu te lèves” when talking about one person getting up.
Grammar Points
avoir mal
J'ai mal.
zhay MALI feel pain.
French uses avoir (“to have”) in this expression, rather than être (“to be”).
pouvoir + infinitif
Je peux rester là.
zhuh PUH reh-STAY LAHI can stay there.
After peux, the next verb remains in the infinitive: peux rester.
French Vocabulary
aujourd'hui
adv
oh-zhoor-DWEE
today
avoir mal
phrase
ah-VWAHR MAL
to feel pain
J'ai mal
chaise
noun
SHEZ
chair
confortable
adj
kohn-for-TAHBL
comfortable
plus confortable
dos
noun
DOH
back
mal au dos
doucement
adv
doo-suh-MAHN
slowly; gently
droit
adj
DWAH
straight
le dos bien droit
longtemps
adv
lohn-TAHN
for a long time
pouvoir
verb
poo-VWAHR
can; to be able to
peux
rester
verb
reh-STAY
to stay; to remain
Reste
s'asseoir
verb
sah-SWAHR
to sit down
t'asseoir
s'étirer
verb
say-tee-RAY
to stretch
Étire-toi
Quiz
Word Order
Arrange the words in the correct order.
My back feels sore.
Show Answer
J'ai mal au dos.Stretch slowly if you can.
Show Answer
Étire-toi doucement si tu peux.This chair feels better.
Show Answer
Cette chaise est plus confortable.Spelling
Tap the letters to spell the word.
slowly; gently
Show Answer
doucementfor a long time
Show Answer
longtempsto stay; to remain
Show Answer
Restestraight