Sentir Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

sentir — to feel — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Spanish. Sentir means to feel and to be sorry: siento frío, lo siento. It is an e → ie stem-changing verb with an e → i change in the preterite third persons (sintió, sintieron) and the gerund sintiendo. Sentirse is to feel in the reflexive sense: me siento bien. On this page you will find sentir in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself.

Example sentences with sentir

In the present tense

  • “Yo siento frío en invierno.” — “I feel cold in winter.”
  • “Ella siente alegría al verte.” — “She feels joy when she sees you.”
  • “Nosotros sentimos orgullo de nuestro equipo.” — “We feel proud of our team.”
  • “Ellos sienten miedo en la oscuridad.” — “They feel afraid in the dark.”
  • “¿Tú sientes dolor en el brazo?” — “Do you feel pain in your arm?”
  • “Vosotros sentís vergüenza a veces.” — “You feel embarrassed sometimes.”

In the preterite

  • “Ayer yo sentí un dolor fuerte.” — “Yesterday I felt a sharp pain.”
  • “Ella sintió pena por su amigo.” — “She felt sorry for her friend.”
  • “Nosotros sentimos alivio al terminar.” — “We felt relief when we finished.”
  • “Ellos sintieron envidia del ganador.” — “They felt envious of the winner.”
  • “¿Tú sentiste algo raro anoche?” — “Did you feel something strange last night?”
  • “El niño sintió sueño después de comer.” — “The child felt sleepy after eating.”

In other tenses

The same verb in the imperfect, the future, the conditional and the present perfect — the four tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “De niño, yo sentía frío en invierno.” — “As a child, I used to feel cold in winter.”
  • “Mañana, yo sentiré frío en invierno.” — “Tomorrow, I will feel cold in winter.”
  • “Si pudiera, yo sentiría frío en invierno.” — “If I could, I would feel cold in winter.”
  • “Yo he sentido frío en invierno.” — “I have felt cold in winter.”

Sentir in context

Cada día, yo siento frío en invierno. Mi amigo también siente frío en invierno cuando tiene tiempo. Después, yo siento frío de nuevo por la tarde. Es una parte normal de mi rutina, y por eso el presente de sentir es la primera forma que conviene aprender.

Ayer, yo sentí frío en invierno. Mi amigo sintió frío en invierno también, y por la noche yo sentí frío otra vez. Fue un día normal, pero es justo en días así cuando el pretérito de sentir aparece una y otra vez: una acción terminada, un momento concreto, y la historia sigue.

Common mistakes with sentir

Mistake 1

Wrong: Yo sento frío.

Right: Yo siento frío.

Sentir changes e to ie in the present: siento, not sento.

Mistake 2

Wrong: Él sentió pena — learners use the wrong preterite stem.

Right: Él siente pena.

Third-person preterite changes e to i: sintió, not sentió.

Mistake 3

Wrong: Using the plain stem instead of the changed stem.

Right: Use the changed stem in the stressed forms: siento.

The e → ie stem change applies to sentir in the present — the yo form is siento, not the infinitive stem.

Mistake 4

Wrong: Treating sentir as a regular verb.

Right: Learn the irregular forms: present siento, preterite sentí.

sentir is irregular — its present and preterite do not follow the regular endings, so they have to be memorised as a set.

Quiz: sentir in everyday use

Ten questions on sentir across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.

1. What is the yo form of sentir in the present tense?

  • A) siento
  • B) sientes
  • C) siente
  • D) sentimos

Answer: A — The yo form in the present tense is siento.

2. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of sentir in the present tense?

  • A) siento
  • B) sientes
  • C) sentimos
  • D) siente

Answer: D — The él/ella/Ud. form in the present tense is siente.

3. What is the yo form of sentir in the preterite?

  • A) sintió
  • B) sentimos
  • C) sentí
  • D) sentiste

Answer: C — The yo form in the preterite is sentí.

4. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of sentir in the preterite?

  • A) sintió
  • B) sintieron
  • C) sentí
  • D) sentiste

Answer: B — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form in the preterite is sintieron.

5. What is the yo form of sentir in the imperfect?

  • A) sentía
  • B) sentías
  • C) sentía
  • D) sentíamos

Answer: A — The yo form in the imperfect is sentía.

6. What is the tú form of sentir in the future?

  • A) sentiré
  • B) sentirá
  • C) sentiremos
  • D) sentirás

Answer: D — The tú form in the future is sentirás.

7. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of sentir in the conditional?

  • A) sentirías
  • B) sentiríamos
  • C) sentiría
  • D) sentiría

Answer: C — The él/ella/Ud. form in the conditional is sentiría.

8. What is the nosotros/as form of sentir in the present perfect?

  • A) ha sentido
  • B) hemos sentido
  • C) he sentido
  • D) has sentido

Answer: B — The nosotros/as form in the present perfect is hemos sentido.

9. Fill in the blank: “Yo ___ frío en invierno.” (I feel cold in winter.)

  • A) siento
  • B) sientes
  • C) siente
  • D) sentimos

Answer: A — The sentence needs siento.

10. Which sentence is correct?

  • A) Yo siento frío.
  • B) Yo sento frío.

Answer: A — Sentir changes e to ie in the present: siento, not sento.

Frequently asked questions

What does sentir mean?

sentir means “to feel” in English. Sentir means to feel and to be sorry: siento frío, lo siento. It is an e → ie stem-changing verb with an e → i change in the preterite third persons (sintió, sintieron) and the gerund sintiendo. Sentirse is to feel in the reflexive sense: me siento bien.

Is sentir regular?

No. sentir is an e → ie stem-changing irregular -ir verb (irregular in present, present-subjunctive, preterite, imperfect-subjunctive, gerund, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative). It is irregular in present, present-subjunctive, preterite, imperfect-subjunctive, gerund, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative, and those forms have to be learnt as a set rather than built by rule. The full conjugation page shows every tense.

When do I use sentir in the past — preterite or imperfect?

Use the preterite — sentí, sentiste, sintió — for a finished action at a specific moment, and the imperfect — sentía, sentías, sentía — for what was happening, what used to happen, or the background. The same rule applies to sentir as to every Spanish verb; the tense changes the meaning, not the verb.

How can I practise sentir?

Start with the examples above, say them aloud, then take the quiz on this page. For more practice, use the Spanish Verb Quiz and the Sentir Conjugator, and read the full conjugation page for sentir to see the verb in every tense.

Say it yourself

Reading is not enough — say the verb aloud before you move on. Use the forms from the tables on this page and answer these three prompts as full sentences. First, say a sentence about yourself in the present tense: “Yo siento…”. Second, say a sentence about yesterday in the preterite: “Ayer yo sentí…”. Third, say a sentence about tomorrow in the future: “Mañana yo sentiré…”. If you can answer all three without looking at the tables, the forms are starting to stick. If you hesitate, go back to the examples above, read them aloud twice, and try again. Speaking the forms is what turns a table you have seen into a verb you can use.

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