Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Mi madre tiene dolor de espalda, pero se siente relajada cuando nada en el lago. - My mother has back pain, but she feels relaxed when she swims in the lake.

Mi madre tiene dolor de espalda, pero se siente relajada cuando nada en el lago.

My mother has back pain, but she feels relaxed when she swims in the lake.

Breakdown of Mi madre tiene dolor de espalda, pero se siente relajada cuando nada en el lago.

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Questions & Answers about Mi madre tiene dolor de espalda, pero se siente relajada cuando nada en el lago.

Why is it tiene dolor de espalda instead of something like tiene un dolor de espalda or tiene una espalda dolorida?

In Spanish (especially in Spain), the most natural, neutral way to say she has back pain is:

tener dolor de + body part → tener dolor de espalda, tener dolor de cabeza, etc.

Saying tiene un dolor de espalda is grammatically possible but sounds more like she has a specific back pain (a particular ache), and it’s less common in everyday speech.

Tiene una espalda dolorida would be understood, but it sounds more descriptive or literary, not the typical way to talk about symptoms.

The two most idiomatic options are:

Mi madre tiene dolor de espalda.
A mi madre le duele la espalda.

Both mean My mother has back pain / My mother’s back hurts.

What’s the difference between tiene dolor de espalda and le duele la espalda?

Both are common and correct, and both mean she has back pain / her back hurts.

Tiene dolor de espalda.
Literally: She has pain of back.
Structure: tener
- dolor de
  - body part.
    Slightly more “medical” or descriptive.
Le duele la espalda.
Literally: The back hurts her.
Structure: indirect object pronoun (le) + doler (3rd person) + la espalda.
Very common in everyday speech.

In Spain, you’ll hear both all the time. There’s no big difference in meaning; it’s mostly a stylistic choice.

Why is it se siente relajada and not just siente relajada or está relajada?

Sentirse is the reflexive form of sentir and is used for how someone feels internally (physically or emotionally):

se siente relajada = she feels relaxed

Without the reflexive pronoun, sentir usually means to feel (something):

siente frío = she feels cold
siente miedo = she feels fear

So siente relajada is wrong because relajada is describing her, not something she feels as an external object.

Estar relajada is also possible:

está relajada = she is relaxed (in that state)

Difference:

se siente relajada focuses on her subjective feeling.
está relajada focuses more on her observable state.

In practice, in this sentence you can say either, but se siente relajada fits very naturally.

Why is relajada feminine? Could it be relajado?

Relajada agrees in gender and number with the subject it describes.

Subject: mi madre → feminine singular
Adjective: relajada → feminine singular

So:

Mi madre se siente relajada.
Mi padre se siente relajado.
Mis padres se sienten relajados.
Mis hermanas se sienten relajadas.

Using relajado here would be wrong because it wouldn’t agree with madre.

Why is it cuando nada en el lago and not cuando nadar en el lago?

After cuando introducing a clause (a mini-sentence), Spanish normally uses a finite verb form (conjugated), not an infinitive:

Correct: cuando nada en el lago (when she swims in the lake)
Incorrect: cuando nadar en el lago (sounds ungrammatical in this structure)

Nadar (infinitive) is used in patterns like:

al nadar en el lago → when swimming in the lake / by swimming in the lake
le gusta nadar en el lago → she likes to swim in the lake

How do I know that nada here means swims and not nothing?

Spanish nada can be:

Verb form (3rd person singular of nadar, to swim):
- Mi madre nada en el lago. → My mother swims in the lake.
Pronoun/adverb meaning nothing:
- No quiere nada. → She doesn’t want anything / she wants nothing.

You tell from context and grammar:

After cuando, a conjugated verb is expected: cuando nada… → must be a verb.
There is already dolor de espalda, so nada as nothing would not fit: when nothing in the lake makes no sense.

So in this sentence, nada = she swims.

Why is nada in the present tense? In English we often say “when she swims” or “when she is swimming.”

Spanish often uses the present simple where English might use present simple or present continuous.

cuando nada en el lago can correspond to:
- when she swims in the lake (habitual)
- when she is swimming in the lake (also sounds natural in English)

For habitual or general truths, Spanish uses:

Presente de indicativo: cuando nada en el lago
(not cuando está nadando for the general habitual meaning)

Está nadando is used for “right now”:

Ahora mismo está nadando en el lago. → Right now she is swimming in the lake.

Why is it en el lago and not en un lago?

en el lago → in the lake (a specific lake that both speaker and listener know)
en un lago → in a lake (some lake, not specified)

In Spanish, just like in English, the definite article el signals a particular, identifiable lake. The sentence sounds like we’re talking about a specific usual place where she swims.

You could say en un lago if you mean in a lake, any lake, but it shifts the meaning.

Could you say Mi madre se relaja cuando nada en el lago instead of se siente relajada? Is there a difference?

Yes, and it’s very natural:

Mi madre se relaja cuando nada en el lago.

Difference in nuance:

se relaja = she relaxes (becomes relaxed), focuses on the process or action.
se siente relajada = she feels relaxed, describes her internal feeling/state.

Both are perfectly idiomatic in Spain. In context, they are nearly interchangeable.

Why is there no ella before se siente? In English we say She feels…

In Spanish, subject pronouns (yo, tú, él, ella, nosotros, vosotros, ellos, ellas) are usually omitted because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

(Ella) se siente relajada.
The –e ending in siente tells us it’s él / ella / usted.

We already know the subject from the previous clause Mi madre…, so repeating ella is unnecessary and would normally sound a bit heavy:

Mi madre tiene dolor de espalda, pero ella se siente relajada…
This is grammatically correct but not needed in normal speech. Usually, you only add ella for emphasis or contrast.

Why do we use pero and not y here?

Pero means but, and it introduces a contrast:

She has back pain (negative/discomfort),
but she feels relaxed when she swims (positive/relief).

Using y (and) would simply add information without highlighting the contrast:

Mi madre tiene dolor de espalda y se siente relajada cuando nada en el lago.

This is grammatically fine, but it sounds a bit contradictory without the contrast marker, because back pain and feeling relaxed normally don’t go together. Pero makes the unexpected contrast clear.

Is there any difference in Spanish between saying Mi madre and Mi mamá here?

Both are correct, but the tone/register changes:

Mi madre tiene dolor de espalda…
More neutral or slightly formal; common in writing and standard speech.
Mi mamá tiene dolor de espalda…
More informal/affectionate; typical in conversation, especially from children or in a family context.

In Spain, adults often say mi madre more than mi mamá, but mamá is still widely used, especially in informal speech. The rest of the sentence stays the same.