“ME DA” + NOUN VS
“ME PONE” + ADJECTIVE

In today's post we’re going to look at how we may use two common verbs, dar (to give) and poner (to put) to express things that are more akin to feeling a certain way, both physically or mentally, but due to other things.

With these two verbs we can express things like “it makes me…” or several other similar phrases where other things can affect how we feel. For instance: “me da grima“ (It gives me the creeps).

The examples we’re going to focus on today are “me da” + noun constructions and “me pone” + adjective constructions. Both these are present tense constructions referring to singular things, but we will also show a few other tenses and conjugations in action for reference.

“Me da” + noun
Literally speaking, “me da…” means it gives me…. Thus, with the aforementioned example “me da grima“ (It gives me the creeps), it should hopefully be clear how we may use the verb dar (to give) to make this type of phrase.

However, as we are about to see with some more examples, we can use the same verb construction for a whole host of different nouns. These often translate completely differently in English, but hopefully we can still see that the spirit of other things affecting us remains.

Spanish	English
“Me da tristeza”	It makes me sad
“Me da vergüenza”	I'm ashamed / It embarrasses me
“Me da pena”	I feel sorry
“Me da frío”	It makes me cold
“Me da grima”	It gives me the creeps
“Me da miedo”	It scares me / It makes me scared
“Me da asco”	It disgusts me / It makes me sick
“Me da igual”	It's the same to me / I don't mind
“Me da lo mismo”	It's the same to me / I don't mind
“Me da ilusión”	It gives me hope
“Me da algo de tiempo”	It gives me some time
“Me da hambre”	It makes me hungry
“Me da sed”	It makes me thirsty
“Me dan sed”	They make me thirsty
“Me dieron sed”	They made me thirsty
“¿Te da sed?”	Are you thirsty?

“Me pone” + adjective
Next, we’re going to look at a very similar construction, this time using the verb poner (to put) used in combination with an adjective.

In many cases we are able to make phrases with the same meaning as “me da” + noun constructions with “me pone” + adjective.

For instance: “me da tristeza” and “me pone triste” both mean it makes me sad. We simply have to remember to pair a noun with dar and an adjective with poner.

Let’s see some more examples of “me pone” + adjective constructions:

Spanish	English
“Me pone triste”	It makes me sad
“Me pone alegre”	It makes me happy
“Me pone furioso”	It makes me furious
“Me pone orgulloso”	It makes me proud
“Me pone hambriento”	It makes me hungry
“Me pone sediento”	It makes me thirsty
“Me pone tímido	It makes me shy
“Me pone nervioso”	It makes me nervous
“Me ponen nervioso”	They make me nervous
“Me ponían nervioso”	They made me nervous
“¿Te pone nervioso?”	Does it make you nervous?

Conclusion | En conclusión
Today we’ve looked at two common constructions that result in a meaning close to “it makes me…”. You may be wondering if we can use the verb hacer (to make/to do) to achieve the same thing; and indeed we can.

“Me hace feliz” (it makes me happy) for instance, would be a much more direct and literal way to express something making one happy. Indeed, it may be more commonly heard than “me pone alegre” or “me da contento”, but this does serve as a reminder that there’s usually more than one way to express the very same thing.

Whether you choose to express these types of feelings with hacer, dar or poner, will largely come down to personal choice. Although, some phrases may be considered a little strange if you favour one verb over another more commonly used. That though, as ever, will ultimately come down to experience.

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