Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Mi mamá está preocupada cuando duermo poco, y dice que hay que cuidar la salud. - My mom is worried when I sleep little, and she says you have to take care of your health.

estar is used for temporary states, emotions, conditions, or situations that can change.
ser is used for more permanent or defining characteristics.

Está preocupada means “she is (currently) worried.” It describes a temporary emotional state, not a permanent trait of your mom’s personality.

Saying es preocupada would sound like “she is a worried person (by nature),” which is unusual and not what this sentence wants to express. So está preocupada is the natural choice here.

Why is preocupada feminine? Could it be preocupado?

Adjectives in Spanish agree in gender and number with the noun they describe.

mamá is feminine singular.
Therefore, the adjective must also be feminine singular: preocupada.

If the subject were masculine, for example:

Mi papá está preocupado. – “My dad is worried.”

So preocupada matches mamá, and preocupado would be wrong here.

Why is it cuando duermo poco and not cuando yo duermo poco?

In Spanish, subject pronouns (yo, tú, él, etc.) are usually dropped because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

duermo already tells us it’s yo (I).

Both are grammatically correct:

Cuando duermo poco (more natural, everyday Spanish)
Cuando yo duermo poco (grammatically fine, but usually only used for emphasis, like “when I sleep little, as opposed to other people”)

In this neutral sentence, it’s more natural to omit yo.

Why is it cuando duermo poco and not cuando estoy durmiendo poco?

Spanish uses the present simple much more than English to talk about general habits or repeated situations.

Cuando duermo poco = “When I sleep little / when I don’t get much sleep” (in general, as a habit or repeated situation).
Cuando estoy durmiendo poco would sound more like “when I am currently in a period of sleeping little,” and is less natural here.

For general truths, habits, or things that happen repeatedly, Spanish prefers:

cuando + present indicative → cuando duermo poco, cuando como tarde, cuando trabajo mucho, etc.

Why isn’t the verb after cuando in the subjunctive, like cuando duerma poco?

Cuando can be followed by either indicative or subjunctive, depending on the meaning:

Indicative (duermo) → something habitual, real, or already known.
Subjunctive (duerma) → something future, uncertain, or not yet realized.

Here, cuando duermo poco describes a real, habitual situation (whenever that happens in general), so the indicative duermo is correct.

You would use the subjunctive, for example:

Voy a estar cansado cuando duerma poco.
“I’m going to be tired when I sleep little.” (refers to a future, not yet realized event)

In this sentence, it’s about a general pattern in life, so indicative is the natural choice.

What does hay que mean in dice que hay que cuidar la salud?

Hay que + infinitive is an impersonal expression that means:

“one must …”
“you have to …”
“it’s necessary to …”

It doesn’t specify who has to do it; it’s a general obligation or recommendation.

So hay que cuidar la salud ≈ “you have to take care of your health” / “it’s important to take care of one’s health,” in a general sense, not just you personally.

Compare:

Tengo que cuidar mi salud. – I have to take care of my health.
Hay que cuidar la salud. – People (in general) should take care of health.

Why is cuidar in the infinitive form? Why not something like cuidamos?

After hay que, you must use a bare infinitive (the dictionary form of the verb):

hay que + [infinitive]

Examples:

Hay que estudiar. – One has to study.
Hay que trabajar. – One has to work.
Hay que cuidar la salud. – One has to take care of (one’s) health.

You cannot conjugate the verb here. Forms like hay que cuidamos or hay que cuida are incorrect. The structure is always:

hay que + infinitive

Why is it la salud and not just salud?

In Spanish, abstract nouns and general concepts often take the definite article (el, la, los, las) even when English doesn’t use “the.”

Examples:

La salud es importante. – Health is important.
La vida es corta. – Life is short.
La paciencia es una virtud. – Patience is a virtue.

So cuidar la salud is literally “to take care of the health,” but it really means “to take care of (your/one’s) health.” Using la here is the standard, natural way to express the general concept of health.

Is mi mamá different from mi madre? Which is more common in Latin America?

Both mean “my mother,” but they differ in tone:

mi mamá – more informal, affectionate, and is very common in everyday speech in Latin America. It’s what most people call their mom.
mi madre – a bit more formal or neutral; used in more formal contexts, writing, or certain fixed expressions.

In Latin America, saying mi mamá in a sentence like this is the natural, everyday choice. Mi madre would sound a bit more formal or distant in this context.

Why is there a comma before y: ..., y dice que hay que cuidar la salud? Is it necessary?

The comma before y is optional in this kind of sentence.

Both are acceptable:

Mi mamá está preocupada cuando duermo poco y dice que hay que cuidar la salud.
Mi mamá está preocupada cuando duermo poco, y dice que hay que cuidar la salud.

The version without the comma is more common in everyday writing, because both parts share the same subject (mi mamá).

The comma can be added to:

mark a slight pause in speech,
or to visually separate the two ideas: “she is worried” / “she says we should take care of health.”

But grammatically, both versions are fine.

Could I say Mi mamá dice que tengo que cuidar mi salud instead of hay que cuidar la salud? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can, but the meaning shifts slightly:

Mi mamá dice que hay que cuidar la salud.
General idea: “My mom says (people) have to take care of (their) health.”
It’s more like a general principle.
Mi mamá dice que tengo que cuidar mi salud.
Specific to you: “My mom says that I have to take care of my health.”
This focuses the obligation on you personally.

So:

hay que = general obligation (“one/people should…”)
tengo que = personal obligation (“I must…”)

Both are correct; it just depends on what nuance you want.

Could I change the word order, like Mi mamá, cuando duermo poco, está preocupada? Does it sound natural?

Yes, that word order is grammatically correct and still natural:

Mi mamá, cuando duermo poco, está preocupada.

This version places extra emphasis on the condition cuando duermo poco (“when I sleep little”), almost like saying:

“My mom, when I sleep little, is worried.”

The original:

Mi mamá está preocupada cuando duermo poco

sounds a bit more neutral and straightforward. Both are fine; the difference is subtle and mostly about rhythm and emphasis.