Hello everyone!
I was correcting a notebook entry and a point was raised concerning the difference between the two words "sad" and "sadness". Further to this, the difference between the two phrases, "I felt a bit sad" and "I felt a bit of sadness".
In my opinion, you can feel sad for yourself or for others. To feel sad is applied to situations where the emotion has a shorter duration and you know the situation will improve.
Sadness, however, has a longer duration and can describe your feelings about a situation that may or may not improve.
Examples:
I felt a bit sad because I failed the spelling test. Here, I failed my spelling test but I know I can improve in the future.
I felt a bit of sadness as I was lost. Here, I was lost and did not know at the time if I could be found.
Let me know what you think!
Sorry, but I can't really understand the distinction you're making.
For the most part, the distinction you are making between sad and sadness isn't a real one--other than that one is an adjective and the other is noun.
That said, I sort of see what you are getting at. Stylistically does the choice of the noun over the adjective matter? Generally probably not, but the noun, simply by being a noun, may evoke a condition/affliction more than the adjective does. Also the noun is often accompanied by a particular verb that can be stronger than "to be" or "to feel." I was filled with sadness or overtaken by sadness or stricken with sadness vs I was/felt sad.
But I don't think there are differences in terms of the length of time one is sad/experiences sadness or whether there's a solution or not.
In my opinion, the distinction is not real.
English has a rich choice of verbs, adverbs, adjectives, and nouns. It's often of matter of stylistic choice.
sadden (verb), sadly (adverb), sad (adjective), sadness (noun)
John's mood varied from moment to moment. After a tragic story, he would be overtaken by sadness. A few minutes later, a funny story would fill him with happiness.
John's mood varied from moment to moment. Sometimes, he might be sad and withdrawn. Later, after hearing a funny story, he would be happy and sociable.
Hello! Thinking about it, I agree that there is a subtle distinction. Feelings are so subjective, but it does go deeper than, or is perhaps informed by, the form the word itself takes, adjective or noun. As a caveat, I must write that my own feelings on these two words you cite Colin are irreparably damaged by Trump's #SAD twitter hashtags, which have removed all meaning from the emotion, converting it into a simple soundbite...
Feeling sad is more temporeal : in the course of a day, a week, a life, we travel through so many emotions, sad is one hue; we tack it on, it's an adjective, and doesn't feel as dark as feeling blue, or feeling down.
Sadness is more formal, feels closer to depression; if there is a spectrum of sentiment, sadness would bear more weight on its shoulders, than feeling sad.
Consider the poem you might write, under the titles of each of these words; they would be different in degree, no?
