Talking about back pain after sitting | Learn French in English

About This Lesson

Use Talking about back pain after sitting to practice French conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

J'ai plus mal au dos après les longues réunions.

zhay ploo mahl oh doh ah-PRAY lay longg ray-NYOHN My back pain gets worse after long meetings.

Ta chaise ne t'aide peut-être pas à bien te tenir.

tah SHEHZ nuh TED puh-TETR pah ah BYEHN tuh tuh-NEER Your chair may not help you maintain good posture.

Est-ce que je devrais faire plus de petites pauses ?

ess kuh zhuh duh-VRAY fair ploo duh puh-TEET pohz Should I take more short breaks?

Les petites pauses peuvent aider.

lay puh-TEET pohz puh-VAY ay-DAY Short breaks can help.

Lève-toi et étire-toi doucement.

LEHV-twah ay ay-TEER-twah doo-suh-MAHN Stand up and stretch gently.

Je dois aussi régler la hauteur de mon écran.

zhuh dwah oh-SEE ray-GLAY lah oh-TUR duh mohn ay-KRAHN I also need to adjust my screen height.

Cela peut t'aider à t'asseoir plus confortablement.

suh-LAH puh tay-DAY ah tah-SWAHR ploo kohn-for-tah-BLUM That can help you sit more comfortably.

Je vais essayer ces changements cette semaine.

zhuh vay eh-say-YAY say shohnzh-MAHN set suh-MEN I will try these changes this week.

Consulte un professionnel de santé si la douleur continue.

kohn-SULT uhn proh-fay-syoh-NEL duh sahn-TAY see lah doo-LUR kohn-TEEN-YOO See a healthcare professional if the pain continues.

Word by Word

J'ai In J'ai plus mal au dos, J'ai introduces the speaker's statement that they have back pain. It is the first-person form used to describe the speaker's condition. A common reuse is to use this form before something the speaker has or experiences.

plus In J'ai plus mal au dos, plus shows that the pain is greater or worse. It comes before mal in this expression. A reliable reuse is to use plus when comparing a greater degree of something.

mal In J'ai plus mal au dos, mal refers to pain or feeling pain. Together with J'ai and au dos, it describes back pain; the whole expression gives the meaning, not mal alone. A common reuse is to describe pain in a particular body area.

au In au dos, au introduces the body area connected with the pain and means roughly 'in the' or 'to the'. It is the contracted form of à and le. A reliable reuse is to place it before a masculine singular noun in similar location or body-area expressions.

dos In J'ai plus mal au dos, dos means 'back'. It identifies the body area that hurts. A common reuse is to use it after the preposition in an expression describing back pain.

après Après means 'after' in après les longues réunions. It places the back pain later than the meetings in time. A reliable reuse is to put après before an event or time period that comes first.

les Les is the plural definite article in les longues réunions. The same article appears with an initial capital in Les petites pauses at the start of another sentence. It introduces specific plural nouns, such as meetings or breaks.

longues Longues means 'long' in les longues réunions, describing meetings that last a long time. Its form agrees with the feminine plural noun réunions. A common reuse is to place an adjective with the noun it describes.

réunions Réunions means 'meetings' in les longues réunions. Here it refers to the long meetings after which the back pain becomes worse. It can be used for organized meetings in a workplace or another setting.

Ta Ta means 'your' before the feminine singular noun chaise in Ta chaise. It shows that the chair is associated with the person being addressed, and its form agrees with chaise rather than necessarily with that person. A common reuse is to place it directly before a feminine singular noun.

chaise Chaise means 'chair' in Ta chaise. In this dialogue, it is the chair whose support may not help with good posture. It can refer to a seat used at home, at work, or elsewhere.

ne Ne begins the negative structure in ne t'aide peut-être pas. It works together with pas to say that the chair may not help. A reliable reuse is to place ne before the verb in a negative sentence.

t'aide In ne t'aide peut-être pas à bien te tenir, t'aide means 'helps you'. The t' refers to the person addressed, and aide is the verb form expressing help. It is used here before à and the action the help would support.

peut-être Peut-être means 'maybe' in ne t'aide peut-être pas. The parts peut and être contribute the idea of possibility and being, and together they form an expression of uncertainty. Use it when you want to make a statement less certain or more tentative.

pas Pas completes the negative structure ne t'aide peut-être pas. Together, ne and pas say that the chair does not help, although peut-être makes the statement uncertain. A reliable reuse is to place pas after the verb in this negative pattern.

