Santé et bien-être
Chapter Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- Name common parts of the body and describe simple, fictional symptoms.
- Use avoir mal à with the correct article contraction to say where something hurts.
- Express necessity with the impersonal expression il faut plus infinitive.
- Express ability with the irregular verb pouvoir.
- Express personal obligation with the irregular verb devoir plus infinitive.
- Give simple direct advice using the imperative.
- Understand and produce short, present-time exchanges about how someone feels and what they should do.
- Apply accurate pronunciation of silent final consonants and established liaison patterns in health expressions.
- Recycle vocabulary and grammar from Units I and II, and from Chapters 11–12, while communicating about a new domain.
Communication Scenario
Léa is not feeling well today. She sends Marc a short message to explain how she feels, and Marc, playing the concerned friend, tells her what she should and should not do right now. Later, a short fictional message describes what a classmate named Paul needs to do because he is sick today. This chapter continues Unit III, Dans la communauté, by giving you the tools to talk about your body, your health, and simple present-time advice. All health situations in this chapter are fictional language practice, not medical guidance.
- Learn key vocabulary for the body, symptoms, and health.
- Use avoir mal à with correct contractions to describe pain.
- Express necessity with il faut plus infinitive.
- Express personal obligation with devoir, ability with pouvoir, and direct advice with the imperative.
Core Vocabulary
The following vocabulary supports talking about the body, symptoms, and simple health advice in the present. Nouns are listed with their article and gender; verbs are listed in the infinitive.
| French | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| la tête | the head | feminine |
| le dos | the back | masculine; final -s is silent |
| le ventre | the stomach, belly | masculine |
| la gorge | the throat | feminine |
| le bras | the arm | masculine; final -s is silent |
| la jambe | the leg | feminine |
| la main | the hand | feminine; nasal vowel, recycled from Chapter 2 |
| le pied | the foot | masculine; final -d is silent |
| French | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| avoir mal à + [body part] | to have pain in, to hurt | uses the definite article, not a possessive; contracts with le and les |
| être malade | to be sick | recycled être plus adjective |
| avoir de la fièvre | to have a fever | partitive, recycled from Chapter 8 |
| tousser | to cough | regular -er verb |
| se reposer | to rest | reflexive, recycled pattern from Chapter 7; productive in the infinitive and imperative forms used in this chapter |
| boire de l'eau | to drink water | formulaic expression; productive as a fixed phrase in this chapter |
| voir un médecin | to see a doctor | formulaic expression |
| aller à la pharmacie | to go to the pharmacy | recycled aller à pattern from Chapter 11 |
| le médecin / la médecin | the doctor | the noun form is médecin; the article reflects the person, and usage may vary by region |
| la pharmacie | the pharmacy | feminine |
| French | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| il faut + [infinitive] | it is necessary to, you need to | impersonal expression, invariable il; expresses general necessity |
| pouvoir | to be able to, can | irregular verb; followed directly by an infinitive; expresses ability or possibility |
| devoir | to have to, must | irregular verb; followed directly by an infinitive; expresses personal obligation |
Pronunciation Focus
Body and health vocabulary offer useful practice with silent final consonants.
- The final -s of le dos and le bras is silent in ordinary use, as is the final -d of le pied. Practice these as words with silent final consonants.
- The contraction au in j'ai mal au dos is a single oral vowel sound, distinct from the nasal vowel in words like on; keep the two sounds separate as you practice.
- Review the required liaison you already learned with vous avez (Chapter 4) and practice it again here: Vous avez mal à la tête ?
Practice the vocabulary examples le dos, le bras, and le pied aloud, keeping their final consonants silent. Then repeat Vous avez mal à la tête ? to review the liaison in vous avez.
Language Focus: Necessity, Ability, and Advice
Purpose: describe symptoms, express necessity, ability, and personal obligation, and give simple advice about health in the present.
13.1 Avoir mal à and article contractions
To say that something hurts, French uses avoir mal à followed by the definite article and the body part. French normally uses the definite article here, not a possessive, because the body part is already understood to belong to the speaker. à contracts with le and les, exactly as you learned in Chapter 6.
- J'ai mal à la tête. I have a headache. (Literally: I have pain in the head.) à + la = à la (no contraction)
- Marc a mal au dos. Marc's back hurts. à + le = au
- J'ai mal aux jambes. My legs hurt. à + les = aux
English speakers often reach for a possessive here (my head hurts). Remember that French almost always uses the definite article with the body in this expression.
13.2 Expressing necessity with il faut
- Il faut boire de l'eau. You need to drink water.
- Il ne faut pas sortir aujourd'hui. You shouldn't go out today.
To make il faut negative, place ne...pas around faut, exactly as you learned for negation in Chapter 7.
13.3 Ability with pouvoir, obligation with devoir, and advice with the imperative
Four tools let you talk about health with different shades of meaning:
- Il faut + infinitive is grammatically impersonal. The necessity may be general or may apply to a person identified by the context.
