Verb · stem change, e to ie
sentir
to feel, to be sorry
The thing that catches people out
lo siento, I am sorry, is literally I feel it. With a body or a mood you need the se: me siento bien, I feel well. In the past the e becomes i: sintió.
Present
What happens, and what is happening now.
| yo | siento | |
| tú | sientes | |
| él, ella, usted | siente | |
| nosotros | sentimos | |
| ellos, ustedes | sienten | |
| vosotros, Spain only | sentís |
Preterite, the finished past
Something that happened and is over: yesterday, last year, once.
| yo | sentí | |
| tú | sentiste | |
| él, ella, usted | sintió | |
| nosotros | sentimos | |
| ellos, ustedes | sintieron | |
| vosotros, Spain only | sentisteis |
Imperfect, the background past
What used to happen, or was going on when something else happened.
| yo | sentía | |
| tú | sentías | |
| él, ella, usted | sentía | |
| nosotros | sentíamos | |
| ellos, ustedes | sentían | |
| vosotros, Spain only | sentíais |
Future
Will do. In conversation, ir a plus the verb is more common: voy a comer.
| yo | sentiré | |
| tú | sentirás | |
| él, ella, usted | sentirá | |
| nosotros | sentiremos | |
| ellos, ustedes | sentirán | |
| vosotros, Spain only | sentiréis |
Present perfect
Have done. Used far more in Spain, where it covers today; most of Latin America uses the preterite there.
| yo | he sentido | |
| tú | has sentido | |
| él, ella, usted | ha sentido | |
| nosotros | hemos sentido | |
| ellos, ustedes | han sentido | |
| vosotros, Spain only | habéis sentido |
Other forms
The -ing form, the form that follows he, has and ha, and how to tell someone to do it.
| -ing form | sintiendo | |
| participle | sentido | |
| command, to tú | siente | |
| command, to usted | sienta |
In a sentence
lo siento mucho
I am very sorry
me siento mejor
I feel better