à In à bien te tenir, à links t'aide to the action that the help would make possible. It introduces the following infinitive construction, roughly 'to maintain yourself well'. A common reuse is to use it before an action after a verb expressing help or another relation to an action.

bien Bien means 'well' or 'properly' in à bien te tenir. It describes how the person maintains their posture. A reliable reuse is to place it before an action when describing that action as being done properly.

te In te tenir, te refers to the person being addressed and shows that the action is directed back toward that person. It appears before the infinitive tenir. A common reuse is to place this informal reflexive or object pronoun before a verb.

tenir In bien te tenir, tenir means 'hold' or 'maintain yourself', referring to keeping a good posture. The surrounding words specify that the person should maintain themselves well. It follows à here as the action connected with help.

Est Est is part of the question opening Est-ce que in Est-ce que je devrais faire plus de petites pauses ? It helps form a yes-or-no question rather than functioning as a standalone 'is' in this sentence. A reliable reuse is to use the complete Est-ce que opening before a statement turned into a question.

ce Ce is part of the question structure Est-ce que. It contributes to the fixed opening that introduces the question, rather than referring independently to a particular object here. Use it together with Est and que at the start of a yes-or-no question.

que Que completes the question opening Est-ce que. In this dialogue it helps introduce the question about taking more short breaks. A reliable reuse is to keep it after Est-ce in this question structure.

je Je means 'I' and marks the speaker as the subject in je devrais. The same pronoun appears with an initial capital in Je dois at the beginning of another sentence. It is used before a verb when the speaker describes their own action, need, or opinion.

devrais Devrais expresses 'should' in je devrais faire plus de petites pauses. The speaker uses it to ask whether taking more breaks would be advisable. A reliable reuse is to place it before an infinitive when asking about or expressing recommended action.

faire In faire plus de petites pauses, faire is the verb used with pauses to express taking or having breaks. The whole phrase means 'take more short breaks', not faire alone. It is used here as the infinitive after devrais.

de In plus de petites pauses, de introduces the quantity that follows plus. It connects plus with the plural noun phrase petites pauses. A reliable reuse is the pattern of placing de before a noun after an expression of quantity.

petites Petites means 'short' in les petites pauses, describing breaks that are not long. Its feminine plural form agrees with pauses. A common reuse is to place it before the feminine plural noun it describes.

pauses Pauses means 'breaks' in plus de petites pauses and Les petites pauses. In this lesson, the breaks are short interruptions from sitting or working. It can be used when discussing breaks taken during a meeting or another activity.

peuvent Peuvent means 'can' in Les petites pauses peuvent aider. With pauses as the subject, it says that the breaks have the ability or potential to help. It is followed here by the infinitive aider.

aider Aider means 'help' in Les petites pauses peuvent aider. It describes the possible benefit of taking short breaks. It remains in the infinitive after peuvent and can be followed by the person or action receiving the help.

Lève Lève is the command form in Lève-toi, telling the person addressed to get up. The complete command includes toi, which shows that the action concerns the person themselves. A common reuse is to use this kind of command when giving a direct instruction.

toi In Lève-toi, toi refers to the person being addressed and emphasizes that they should get themselves up. It follows the command verb with a hyphen. Together with Lève, it forms the instruction to stand up or get up.

et Et means 'and' in Lève-toi et étire-toi. It connects two instructions that should be carried out in sequence or together. A reliable reuse is to place it between two actions or clauses.

étire Étire is the command form in étire-toi, telling the person addressed to stretch. The form is completed by toi because the person stretches themselves. It is used here as the second instruction after et.

doucement Doucement means 'gently' in étire-toi doucement. It tells the person how to stretch, with care rather than force. A common reuse is to place it after an action when describing a gentle manner.

dois Dois expresses 'need to' or 'must' in Je dois aussi régler la hauteur de mon écran. It shows that the speaker considers adjusting the screen height necessary. It is followed here by the infinitive régler.

aussi Aussi means 'also' in Je dois aussi régler la hauteur de mon écran. It adds screen adjustment as another action the speaker needs to take. It commonly appears near the verb or action that is being added.

régler Régler means 'adjust' in régler la hauteur de mon écran. It describes changing the screen height to a suitable position. It is the infinitive after dois and is followed by the object being adjusted.

la La is the feminine singular definite article in la hauteur. It introduces the specific height that the speaker wants to adjust. Its form agrees with the feminine singular noun hauteur.

hauteur Hauteur means 'height' in la hauteur de mon écran. It identifies the vertical position of the screen that needs adjustment. It can be used when describing or changing the height of an object.

mon Mon means 'my' before the masculine singular noun écran in mon écran. It shows that the screen belongs to or is associated with the speaker, and its form agrees with écran. A common reuse is to place it directly before a masculine singular noun.

écran Écran means 'screen' in la hauteur de mon écran. In this dialogue, it refers to the screen whose height the speaker wants to adjust. It can be used for a computer or another display.

