Please explain the difference

Question

Hi,I have just got the answer wrong in the following sentence:Nostotros ... mucha alegría cuando vemos a los nietos.I put nos sentimos when it should have been sentimos.In the lesson on Sentir v Sentirse, there is  the following sentence:Mis padres se sienten estupendamente en su nueva casa.Could you please explain the difference in their feeling because it seems similar to me.Gracias.Colin

Accepted Answer

Hola Colin
I appreciate your question. When you say "Nosotros sentimos mucha alegría", you're using "sentir" as a transitive verb, and "nosotros" is the subject directly experiencing the emotion of joy.
On the other hand, the reason you can't say "nosotros nos sentimos alegría" is that the verb "sentirse" is used with adjectives and adverbs, not nouns. For example:
Nosotros nos sentimos alegres. (We feel happy.)
Nosotros nos sentimos estupendamente en nuestra nueva casa. (We feel fantastic in our new house.)
I hope these examples have clarified the use of "sentir/sentirse" for you.
Feliz finde
Silvia