Google
English-Test.net
Find penpals and make new friends today!
 
summit; peak; head
top
technology
headway
conclusion
TOEIC preparation test: Word quiz questions: Free Online Noun Adjective Game Answer
 
Username
Password
 Remember me? 
Search   FAQ   Memberlist   Profile   Private messages   Register   Log in 

Ache and pain


Goto page 1, 2  Next
 
ESL/EFL Worksheets and Handouts for Students Printable, photocopiable, clearly structured
Designed for teachers and individual learners
For use in a classroom, at home, on your PC
ESL Forums | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
'depend on' vs. 'depend from' | PLACING ADVERBS and PHRASAL VERBS
Listening exercises
Message
Author
Ache and pain #1 (permalink) Thu Apr 08, 2004 12:52 pm   Ache and pain
 

Hello! Be so kind to explain! When I go to the doctor Which word must I say: Ache or Pain? I don't know it!
thanks in advance Shocked
Pressman
I'm new here and I like it ;-)


Joined: 12 Feb 2004
Posts: 47

Ache vs. pain #2 (permalink) Thu Apr 08, 2004 20:07 pm   Ache vs. pain
 

Hi,

Ache is precise ie toothache headache but pain is more general.

Alan
_________________
English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Word Story: Health
Alan
Co-founder
Alan Townend

Joined: 27 Sep 2003
Posts: 8417
Location: UK

Here is all you want to know about English! Click to subscribe to free email English courseEnglish grammar exercises — improve your English knowledge and vocabulary skillsLearn all about English adverbs in this amusing storyAre you a native speaker of English? Then you should read this!
Ache and pain #3 (permalink) Wed Apr 19, 2006 20:31 pm   Ache and pain
 

For me an ache is a milder form of pain. An ache you could just deal with, a pain is something that is going to require attention.
Seeemilywrite
I'm new here and I like it ;-)


Joined: 19 Apr 2006
Posts: 10

Ache and pain #4 (permalink) Wed Apr 19, 2006 21:56 pm   Ache and pain
 

Hmmmm....

I've got a challenge for the native speakers here. Wink
Which sentence would a doctor find more extreme?

1. Doctor, I've got a severe backache.
2. Doctor, I've got severe back pain.

Or would the two be the same here?

Amy
Yankee
I'm a Communicator ;-)


Joined: 16 Apr 2006
Posts: 8265
Location: USA

Ache and pain #5 (permalink) Thu Apr 20, 2006 4:17 am   Ache and pain
 

Yankee wrote:
1. Doctor, I've got a severe backache.
2. Doctor, I've got severe back pain.

To me the pain sounds sharper, and the ache sounds duller.
Jamie (K)
I'm a Communicator ;-)


Joined: 24 Feb 2006
Posts: 5267
Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA

Ache/pain #6 (permalink) Thu Apr 20, 2006 7:54 am   Ache/pain
 

I think I'll stick to my original explanation of two years ago:

Ache is exact and pain is general. After all an ache in the neck is different from a pain in the neck, if you get my drift.

Alan
_________________
English as a Foreign Language
You can read my EFL story The way you write it
Alan
Co-founder
Alan Townend

Joined: 27 Sep 2003
Posts: 8417
Location: UK

Ache and pain #7 (permalink) Thu Apr 20, 2006 8:10 am   Ache and pain
 

Thanks, guys.

Yes, I also think "ache" is more specific/localized. As to the severity of an ache, maybe I'm just overly sensitive as a result of my last toothache. Wink

Amy
Yankee
I'm a Communicator ;-)


Joined: 16 Apr 2006
Posts: 8265
Location: USA

Ache and pain #8 (permalink) Thu Apr 20, 2006 8:40 am   Ache and pain
 

As a result?
Don't I have to use the "in result " form?
(I like as a result better)
Spencer
Spencer
I'm here quite often ;-)


Joined: 07 Feb 2006
Posts: 326

Ache and pain #9 (permalink) Thu Apr 20, 2006 10:43 am   Ache and pain
 

spencer wrote:
As a result?
Don't I have to use the "in result " form?

"In result of" is not really correct English. If you google it, you find very few examples, and a lot of them are in English written in places like Poland and Bulgaria. We generally say "as a result of".
Jamie (K)
I'm a Communicator ;-)


Joined: 24 Feb 2006
Posts: 5267
Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA

Ache/pain #10 (permalink) Thu Apr 20, 2006 10:49 am   Ache/pain
 

Alan wrote:
I think I'll stick to my original explanation of two years ago:

Ache is exact and pain is general. After all an ache in the neck is different from a pain in the neck, if you get my drift.

