# trouble/problem - I'm having trouble with / I'm having problems with



## alc112

hola a todos!!
Quiesiera saber si hay alguna diferencia entre esa dos palabras que según lo que sé y me fijé  por las dudas en el diccionario ambas significan "problema".
Una preguntta más al respecto:
¿I'm having troubles with these sentences y I'm having problems with these sentences significan lo mismo?
Yo hice un post en el foro de alemán y me encontré con este problema, terminé pooniendo Problem por que en realidad no sé nada sobre troubel, solamente lo escuche por ahi (trouble de cold play  que por cierto no me gusta) y lo busqué en el diccionario.
Muchísimas gracias


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## Artrella

alc112 said:
			
		

> hola a todos!!
> Quiesiera saber si hay alguna diferencia entre esa dos palabras que según lo que sé y me fijé  por las dudas en el diccionario ambas significan "problema".
> Una preguntta más al respecto:
> ¿I'm having troubles with these sentences y I'm having problems with these sentences significan lo mismo?
> Yo hice un post en el foro de alemán y me encontré con este problema, terminé pooniendo Problem por que en realidad no sé nada sobre troubel, solamente lo escuche por ahi (trouble de cold play  que por cierto no me gusta) y lo busqué en el diccionario.
> Muchísimas gracias





Hola Alc   

Trouble es frecuentemente "uncountable" y su plural "troubles" generalmente se refiere a "problemas personales"
Trouble se usa con make/cause (lo que se conoce como "collocation") no con "do".
Problem es "countable".  Se puede decir "a problem" pero no "a trouble".
Por otro lado, "trouble" puede ser un verbo pero "problem" no.

Ejemplos:

- My son 's having a problem *in* finding work
- It's a problem to find/finding work
-Some people seen to be born to *make/cause * problems/trouble


I think you can use both in your sentence (problems and trouble) .  If you need further explanation please ask, alc.


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## Akialuz

I think the difference is:
problem = a *state* of difficultu that needs *to be resolved*.
trouble = *source* of difficulty
~Akialuz


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## Akialuz

so it would be, "I'm having problems with these sentences".  ('cause they can be corrected)  
"I'm having troubles with these sentences" sounds as if *the sentences * (the actual written words) were causing your troubles.  
"I'm having trouble with these sentences" sounds better.  
~and I am actually having trouble trying to explain myself.  :s


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## gaer

alc112 said:
			
		

> ¿I'm having troubles with these sentences y I'm having problems with these sentences significan lo mismo?


In my opinion, in this context, in this sentence, there is no difference.


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## gaer

Akialuz said:
			
		

> I think the difference is:
> problem = a *state* of difficultu that needs *to be resolved*.
> trouble = *source* of difficulty
> ~Akialuz


In many sentences, yes, there might be a difference.


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## gaer

Artrella said:
			
		

> Hola Alc
> 
> Trouble es frecuentemente "uncountable" y su plural "troubles" generalmente se refiere a "problemas personales"
> Trouble se usa con make/cause (lo que se conoce como "collocation") no con "do".
> Problem es "countable". Se puede decir "a problem" pero no "a trouble".
> Por otro lado, "trouble" puede ser un verbo pero "problem" no.
> 
> Ejemplos:
> 
> - My son 's having a problem *in* finding work
> - It's a problem to find/finding work
> -Some people seen to be born to *make/cause *problems/trouble
> 
> 
> I think you can use both in your sentence (problems and trouble) . If you need further explanation please ask, alc.


That's a good explanation, Art.

Also: 

"My son 's having a problem finding work." The "in" can be left out. I'm not sure if it is less correct in formal usage though. 

Gaer


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## Akialuz

When do you use "trouble" as a verb?  I can't think of any example.
~akialuz


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## Akialuz

okok   goy it!   do not trouble yourself!  is that one?
~Aki


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## gaer

Akialuz said:
			
		

> okok goy it! do not trouble yourself! is that one?
> ~Aki


Yes.

"Don't trouble yourself about that/over that."

"Don't worry [yourself] about that/over that."

The same, but "yourself" must be there with "trouble ", not with "worry".


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## Artrella

Akialuz said:
			
		

> When do you use "trouble" as a verb?  I can't think of any example.
> ~akialuz



Here you have some examples of "trouble" used as a verb, Akialuz

 My back has been troubling me (= causing pain)

 Could I trouble you to open the window please? (formal= to disturb)

 What is that is troubling you (= make someone worried)

 He rushed into the room without troubling to knock (BrE, informal = to make effort, usually in negative sentences)

 Sorry to trouble you, but could you tell me the time? (= bother)


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## gaer

Artrella said:
			
		

> Here you have some examples of "trouble" used as a verb, Akialuz
> 
> My back has been troubling me (= causing pain)
> 
> Could I trouble you to open the window please? (formal= to disturb)
> 
> What is that is troubling you (= make someone worried)
> 
> He rushed into the room without troubling to knock (BrE, informal = to make effort, usually in negative sentences)
> 
> Sorry to trouble you, but could you tell me the time? (= bother)


Ah, very good!

