Questions about the content of a dialogue

Question

I have some questions about the content of a dialogue below,which I copied from an English lesson website.

An officer (B) visits an infirmary,the man has a stomachache and the doctor (A) starts asking him about his problem.

A: How long have you been feeling this way ?

B: The last hour,I have a sharp pain above my navel,do you think I'm having an appendicitis attack ?

B: It's hard to say,let me take your temperature with this thermometer.Have you had any
nausea and vomiting.

A: No,but my stomach feels bloated,I heard that kidney stones may cause severe pain.

B: Do you have family history of kidney stone,are you experiencing any pain in your lower back.And you don't have a temperature.

A: No,that I remember and I don't have back pain.

B: That rules out kidney stone,it might have been triggered by something you ate.

A: Er......against my better judgment,I had raw oysters for my lunch.

B: Oh,let me see what I can do.

My questions are shown below.

1)Why should English (no matter what it is an essay or daily conversation ) describe a disease or illness by following 'a' before the nouns like the above dialogue (has "a" stomachache, don't have "a" temperature and having an appendicitis attack) .

It seems that we can count how many illness we have like a backache,two backache.

2) Is this dialogue correct for its grammar and vocabularies ? Is it more like a daily conversation or a written conversation.Will a doctor say in this way ?

3) What's meant by against my better judgment ?

4)Bloated can describe body parts only,can I say that the balloon is bloated ?

5)you don't have a temperature means you don't have a fever ?

6)It might have been "triggered" by something you ate.Trigger can be used in this way ?

Thanks for your kindly help in advanced.

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

1)Why should English (no matter what it is an essay or daily conversation ) describe a disease or illness by following 'a' before the nouns like the above dialogue (has "a" stomachache, don't have "a" temperature and having an appendicitis attack) .-- Many symptoms of disease are countable nouns. There are also many small mistakes in the text.

It seems that we can count how many illness we have like a backache,two backache.-- Yes.

2) Is this dialogue correct for its grammar and vocabularies ?- No, not as typed.
Is it more like a daily conversation or a written conversation.Will a doctor say in this way ?-- Except for the small errors, it is quite natural conversation.

3) What's meant by against my better judgment ?-- 'Even though I thought the opposite was better.'

4)Bloated can describe body parts only,can I say that the balloon is bloated ?-- No, but a dead cat and a politician's speech can also be bloated. It is a sickly swelling.

5)you don't have a temperature means you don't have a fever ?-- Right

6)It might have been "triggered" by something you ate.Trigger can be used in this way ?-- Yes.

Thanks for your kindly help in advance.

Alexander OJR · Answer

Mister MicawberMany symptoms of disease are countable nouns. There are also many small mistakes in the text.
It seems that we can count how many illness we have like a backache,two backache.-- Yes.

Can you probably tell me some mistakes in the text ?Thanks.
Can I just say that I have stomachache instead of I have a stomachache, is it acceptable,any difference about that ?

When will we count disease or illness

Mister Micawber2) Is this dialogue correct for its grammar and vocabularies ?- No, not as typed.

? I have no idea when I will count a backache,two backache,three....

Mister Micawber2) Is this dialogue correct for its grammar and vocabularies ?- No, not as typed.
Is it more like a daily conversation or a written conversation.Will a doctor say in this way ?-- Except for the small errors, it is quite natural conversation.

Could you tell where has gone wrong?How can I correct the dialogue better ?

Mister Micawber3) What's meant by against my better judgment ?-- 'Even though I thought the opposite was better.'

Sorry,I cannot make out it means,can you explain more simply,thanks.

Mister Micawber4)Bloated can describe body parts only,can I say that the balloon is bloated ?-- No, but a dead cat and a politician's speech can also be bloated. It is a sickly swelling.

Bloated is used to describe swelling caused by an illness or disease.Hence, a man is fat,I cannot say him is bloated,except for the man is ill and causes his body fat,I can then say him is bloated.

Yet why can dead cat and a politician's speech also be bloated ? I'm wondering.

