Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Me pongo tenso cuando un compañero dice que es injusto compartir el trabajo en equipo. - I get tense when a classmate says it is unfair to share the group work.

Me pongo tenso = I get tense / I become tense.
Pongo tenso (without me) would mean I make (someone/something) tense, and it would need a direct object:
- Pongo tenso a mi amigo. = I make my friend tense.

So the reflexive me shows that the subject is acting on themself: I become tense.

What is the difference between me pongo tenso and estoy tenso?

Me pongo tenso focuses on the process or change: the moment when you start to feel tense.
- Idea: I get tense when that happens.
Estoy tenso describes your current state, without emphasizing the change.
- Idea: I am tense (right now).

In the sentence, me pongo tenso cuando… is natural because it talks about a reaction that occurs whenever that situation happens.

What exactly does compañero mean here? Friend, coworker, classmate?

Compañero is a flexible word that means “person I share something with” and can be:

compañero de trabajo – coworker
compañero de clase – classmate
compañero de equipo – teammate
Or more vaguely, just someone on my team / in my group

In many contexts, if you only say un compañero, it’s understood from the situation (work, school, a project group, etc.). Grammatically:

Masculine: un compañero
Feminine: una compañera

Why is it dice que es injusto and not dice es injusto?

In Spanish, when you report what someone says, you almost always need que:

dice que… = says that…
piensa que… = thinks that…
cree que… = believes that…

English can omit that (He says it’s unfair), but Spanish normally must include que:

✅ un compañero dice que es injusto…
❌ un compañero dice es injusto…

Could it also be dice que no es justo compartir el trabajo en equipo instead of es injusto?

Yes, both are correct and very natural:

dice que es injusto compartir…
dice que no es justo compartir…

They mean almost the same:

es injusto = it is unfair
no es justo = it’s not fair

Es injusto is a bit more compact and slightly more formal; no es justo sounds more like everyday spoken language, especially when complaining.

Why is compartir in the infinitive (to share) and not conjugated?

After es + adjective, Spanish often uses an infinitive to express a general action:

es injusto compartir el trabajo = it’s unfair to share the work
es difícil entender esto = it’s hard to understand this

So the pattern is:

es + adjective + infinitive

You do not conjugate compartir here:

❌ es injusto compartimos el trabajo
✅ es injusto compartir el trabajo

Why do we say el trabajo en equipo and not just trabajo en equipo?

Spanish often uses the definite article el with general or abstract nouns where English might omit the:

el trabajo en equipo ≈ (the) teamwork / the work done as a team
el amor ≈ love
la libertad ≈ freedom

Both compartir trabajo en equipo and compartir el trabajo en equipo can appear, but:

el trabajo en equipo here sounds like the work that belongs to the team or the team’s work as a specific unit of work to be shared.

What does trabajo en equipo mean literally and idiomatically?

Literally:

trabajo = work
en equipo = in a team

So trabajo en equipo literally is “work in a team.”

Idiomatic meaning:

trabajo en equipo is the standard expression for teamwork.

In this sentence, compartir el trabajo en equipo means sharing the workload that belongs to the team situation.

Why is it cuando un compañero dice and not cuando un compañero diga?

Both are grammatically possible, but they are used in different contexts.

Cuando un compañero dice… (indicative)
Used for habitual, real, repeatedly observed situations:
- I get tense when a colleague says that… (and this actually happens).
Cuando un compañero diga… (subjunctive)
More for future, hypothetical, or not-yet-experienced situations, often in instructions or predictions:
- Me voy a poner tenso cuando un compañero diga eso.
  I’m going to get tense when a colleague says that (in the future).

In your sentence, the speaker is talking about a general, habitual reaction, so dice (indicative) is correct and most natural.

Could I say me tenso instead of me pongo tenso?

In everyday Latin American Spanish, me tenso is not natural for “I get tense” in this context.

The idiomatic options are:

Me pongo tenso.
Me pongo nervioso.
Me pongo incómodo.
Me pongo molesto.

Tensar is used more literally or physically (e.g., tensar una cuerda – to tighten a rope), not usually as me tenso for emotions in normal speech.

Where does the pronoun me have to go in me pongo tenso? Can I say pongo me tenso?

The order pongo me tenso is incorrect.

For a conjugated verb, reflexive pronouns like me, te, se, nos, se go before the verb:

✅ me pongo tenso
❌ pongo me tenso

If you used an infinitive or gerund, it could attach to the end:

voy a ponerme tenso = I’m going to get tense
estoy poniéndome tenso = I’m getting tense

But with simple present pongo, the correct form is me pongo.