Feeling nervous before class | Learn Spanish in English

Spanish lesson set in a contemporary Madrid everyday setting: Before a language lesson, two adults talk about feeling nervous, hearing that the group is friendly, and starting slowly..

EN → ES / Level: A1

About This Lesson

Use Feeling nervous before class to practice Spanish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

Me siento nervioso antes de la clase.

meh SYEHN-toh nehr-BYOH-soh AHN-tehs deh lah KLAH-seh. I feel nervous before class.
B

Ese sentimiento es normal. El grupo es amable.

EH-seh sehn-tee-MYEN-toh ehs nohr-MAHL. ehl GROO-poh ehs ah-MAH-bleh. That feeling is normal. The group is friendly.
A

Me alegra oír eso.

meh ah-LEH-grah oh-EER EH-soh. I am glad to hear that.
B

Al principio, vamos despacio.

ahl preen-SEE-pyoh, BAH-mohs dehs-PAH-syoh. We take things slowly at first.
A

Eso suena bien.

EH-soh SWEH-nah byehn. That sounds good.
B

La primera parte es fácil.

lah pree-MEH-rah PAHR-teh ehs fah-SEEL. The first part is easy.

Word by Word

Me In “Me siento nervioso”, “Me” refers to the person experiencing the feeling, so the sentence means “I feel nervous.” It is commonly used with “sentirse” to describe someone’s state, as in “Me siento bien” in a new example.
siento In “Me siento nervioso”, “siento” means “feel” and describes the speaker’s state. It is the form of “sentir” used with “Me” here; a reusable pattern is “Me siento + adjective”, as in “Me siento tranquilo” in a new example.
nervioso In “Me siento nervioso”, “nervioso” describes the speaker as feeling nervous before class. It follows “Me siento” in this pattern; a learner could use “Me siento nervioso antes de un examen” in a new example.
antes In “antes de la clase”, “antes” means “before” and places the feeling earlier than class. It is commonly followed by “de” and a noun phrase, as in “antes de la reunión” in a new example.
de In “antes de la clase”, “de” connects “antes” with the event that follows, giving the meaning “before class.” A reliable pattern is “antes de + noun”, as in “antes de la cena” in a new example.
la In “la clase”, “la” marks “clase” as the definite noun phrase “the class.” It comes directly before the noun, as in “la reunión” in a new example.
clase In “antes de la clase”, “clase” means “class”, the lesson that is about to begin. It can be used after “la” in the pattern “la clase empieza” in a new example.
Ese In “Ese sentimiento”, “Ese” means “that” and points to the feeling just mentioned. It is placed before the noun it identifies, as in “Ese problema” in a new example.
sentimiento In “Ese sentimiento”, “sentimiento” means “feeling”, referring here to the nervous feeling. It commonly follows a determiner such as “ese” and can be used in “un sentimiento normal” in a new example.
es In “Ese sentimiento es normal”, “es” links the feeling with its description “normal”, meaning “is.” It is the form of “ser” used here; a reusable pattern is “X es + description”, as in “La clase es fácil” in a new example.
normal In “Ese sentimiento es normal”, “normal” describes the feeling as ordinary or expected. It follows “es” to give a description, as in “Es normal sentirse nervioso” in a new example.
El In “El grupo”, “El” marks “grupo” as the definite noun phrase “the group.” It is placed before the noun, as in “El curso” in a new example.
grupo In “El grupo es amable”, “grupo” means “group”, referring to the people in the class. It can be used with “el” in the pattern “El grupo es + description”, as in “El grupo es pequeño” in a new example.
amable In “El grupo es amable”, “amable” describes the group as friendly or kind. It follows “es” as a description of a person or group, as in “La profesora es amable” in a new example.
alegra In “Me alegra oír eso”, “alegra” expresses that hearing the information makes the speaker glad. The full expression “Me alegra oír eso” is useful when responding positively to news or reassurance; “Me alegra verte” is a new example.
oír In “Me alegra oír eso”, “oír” means “to hear” and names what makes the speaker glad. It follows “Me alegra” in this construction; “Me alegra oír la noticia” is a new example.
eso In “Me alegra oír eso”, “eso” means “that” and refers to the information that the group is friendly. It can point back to something someone has just said, as in “Entiendo eso” in a new example.
Al In “Al principio”, “Al” means “at the” or “in the” and is the combined form of “a” and “el.” It is used before a masculine singular noun in this time expression; “al final” is a new example.
principio In “Al principio”, “principio” means “beginning”, and the expression means “at first.” It commonly follows “al” in the pattern “al principio de + noun”, as in “al principio de la clase” in a new example.
vamos In “vamos despacio”, “vamos” means “we go” or “we proceed”, describing how the class will begin. It is the form of “ir” used with “we” here; a reusable pattern is “vamos + adverb”, as in “Vamos juntos” in a new example.
despacio In “vamos despacio”, “despacio” means “slowly” and explains the pace at which the class proceeds. It can follow a movement or action verb, as in “Habla despacio” in a new example.
suena In “Eso suena bien”, “suena” means “sounds” and describes how the idea seems to the speaker. It is the form of “sonar” used with “Eso”; the pattern “X suena + adjective” can express an opinion, as in “La idea suena interesante” in a new example.
bien In “Eso suena bien”, “bien” means “good” in the sense of sounding satisfactory. It follows “suena” in this response to a suggestion or plan; “Suena bien” is a useful new example when agreeing.
primera In “La primera parte”, “primera” means “first” and identifies the part that comes at the beginning. It comes before the noun “parte” in this expression; “la primera clase” is a new example.
parte In “La primera parte es fácil”, “parte” means “part”, referring to one section of the lesson. It can be combined with an ordinal in the pattern “la primera parte de + noun”, as in “la primera parte de la reunión” in a new example.
fácil In “La primera parte es fácil”, “fácil” describes the first part as easy or not difficult. It follows “es” as a description, as in “La actividad es fácil” in a new example.