Gaer


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## Akialuz

Got it!  
WOW you really did your homework!!    Thank you.
(So trouble sounds more negative thank problem.)
~Akialuz


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## Akialuz

no thank problem---->  *than*
~Aki


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## alc112

Thank you guys and gal!!!!!!!


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## juortgon

Cuando se debe ocupar???.. gracias.


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## jacinta

La diferencia principal es que "trouble" no es contable.
Problema sí es contable.

Puedes tener muchos problemas = many problems
mientras que tienes trouble.

My mother and I have trouble getting along.
I´m having trouble with my computer today.

I`ve had a lot of problems with it lately.
I hope I don´t have any more trouble with it once I get it fixed.

Espero que esto te ayude.


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## elroy

You can also be "in trouble" but not "in problem."  You "have a problem," but you can't just "have trouble."  You "have trouble doing something," which has its own connotation.


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## Artrella

juortgon said:
			
		

> Cuando se debe ocupar???.. gracias.




*Trouble* es generalmente incontable y su forma plural *troubles* se refiere frecuentemente a problemas personales.

"You don't want to hear about all my _troubles_"
"Some people seem to be born to make/cause *trouble/problems*"
"My car has been causing (me) a lot of trouble lately"

Aparentemente, en los casos en los cuales se trata de algo que te preocupa a nivel personal, se usa "troubles".


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## juortgon

ok. trouble se ocoupa cuando se trata de problemas personales. y cuando es incontable.. Gracias.


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## acmeeeeee

And, can you say "to be in economic trouble"? Or is it better "to have economic problems"?
Thank you!


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## juortgon

uuuuy.. quedé confundido entonces....
for example, si digo mi perro me da problemas?...   I have trouble with my dog?..


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## LaReinita

My dog is giving me trouble/problems.


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## jasikevicius13

As you might guess my question is about the diferences between this words wich have the same meaning in Spanish (both of them mean "problema") but they cannot be used always as synonims. For example, I've been told not to say "heart problem" but "heart trouble". Is there any way to not get mistaken or there's no understundable reason for this issue?. Thank you all.

Como puede que imagineis, mi pregunta trata sobre la diferencia entre estas dos palabras que en español tienen el mismo significado(ambas significan "problema") pero que no pueden ser usadas siempre como sinónimos. Por ejemplo, me han dicho que no use "heart problem" sino "heart trouble". ¿Hay algún modo de no equivocarse o no existe ninguna razón lógica para este asunto? Gracias a todos.


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## reganse

I have heard many people say "heart problem." For example: Since he has a heart problem, he has to make frequent visits to the doctor. The words "trouble" and "problem" are very similar in English, too, as you know. So you have any more specific questions about these two words? Maybe I and others can help.


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## jasikevicius13

Right now I cannot remember any examples. So isn't there aby diference between trouble and problem?


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## reganse

I can't think of any examples right now, either, but these two words are fairly synonymous. _You're in big trouble with your boss; He is having problems with his boss; my husband and I are having problems in our marriage; their marriage is in trouble …_


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## jasikevicius13

what about trouble/problem with and adjective before?
would you say financial _trouble/problem_; economic _trouble/problem_; health _trouble/problem_?
I mean those kind of situations. Could you use both, no matter wich?


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## reganse

Hmmm …_
The bank is having financial problems. The bank is having financial trouble. The bank is in trouble. He has health problems._ _He has trouble with his liver._ _He has problems with his liver._

There may be times when one would be better suited to a particular context more than the other, but I'm sorry I can't think of an example right now. AGH! It's whatever "sounds better." I know that doesn't help you at all because you don't know what sounds better to your ears. It's the same thing with Spanish. Sometimes we (English speakers) don't know which Spanish word to use either. If you ever have a question over a particular usage of these words, feel free to contact me.


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## BLT

A "heart problem" sounds to me like one specific issue. "Heart trouble" is more general; it might be only one problem, or it might be several issues mixed together. Make the problems plural ("heart problems") and you specify that there is more than one problem. But I'm not even sure that I agree with what I'm writing. 

I think that in most of these examples the word "problem" sounds more informal to my ear. (An exception is being "in big trouble," which is more informal.) But it's not a huge difference.


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## sabretoof

BLT said:


> A "heart problem" sounds to me like one specific issue. "Heart trouble" is more general; it might be only one problem, or it might be several issues mixed together. Make the problems plural ("heart problems") and you specify that there is more than one problem.



What you are saying here is essential that _trouble _is an uncountable noun, so you say _much trouble_ and so on, whereas problem is countable, so you say _many troubles_.

