verbs about sensation

Question

I want to translate "my finger hurts" to Spanish:

1- Me duele el dedo.

2- Me duele mi dedo.

3- duele mi dedo. Or mi dedo duele.

I know there is some limitation for using possessive adjective for body part. So i am sure number 1 is completely true. But how about number 2 & 3? Are these sentences are completely false or they are used in Spanish but in less frequency.

Answer 1

Me duele el dedo ..is the best .... you can also say ,, tengo dolor de dedo (o en el dedo)..

2nd is grammatically incorrect as the indirect object pronoun already indicates that you are talking about your finger ,, so no possessive adjective is needed.

3rd one also doesn't sound quite like it .. because with this type of construction using the verbs like doler usually an indirect object pronoun is used (not a possessive adjective), besides, the use of possessive adjectives in spanish aint as extensive as in english.. per the rules of grammar, the possesive adjectives are not supposed to be used when the possession is understood or implied/implicit in the context. The spanish people prefer using indirect object pronouns much more than using possesive adjectives (as far as I have noticed).. for example ... me raboran el coche ... they robbed my car ... this is an example I saw in a spanish book .. so would be able to see that whereas in English a posseisive adjectie "my" has been used, spanish employs an indirect object pronoun (which In english can be translated to : they robbed ME of the car)..

So .. me duele el dedo.,,, me duele la garganta, me duele la cabeza etc.. is the best construction in my opinion.. you may still be understood if you use the other types you have mentioned above but it may not sound natural to Spanish years..

Totally agree - txustaboy, Nov 21, 2014

Thanks Tx :) - Joydeep_Singh, Nov 21, 2014

True, doler is a verb like gustar and Spaniards consider it obvious that if you say 'me duele' and then a body part, that it is yours, so instead of a possesive, you should just use an article. Indeed the same to a lesser extent goes for other possesions. - Suzanne_Romijnders, Nov 21, 2014

Nice explanation! I also like the second image, it really reflects heartache - 005faa61, Nov 21, 2014

Thanks JC, Thanks Suzy :) - Joydeep_Singh, Nov 21, 2014

de nada ^3^ - Suzanne_Romijnders, Nov 22, 2014