Three frames for feelings: estar, tinc, em fa
A feeling can be said three ways. Through estar + adjective: estic trist — I am sad. Through tinc — "I hold" + noun: tinc por — I am afraid, tinc son — I am sleepy. For example: “Avui estic trist” — Today I am sad. A rule from the Catalan course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
A feeling can be said three ways. Through estar + adjective: estic trist — I am sad. Through tinc — "I hold" + noun: tinc por — I am afraid, tinc son — I am sleepy.
And through em fa — "it makes me": em fa ràbia — it makes me angry, like "em fa mal" — it hurts me. English "I am sad" matches the first frame, not the third.
Table
| frame | example | literally |
|---|---|---|
| estar + adjective | estic trist | I am sad |
| tinc + noun | tinc por | I hold fear |
| em + verb | em fa ràbia | it makes me anger |
By example
- Avui estic tristToday I am sad
- El xiquet té por del gosThe child is afraid of the dog
- Em fa ràbia perdre el trenMissing the train makes me angry
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Three frames for feelings: how does it work in Catalan?
A feeling can be said three ways. Through estar + adjective: estic trist — I am sad. Through tinc — "I hold" + noun: tinc por — I am afraid, tinc son — I am sleepy.
What does it look like in an example sentence Catalan?
“Avui estic trist” — Today I am sad. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.