Sentir is a Spanish verb used to express feelings. Life would be pretty boring if we could not feel anything. As a Spanish learner, you might feel prompted to learn many words at once, but sentir definitely one of the ones you should learn earliest. It translates to ‘‘to feel’’ in English, and it is mainly used to refer to feelings, emotions, and physical sensations. Also, it can also be translated as ‘‘to think,’’ or ‘‘to believe.’’
The conjugation for sentir is pretty straightfoward, however, note there is a stem change.
Present
|
Yo |
siento |
Nosotros |
sentimos |
|
Tú |
sientes |
Vosotros |
sentís |
|
Él/Ella/Ud. |
siente |
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. |
sienten |
Example sentence:
Tu hermana se siente enojada y frustrada por esta situación. -- Your sister feels angry and frustrated about this situation.
Notice the e-to-ie stem change in all forms but nosotros and vosotros.
Imperfect
|
Yo |
sentía |
Nosotros |
sentíamos |
|
Tú |
sentías |
Vosotros |
sentíais |
|
Él/Ella/Ud. |
sentía |
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. |
sentían |
Example sentence:
Creo que tus huéspedes se sentían más cómodos cuando no tenías mascotas. -- I think your guests felt more comfortable when you didn’t have pets.
Preterite
|
Yo |
sentí |
Nosotros |
sentimos |
|
Tú |
sentiste |
Vosotros |
sentíais |
|
Él/Ella/Ud. |
sintió |
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. |
sintieron |
Example sentence:
Él se sintió mal y se fue a casa. -- He felt bad and went home.
Future
|
Yo |
sentiré |
Nosotros |
sentiremos |
|
Tú |
sentirás |
Vosotros |
sentiréis |
|
Él/Ella/Ud. |
sentiré |
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. |
sentirán |
Example sentence:
Si no le dices nada ahora, él sentirá que tracionaste su confianza. – If you don’t tell him now, he will feel like you betrayed his trust.
Conditional
|
Yo |
sentiría |
Nosotros |
sentiríamos |
|
Tú |
sentirías |
Vosotros |
sentiriáis |
|
Él/Ella/Ud. |
sentiría |
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. |
sentirían |
Example sentence:
No me sentiría tan cansado si no tuviera que trabajar 12 horas cada día. – I wouldn’t feel so tired if I didn’t have to work 12 hours every day.
Additional Examples with Sentir
Me desperté porque sentí un ruido extraño en el techo. -- I woke up because I heard a weird noise on the roof.
El problema es que los animales son tratados como si no sintieran dolor. -- The problem is that animals are treated as if they don’t feel pain.
Lo siento muchísimo. -- I am very sorry.
Creo que mi hermana se siente mejor. -- I think my sister feels better.
¿Puedes sentir las piernas? -- Can you feel your legs?
Supongo que me sentiré mejor en cuanto se lo diga. -- I guess I will feel better as soon as I tell her.
Idiomatic Expressions with Sentir
Sentir is used in a number of idiomatic expressions. Some examples include:
Si el mal no fuese sentido, el bien no sería conocido. This expression can be translated as ‘‘in order to know what good is, evil needs to exist.’’
Notice how sentir is used as an adjective (felt) in this sentence.
No digas que va a llover, sin sentir gotas caer. This idiom literally means ‘‘Don’t say it’s going to rain if you haven’t seen the raindrops,’’ which can be interpreted as ‘‘if you haven’t seen it or experienced it, don’t be so sure about it.’’
Using the Verb Sentir Everyday
Feelings get people through life. Knowing how to express your feelings in Spanish is important and so is knowing how to conjugate sentir. As you can see, the rules are simple; just make sure you remember the e-to-ie stem change in the present tense conjugation. Are you feeling great now?