So if you wish to speak about one specific issue, _problem _is the right term.

Furthermore, I'd say that _trouble _implies something bad, whereas _problem_ implies that something could become bad, but is usually solvable with effort.



BLT said:


> I think that in most of these examples the word "problem" sounds more informal to my ear. (An exception is being "in big trouble," which is more informal.) But it's not a huge difference.



I disagree, I'd consider trouble to be more informal always.


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## BLT

sabretoof said:


> I disagree, I'd consider trouble to be more informal always.



In general I agree with you; I was surprised to find myself writing that. Yet I could much more easily imagine reading in a magazine article that someone has "heart trouble" than that someone has "heart problems." Same thing with "financial trouble" versus "a financial problem" or "financial problems" (though "financial problems" is close). I'm beginning to think that it really depends on the context.

Naturally, this could be something that differs between Australia and the US.


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## sabretoof

sabretoof said:


> What you are saying here is essential that _trouble _is an uncountable noun, so you say _much trouble_ and so on, whereas problem is countable, so you say _many troubles_.



Actually I need to rephrase this.  Of course I meant _many problems_. 

But it made me realise that you can say many troubles too (countably).  But certainly not _much problem_.


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## jasikevicius13

Well, first of all, thank you very much, I really apreciate your effort trying to make me understand this.
Summing up, I've figured out that "trouble" is probably more informal than "problem" but you can use both of them most of times, am I right?
On the other hand, I've always thought trouble was countable but some of you've said it isn't, that doesn't make sense for me...
Anyway, you've been very useful, thank you again.


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## sabretoof

jasikevicius13 said:


> Summing up, I've figured out that "trouble" is probably more informal than "problem" but you can use both of them most of times, am I right?



I don't think there is not a lot of difference in either case.



> On the other hand, I've always thought trouble was countable but some of you've said it isn't, that doesn't make sense for me...


Countable use of trouble (_troubles_), is about different problems:

_My troubles are just beginning._  [There are many different problems.]
_I can't keep track of all my troubles._ [You're considering each individual trouble that you have.]

whereas uncountable use is more about measuring the severity of an individual trouble or multiple troubles considered as a whole:

_I am in so much trouble._ [You are not considering individual issues, you probably just have one really bad problem.]

Sometimes either is fine:

_Your absence caused a lot of trouble(s) among the students._

_a lot of trouble_, just considers all of the problems, taken as one mass.  This makes sense since there was just one cause.

Whereas you might use _a lot of troubles_ to emphasise that different people had different problems.

Many abstract terms like that can be used in either way with little to no change in meaning. For example, emotional nouns that come from verbs like _desire_, _hate_, _hope, __love_, _need_ can be used similarly to _trouble_.

It's not the case here, but for some nouns, the countable meaning and uncountable meaning are very different:

http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/nouns-un-countable_3.htm


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## ralphisok

En español se relaciona: problema / agobio
No dejes que los problemas te agobien
Cause = Problem 
Effect = Trouble


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## malulita31

Hola, he estado leyendo los diferentes hilos relacionados con la diferencia entre problem y trouble y aun no los tengo claros. me gustaría que me ayudaran específicamente con las siguientes oraciones escritas por una de mis estudiantes. Además si tienen otras sugerencias sobre las oraciones están bienvenidas.

1. My uncle can´t walk good because he has a little trouble with his leg.
2. When I have a trouble, I ask myself and I try again and again.
3. When I saw him, I thought that we are very ungrateful, because we have everything, a complete body, and we live sad, because the life is not what we want or maybe we have a little trouble that has a possible solution.

para mi sería PROBLEM en ambas pero no estoy totalmente segura.


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## cvermar

No entiendo todo lo que escribe tu alumna, pero aquí está mi intento:


malulita31 said:


> 1. My uncle can´t walk *well* because he has a little *problem* with his leg.
> 2. When I have a *problem*, I ask myself *[what?]* and I try again and again.
> 3. When I saw him, I thought that we are very ungrateful, because we have everything, a *whole* body, and *yet *we live sad *lives*, because *life* is not what we want or maybe *because *we have a *small problem, even if it* has a possible solution.


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## malulita31

cvermar said:


> No entiendo todo lo que escribe tu alumna, pero aquí está mi intento:



gracias por tu ayuda, aunque no comprendiste lo que escribio mi alumna lo interpretaste muy bien y yo lo que queria saber era si en esos casos se usaba PROBLEM O TROUBLE. Y según veo es PROBLEM como yo lo creía.


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## cvermar

Perdón, esa era tu pregunta. Sí, tenías toda la razón.


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## malulita31

si esa era mi pregunta, ademas de las otras correcciones dadas, gracias. Esas dos palabras son un dolor de cabeza.


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