My leg hurts. My leg hurts me. What's the difference?

[love-you-mom]

1-My leg hurts.
2-My leg hurts me.

A-What's the difference?


B-Why we omit "me" in the first example?

 

[Barb_D]

Who else would it be hurting, unless you used it to kick someone?

My back hurts a lot.
My back is causing me a lot of pain.
My leg hurts. My leg is causing me a lot of pain.

 

[love-you-mom]

Who else would it be hurting, unless you used it to kick someone?

My back hurts a lot.
My back is causing me a lot of pain.
My leg hurts. My leg is causing me a lot of pain.

Sorry, your answer is not clear for me.

1-My leg hurts.
2-My leg hurts me.

A-What's the difference?


B-Why we omit "me" in the first example?

 

[MikeNewYork]

Sorry, your answer is not clear for me.

1-My leg hurts.
2-My leg hurts me.

A-What's the difference?


B-Why we omit "me" in the first example?

I think Barb's point was that the "me" is redundant. If your leg hurts, you feel pain in your leg. The "me" part only indicates that you feel the pain. That is obvious from the "leg hurts" part.

 

[billmcd]

Sorry, your answer is not clear for me.

1-My leg hurts.
2-My leg hurts me.

A-What's the difference? No difference.


B-Why we omit "me" in the first example? Optional.

b.

 

[dsank0]

1-My leg hurts.
2-My leg hurts me.

A-What's the difference?


B-Why we omit "me" in the first example?

As Barb_D said "My leg hurts me" means that you kick yourself and you feel pain by that action. For example, you kicked your arm and now your arm hurts. Guess what does it mean: my arm hurts me.

 

[Gillnetter]

1-My leg hurts.
2-My leg hurts me.

A-What's the difference?


B-Why we omit "me" in the first example?

Barb has pointed out the most reasonable answer to your question. There could be a difference if you accept the notion that the body and the mind are not the same thing. When something hurts a message is sent to the brain. The brain receives this message and produces the sensation of pain. Now, if you see the brain as a separate entity you could say that your leg (the physical body) is hurting me (the mind, the ego).

 

[billmcd]

As Barb_D said "My leg hurts me" means that you kick yourself and you feel pain by that action. This is not a correct interpretation. For example, you kicked your arm and now your arm hurts. Guess what does it mean: my arm hurts me.

Example: (A) Why are you limping? (B) Because my leg hurts me. (This is not an uncommon response, but neither would be, "Because my leg hurts".)

 

[Barb_D]

Example: (A) Why are you limping? (B) Because my leg hurts me. (This is not an uncommon response, but neither would be, "Because my leg hurts".)

I think a native speaker is FAR more likely to say "because my leg hurts" than "because my leg hurts me."

 

[billmcd]

I think a native speaker is FAR more likely to say "because my leg hurts" than "because my leg hurts me."

"Far more likely" perhaps, but not "uncommon".

 

[emsr2d2]

I would say that "My leg is hurting me" is uncommon in BrE. In fact, using the continuous isn't that common.

My leg hurts.
My head hurts.
My arm hurts.

We tend to use the continuous and the word "me", when we use a slightly different phrase to emphasise the amount of pain:

My leg is killing me!
My head is killing me!
My arm is killing me!

 

[dsank0]

It's interesting I've just encountered a passage of Jerome David Salinger "The catcher in the rye":
My hand still hurts me once in a while when it rains and all, and I can't make a real fist any more-not a tight one ...

 

[MikeNewYork]

It's interesting I've just encountered a passage of Jerome David Salinger "The catcher in the rye":
My hand still hurts me once in a while when it rains and all, and I can't make a real fist any more-not a tight one ...

It does not appear to be nearly as common as "my leg hurts".

See here: Google Ngram Viewer

 

[emsr2d2]

I sometimes wonder if there is any connection to the use of "pain" in the same way - note that its usage is entirely out of favour these days but can still be found in texts from previous centuries. It might still be in use in some dialects, I suppose.

My leg pains me sometimes.
Is your arm paining you?

Perhaps, when we moved over from saying "pains" to "hurts", some people kept the "me" on the end. "My leg pains" would be entirely incorrect, of course.

The only way it is still used regularly in BrE is in the phrase "It pains me to say this but ..." (means "It hurts me to say this but ...").