Doler Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

doler means "to hurt, to ache" in English, and this page shows you how it actually sounds in everyday Spanish — not just the conjugation table, but the verb in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make with it. Doler works like gustar: the person is an indirect object and the body part is the subject. You say me duele la cabeza, not yo duelo la cabeza, and me duelen los pies when the subject is plural. Below you will find twelve example sentences grouped by use, two short dialogues, the most common mistakes with corrections, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. If you want the full tables first, start with the full conjugation of doler; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the doler present tense page.

doler in everyday use: examples with translations

Everyday present uses

How the verb sounds in the present, the future and in hypotheticals — the forms you will use most often.

  1. Me duele la cabeza — "My head hurts"
  2. Le duele la espalda — "His back hurts"
  3. Mañana, te dolerá el estómago — "Tomorrow, your stomach will hurt"
  4. Me dolerían los pies si pudiera — "My feet would hurt if I could"

Talking about the past

The same verb in the past: one finished action, a habit, something that has just happened, and something that had already happened.

  1. Ayer, me dolió la cabeza — "Yesterday, my head hurt"
  2. Antes, nos dolía la espalda — "Before, our back used to hurt"
  3. Le ha dolido el estómago — "His stomach has hurt"
  4. Ya me habían dolido los pies antes de salir — "My feet had already hurt before leaving"

Wishes, conditions and commands

The verb after espero que, in si clauses, as a command — and in the conditional perfect, for what would have happened.

  1. Espero que le duela la cabeza — "I hope his head doesn't hurt"
  2. Si me doliera la espalda, todo cambiaría — "If my back hurt, everything would change"
  3. Mañana, me dolerá el estómago — "Tomorrow, my stomach will hurt"
  4. Me habrían dolido los pies con más tiempo — "My feet would have hurt with more time"

doler in conversation

Two short dialogues that use doler the way people really speak it. Notice how the verb changes with the person, and how the same verb fits different situations.

Two friends talk about it.

  • Lucía: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Lucía: Me duele la cabeza — "My head hurts"
  • Marcos: Le duele la espalda — "His back hurts"
  • Lucía: Ayer, me dolió el estómago — "Yesterday, my stomach hurt"
  • Marcos: Mañana, te dolerán los pies — "Tomorrow, your feet will hurt"

A practical exchange.

  • Marcos: Hola, ¿qué tal? — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Marcos: Me dolería la garganta si pudiera — "My throat would hurt if I could"
  • Lucía: Le ha dolido la cabeza — "His head has hurt"
  • Marcos: Espero que le duela la espalda — "I hope his back doesn't hurt"
  • Lucía: Antes, me dolía el estómago — "Before, my stomach used to hurt"

Common mistakes with doler

The errors learners actually make with doler, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.

✗ *Yo duelo el estómago.

✓ Correct: Me duele el estómago.

Doler works like gustar: the person is an indirect object and the body part is the subject. You say Me duele el estómago, not Yo duelo el estómago.

✗ *Me duele los pies.

✓ Correct: Me duelen los pies.

Doler agrees with the body part, not with you: los pies is plural, so it is me duelen los pies, not me duele los pies.

✗ *Yo dolo los pies.

✓ Correct: Yo duelo los pies.

doler is a stem-changing verb (o → ue): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is duelo, not dolo.

✗ *Espero que le duelen los pies

✓ Correct: Espero que le duelan los pies

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que le duelan los pies — not the indicative Espero que le duelen los pies.

✗ *Ayer, me duele la garganta

✓ Correct: Ayer, me dolió la garganta

Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, me dolió la garganta.

Quiz: doler in use

Ten questions on doler — its forms, its tenses and its everyday use. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below, where every answer is explained.

  1. Complete the sentence: Me ______ la cabeza — "My head hurts" (present) A. duele B. duelen C. dolió D. dolieron

  2. Complete the sentence: Ayer, me ______ la espalda — "Yesterday, my back hurt" (preterite) A. dolía B. dolían C. dolió D. dolieron

  3. Complete the sentence: Antes, nos ______ el estómago — "Before, our stomach used to hurt" (imperfect) A. dolían B. dolió C. dolieron D. dolía

  4. Complete the sentence: Mañana, te ______ los pies — "Tomorrow, your feet will hurt" (future) A. dolerá B. dolieron C. dolió D. dolerán

  5. Complete the sentence: Me ______ la garganta — "My throat would hurt" (conditional) A. dolió B. dolieron C. dolería D. dolerían

  6. Complete the sentence: Le ______ la cabeza — "His head has hurt" (present perfect) A. dolieron B. ha dolido C. han dolido D. dolió

  7. Complete the sentence: Espero que le ______ la espalda — "I hope his back doesn't hurt" (present subjunctive) A. duelan B. dolió C. dolieron D. duela

  8. Complete the sentence: Si me ______ el estómago, todo cambiaría — "If my stomach hurt, everything would change" (imperfect subjunctive) A. dolieron B. doliera C. dolieran D. dolió

  9. Which is the gerund of doler, used with estar for the progressive? A. doliendo B. dolido C. duelo D. dolí

  10. What does doler mean in English? A. to enjoy B. to cross C. to hurt D. to wound, to hurt

Answer key

  1. duele — The present form is duele.
  2. dolió — The preterite form is dolió.
  3. dolía — The imperfect form is dolía.
  4. dolerán — The future form is dolerán.
  5. dolería — The conditional form is dolería.
  6. ha dolido — The present perfect form is ha dolido.
  7. duela — The present subjunctive form is duela.
  8. doliera — The imperfect subjunctive form is doliera.
  9. doliendo — The gerund of doler is doliendo: estoy doliendo. The participle dolido is used with haber instead.
  10. to hurt — doler means to hurt.

Frequently asked questions

What does doler mean in English?

doler means to hurt, to ache. For example: Me duele la cabeza — "My head hurts". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

What preposition goes with doler?

Doler takes an indirect object pronoun (me, te, le, nos, os, les) and the body part as the subject: me duele la cabeza, me duelen los pies. There is no preposition to learn — the pronoun does the work.

Is doler regular?

No. doler is a stem-changing -er verb (o → ue). The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: duelo, dueles, duele and duelen — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: dolemos, doléis.

How do I practise doler?

Start with the present tense table on the full conjugation page, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure, and come back to the sentences above until you can say them without looking.

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