Under the Weather

This crazy Spring weather can’t make up its mind[1]. It’s warm and sunny one day, and then it’s cold and rainy the next. With all these changes in the weather, it’s easy to feel under the weather[2], which means that we feel sick. So, how do you feel?

When talking about how you feel, both the present simple and present continuous tense are acceptable. Take a look:

I feel good = I am feeling good.

I feel bad = I am feeling bad.

When we talk about our health, we can use either the verbs be or feel. So tell me, How are you? Or How are you doing? The standard answer is I’m well. Do not confuse this with the answer I’m good. Although we tend to use the verb be + adjectives for descriptions, here we use the adverb well. Look at the difference:

I am good = I am a good person

I am well = I feel good

Now let’s look at why you might not be feeling well. And let’s not get confused. If you say I am cold, that means you feel cold. But if you say I have a cold[3], that means you have a stuffy, runny nose [4], a sore throat[5] and a headache as well. If you say I am hot, that means that you feel hot, maybe because you have a flu[6], which means that you have a fever (a high temperature) and you have chills[6], you can’t stop shaking[7].

Did you notice that we use have with symptoms?

Well, I hope you get better[8] soon!

[1] decidirse, [2] enfermizo, [3] estoy resfriado, [4] nariz congestionado y rinorrea, [5] dolor de garganta, [6] tener gripe, [7] tener escalofrías, [8] temblando, [9] mejorar