Grammar Points

antes de + sustantivo

Antes de clase, me siento nervioso.

AHN-tehs deh KLAH-seh, meh SYEHN-toh nehr-BYOH-soh.

Before class, I feel nervous.

«Antes de» introduce un momento anterior y va seguido de un sustantivo, como «clase».

verbo + despacio

Al principio, vamos despacio.

ahl preen-SEE-pyoh, BAH-mohs dehs-PAH-syoh.

At first, we go slowly.

«Despacio» es un adverbio: modifica «vamos» y no cambia por género o número.

Spanish Vocabulary

amable adj
ah-MAH-bleh friendly

El grupo es amable.

antes de prep
AHN-tehs deh before

Me siento nervioso antes de la clase.

clase noun
KLAH-seh class

Me siento nervioso antes de la clase.

ese det
EH-seh that

Ese sentimiento es normal.

eso pron
EH-soh that

Me alegra oír eso.

grupo noun
GROO-poh group

El grupo es amable.

me alegra phrase
meh ah-LEH-grah I am glad

Me alegra oír eso.

me siento phrase
meh SYEHN-toh I feel

Me siento nervioso antes de la clase.

nervioso adj
nehr-BYOH-soh nervous

Me siento nervioso antes de la clase.

normal adj
nohr-MAHL normal

Ese sentimiento es normal.

oír verb
oh-EER to hear

Me alegra oír eso.

sentimiento noun
sehn-tee-MYEN-toh feeling

Ese sentimiento es normal.

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

I am glad to hear that.

Show AnswerMe alegra oír eso.

We take things slowly at first.

Show AnswerAl principio, vamos despacio.

That sounds good.

Show AnswerEso suena bien.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

feeling

Show Answersentimiento

class

Show Answerclase

nervous

Show Answernervioso

friendly

Show Answeramable