"Siempre me siento cansado."
Translation:I always feel tired.
198 CommentsThis discussion is locked.
the verbs are reflexive, like sentirse, ducharse, despertarse, etc, and when conjugating them, you use the pronouns me, te, se, nos, os, and se in front of the conjugation
Thank you, that’s the discussion I was looking for. Translating the words individually did not make sense.
That's an important lesson to learn: Never translate literally word-for-word. It just doesn't work that way.
So sentir always needs a pronoun, even when it is unnecessary for a specific case? You would never say that sentence with anything besides "me," so why is it necessary? I can't feel tired to you, after all.
Just "like that"? And you should just remember which verbs act that way? It's not that I don't believe you or anything, but if it's possible for you - or anyone else - I would really love to hear an explanation for that, since it's a mystery to me :)
Still a beginner but I believe it's because the verb is "sentirse" i.e. reflexive.
However, what about "Lo siento" ("I am sorry" -- but literally "I feel sorry")? Here "sentir" is not reflexive, as it would be if one were to say "Me siento", which would not be correct. ?No es verdad?
ErwinEpste
It's only reflexive when the object pronoun matches the subject. "Lo siento" literally means "I feel it".
"Always I feel tired" is not the way most English speakers would say it. -unless maybe the person was very upset about it, and said "ALWAYS I feel tired!" -even then, most English speakers would say "I ALWAYS feel tired!"
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I am English, and I would say it to stress the always, I would say it the other way round as well though.
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For me, this was a listening question where you type the sentence in Spanish afterwards. I got it right because it was simply typing what was said, but I do have one question about it. The speaker was female, but she used "cansado." I thought because she was female, that she would have to use "cansada." Was Duolingo wrong, or am I misunderstanding?
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You're understanding it right, cansado refers to a male person, and cansada to a female one. But Duolingo is not necessarily wrong. Rather, it is programmed in such a fashion that every sentence can be spoken by any speaker. So you can either imagine that the (female) speaker is quoting a (male) person, or that Duolingo's speakers do not have a fixed gender.
Yeah but it's still confusing, because I heard a female person speaking, so I typed cansada and Duo marked it as wrong :( Not fair...
I think that Duolingo is trying to get you to hear the difference no matter the context, because there are situations that a female speaker could say "cansado" (talking about someone else) or even "estoy cansado" (reading out loud from a book?) But the point is, you'll be better off if you can hear the difference. And practice should give you the ability.
I agree that this should also be accepted. The gerund form of the verb here implies that it's something unpleasant that is happening more often than one would desire.
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Me means "me" and is used together with verbs, talking about "me" as an object of an action.
Mi means "my" and is used together with nouns, talking about me as an owner of that noun.
Mí (with an accent) means "me" and is used after prepositions, talking about "me" as the object of that preposition.
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English's adverb placement rules are a mess. Usually if you have an adverb ("always") that modifies the verb ("feel"), you place it in front of the full verb of the sentence, unless that verb is a form of "to be". So "I always feel tired" is the better option here, but I might be picking nits.
I gave the same answer. It really is picking nits. Or, should I not say, "It is really picking nits"? Duo needs to be sensitive to the flexibility in the English language.
No. I am a native speaker of Midwestern American English and I have never heard any native speaker say "I feel always tired." That sounds like something a non-native speaker would say.
- "It really is picking nits" -- No, it's not an important distinction, it's nit-picking.
- "It is really picking nits" -- Is this guy a professional nit-picker or what? I've never seen anything so nit-picky before.
The placement of "really" changes its scope and with it the meaning of the sentence.
Really? I too am a native speaker of Midwestern American English. You mean to say that you would not say, for example, "I am really tired"? That is, you would insist on saying, "I really am tired"? The placement of "really" changes nothing. Either would be well within the scope and meaning of the sentence. Whether you would use "am" or "feel" also does not matter. As a midwesterner (and a long-time journal and book editor) I value the flexibility of the English language.
"Really" is an intensifier. "Always" is a temporal marker. It does not sound natural to me to say "I feel always tired." Temporal markers aren't as flexible as intensifiers.
If someone asked you "Do you feel tired today?" you might reply "I feel tired always." Otherwise its usually "I always feel tired."
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Floris, the Spanish sentence uses the verb sentirse here, so Duolingo expects a translation with "to feel".
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You need to use the me in this sentence. But you can add yo if you want: "Yo siempre me siento cansada."
If you describe a feeling with an adjective (cansado, feliz, enojado, etc.), you need to use a form of sentirse, including a reflexive pronoun:
- Me siento cansado. - I feel tired.
- ¿Te sientes fría? - Do you feel cold?
- No se sienten enojados. - They don't feel angry.
If you describe the thing you feel with a noun, you use the direct form sentir instead:
- Siento tu calor. - I feel your warmth.
