Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Mi psicóloga dice que la ansiedad por el clima es normal, pero que no debemos quedarnos quietos. - My psychologist says that climate anxiety is normal, but that we must not stay inactive.

It has four syllables and ends in a vowel, so by default the stress should be on the second-to-last syllable (lo): psi-co-lo-ga.
But we actually pronounce the stress on có, so an accent mark is added to show this irregular stress: psicóloga.

So the accent is purely about where the stress falls in the word, not about tense or anything else.

Why is there a que after dice? Could we say Mi psicóloga dice la ansiedad…?

With decir when you report what someone says, Spanish normally uses decir que + clause:

Mi psicóloga dice que la ansiedad por el clima es normal…
= My psychologist says that climate anxiety is normal…

Using decir directly with a noun (dice la ansiedad…) would mean something like “she says the anxiety…”, which doesn’t make sense here.

So the pattern is:

decir que + [full sentence]
Mi psicóloga dice que es normal.
Mi profesor dice que estudiemos más.

Why is it la ansiedad por el clima and not just ansiedad por el clima without la?

Spanish uses definite articles much more than English, especially with abstract nouns:

la ansiedad, el miedo, la felicidad, la pobreza

In English we often drop the article: anxiety, fear, happiness, poverty. In Spanish:

La ansiedad por el clima es normal.
Literally: The anxiety for / about the climate is normal.

You can sometimes omit the article (ansiedad por el clima) in other contexts, but in a general statement like this (talking about anxiety as a concept), la ansiedad is the most natural.

Why is it por el clima and not del clima or sobre el clima?

Each preposition would sound a bit different:

ansiedad por el clima
Focuses on the cause or reason: anxiety because of / about the climate.
This is the most natural way to say climate anxiety.
ansiedad del clima
Literally “the anxiety of the climate”. That sounds like the climate itself feels anxiety, so it’s not right here.
ansiedad sobre el clima
Literally “anxiety about the climate”. Grammatically possible, but less idiomatic than por in this specific phrase. Por is the usual choice for “worry/anxiety about X”:
- ansiedad por el trabajo
- ansiedad por los hijos
- ansiedad por el dinero

Why is it el clima instead of el tiempo? Aren’t both “weather”?

Both can relate to weather, but:

el tiempo = day‑to‑day weather / “what’s the weather like today?”
- Hace buen tiempo. – The weather is good.
el clima = climate in a broader, long‑term sense, often used in discussions about climate change:
- el cambio climático – climate change
- la crisis climática – the climate crisis

In ansiedad por el clima, we understand it as climate anxiety, not just “today’s weather anxiety”.

Why is it es normal and not sea normal after dice que?

After decir que, you usually use:

Indicative (here: es) when you are stating what someone claims as a fact or opinion they hold:
- Mi psicóloga dice que la ansiedad por el clima es normal.
  She says it is normal.
Subjunctive with decir que is more about giving orders or recommendations, especially in the negative:
- Mi psicóloga dice que no tomemos decisiones impulsivas.
  She tells us not to make impulsive decisions.

Here, es normal is just reporting her statement, so indicative is correct.

Why is que repeated after pero? Could we just say …, pero no debemos quedarnos quietos?

Both versions are possible:

Mi psicóloga dice que la ansiedad por el clima es normal, pero que no debemos quedarnos quietos.
Mi psicóloga dice que la ansiedad por el clima es normal, pero no debemos quedarnos quietos.

Repeating que (version 1):

Keeps the structure parallel:
- dice que [X] pero que [Y]
Sounds very natural in spoken Spanish when you’re listing two things someone says.

Omitting que (version 2):

Is also correct and a bit more direct.
Some speakers prefer to repeat que, others don’t; it’s a matter of style and rhythm, not grammar correctness.

Why does the negation no go before debemos and not before quedarnos?

In Spanish, no usually goes before the conjugated verb, even if that verb is followed by an infinitive:

no debemos quedarnos quietos
(not: debemos no quedarnos quietos)

More patterns:

no puedo salir – I can’t go out
no quiero ir – I don’t want to go
no debo comer tanto – I mustn’t eat so much

You can place no before an infinitive in some special emphatic structures, but the standard rule is: no + conjugated verb + infinitive.

Why is it debemos quedarnos and not nos debemos quedar?

Both orders are correct:

no debemos quedarnos quietos
no nos debemos quedar quietos

Rules:

With a conjugated verb + infinitive, object/reflexive pronouns can go:
- before the conjugated verb: nos debemos quedar
- or attached to the infinitive: debemos quedarnos

In everyday speech, attaching the pronoun to the infinitive (quedarnos) is very common and sounds smooth:

Voy a levantarme temprano. / Me voy a levantar temprano.
Tenemos que irnos. / Nos tenemos que ir.

Why do we use quedarnos (reflexive) instead of just quedar?

Quedar and quedarse have different uses:

quedar (non‑reflexive)
- to arrange to meet: Quedamos a las 6. – We’re meeting at 6.
- to be left/remain (as a result): Quedan dos plazas. – Two spots remain.
quedarse (reflexive)
- to stay / remain (in a state or place):
  - Nos quedamos en casa. – We’re staying at home.
  - Nos quedamos quietos. – We stay still.

Here the meaning is “not stay still / not remain passive,” so we need the reflexive quedarse: no debemos quedarnos quietos.

Why is quietos masculine plural? Would it change if the group was only women?

Adjectives agree with the subject in gender and number.

The implied subject here is nosotros (“we”).
By default, if the group is mixed or gender‑unspecified, Spanish uses masculine plural:
- quietos = masculine plural

If the speaker is talking about a group of only women, they would normally say:

no debemos quedarnos quietas

So:

nosotros estamos quietos – we (mixed / all male) are still
nosotras estamos quietas – we (all female) are still

What does quedarnos quietos actually mean in this context? Is it literally about not moving?

Literally, quedarse quieto means “to stay still / not move.” But in this sentence, it’s used figuratively:

no debemos quedarnos quietos
= we shouldn’t just stand by / we shouldn’t do nothing / we shouldn’t remain passive.

This is a common metaphor: physical stillness represents inaction or passivity in the face of a problem.

Is dice here “says” or “tells (me)”? Why isn’t there me like me dice?

Dice by itself is “says” (or “is saying”). If you want to be explicit that she is telling me, you can add me:

Mi psicóloga dice que… – My psychologist says that…
Mi psicóloga me dice que… – My psychologist tells me that…

Often, Spanish leaves the indirect object (me, nos, etc.) out if it’s obvious from context. The version in the sentence focuses more on what she says in general, not so much on who she’s saying it to.

Could we say this in a simpler or more colloquial way in Spanish from Spain?

Yes, some natural alternatives (Spain) might be:

Mi psicóloga dice que es normal tener ansiedad por el clima, pero que no podemos quedarnos de brazos cruzados.
(“…but that we can’t just sit back and do nothing.”)
Mi psicóloga dice que la ansiedad por el clima es normal, pero que tenemos que actuar.
(“…but that we have to take action.”)
Mi psicóloga dice que es normal agobiarse por el clima, pero que no hay que quedarse quietos.
(“…it’s normal to feel overwhelmed about the climate, but we shouldn’t stay still.”)

All keep the same basic idea but use slightly more everyday expressions.