Me da envidia cuando mis amigos van a la playa en verano y yo tengo que trabajar.

In Spanish, dar envidia is a very common way to express this idea. Literally, it means it gives me envy, but in natural English we would usually say I feel jealous / envious.

Grammar-wise:

• me = to me
• da = gives
• envidia = envy / jealousy

So Me da envidia... is structurally like It makes me jealous...

Spanish often uses this kind of construction with feelings:

• Me da miedo = It scares me
• Me da vergüenza = It embarrasses me / I feel embarrassed
• Me da rabia = It annoys me / It makes me angry

Envidia usually means envy, and in many everyday contexts English speakers translate it as jealousy because that sounds more natural.

In this sentence, Me da envidia cuando mis amigos van a la playa... means you feel envious because your friends get to do something enjoyable while you have to work.

A useful distinction:

• envidia = envy, wanting what someone else has or gets
• celos = jealousy, especially in romantic situations or when you feel possessive

So here envidia is the right word, not celos.

Good question. The verb da agrees with the thing that causes the feeling, not with mis amigos directly.

The real subject is the whole idea introduced by cuando:

cuando mis amigos van a la playa en verano y yo tengo que trabajar

That whole situation is treated as a single idea, so Spanish uses da in the singular.

You can think of it as:

• That situation gives me envy.

If the subject were clearly plural, then you might get dan, but here the cause is the entire clause.

Me is an indirect object pronoun meaning to me.

So:

• Me da envidia = It gives envy to me = It makes me jealous / envious

Other examples:

• Me gusta = I like it (literally, It is pleasing to me)
• Me da igual = It makes no difference to me
• Me da pena = It makes me feel sad / sorry

This is a very common Spanish pattern, and it can feel different from English because the person experiencing the feeling is often expressed with an indirect object pronoun.

Because this sentence refers to something habitual or real, not something uncertain or future from the speaker’s point of view.

Here, cuando means whenever / when, describing a repeated situation:

• when my friends go to the beach in summer and I have to work

That is why Spanish uses the indicative:

• van
• tengo

You often use the subjunctive after cuando when talking about a future event that has not happened yet:

• Cuando mis amigos vayan a la playa, yo trabajaré. = When my friends go to the beach, I’ll be working.

But in your sentence, it sounds like a general recurring reality, so van is correct.

The verb ir normally uses a to show destination:

• ir a Madrid
• ir al cine
• ir a la playa

So van a la playa means they go to the beach.

Also:

• a + la = a la (no contraction)
• a + el = al (contraction)

Examples:

• Voy a la playa
• Voy al parque

So a la playa is exactly what you would expect after ir.

Yes, Spanish normally uses the singular here: ir a la playa.

It works like English go to the beach: it does not necessarily mean one specific beach, but rather the activity or destination in general.

Ir a las playas would only make sense in a more specific context, for example if you are talking about several beaches in an area:

• Fuimos a las playas del norte.

But in everyday general statements, a la playa is the standard expression.

En verano means in summer and is the most natural, everyday way to say it.

Spanish often uses en + season:

• en verano = in summer
• en invierno = in winter
• en primavera = in spring
• en otoño = in autumn/fall

Durante el verano is also correct, but it sounds a bit more explicit or formal, more like during the summer.

So in this sentence, en verano is the normal choice.

Spanish often drops subject pronouns, so you could say:

Me da envidia cuando mis amigos van a la playa en verano y tengo que trabajar.

That would still be correct.

However, yo is included here for emphasis or contrast:

• mis amigos go to the beach
• yo have to work

So yo helps underline the contrast between them and me. In this sentence, that sounds very natural.

Tener que + infinitive means to have to + verb.

So:

• tengo que trabajar = I have to work

This expresses obligation or necessity. It is stronger and more precise than simply saying:

• trabajo = I work / I am working

Compare:

• Mis amigos van a la playa y yo trabajo. = My friends go to the beach and I work.
  This could just describe what happens.
• Mis amigos van a la playa y yo tengo que trabajar. = My friends go to the beach and I have to work.
  This clearly expresses that working is an obligation, which is why the envy makes sense.

Yes, you could, but the nuance is a little different.

• tengo que trabajar = I have to work
• debo trabajar = I must / should work, depending on context

In everyday Spanish from Spain, tener que is usually the most common and natural way to express ordinary obligation.

Debo trabajar can sound:

• a bit more formal,
• sometimes more moral or personal,
• or simply less colloquial, depending on context.

So tengo que trabajar is the safest and most natural choice here.

Because the sentence describes a general or repeated situation.

It is not talking about one single day only. It means something like:

• I get jealous when my friends go to the beach in summer and I have to work.

Spanish often uses the present tense for habits, routines, and repeated truths:

• Cuando llueve, me quedo en casa.
• Cuando mis amigos salen, yo estudio.

So van and tengo are present because this is a recurring pattern.

In this sentence, cuando is best understood as when in English, but the sense is often close to whenever because it describes a repeated situation.

So:

• Me da envidia cuando mis amigos van a la playa... can feel like
• I get jealous when / whenever my friends go to the beach...

English allows both, depending on style. The Spanish cuando works naturally for either idea here.

Yes, that is completely correct.

Spanish word order is flexible, and putting the cuando clause first is very natural:

• Cuando mis amigos van a la playa en verano y yo tengo que trabajar, me da envidia.

This version slightly foregrounds the situation first, then gives the emotional reaction.

The original:

• Me da envidia cuando... starts with the feeling.

Both are correct; the choice is mostly about emphasis and style.

Yes, it sounds natural.

A speaker from Spain would understand it perfectly, and it is a normal way to express the idea. If anything, some people might also say:

• Me da mucha envidia... = I’m really jealous / envious...
• Qué envidia me da... = It makes me so jealous...
• Me da envidia que mis amigos vayan a la playa... in a slightly different structure

But your sentence is already idiomatic and correct: Me da envidia cuando mis amigos van a la playa en verano y yo tengo que trabajar.