Emocionarse Examples, Sentences & Quiz

Introduction

emocionarse means to get emotional, and it is one of those verbs that shows up everywhere once you start listening for it. It is a regular -ar verb, reflexive verb, and this page puts it to work: real example sentences in several tenses, grouped by use, two short passages that show the verb in context, the mistakes learners make with it, a ten-question quiz and answers to common questions. If you only learn one sentence, make it «Me emociono todos los días» — I get emotional every day. The rest of this page builds out from there, tense by tense, so you can use emocionarse the way native speakers do — in the present for habits, in the past for finished events, and in the subjunctive after wishes and doubts.

Emocionarse in real example sentences

In the present: everyday use

The present is where emocionarse lives most of the time — routines, facts and what is happening now:

  1. Me emociono todos los días. — I get emotional every day.
  2. Te emocionas en el trabajo. — You get emotional at work.
  3. Se emociona con mi familia. — He gets emotional with my family.
  4. Nos emocionamos por la mañana. — We get emotional in the morning.

Talking about the past

In the past, choose the preterite for a finished event and the imperfect for a habit or background:

  1. Ayer me emocioné por la tarde. — Yesterday I got emotional in the afternoon.
  2. Antes, me emocionaba todos los días. — In the past, I used to get emotional every day.
  3. La semana pasada se emocionó dos veces. — Last week He got emotional twice.

Plans and things already done

The future, the conditional and the present perfect round out the picture — plans, hypotheticals and recent events:

  1. Mañana me emocionaré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will get emotional without fail.
  2. Si tuviera más tiempo, me emocionaría ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would get emotional right now.
  3. Hoy me he emocionado dos veces. — Today I have got emotional twice.

More everyday uses

The subjunctive, the imperative and the progressive cover wishes, commands and actions in progress:

  1. Espero que te emociones pronto. — I hope You get emotional soon.
  2. ¡No te emociones! — Don't get emotional!
  3. Ahora mismo me estoy emocionando. — Right now I am getting emotional.

Emocionarse in context

A short dialogue

Ana: «Me emociono en el trabajo.» — I get emotional at work. Luis: «¡Qué bien! Me emociono con mi familia.» — I get emotional with my family. Ana: «Mañana me emocionaré sin falta.» — Tomorrow I will get emotional without fail. Luis: «Si tuviera más tiempo, me emocionaría ahora mismo.» — If I had more time, I would get emotional right now. Ana: «Hoy me he emocionado dos veces.» — Today I have got emotional twice.

A short paragraph

Ayer me emocioné por la tarde. Antes, me emocionaba todos los días. Hoy me he emocionado dos veces. Mañana me emocionaré sin falta.

Yesterday I got emotional in the afternoon. In the past, I used to get emotional every day. Today I have got emotional twice. Tomorrow I will get emotional without fail.

Common mistakes with emocionarse

1. Forgetting the reflexive pronoun

Wrong: yo emociono todos los días.

Right: me emociono todos los días.

emocionarse is reflexive: the pronoun me belongs before every conjugated form. Without it, you are using the non-reflexive verb, which means something different — doing the action to someone else instead of to yourself.

2. Using the imperfect for a finished event

Wrong: Ayer me emocionaba.

Right: Ayer me emocioné.

Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, emocioné. The imperfect emocionaba describes what used to happen or what was going on, not a single completed event.

3. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

Wrong: Espero que te emocionas.

Right: Espero que te emociones.

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: emociones, not the indicative emocionas. Wishes, hopes and doubts all trigger this change.

4. Using the affirmative imperative after no

Wrong: No te emociona.

Right: No te emociones.

Negative commands use the subjunctive-based forms: no emociones. The affirmative emociona can never follow no.

5. Confusing the gerund with the past participle

Wrong: He emocionando.

Right: He emocionado.

The perfect tenses use haber plus the past participle: he emocionado. The gerund emocionando goes with estar for actions in progress («Estoy emocionando»), never with haber.

Quiz: emocionarse in use

Test yourself on emocionarse in use. Choose the correct answer, then check the key below.

1. What is the nosotros/as form of emocionarse in the present indicative?

- (a) emocionas
- (b) emociona
- (c) emocionamos
- (d) emociono

2. What is the vosotros/as form of emocionarse in the preterite?

- (a) emocionasteis
- (b) emocionó
- (c) emocioné
- (d) emocionaste

3. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of emocionarse in the future?

- (a) emocionarán
- (b) emocionará
- (c) emocionaré
- (d) emocionarás

4. What is the yo form of emocionarse in the present perfect?

- (a) he emocionado
- (b) ha emocionado
- (c) hemos emocionado
- (d) has emocionado

5. What is the nosotros/as form of emocionarse in the imperfect?

- (a) emocionábamos
- (b) emocionaba
- (c) emocionabas
- (d) emocionaba

6. What is the gerund of emocionarse?

- (a) emocionado
- (b) emociono
- (c) emocionando
- (d) emocionarse

7. What is the past participle of emocionarse?

- (a) emocioné
- (b) emocionado
- (c) emocionando
- (d) emocionarse

8. Which sentence uses emocionarse correctly?

- (a) *Me emociono todos los días.* — I get emotional every day.
- (b) *Yo emociona todos los días.*
- (c) *Yo emocionarse todos los días.*
- (d) *Yo emocionas todos los días.*

9. Which sentence uses emocionarse correctly?

- (a) *Ayer yo emocionarse por la tarde.*
- (b) *Ayer yo emocionaba por la tarde.*
- (c) *Ayer me emocioné por la tarde.* — Yesterday I got emotional in the afternoon.
- (d) *Ayer yo emociono por la tarde.*

10. What does emocionarse mean?

- (a) to employ
- (b) to move (emotionally)
- (c) to get emotional
- (d) to board

Answer key

1. (c) — In the present indicative, the nosotros/as form of emocionarse is emocionamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 2. (a) — In the preterite, the vosotros/as form of emocionarse is emocionasteis. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (a) — In the future, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of emocionarse is emocionarán. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (a) — In the present perfect, the yo form of emocionarse is he emocionado. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (a) — In the imperfect, the nosotros/as form of emocionarse is emocionábamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (c) — The gerund of emocionarse is emocionando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy emocionando». 7. (b) — The past participle of emocionarse is emocionado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he emocionado». 8. (a) — Only this sentence pairs the right person with the right form of emocionarse; the others mix a person with another person's form, or use the infinitive instead of a conjugated form. 9. (c) — Only this sentence pairs the right person with the right form of emocionarse; the others mix a person with another person's form, or use the infinitive instead of a conjugated form. 10. (c) — emocionarse means «to get emotional».

Frequently asked questions

How do you say 'I get emotional' in Spanish?

Say «Me emociono todos los días». That is the present-tense yo form, and it is the sentence you will use most with this verb.

How do you say 'I got emotional' about yesterday?

Say «Ayer me emocioné por la tarde». The preterite is the tense for a finished event: yesterday, last week, last night.

Is emocionarse reflexive?

Yes — emocionarse is reflexive, so every conjugated form takes its pronoun: me emociono, te emocionas, se emociona. The pronoun always comes before the verb, except in affirmative commands, where it attaches to the end.

Which tense do learners find hardest with emocionarse?

Most learners struggle with choosing between the preterite and the imperfect, not with the forms themselves. Use the preterite (emocioné) for a single finished event and the imperfect (emocionaba) for habits and background. After that, the subjunctive is the next step.

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