Complain

Question

I found this sentence, He complained (to the waiter) that his meal was cold, in oxford dictionary.

However, my textbook says "He complained that his abdomen is painful" is wrong.It says it should be "He complained of a pain in his abdomen"

It don't tell us the reason.
I don't know why.

thanks

Avangi · Accepted Answer

You might try other dictionaries. That's a pretty picky rule, and may have been more widely recognized in the past. I doubt many bother to observe it.

My American Heritage doesn't mention it, and Google doesn't show any articles comparing the two.

Google has 3.5 million hits each for "complain of" and "complain that."

AlpheccaStars · Answer

The problem is not the verb complain, but "my abdomen is painful".
This is not a correct use of the adjective "painful". Painful is used for emotional pain or the experience of pain.

I have many painful childhood memories.
It was a painful experience.
The treatment for rabies is very painful.

When you are feeling a hurt in a particular part of our body, we almost always say the nouns - ache or pain, or the verbs "hurt, ache"

I have a headache.
I have a pain in my left knee.
My foot hurts.

Patrick Lockerby · Answer

"He complained that his abdomen is painful" is wrong.

Here is the reason. It should be:

"He complained that his abdomen was painful"

Reported speech always refers to something ( the act of speaking ) that has already happened,
so it needs a verb in the past tense.

It says it should be "He complained of a pain in his abdomen"

"He complained that his abdomen was painful" - can be used by anybody at any time, it is perfectly correct. It suggests a complaint generally, for example: "Ooh! My stomach hurts!"

"He complained of a pain in his abdomen" - this way of expressing the same idea would be more likely to be used by a doctor, nurse or, perhaps, a lawyer. It suggests that the person has reported the pain in a more formal pain. "What seems to be the trouble, Mr. Smith?" "My stomach is giving me agony."

Avangi · Answer

AlpheccaStars Painful is used for emotional pain or the experience of pain.

Aha, very astute! You've got it!

When you are feeling a hurt in a particular part of our body,

And how is our body feeling today?(It's okay from my end.)

Patrick Lockerby · Answer

AvangiWhen you are feeling a hurt in a particular part of our body,

And how is our body feeling today? (It's okay from my end.)

Droll!

English people use idiom.
The rest of the world's peoples use language.

Complain

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions