In this lesson, we practice using DAR as a reverse construction verb to express getting a symptom in Spanish. 

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LEVEL - INTERMEDIATE

LEVEL – INTERMEDIATE

In the module covering Spanish for the Evaluation of Vertigo, we reviewed the following question by the physical therapist:

¿Recuerda qué estaba haciendo cuando le dieron mareos las otras veces?
(Do you remember what you were doing when you got dizzy the other times?)

I am guessing that some of you struggled with the following phrase:

cuando le dieron mareos
(when you experienced dizziness -o- when you got dizzy)

Here, we use LE to refer to “you” (used), and the verb DAR acts like the verb GUSTAR, where the subject of the verb in English corresponds to the object of the verb in Spanish.

You got dizzy. >>> Le dieron mareos.

In English, “you” is the subject of the verb. In Spanish, you (usted) is the object of the verb and is expressed by the pronoun “le.”

Let’s look at another example.

I get chills. >>> Me dan escalofríos.

In English, “I” is the subject of the verb. When we interpret this in Spanish, I become the object of the verb, which is expressed by the pronoun “me.”

¿Te dieron escalofríos?
Did you get chills? 

Me da dolor de estómago después de comer.
I get a stomach ache after eating.

¿Cuándo le da dolor en el pecho?
When do you get pain in your chest? (addressing the patient as usted)

Me dan calambres en las piernas por la noche.
I get leg cramps at night.

¿Recuerda qué estaba haciendo cuando le dieron mareos las otras veces?
Do you remember what you were doing when you got dizzy the other times?

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Special thanks to Elizabeth Cortez, my Spanish teacher from Español Sin Límite in Guatemala.