Log inSign up

A veces siento el terror cuando veo una película de terror.

A veces siento el terror cuando veo una película de terror.
Sometimes I feel the terror when I watch a horror movie.

Breakdown of A veces siento el terror cuando veo una película de terror.

yo
I
de
of
a veces
sometimes
sentir
to feel
cuando
when
una
a
la película
the movie
ver
to watch
el terror
the terror
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Spanish grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning Spanish now

Questions & Answers about A veces siento el terror cuando veo una película de terror.

Why is it “A veces” and not just “veces” or something else like “algunas veces”?

In Spanish you normally need the preposition a in this expression:

  • A veces = sometimes
  • Veces by itself just means times and sounds incomplete.
  • Algunas veces also means sometimes / a few times and is correct, just slightly more specific.
  • A menudo = often

So A veces siento el terror… = Sometimes I feel the terror…
You could also say Algunas veces siento el terror…, but A veces is more common and slightly less marked.

Can “A veces” go in another position in the sentence?

Yes. It’s flexible:

  • A veces siento el terror cuando veo una película de terror.
  • Siento el terror a veces cuando veo una película de terror.
  • Siento el terror cuando veo una película de terror, a veces.

The most natural and common is at the beginning, as in the original.
Putting it in the middle or at the end can add a bit of emphasis or sound more conversational, but all are grammatically correct.

Why is it “siento el terror” and not “me siento terror”?

Spanish distinguishes:

  1. sentir + noun = to feel (something)

    • Siento el terror. = I feel the terror.
    • Siento miedo. = I feel fear / I’m afraid.

  2. sentirse + adjective/adverb (reflexive) = to feel (a certain way)

    • Me siento aterrado. = I feel terrified.
    • Me siento mal. = I feel bad.

Because “terror” is a noun, you must use “sentir terror”, not “sentirse terror”.

Why is there an article in “siento el terror” but not in “película de terror”?

Two different structures:

  1. siento el terror

    • Here el terror is acting like a specific emotional state: the terror (a specific feeling).
    • You could also say siento terror without the article; both are possible:
      • Siento el terror = more “this specific terror”
      • Siento terror = more general “I feel terror / I feel terrified”

  2. película de terror

    • Here de terror functions like a label or category: a horror movie.
    • In these “type of X” expressions, you normally don’t use an article:
      • película de terror = horror movie
      • novela de amor = love novel / romance novel
      • revista de ciencia = science magazine

So: article is optional with terror as a feeling, but normally omitted in de terror as a genre.

Could you say “película de miedo” instead of “película de terror”?

Yes. Both are used in Latin American Spanish:

  • película de terror = horror movie (more standard/neutral term for the horror genre)
  • película de miedo = literally scary movie; also very common and perfectly natural

In many everyday conversations they’re interchangeable. De terror sounds a bit more like the formal genre label; de miedo is often more colloquial.

Why is it “veo una película” and not “miro una película” in Latin America?

Both verbs exist, but their common usage is different:

  • ver = to see / to watch

    • Veo una película. = I watch a movie.
    • Veo la televisión. = I watch TV.

  • mirar = to look at

    • Miro la pantalla. = I look at the screen.
    • Mira eso. = Look at that.

In many parts of Latin America, when we talk about “watching a movie / TV,” ver is far more common and sounds more natural than mirar.
So Cuando veo una película de terror is the standard phrasing.

Why does Spanish use the present tense “veo” after “cuando” here, and not a different tense?

In Spanish, for habitual actions (things that happen regularly), you use the present indicative after cuando:

  • A veces siento el terror cuando veo una película de terror.
    = Sometimes this happens when I watch a horror movie (in general, as a habit).

You’d use other tenses in other contexts:

  • Past habitual: Antes sentía terror cuando veía películas de terror.
  • Future specific event: Sentiré terror cuando vea esa película. (subjunctive vea, because it’s a specific future case, not a general habit)

In your sentence, it’s talking about what generally happens, so cuando + present indicative (veo) is correct.

Why is it “una película” and not “la película”?

Una is the indefinite article (a / any), while la is the definite article (the).

  • una película de terror = a horror movie (any horror movie in general)
  • la película de terror = the horror movie (a specific one already known to speaker and listener)

The sentence describes what happens whenever the person watches any horror movie, not one particular movie, so Spanish uses the indefinite una.

Is there a difference between “terror” and “miedo” here?

Yes, a nuance in intensity:

  • miedo = fear, being afraid (neutral word for fear)

    • Siento miedo cuando… = I’m afraid when…

  • terror = terror, a more intense, sometimes overwhelming fear

    • Siento el terror cuando… = I feel terror when…

In everyday speech, miedo is more common. Using terror emphasizes a stronger, more dramatic emotion, which fits the context of horror movies.

Can you remove “el” and just say “A veces siento terror cuando veo una película de terror”?

Yes, and many speakers might actually say it that way. Both are correct:

  • A veces siento terror cuando veo una película de terror.
  • A veces siento el terror cuando veo una película de terror.

Without the article (siento terror) sounds a bit more like “I feel terror / I feel terrified” in a general sense.
With el, it gives a little more weight, as if referring to that particular intense feeling: I feel the terror.