Breakdown of Yo intento ser optimista y cambio de enfoque cuando una idea me parece demasiado pesimista.
Questions & Answers about Yo intento ser optimista y cambio de enfoque cuando una idea me parece demasiado pesimista.
In Spanish, subject pronouns (yo, tú, él, etc.) are usually optional, because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.
- Intento ser optimista… = I try to be optimistic…
- Yo intento ser optimista… = I (personally) try to be optimistic…
Using yo adds a bit of emphasis or contrast, similar to stressing “I” in English:
- Yo intento ser optimista (implying: maybe others don’t, but I do).
Grammatically, both forms are correct. Leaving yo out would be the most neutral, natural choice in many contexts.
The verb intentar is followed directly by an infinitive, with no preposition:
- intentar + infinitive
- intento ser optimista – I try to be optimistic
- intentamos aprender español – we try to learn Spanish
So you cannot say:
- ✗ intento a ser optimista
- ✗ intento de ser optimista
Those are incorrect. Just intento ser is the right structure.
You’ll also hear tratar de + infinitive with almost the same meaning:
- trato de ser optimista – I try to be optimistic
In Spain, both intentar and tratar de are common; intentar is often a bit more direct, tratar de can sound slightly softer or more “attempt-like,” but in many cases they’re interchangeable.
The choice between ser and estar changes the meaning:
- ser optimista = to be an optimistic person in general (a trait, part of your character)
- estar optimista = to be feeling optimistic at a particular moment (a temporary mood)
In this sentence:
- Yo intento ser optimista…
→ I try to be an optimistic person in general, as an attitude or life philosophy.
If you said:
- Intento estar optimista
→ I try to feel optimistic (for example, during a difficult period).
So ser fits better for a long‑term attitude or personality.
Spanish has a very common structure: cambiar de + noun, which often means “to switch (to another X)” rather than “to modify X”.
Examples:
- cambiar de casa – to move (house) / change house
- cambiar de trabajo – to change jobs
- cambiar de idea – to change your mind
- cambiar de tema – to change the subject
So:
- cambio de enfoque ≈ I switch my focus / perspective
If you say:
- cambio el enfoque – I change the focus (I alter it in some way)
- cambio mi enfoque – I change my focus
These are not wrong, but they’re less idiomatic for the idea of “I shift/switch perspective.” In this context, cambiar de enfoque is the most natural collocation in Spanish.
The use of indicative vs. subjunctive after cuando depends on whether the action is seen as:
- habitual / general / factual → indicative
- future / hypothetical / uncertain → subjunctive
Here, we have a general habit:
- cambio de enfoque cuando una idea me parece demasiado pesimista
→ I (normally/usually) change my focus when an idea seems too pessimistic.
So we use cambio (indicative), not cambie.
Compare:
Cambio de enfoque cuando una idea me parece pesimista.
→ Whenever that happens, I switch.Cambiaré de enfoque cuando una idea me parezca pesimista.
→ I will change my focus when an idea seems pessimistic (future, not yet realized) → me parezca = subjunctive.
In your sentence, it’s just describing a regular pattern, so the present indicative is correct.
The verb parecer works a bit like “to seem”:
- algo le parece (a alguien) + adjetivo
- Una idea me parece pesimista. – An idea seems pessimistic to me.
In your sentence:
- cuando una idea me parece demasiado pesimista
= when an idea seems too pessimistic to me
You could say:
- Cuando me parece una idea demasiado pesimista…
This is grammatically possible, but it sounds less natural and more marked. In practice, speakers usually keep the structure:
- subject (una idea) + me parece
- adjective (demasiado pesimista)
The given order is the most natural and common for this type of sentence.
The me is an indirect object pronoun indicating “to me”:
- Una idea me parece demasiado pesimista.
= Literally: An idea seems too pessimistic to me.
= More naturally: I find an idea too pessimistic.
Structure:
- algo + (IO pronoun) + parece + adjetivo
- Esa película me parece aburrida. – That movie seems boring to me.
- Tu plan nos parece arriesgado. – Your plan seems risky to us.
You can also say:
- Una idea parece demasiado pesimista para mí.
This is also correct, but:
- me parece is shorter and more idiomatic in everyday speech.
- para mí adds a bit of explicit contrast (“for me / in my opinion”), whereas me parece already naturally encodes that.
So me is simply the usual way to express “to me / in my opinion” with parecer.
- muy pesimista = very pessimistic (strong degree, but neutral)
- demasiado pesimista = too pessimistic (more than is acceptable or desirable)
So:
- Una idea muy pesimista – a very pessimistic idea
- Una idea demasiado pesimista – a too pessimistic idea; it crosses a limit for the speaker.
In the sentence, demasiado expresses a negative judgment: the pessimism is excessive in the speaker’s view, hence they change focus.
idea is a feminine noun in Spanish, so it takes the article una:
- una idea – an idea
- la idea – the idea
pesimista is an adjective that has one form for both masculine and feminine:
- un chico pesimista – a pessimistic boy
- una chica pesimista – a pessimistic girl
- una idea pesimista – a pessimistic idea
So you do not change it to pesimisto; that form doesn’t exist.
Some adjectives ending in -ista behave like this: optimista, pesimista, egoísta, idealista.
You could say:
- …y cambio de perspectiva cuando una idea me parece demasiado pesimista.
This is understandable and not wrong. However:
- enfoque = focus, approach, angle you take on something
- perspectiva = perspective, viewpoint, often a bit more “abstract” or long‑range
In everyday speech about how you mentally look at ideas or problems, cambiar de enfoque is a very natural collocation, a bit like “I change my focus/approach.”
Cambiar de perspectiva is also used, but de enfoque may sound slightly more concrete and practical in this type of sentence.
The present indicative in Spanish is very flexible. Here it most naturally expresses a general habit:
- Yo intento ser optimista y cambio de enfoque cuando una idea me parece demasiado pesimista.
→ This is what I usually do / This is my way of acting.
In the right context, it could also refer to something more immediate (like a “narrative present”), but with no extra context, readers will understand it as a habitual behavior, similar to English:
- “I try to be optimistic and I change focus when an idea seems too pessimistic.”