Cela Cela means 'that' or 'this' in Cela peut t'aider. It refers back to the suggested adjustment of the screen height. A reliable reuse is to use it as a subject when pointing back to an action, fact, or idea already mentioned.

peut Peut means 'can' in Cela peut t'aider à t'asseoir plus confortablement. It expresses the possibility that the earlier adjustment will be helpful. It is followed by the infinitive phrase t'aider.

t'aider T'aider means 'help you' in Cela peut t'aider à t'asseoir plus confortablement. The t' refers to the person addressed, and aider is the infinitive after peut. It is followed by à and the action that the help supports.

t'asseoir T'asseoir means 'to sit' or 'to sit down' in à t'asseoir plus confortablement. The t' refers to the person addressed, and asseoir expresses the sitting action. It follows à and is modified by plus confortablement.

confortablement Confortablement means 'comfortably' in t'asseoir plus confortablement. It describes the improved manner of sitting. A common reuse is to place it with an action when describing comfort.

vais Vais expresses 'am going to' in Je vais essayer ces changements cette semaine. Together with essayer, it presents the speaker's intended action in the near future. A reliable reuse is to place it before an infinitive when stating an intention or plan.

essayer Essayer means 'try' in Je vais essayer ces changements cette semaine. It describes the speaker's plan to test the suggested changes. It is the infinitive after vais and is followed here by the object ces changements.

ces Ces means 'these' in ces changements. It points to the specific changes discussed earlier, such as taking breaks and adjusting the screen. It is placed before a plural noun.

changements Changements means 'changes' in ces changements. Here it refers to the practical adjustments the speaker plans to test. It functions as the object of essayer.

cette Cette means 'this' in cette semaine. It points to the week that includes the time of speaking. Its feminine singular form agrees with semaine.

semaine Semaine means 'week' in cette semaine. The phrase identifies when the speaker will try the changes. It can be used in a time expression referring to a particular week.

Consulte Consulte is the direct command in Consulte un professionnel de santé. It advises the person addressed to see or consult a healthcare professional. A reliable reuse is to place it before the person or service that should be consulted.

un Un is the indefinite article in un professionnel de santé. It introduces a healthcare professional without identifying one specific person. Its masculine singular form agrees with professionnel.

professionnel Professionnel names the person to consult in un professionnel de santé. In this dialogue, it refers to someone working in healthcare. The words de santé specify the professional field.

santé Santé means 'health' in professionnel de santé. It identifies the field of the professionnel, so the complete phrase refers to a healthcare professional. It can specify a connection with health when used after de in this expression.

si Si means 'if' in si la douleur continue. It introduces the condition under which the advice should be followed. A reliable reuse is to place it before a clause describing a possible condition.

douleur Douleur means 'pain' in la douleur continue. Here it names the pain as the thing that may persist. It is the subject of continue in the conditional clause.

continue Continue means 'continues' in si la douleur continue. It says that the pain does not stop or remains present. The form describes what la douleur may do in the condition introduced by si.

Grammar Points

avoir mal à + article + partie du corps

J'ai plus mal au dos

zhay ploo mahl oh doh

My back hurts more.

On utilise avoir mal à + une partie du corps ; au est la contraction de à + le.

Impératif affirmatif pronominal : verbe-toi

Lève-toi

LEHV-twah

Get up.

À l'impératif affirmatif, le pronom réfléchi suit le verbe et s'unit à lui par un trait d'union.

French Vocabulary

aider verb

ay-DAY to help aide

Ta chaise ne t'aide peut-être pas.

avoir mal au dos phrase

ah-VWAHR mahl oh doh to have back pain J'ai plus mal au dos

J'ai plus mal au dos après les longues réunions.

chaise noun

SHEHZ chair

Ta chaise

dos noun

doh back

J'ai plus mal au dos.

doucement adv

doo-suh-MAHN gently

étire-toi doucement

mal noun

mahl pain; ache

J'ai plus mal au dos.

pause noun

pohz break pauses

faire plus de petites pauses

plus adv

ploo more

faire plus de petites pauses

réunion noun

ray-NYOHN meeting réunions

après les longues réunions

s'étirer verb

say-tee-RAY to stretch étire-toi

Lève-toi et étire-toi doucement.

se lever verb

suh luh-VAY to stand up; to get up Lève-toi

Lève-toi et étire-toi doucement.

se tenir verb

suh tuh-NEER to hold oneself; to maintain one's posture te tenir

à bien te tenir

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

Short breaks can help.

Show Answer

Les petites pauses peuvent aider.

Stand up and stretch gently.

Show Answer

Lève-toi et étire-toi doucement.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

Show Answer

plus

chair

Show Answer

chaise

meeting

Show Answer

réunions

to help

Show Answer

aide