Talking About General Pains And Aches

Here are some common expressions that you can use to describe general aches and pains.

General aches and pains

• I’m not feeling very well.
• I think I’m going down with a cold. I’ve got a sore throat.
• I’ve got a slight headache/ toothache / stomach ache / backache.
• Are you getting enough sleep?
• I’m not sleeping very well at the moment.
• I feel a little faint.
• I’ve got a nagging pain in my shoulder.
• I’ve got a splitting headache.
• I feel fine.
• I always feel sleepy on Mondays.
• I have a bit of a stomach bug.
• I think I’ve got a bit of a temperature. Why don’t you go home and have a lie-down?
• I am not feeling well. I must get some rest.
• I’ve got a nasty cough.
• You don’t look very well. What happened? I have a touch of flu.
• You look a little pale.

Grammar Notes

To talk about feelings that are going on at a particular moment, simple or progressive forms can be used.

• I feel fine. OR I am feeling fine.
• How do you feel? OR How are you feeling?

Ill and sick

Ill is often used to mean unwell in British English. In American English ill is unusual except in a formal style. Note that we use ill after a verb.

• She is ill.

In Attributive position (before a noun), many British people prefer to use sick. Sick is also the normal informal American word for unwell.

• The President is sick.

Be sick can mean vomit.

• I was sick three times in the night.
• She is never sea-sick.
• I feel sick. Where is the bathroom?

Uncountable nouns

The names of illnesses are usually uncountable in English, including those ending in -s.

• If you have already had measles, you cannot get it again.
• There is a lot of flu around at the moment.

The can be used informally before the names of some common illnesses such as the measles, the flu; others have no article.

• I think I have got (the) measles.
• Have you had chickenpox?

Minor ailments

The words for some minor ailments are countable: e.g. a cold, a sore throat, a headache. However, toothache, earache, stomach-ache and backache are more often uncountable in British English. In American English, these words are generally countable.

• I have got a horrible cold.
• Have you got a headache?
• I am getting toothache. (GB)
• I am getting a toothache. (US)