Me pongo nervioso cuando tengo que hablar en público.

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Breakdown of Me pongo nervioso cuando tengo que hablar en público.

• en: in
• cuando: when
• tener que: to have to

Questions & Answers about Me pongo nervioso cuando tengo que hablar en público.

Why is me used before pongo? What does me pongo literally mean?

Ponerse is a reflexive verb here.

• poner on its own means to put / to place.
• ponerse (with a reflexive pronoun like me, te, se) often means to become / to get (in terms of mental or physical state).

So me pongo nervioso literally means I put myself nervous, which in natural English is I get nervous or I become nervous.

You need me because the subject yo (I) is affecting itself:

• Yo me pongo nervioso = I get nervous.
  Without me, pongo would need a direct object:
• Pongo el libro en la mesa = I put the book on the table.

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