- Siente hambre. - He feels hunger. (literally)
In this sentence, "me" does not mean "I".
"Sentir" is a reflexive verb here, and "me" is the direct object.
This is also why it's lo siento -- literally "I feel it".
I always feel stupid coming into the comments. What on earth is a "gerund" verb?!
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Doniras, don't worry too much, it's complicated. The term "gerund" generally refers to a special, unconjugated form of a verb, but it means different things depending on whether you're talking about English or Spanish.
The English gerund is one of the verb forms that ends with '-ing' and which you can use like a noun in a sentence:
- Reading is fun.
- We like dancing.
- Life is suffering.
The gerund is not the '-ing' form used in "the laughing child" or "We are dancing", though. Those are used like adjectives and go by the name "present participle".
The Spanish gerund, called "gerundio" in Spanish, is the verb form that usually ends with '-ando' or '-iendo'. It gets used to describe an action that is currently in progress or is happening simultaneously with some other event. In that regard the Spanish gerund is used in a similar manner as the English present participle, but not the English gerund, which is what makes the terms pretty confusing.
- Él está esperando el tren. - He is (in the middle of) waiting for the train.
- Ella salió corriendo. - She left (while) running.
Because we don't say it that way in English. We say "I always feel tired."
I typed, "always I feel tired" just to see what would happen and apparently if you type exactly how its said word for word it is wrong
That's because translation is not about going word-for-word. Translation is about how it's said in the target language.
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Ahem. If you added the yo to the Spanish sentence to match the "I" in the English translation, it would have to be in front of siempre: Yo siempre me siento cansada." Your translation isn't even word-for-word.
I translated as always I feel tired. Is there a lot of difference between the two. Same english words just a slightly different order but same meaning.
no difference in meaning, it's just that we wouldn't say it that way. You distinguish yourself as a non-native speaker to say that. Which is not a problem, you would still be understood.
strange, I wrote= I am always tired, it was marked correct but it said "another correct solution" = I always feel tired. ? d.l. it's free.
Whereas when I wrote “I’m always tired”, it was marked wrong.
I realize Spanish uses the reflexive form of the verb ‘to feel’, but in English we’re as likely (or more likely) to use the verb ‘to be’.
e.g He’s tired. She’s angry. I’m hungry. They’re always tired.
Since we’re translating meaning, rather than word-for-word literal translation, “I’m always tired” should be marked correct.
There is nothing wrong with "I'm always tired", but Duolingo sometimes has trouble with contractions.
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Yes. :)
Sentir is the transitive form that you use with noun objects. Sentirse is the pronominal form that's used if you describe the feeling with an adjective.
Does "sentir" mean "feel" or "to be felt?" Because why is there always a "me" next to it?
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Sentir means "to feel", and you can feel other things if you want:
- Siento esta mesa. - I feel (i.e. touch) this table.
Sentir is used as the transitive form and sentirse (the stuff with me and friends in front of it) is the reflexive form. Specifically that means that sentir is used when you express the feeling (or what you feel) with a noun, and sentirse is used when you use an adjective. Some examples:
- Siento el viento. - I feel the wind.
- ¿Sientes hambre? - Do you feel hungry? (lit. "Do you feel hunger?")
- Sentimos la tristeza del mundo. - We felt the sadness of the world.
- Me siento enojado. - I feel angry.
- ¿Te sientes bien? - Do you feel well?
- No nos sentimos fríos. - We are not feeling cold.
- Te siento. - I feel you. (The touchy kind, not the "I understand your pain" kind.)
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Adverbs usually demand to be placed close to the word they influence. If you say "Always I feel tired", it sounds like you want to say "It is always me who feels tired". On the other hand "I always feel tired" has the intended meaning here: "I feel tired all the time."
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No, the object pronoun and the verb cannot be split, ever. (Rare exceptions may occur, but I'm not aware of any.)
I was taught that "Lo siento" means "I'm sorry". If the reflexive verb "sentir" is "to feel", then what is the literal translation of "Lo siento"?
You are right that "lo siento" is used the way we use "I'm sorry" in English. And "sentir" does indeed mean "to feel". "Lo" is the object pronoun, so "lo siento" literally means "I feel it".
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Sentir has a secondary meaning of "to regret" (def. 5), which is what's used here.
- Lo siento. - I regret it.
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Mi is a possessive adjective ("my") and only works together with a noun. Since siento is not a noun, "mi siento" won't work.
Me is an object pronoun ("me", "to me") and only works together with verbs. "Me siento" means "I feel (somehow)" or "I feel myself".
Is it possible to say i feel tired always ' me siento cansado siempre' when i take this to the real world?
Te siento. - I feel you. (The touch kind, not the 'I understand your pain' kind.)
Because that sounds unnatural in English. A better way to say it is "I always feel tired."
