Healthy Living
Primary 5 · English
Healthy Living
Lesson 1 of 3
13 min
Let's begin
Keza’s little brother woke up hot. Too hot. Their mother tied him on her back and walked down to the health centre.
The nurse looked up and asked one question: “Where does it hurt?”
Keza knew the answer in her head — but not in English. Today you will learn those words, so that you are never the person standing there with nothing to say.
Before you can say what is wrong, you need the names of the parts.
On your head: hair, face, eye, ear, nose, mouth, tooth, tongue.
Down the middle: neck, throat, shoulder, chest, back, stomach.
Arms and legs: arm, elbow, hand, finger, leg, knee, ankle, foot, toe. And all over you: skin.
Two of these words change in a strange way when there is more than one:
Start with two words: I feel …
These are two different things, and people mix them up all the time.
A symptom is a sign your body gives you. You can feel it.
An illness is the name of the sickness. Usually only a test at the health centre can tell you the name for sure.
Symptoms (what you feel): a headache, a stomach ache, a toothache, a sore throat, a cough, a fever, a runny nose, an itchy rash.
Illnesses (the name): malaria, a cold, flu, typhoid, an ear infection.
So Uwase does not have “a malaria feeling”. She has a fever and a headache — those are symptoms — and after the test the nurse says the illness is malaria.
Mugisha’s head is pounding. Watch me build a sentence three different ways. Every one of them is correct English.
Pattern 1 — I have a …
I have a headache.
The word after have is a thing you are carrying around: a headache, a cough, a fever, a rash. Don’t forget the little word a.
If you are talking about someone else — he, she — have becomes has:
Mugisha has a headache. / I have a headache.
Pattern 2 — My … hurts.
My head hurts.
Here the body part is doing something. One body part takes hurts. Two or more take hurt — the -s falls off:
Pattern 3 — My … is sore.
My throat is sore.
One body part → is sore. Two or more → are sore: My legs are sore after the walk.
Careful with one thing. We say “I have a fever” — never “I am fever”. A fever is a thing you have, like a cough.
These are the questions a nurse, a teacher or a friend will ask you:
Now listen to Keza at the health centre. She answers in full sentences, and she gives the nurse everything she needs.
Nurse: “Good morning. What’s the matter?”
Keza: “I feel sick. I have a fever and a bad headache.”
Nurse: “Where does it hurt?”
Keza: “My head hurts, and my back hurts too.”
Nurse: “How long have you felt like this?”
Keza: “Since Monday. Two days.”
Nurse: “Then we will do a malaria test. Sit down here.”
Notice: Keza never said one word on its own. She said I have…, My head hurts…, I feel… Full sentences get you help faster.
Tip
HAVE holds it. HURTS belongs to the body part
You have a thing: “I have a headache.”
Your body part hurts: “My head hurts.”
Pick one pattern and finish it. Never squash them together — “I have my head hurts” is not English.
And count the body parts: one → hurts (my tooth hurts). Two or more → hurt (my teeth hurt).
Say or write your answer first. Then tap Show answer to check.
Gatete ate food that had gone bad. Now his stomach is painful. Say it in two different ways.
Answer: “I have a stomach ache.” and “My stomach hurts.”
Fix this sentence: Umutoni have a cough.
Answer: Umutoni has a cough. (Umutoni is “she”, so have → has.)
Fix this sentence: My teeth hurts.
Answer: My teeth hurt. (Teeth is more than one, so the -s falls off the verb.)
One of these is a symptom and one is an illness: fever, malaria. Which is which?
Answer: A fever is a symptom — it is what you feel. Malaria is the illness — the name of the sickness, and the test tells you for sure.
The nurse asks you, “What’s the matter?” Your throat is sore and you have had a fever since Sunday. Answer her in full sentences.
Answer: “I feel sick. I have a sore throat and a fever. I have felt like this since Sunday.”
What you learned today
Quick check
Your knee is painful. Which sentence is correct English?