- devoir + infinitive expresses a personal obligation. Tu dois te reposer means "You must rest" or "You need to rest" — grammatically a real obligation, even when said gently to a friend.
- the imperative gives a direct instruction, as in Repose-toi ! or Bois de l'eau !
- pouvoir + infinitive expresses ability or possibility, not obligation, as in Tu peux aller à la pharmacie. ("You can go to the pharmacy.")
Pouvoir and devoir are both irregular verbs. Like aller in Chapter 12, they are followed directly by an infinitive.
| Subject | pouvoir | devoir |
|---|---|---|
| je | peux | dois |
| tu | peux | dois |
| on | peut | doit |
| vous | pouvez | devez |
The il/elle, nous, and ils/elles forms are provided here for recognition only: il peut, elle peut, nous pouvons, ils peuvent; il doit, elle doit, nous devons, ils doivent. This chapter requires independent production only of the forms in the table above.
- Je ne peux pas aller au cours aujourd'hui. I can't go to class today.
- Tu dois rester à la maison. You have to stay home.
Model Dialogue: Ça ne va pas bien
Context: Léa messages Marc because she is not feeling well today. This is a fictional language exercise, not medical guidance.
Notice how il faut expresses general necessity, devoir expresses Léa's personal obligation, pouvoir expresses what she is or is not able to do, and the imperative gives direct advice.
Listening Practice
If no audio recording is available, ask a partner, instructor, or text-to-speech tool to read the lines below aloud, or read them aloud to yourself slowly. This is a fictional health message, not medical advice.
- What two symptoms does Paul have?
- What two things does Paul need to do at home?
- What can't Paul do today?
- Where can Paul go for help?
Speaking Practice
All speaking tasks in this section use fictional symptoms. Do not describe real personal health information.
Banque de phrases — Phrase bank
J'ai mal à la tête. · J'ai mal au dos. · J'ai de la fièvre. · Il faut se reposer. · Tu dois rester à la maison. · Bois de l'eau. · Je ne peux pas aller au cours. · Merci. Bon courage !
Pratique contrôlée — Controlled practice: describe a fictional symptom
Choose a symptom card, or imagine one minor fictional symptom, and say where it hurts using avoir mal à with the correct article contraction.
Tâche communicative — Communicative task: a short role-play
- Learner A selects one fictional symptom from a card or list.
- Learner A describes it using avoir mal à or another health expression from this chapter.
- Learner B gives one piece of advice using il faut, devoir, or the imperative.
- Learner A states one thing they can or cannot do, using pouvoir.
- Both close politely, for example with Merci. Bon courage !
Pratique individuelle — Solo alternative
Record yourself describing one fictional symptom, then give yourself one piece of advice using il faut or devoir, and one sentence with pouvoir.
Reading Practice
Un message à un ami malade — A message to a sick friend
Salut Léa ! Je suis désolé. Tu es malade aujourd'hui. Il faut te reposer et boire de l'eau. Tu dois rester à la maison. Tu ne peux pas aller au cours aujourd'hui. Va à la pharmacie. Il faut voir un médecin. Bon courage !
Tâche de lecture — Reading task:
- What two things does the writer say Léa needs to do?
- What does the writer say Léa has to do, using devoir?
- What can't Léa do today, according to the message?
- What two things does the writer suggest at the end of the message?
Writing Workshop
Complete the following linked writing tasks in order. All health details should be fictional.
Tâche 1 — Label symptoms: Write three short sentences describing where something hurts, using avoir mal à with at least two different article contractions.
Tâche 2 — Supported message: Write a short fictional message (four to six sentences) to a sick friend, addressing the friend's fictional illness throughout. Include:
- one greeting;
- one symptom describing the friend, using avoir mal à or another chapter health expression;
- one necessity or obligation sentence, using il faut or devoir — not necessarily both;
- one ability sentence using pouvoir;
- one simple imperative or closing.
- Choose a fictional symptom. Decide what is wrong with your imaginary sick friend.
- Choose one piece of advice. Decide what your friend needs to do, using il faut or devoir.
- Add one ability sentence. Say what your friend can or cannot do, using pouvoir.
- Draft your message. Move from greeting, to symptom, to advice, to a closing wish, addressing your friend throughout.
- Read your message aloud once. Listen for silent final consonants in words like dos.
- Check your contractions. Confirm that à + le and à + les are written as au and aux.
Liste de révision — Editing checklist:
- The message includes one necessity or obligation structure (il faut or devoir).
- pouvoir appears at least once, correctly conjugated.
- An imperative or simple closing appears.
- Article contractions (au, aux) are correct where required.
- Accents, apostrophes, and punctuation are accurate throughout.
- No vocabulary or grammar from outside Chapters 1–13 has been used.
- All health details are fictional.
- The message addresses the sick friend consistently, without switching who is sick partway through.