Mister Micawber5)you don't have a temperature means you don't have a fever ?-- Right

Is 'don't have a temperature' a common phrase used in daily conversation ? How about "you don't have a fever" ?

Mister Micawber · Answer

D: How long have you been feeling this way ?

P: The last hour I've had a sharp pain above my navel. Do you think I've got appendicitis?

D: It's hard to say. Let me take your temperature. Have you had any
nausea or vomiting?

P: No, but my stomach feels bloated. I heard that kidney stones are really painful.

D: Do you have any family history of kidney stones? Are you experiencing any pain in your lower back? You don't have a temperature.

P: Not that I know of. I don't have any back pain.

D: That rules out kidney stones. It might have been triggered by something you ate.

P: Er...against my better judgment, I had raw oysters for lunch.

D: Oh. Well, let me see what I can do.

Can I just say that I have stomachache instead of I have a stomachache, is it acceptable,any difference about that ?-- Both OK, no difference. I think the first is more BrE, the 2nd more AmE

I have no idea when I will count a backache,two backache,three.-- Last year I had 2 backaches, 3 stomachaches and 4 toothaches.

3) Against my better judgement, I ate oysters = I knew I shouldn't eat oysters, but I ate oysters.

Bloated is used to describe swelling caused by an illness or disease. Hence, a man is fat, I cannot say he is bloated, except for the man is ill or has overeaten and causes his body to become fat, I can then say he is bloated.-- Yes

Yet why can dead cat and a politician's speech also be bloated ?-- They are also unpleasantly enlarged things.

Is 'don't have a temperature' a common phrase used in daily conversation ? How about "you don't have a fever" ?- Both are common.

Ivanhr · Answer

Also note that "stomach ache" is normally written as two words. "Bellyache" is also common.

Alexander OJR · Answer

Mister MicawberP: The last hour I've had a sharp pain above my navel. Do you think I've got appendicitis?

Any difference between sharp pain and severe pain ? We usually talk about someone has had a disease or illness with using have got no matter what in spoken and formal English ?

Mister MicawberD: Do you have any family history of kidney stones? Are you experiencing any pain in your lower back? You don't have a temperature.

We talk about the pain at a body part by using the preposition "in" such as I'm having a pain in my eyes,lower shoulder or legs ? How about preposition "at" ?

Mister MicawberI have no idea when I will count a backache,two backache,three.-- Last year I had 2 backaches, 3 stomachaches and 4 toothaches.

I consider what you mean is to count the amount of pain,ie-I had 5 times of backache last year ,but I don't think people will count their times of pain normally,

and( 2 backaches, 3 stomachaches and 4 toothaches) is used in spoken English,am I right ?

Mister Micawber3) Against my better judgement, I ate oysters = I knew I shouldn't eat oysters, but I ate oysters.

I guess that Against my better judgement, I ate oysters =I knew I shouldn't have eaten oysters,~~~~~~~ beats I knew I shouldn't eat oysters, but I ate oysters.Because he shouldn't have it,but he did it finally,so the structure of shouldn't have is better in this condition.

Am I thinking in right ?

Mister Micawberhe is bloated, except for the man is ill or has overeaten and causes his body to become fat, I can then say he is bloated.-- Yes

Bloated makes sense for overeat,well,I see.
Is there any example else can be described by bloated,too ?

Mister MicawberYet why can dead cat and a politician's speech also be bloated ?-- They are also unpleasantly enlarged things.

If I say the dead cat and the politician's speech are bloated,what do they mean ?

Seeking help~urgent,please.Thank a lot and thousands.

Alexander OJR · Answer

IvanhrAlso note that "stomach ache" is normally written as two words. "Bellyache" is also common.

However,I learnt that stomachache can be connected from an English lesson video.Which one is correct ever ? I'm getting confused.

I also learnt that some pains have no the structure ( I have....-ache ),for examples that are neck,elbow and knee.

We just say my neck/elbow/knee hurts or pains,but don't say I have neckache,elbowache or kneeache,they sound unnatural and not make sense,correct ?

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