Why is this phrase backwards? Is this how all the Spanish phrases are built?
It's only "backwards" to you because you're comparing it to English. But English, nor any other language, is the standard by which to compare other languages. Different languages develop independently in their own ways.
Some sentences in Spanish are structured like this, yes. Some sentences in Spanish are structured more like what you're used to in English. With enough exposure and practice you'll get used to it, but you need to stop comparing it to English and take Spanish for what it is.
As explained earlier:
Because "sentirse" is reflexive.
Would it also be correct to say "yo siempre siento cansado" or just "siento siempre cansado" ?
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No. If you use sentir without an object pronoun, you're talking about feeling something, feeling a noun, like a table, hunger, or someone's presence. If the feeling you have is described with an adjective, like tired, worried, happy, etc., then you need to use the reflexive form: sentirse, or "me siento" in this case.
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"Always" is one of those adverbs that wants to be in front of what it modifies. Since that will usually be the verb, "always" will be in front of "feel" here.
It's just a voice reading a sentence. If you were reading out loud the autobiography of someone of another sex than you, you would not change the grammatical gender of the adjectives they use when talking about themselves.
I don't think it should be incorrect to say "I am always tired", I translated it as this and it was marked wrong. I am aware that the literal translation is "I always feel tired", but if you always go with the literal translation you would translate "Uso mi cuaderno azul los lunes" (which I'm pretty sure is a grammatically correct sentence) as "Use my notebook blue the Mondays", which doesn't make sense in English.
I think in English it is more natural to say "I'm always tired" or "I am always tired" than "I always feel tired". Even though it's grammatically correct I've never heard anyone say that.
Do other people say "I feel tired" more than "I am tired"? At least both should be accepted.
If you type "I am always tired" and it marks you wrong, please flag it and report "My answer should be accepted." That's the only way to suggest such an addition to the course contributors.
It's not instead of. We can say "Yo siempre me siento cansado." The "yo" is optional.
"Yo" is "I". "Me" is "me/myself". The Spanish is literally "I always feel myself tired" because "sentirse" is a reflexive verb.
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Judith, the adverb siempre generally modifies the word that appears after it. So when you say "siempre cansado", it sounds like you're talking about the state of being "always-tired". It sounds rather odd.
How is siento in this sentence a reflexive verb. Is it like saying I always feel myself tired?
Yes. Although since the subject pronoun is largely optional, including it would be making it more emphatic.
EDIT: I did not notice the lack of "me". The verb is the reflexive "sentirse" and it needs to be "me siento", not just "siento".
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Joani, if you're describing your feeling with an adjective, you must use the reflexive form "me siento". You're free to add yo, but you cannot leave the me out.
It's not extra. It's the object pronoun because it's a reflexive construction. I can't provide a comprehensive list, but it's verbs like sentirse, ducharse, any verb that ends in the reflexive -se. They conjugate like their non-reflexive versions except they require the object pronoun.
Oh okay my bad. But, siempre doesn't end with -se. So, are there exceptions like this?
Siempre is not the verb. It is the adverb "always". The verb here is "siento".
The infinitive form of "me siento" is "sentirse". It only ends in -se in the infinitive.
Compare:
https://www.123teachme.com/spanish_verb_conjugation/sentir
https://www.123teachme.com/spanish_verb_conjugation/sentirse
Mi is the possessive "my".
Me is the object pronoun "me". "Me siento" is the reflexive "I feel myself".
Me is the direct object pronoun "me".
Mi is the possessive adjective "my" (singular).
It is interesting that sometimes Duolingo requires a literal word for word translation including the placement of adverbs ( though a contemporary English translation would use a different order) and at other times it doesn't. The literal translation here would reverse the subject and the qualifier. This does make for an awkward but not an incorrect English translation.
Don't confuse a strict translation with a literal translation. There are a lot of simple, straightforward sentences that are not idiomatic in either language and the grammar just happens to line up. Strict translations are the difference between
Es mi gato:
It is my cat
vs
The cat is mine.
To the extent that grammar and idiom allow, it defeats the purpose of the lessons to switch things around unnecessarily. Also because those two statements are not entirely synonymous.
But with constructions such as "Siempre me siento cansado", this is a matter of the different languages constructing this differently, and so now we get into the real art of translation, which is rendering it naturally in the target language. And in English, native speakers say "I always feel tired". Putting the adverb anywhere else either makes it really awkward and unnatural, or it shifts the focus to something not covered by the prompt.
I agree wholeheartedly with everything you've said. My comment really was referring to other lessons where the English translation that they wanted was strict with respect to word placement resulting in an awkward English translation. This led me to think that Duolingo wants a strict translation, which was not the case in this example. I agree with their English translation in this case. It just surprised me given previous lessons.