From the Oxford American Dictionary:

Quote:
ache
a continuous or prolonged dull pain in a part of one's body : the ache in her head worsened.
[in sing. ] figurative an emotion experienced with painful or bittersweet intensity : an ache in her heart.

pain
1 physical suffering or discomfort caused by illness or injury : she's in great pain | those who suffer from back pain.
• a feeling of marked discomfort in a particular part of the body : he had severe pains in his stomach | chest pains.
• mental suffering or distress : the pain of loss.
• (also pain in the neck or vulgar slang pain in the a**) [in sing. ] informal an annoying or tedious person or thing : she's a pain.
2 ( pains) careful effort; great care or trouble : she took pains to see that everyone ate well | he is at pains to point out that he isn't like that.

According to this dictionary, ache indicates a dull pain that is continuous. The word can also be used metaphorically.
Jamie (K)
I'm a Communicator ;-)


Joined: 24 Feb 2006
Posts: 5267
Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA

Ache and pain #11 (permalink) Thu Apr 20, 2006 13:52 pm   Ache and pain
 

Hi !

Thanks for the various ache + pain input. Although I'd agree that an 'ache' would generally be used for "less severe pain" and is also more "specific", I just can't help but think that that's just a bit too general.
My last toothache was anything but dull. (It was, however, continuous and localized.)
But I guess I'm just being a pain. Wink

Hi Spencer

'As a result of' is a standard phrase in my neck of the woods. Very Happy

Amy
Yankee
I'm a Communicator ;-)


Joined: 16 Apr 2006
Posts: 8265
Location: USA

Ache and pain #12 (permalink) Thu Apr 20, 2006 15:01 pm   Ache and pain
 

My neck of the woods?
Now you got me!
I have no clue what that phrase could mean at all!
In my NECK of the WOODS?
Jeeez! Smile
Spencer
I'm here quite often ;-)


Joined: 07 Feb 2006
Posts: 326

Ache and pain #13 (permalink) Thu Apr 20, 2006 15:28 pm   Ache and pain
 

Hi Spencer

Oops! Sorry about that.

"Neck of the woods" is an informal idiom for "area/region/neighborhood/vicinity". It's well-known in the US, but I'm not sure about Britain....

Amy
Yankee
I'm a Communicator ;-)


Joined: 16 Apr 2006
Posts: 8265
Location: USA

Ache and pain #14 (permalink) Thu Apr 20, 2006 16:21 pm   Ache and pain
 

Thanks, so it's your area.
But why?
I mean, why is that?
Does anyone know it?
Spencer
I'm here quite often ;-)


Joined: 07 Feb 2006
Posts: 326

Ache and pain #15 (permalink) Fri Apr 21, 2006 8:45 am   Ache and pain
 

Pain is sharp pain and could be sudden while ache is prolonged.
Pamela
I'm a Communicator ;-)


Joined: 14 Mar 2006
Posts: 1238
Location: Rf

Display posts from previous:   
'depend on' vs. 'depend from' | PLACING ADVERBS and PHRASAL VERBS
ESL Forums | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms Ache and pain All times are GMT + 1 Hour
Goto page 1, 2  Next
Page 1 of 2
Latest topics on ESL EFL Forums
When I was 'first married' vs. 'married first'If I had known the recipe I would have baked or baken a cake"Culture studies" and "Cultural studies"Can I ommit "AND" in this sentence?Conditional I sentence?Static vs. dynamic preposition? (Alan's newsletter)Medication or medicationsPreposition "for or to" - DIE FOR and DIE TOWhat the differences and using of another, others, the otherTelco a commonly used acronym?Idiom: keep on the wheat rather than the chaff?Why does loving you feel so hard?Is 'emergency' a countable or an uncountable noun?Every, any, eachWhen do we use 'a/an' and when 'any' in questions?Lend vs. borrowI guess vs. I thinkIn a New York minuteAche and pain, page 2Ache and pain

Discover English-test.net
Failed to findI want some advice from you: How can I learn languages?Financing Your Future: How to Economize and Save in Modern Chinadifference between 'case examples' and 'example cases'SAT Verbal Quiz: Games to teach English Vocabulary: Examples of Adjectives Nouns VerbsSAT practice test: Word quizes: Free Online Adjectives Nouns Verbs GameDefine lunar, perseverance, biograph, bedlam, exhaustive, effeminacy, progressionLearn American English pronunciation: Download Pimsleur JapaneseIdentify part of speech: Money Matters (3)English grammar quiz: English Slang Idioms (152)Central America audiobook download

 
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
Subscribe to FREE email English course
First name E-mail