Culture and Communication
In France, a pharmacy (identifiable by a green cross sign, often lit and flashing) is commonly a first stop for minor health concerns, such as a cold or a headache, where a pharmacist can often give basic guidance. Practices and the legal role of pharmacists vary by country and region across the Francophone world, and this note describes a common pattern rather than a universal rule. For anything serious or persistent, seeing a doctor is the appropriate next step. This is cultural awareness for communication, not medical instruction.
Healthcare institutions and related vocabulary vary across Francophone regions. In Quebec, for example, a CLSC (centre local de services communautaires) provides some community health services. This is a receptive cultural note; the core vocabulary in this chapter remains broadly usable across the Francophone world, and learners are not expected to produce region-specific institutional terms.
Common Mistakes
Error: Writing j'ai mal à ma tête, modeled directly on English "my head."
Correction: French normally uses the definite article with avoir mal à: j'ai mal à la tête, not à ma tête.
Error: Writing j'ai mal à le dos instead of the correct contracted form.
Correction: à + le must contract to au: j'ai mal au dos.
Error: Writing je dois jouer au foot to mean "I can play soccer."
Correction: devoir expresses obligation ("must"), while pouvoir expresses ability ("can"): je peux jouer au foot means "I can play soccer," while je dois jouer au foot means "I have to play soccer."
Chapter Review
Partie A — Compréhension (Comprehension)
1. Return to the Model Dialogue, and answer these short questions.
- What two symptoms does Léa describe at the beginning of the dialogue?
- What advice does Marc give her?
Partie B — Écriture (Writing)
1. Complete the sentence with the correct article contraction: J'ai mal ______ (à + les) jambes.
2. Conjugate the verb correctly: Tu ______ (devoir) te reposer aujourd'hui.
Partie C — Lecture (Reading)
1. Return to "Un message à un ami malade," and list, in order, every piece of advice given.
Partie D — Oral (Speaking)
1. With a partner, describe a fictional symptom and receive advice using il faut, devoir, or the imperative.
Practical Performance Task
Chapter 13 Practical Check — Health and Well-Being
Santé et bien-être : Describing a Fictional Symptom and Giving Advice
This is fictional language practice, not medical guidance. Do not diagnose real conditions, and no medication or dosage information is required. Chapter 15 remains the Unit III assessment; this task checks only Chapter 13 material.
A fictional learner has one or two minor symptoms. Describe the symptoms and give simple advice.
- Describe one or two fictional symptoms. At least one symptom must use avoir mal à with à la, au, or aux. A second symptom may use another chapter health expression, such as avoir de la fièvre or tousser.
- Give one necessity or obligation statement using il faut or devoir.
- State one thing the learner can or cannot do using pouvoir.
- Give one direct instruction using the imperative.
- Write a supported four-to-six-sentence message that includes all of the above.
| Criterion | What is assessed |
|---|---|
| Vocabulary use | The learner correctly names body parts and symptoms. |
| Avoir mal à | The learner forms avoir mal à with correct article contractions. |
| Necessity or obligation | The learner uses il faut or devoir accurately to give one piece of advice. |
| Ability | The learner conjugates and uses pouvoir correctly. |
| Direct advice | The learner uses one appropriate imperative. |
| Task completeness | The learner's message includes all required elements and stays within Chapters 1–13. |
This task assesses only material introduced through Chapter 13 and continues to recycle Units I and II, along with Chapters 11 and 12.
Answer Key
Model Dialogue — Comprehension
- Léa describes a headache and coughing.
- Marc tells her to rest, stay home, drink water, and that she can also go to the pharmacy.
Chapter Review — Partie A
- Headache and coughing.
- Rest, stay home, drink water, and optionally go to the pharmacy.
Chapter Review — Partie B
- aux
- dois
Chapter Review — Partie C
In order, the advice given in "Un message à un ami malade" is: rest, drink water, stay home, go to the pharmacy, and see a doctor.
Chapter Review — Partie D
Answers will vary. A complete response describes one fictional symptom and includes at least one piece of advice using il faut, devoir, or the imperative, spoken clearly and comprehensibly.
Listening
- A headache and a fever.
- Stay home and rest.
- Paul cannot go to class today.
- The pharmacy or a doctor.
Reading
- Rest and drink water.
- Stay home.
- Léa cannot go to class today.
- Go to the pharmacy, and see a doctor.
Writing and Practical Performance Task
Answers will vary. A complete response for the Writing Workshop message consistently addresses a sick friend and includes a greeting, one fictional symptom, one necessity or obligation sentence (il faut or devoir), one pouvoir sentence, and a closing or imperative, all within four to six sentences and within Chapters 1–13. The Practical Performance Task additionally requires at least one correct avoir mal à construction with the correct article contraction, one accurate il faut or devoir sentence, one accurate pouvoir form, and one appropriate imperative, evaluated using the rubric above.
Looking Ahead
Ce que vous savez déjà faire — What you can do now
You can name parts of the body, describe simple fictional symptoms with avoir mal à, express necessity with il faut, express personal obligation with devoir, express ability with pouvoir, and give direct advice with the imperative. This continues Unit III: Dans la communauté.