Expressing Emotions: Me pone molesto vs. me molesto

[jonah]

Hola!

Acabo de leer una traducción de un parafo en un otro Forum, y se usaron algunos frases como: "se enoja" o "se alegra".

Por ejemplo, in English it says "She knows Carlos does not get upset because she does not spend too much money."

I translated this to "Ella sabe que Carlos no se pone enojada porque ella no gasta demasiado dinero."
But the answer was "Ella sabe que Carlos no se enoja porque ella..."


Cuando estudié en madrid, apprendí que si quisieras expresar una emoción, siempre tendrías que usar los frases como "me pone alegre", "se da miedo" , "me siento feliz". Por ejemplo - Me da miedo ver peliculas de terror.


Are both formats interchangeable? Or what's the correct context for each?


Thanks!

[poli]

I'm an English speaker who sometimes gets confused by thr rule you question.
The reality is although me pone enojado, alegre, emocionado, entusiasmado etc. is very common, so is using the verb without poner. Paradoxically despite the fact that you learned the rule in Madrid, I believe you would be more likely to hear the verb without poner in Madrid than in Latin America. I suspect this from what I have read rather in newspapers than hearing it in common speech.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Hmmm... that "rule" works for some emotions, but not all. In this case, both expressions are the same. It depends, as Poli says on the speaker's preferences.
Personally, I think that we tend to use more often the specific verbs when available than the equivalent expressions, because the other constructions sound a little more colloquial:

Me entristece = me da tristeza = me pone triste
Me alegra = me da alegría = me pone alegre
Me enoja = me pone enojado (we don't say "me da enojo", but to express the same emotion we say "me da rabia")
Me avergüenza = me da vergüenza (but not "me pone avergonzado")

There are other emotions that won't accept another construction, but their dedicated verb:
Me sorprende (we don't say "me da sorpresa" or "me pone sorprendido")
Me complace
Me entusiasma
Me relaja
Me preocupa

[jonah]

@poli: interesting. good to know it's not a strict difference, thanks!

[jonah]

Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar

Me entristece = me da tristeza = me pone triste
Me alegra = me da alegría = me pone alegre
Me enoja = me pone enojado (we don't say "me da enojo", but to express the same emotion we say "me da rabia")
Me avergüenza = me da vergüenza (but not "me pone avergonzado")

There are other emotions that won't accept another construction, but their dedicated verb:
Me sorprende (we don't say "me da sorpresa" or "me pone sorprendido")
Me complace
Me entusiasma
Me relaja
Me preocupa

Ah I see what you're getting at with the formality/colloquial aspect of it. I had never heard of me complace or me entusiasma too - I think i'll start using them. Thanks for the thorough response!!