español · A2 · vocabulary · 4 minutes
Feelings and reactions
Separate present feelings from lasting character descriptions.
Understand the choice
Separate a current feeling from a lasting personality trait. Estar + adjective reports how someone feels in a situation; ponerse or enfadarse can show the change into that feeling.
Core rule: Use estar with current emotions, and make the adjective agree with the person.
Notice it in context
Estoy nervioso porque mañana tengo un examen.
I am nervous because I have an exam tomorrow.
Use estar with current emotions, and make the adjective agree with the person.
Estamos contentas, pero Ana está triste.
We are happy, but Ana is sad.
Contentas agrees with a female plural subject; triste has one form for both genders.
Se enfada cuando llega tarde.
He gets angry when he arrives late.
Enfadarse describes a change into anger.
What to remember
- Emotion adjectives agree with the experiencer: nervioso, nerviosa, nerviosos, nerviosas.
- Preocupado is worried; preocupante describes the thing that causes worry.
Common trap: Do not use ser merely because English says “I am.” Soy nervioso suggests a generally nervous personality; estoy nervioso describes how I feel now.