Emotions & Feelings
Emotions & Feelings
You now have three different ways to talk about feelings — estar plus an adjective, tener plus a noun, and a reflexive verb — and this lesson is about knowing which one a given emotion actually uses.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
Most emotions use estar, not ser
estoy triste (I'm sad), estoy contento (I'm happy) — a temporary, changeable state
I'm sad, I'm happy — just 'to be'
Because emotions are, by nature, temporary and changeable, they overwhelmingly take estar rather than ser — this is one of the clearest, most reliable estar triggers in the whole ser/estar system you started building back at A1. Using ser here (soy triste) would suggest sadness is a fixed, permanent character trait, not a passing feeling.
Some emotions are reflexive verbs instead
me enojo (I get angry), me preocupo (I worry) — the emotion is something that happens to you, not a state you're simply in
I get angry, I worry — English also frames some emotions as things you 'do' rather than states you're 'in'
A separate group of emotions are expressed as reflexive verbs describing the process of becoming that way, rather than adjectives describing the resulting state — me enojo (I get/become angry) rather than estoy enojado (I am angry, the state that results). English actually makes a similar distinction sometimes ('I get angry' vs. 'I'm angry'), so lean on that parallel where it exists.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
- English
- I'm sad
- English
- I'm happy
- English
- I'm nervous
- English
- I'm tired
- English
- I get angry
- English
- I worry
- English
- I get bored
- English
- I get excited
- English
- I'm proud
- English
- I'm embarrassed