How to Say You're Sad in English

Vocabulary

1. god (n):
/gɑːd/ :(in Christianity and other religions) the creator and ruler of the universe; a spirit or being believed to have power over a part of nature or human life
Ex: His belief in God is strong.

2. weigh (verb)
/weɪ/ :to have an amount of heaviness; to find out how heavy someone or something is
Ex: I'm afraid to see how much I weigh

3. heaven (n)
/ˈhɛvən/ a place that is perfect; a place where people go after they die in some religions
Ex: Sitting by a pool on a tropical island is my idea of heaven.

4. reduce (verb)
/rɪˈduːs/ to bring to a particular state, condition, etc
Ex: Her performance reduced me to tears

5. behave (n)
/bɪˈheɪv/ :to act in a particular manner
Ex: He behaves strangely

6. control (n)
/kənˈtroʊl/: the power to decide or affect how something is done, how someone behaves,

 Ex.He lost control of the situation.

Reading

Everyone will have to go through a sad event in their life at some point in time. So if you're ever "feeling blue," or sad, here are some expressions you can use.

When people get sad news, they might be so sad that they "cry their heart out," or cry for a very long time. Or they could just feel sad, and say they have a "heavy heart." For example, you could say "When my best friend moved away, I cried my heart out, and since then I've had a very heavy heart."

Some say that the idea of a "heavy heart" might have come from old Egyptian stories, that said the gods would weigh your heart when you die to see if you should go to heaven. Thousands of years ago, the Egyptians believed that all thoughts and emotions came from the heart.

If someone or something makes a person feel so bad that they start to cry, then you could say they have been "reduced to tears." Or, if something makes a person feel so sad that they can no longer behave normally, or they lose control of their emotions, you could say they have "fallen to pieces."

For example, "His comments reduced me to tears. They were so mean I fell to pieces in front of my friends."

Discussion 

1.Which of the expressions in the article did you find interesting? Why?

2. How do you like to cheer yourself up when you're feeling blue? Please explain your answer.

3. Who do you like talking to when you have a heavy heart? Why?

Further Discussion

1. When are you generally at your happiest? Please explain your answer.

2. What's the happiest you've ever been? What made you so happy?

3. Do you know anyone who often loses control of their emotions? Please explain your answer.

4. When was the last time you had to cheer up? How did it go?

5. It's a lot easier to be angry at someone than it is to tell them you're hurt. – Tom Gates. Do you agree? Why? Why not?