Duolingo is just the platform. Each language module is put together by a different team of volunteers. Each prompt has its own database of answers that is manually curated. There are bound to be inconsistencies between them, and sometimes individuals derp or otherwise make mistakes. If you feel like there is something wrong with how it corrects you, you can always flag it and report a problem with the "correct" answer.
Thanks Rae! I didn't know that's how Duolingo was operated. I appreciate the platform even more!
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John, please note that the Spanish sentence is not using a subject pronoun here. The adverb siempre is right in front of the verb "me siento", just like in the given English translation. If yo were added, it would be placed before siempre.
Yo siempre me siento cansado.
Sentirse is reflexive. You need the reflexive for internal feelings and emotions.
Would "Estoy siempre me siento cansado." also be a correct way of saying this?
No. "Siento" is "I feel", so "estoy siento" is "I am I feel" or "I am feel".
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Jerb, no, that would not be correct. You'd have two conjugated verbs in the same clause (estoy and siento), and you cannot split the verbs apart like this.
I'm not entirely sure what exactly you want to express.
I entered, "Always, I feel tired." Is that different from "I always feel tired"? Was Duo correct to call my answer a mistake>\?
Native speakers don't say "Always I feel tired." We say "I always feel tired."
me = me/myself
mí = me (after a preposition--note the accented í)
mi = my
https://www.spanishdict.com/guide/direct-and-indirect-object-pronouns-in-spanish
https://www.spanishdict.com/guide/prepositional-pronouns-in-spanish
https://www.spanishdict.com/guide/possessive-adjectives-in-spanish
https://www.spanishdict.com/guide/possessive-pronouns-in-spanish
When talking about herself? She wouldn't. It's an adjective and requires gender and number agreement.
It's not "instead of". sentirse is reflexive. You can say "Yo me siento cansado" (although that adds a bit of emphasis--the subject pronoun is usually dropped) or you can say "Me siento cansado".
https://www.spanishdict.com/guide/reflexive-verbs-and-reflexive-pronouns
"Always" modifies the verb, not the whole sentence. It needs to be "I always feel tired."
To me, "Always I feel..." just sounds wrong. BUT if I use another example of an adverb say "Sometimes I feel..." it doesn't sound wrong at all. So, it might just be one of those idiomatic quirks of English. (To be clear, I'm not suggesting "sometimes" as the translation here).
Pretty much. I'm sure there have been linguistic studies on it analyzing how it works out that way.
What I find interesting is that "always" and "all the time" are essentially synonymous, and yet their placement in the same sentence is opposite:
I feel tired always.
I feel tired all the time.
I always feel tired.
I all the time feel tired.
Thanks. if I wanted to emphasize "always" in English I might put it first. but I guess you can't do that in Spanish?
Emphasis or not, it sounds very strange to my ears to say "Always I feel tired".
In Spanish, "siempre" comes before the verb, but it can't separate the reflexive "me" from "siento". If it were not reflexive, like "I always feel cats", then it would be "Siempre siento los gatos". And the subject pronoun is optional, so it could also be "Yo siempre me siento cansado" or "Yo siempre siento los gatos". I don't know how Spanish would handle emphasis here, though.
Is 'me siento siempre cansado' also correct? I noticed that siempre is sometimes placed after the verb as well. Or is it the case that it comes before the verb due to added emphasis on 'siempre'?
No. Nothing can ever come between the object pronoun and the verb. No exceptions.
I already know that 'me siempre siento' is incorrect, but I meant placing 'siempre' between siento and cansado.
I could have sworn you asked about "me siempre siento cansado". I mis-read that, sorry.
Adverbs come before adjectives, but after verbs.
https://www.lawlessspanish.com/grammar/adverbs/adverbs/
Because it's an adverb, not a verb or an adjective. Adverbs only have one form.
Yes, really. We don't say "feel always" in English, we say "always feel".
I have trouble knowing when to translate to idiomatic english instead of literal.
Good morning Duo learners. I have a questions. Why is the sentence Siempre me siento cansado and not, Yo siempre siento cansado? The 'I' and 'always' are inverted.
I really wish dúo would match the gender of the verbs to the gender of the speaker. It really can't be good for people's learning to hear a female voice saying "me siento cansado" (or in other places "yo soy un hombre".
I guess there's a case for accepting diversity and being trans friendly by having voices not necessarily sound like stereotypical gender roles, but still, having a voice that sounds like a woman saying "I am a man" and a voice that sounds like a man saying "I am a woman" is still just plain confusing to some students.
Why is a woman saying "cansado." This threw me off. I naturally wrote "cansada."
Boy, these lessons are real downers - tired, sad, angry, ill... or maybe it's just me
It is a women speaking, so the answer should be "candada" not cansado. Right?? Unless she identifies as male...
I feel like the further I get into the Spanish course, the less I understand the sentence constructions. Duolingo really needs to explain more