otro preguna sentir or sentarse

Question

Damm!I don't understand this one belowpoco a poco is an adverbI answered me siento but was wrong________ que te alejas de mí poco a poco.  answer SientoI feel that you are drifting away from me little by little.could you offer an explanation to this pleaseSilvia replied to Marcus G'So, in essence:Use "sentir" for stating what you feel physically or generally.Use "sentirse" when expressing how you feel emotionally or internally.'i would have thought you couldn't physically feel someone 'drifting away' which is why I used sentirse as it felt like an emotional situationplease clarify if possiblethank you

Silvia Piriz · Accepted Answer

Hola Julie F.
In the sentence “_______ que te alejas de mí poco a poco”, the correct choice is “siento” rather than “me siento”. While it’s true that the situation is emotional, the distinction lies in what you're expressing. “Sentir” is used when you're stating what you feel, especially when it's followed by a clause introduced by “que” (like “que te alejas de mí”). This structure reflects an emotional perception of an external action or situation.
In contrast, “sentirse” is used to express how you feel internally, typically followed by adjectives or adverbs (e.g. “me siento triste” or “me siento mal”). In your example, you’re not saying how you personally feel (like sad or happy), but rather that you feel that someone is drifting away from you. That’s why “siento” is the correct verb—it works like “I feel that...” in English when followed by a whole sentence. So: “Siento que te alejas de mí poco a poco” means “I feel that you are drifting away from me little by little”.
I hope this clears it up!
Un abrazo
Silvia