Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Para tener más confianza, mi mentora me pide que hable sin leer mis apuntes. - To have more confidence, my mentor asks me to speak without reading my notes.

para + infinitive (para tener) is used when the subject of both verbs is the same.
- Here, the person who wants to “have more confidence” and the person who “speaks” is the same “yo” (the learner).
- So:
  - Para tener más confianza, (yo) necesito…
  - “In order to have more confidence, I need to…”
para que + subjunctive (para que tenga) is used when the subject of the second verb is different from the subject of the first.
- Example:
  - Mi mentora hace esto para que yo tenga más confianza.
  - “My mentor does this so that I have more confidence.”

In the original sentence, it’s like saying:
(Yo) hago esto para tener más confianza…
Same subject (yo → tener), so we use para tener, not para que tenga.

Why is it me pide que hable and not me pide que hablo?

After verbs of wishing, requesting, suggesting, ordering, etc. (like pedir), Spanish normally uses the subjunctive in the subordinate clause.

Pedir que + subjunctive = “to ask someone to do something”
- Mi mentora me pide que hable…
- Literally: “My mentor asks me that (I) speak…”
The verb hable is the present subjunctive of hablar for yo (and also for él/ella/usted).

Using que hablo would be wrong here because:

hablo is indicative, which is used for statements of fact, not for requested/desired actions after pedir.
The structure pedir que + indicative is not used with this meaning.

So grammatically, after me pide que…, you almost always need the subjunctive: hable.

Could I say mi mentora me pide hablar sin leer mis apuntes instead? What’s the difference?

Not with the same meaning. Here’s the key:

Pedir + que + subjunctive is used when you ask someone else to do something:
- Mi mentora me pide que hable sin leer mis apuntes.
- She asks me to speak without reading my notes.
- Subject of pide = mi mentora
- Subject of hable = yo → different subject → que + subjunctive
Pedir + infinitive usually means the subject of both verbs is the same person:
- Mi mentora pide hablar sin leer mis apuntes.
  - “My mentor asks to speak without reading my notes.”
  - Now it sounds like she wants to be the one who speaks.
- Pido hablar con el director.
  - “I ask to speak with the principal.”

If you say mi mentora me pide hablar…, it’s odd/ambiguous; it tends to be interpreted as:

“My mentor asks (someone) to allow her to speak” rather than
“asks me to speak”.

So, to clearly express “She asks me to speak…”, Spanish prefers:

mi mentora me pide que hable…

Why is hable (subjunctive) used here? What exactly does it express?

Hable is present subjunctive, and it appears because:

Pedir que is a verb pattern that triggers the subjunctive.
- Verbs like pedir, querer, recomendar, sugerir, insistir en, aconsejar all typically take que + subjunctive when you want someone else to do something.
The action “hable” is:
- Not a fact that’s happening right now.
- A requested/desired action.
  That kind of non-factual, “willed” action is exactly what the subjunctive is used for.

Formally:

hablar → present subjunctive:
- (yo) hable
- (tú) hables
- (él/ella/usted) hable
- (nosotros) hablemos, etc.

So me pide que hable = “she asks that I speak / she asks me to speak”, with hable marking it as a requested action, not a current fact.

Why is it sin leer mis apuntes and not sin que lea mis apuntes?

Both exist, but they’re used differently:

sin + infinitive (sin leer) is used when the subject of both verbs is the same.
- The person who “speaks” and who “reads” (or doesn’t read) is the same “yo”.
- Me pide que hable sin leer mis apuntes.
  - (Yo) hable…
  - (Yo) leer…
- Very natural and common.
sin que + subjunctive is used when the subject of the second action is different.
- Lo hizo sin que yo leyera mis apuntes.
  - “He did it without me reading my notes.”
  - Subject of hizo = él
  - Subject of leyera = yo

You could say Me pide que hable sin que lea mis apuntes, but:

It sounds heavier / more formal.
Native speakers strongly prefer the simpler sin leer when the subject is the same.

So in everyday Spanish, sin leer mis apuntes is the most natural choice here.

What exactly does apuntes mean here? Is it the same as “notes”?

Yes, apuntes here means “notes” in the sense of notes you write when studying or attending a class.

tomar apuntes = “to take notes”
mis apuntes = “my notes (from class, study notes, etc.)”

In many parts of Latin America:

apuntes is widely understood.
In some countries you may also hear notas, but notas can also mean “grades” or “short written messages,” so apuntes is often clearer when talking about study notes.

Why is it mis apuntes and not los apuntes?

Both are possible, but they’re not identical in meaning:

mis apuntes = my notes, the notes that belong to the speaker.
- Emphasizes ownership: she doesn’t want you to read your own notes.
los apuntes = “the notes” in a more general or previously defined sense.
- Could refer to any notes, or notes already known in the conversation.

In context, since it’s about the learner’s own study notes, Spanish naturally says mis apuntes: “my notes.”

What does tener más confianza mean here? Is it “to have more trust” or “to be more confident”?

In this context, tener más confianza means “to be more confident / to have more self‑confidence”, especially when speaking.

tener confianza en alguien often means “to trust someone.”
But tener (más) confianza about a skill or situation usually means:
- to feel more at ease
- to be less nervous
- to have more confidence in oneself

So here, Para tener más confianza is about feeling more confident when speaking, not about trusting another person more.

Why is it mi mentora and not mi mentor? Is mentora a normal word?

Yes, mentora is a normal, correct word. In modern Spanish:

mentor = a mentor who is male, or sometimes used generically.
mentora = a mentor who is female.

Since the speaker is referring to a female mentor, they use mi mentora.
If the mentor were male, it would be mi mentor.

Why does the pronoun me go before pide? Could I say mi mentora pide me?

In Spanish, object pronouns like me, te, le, lo, la, nos, los, las normally go before a conjugated verb.

Correct:

Mi mentora me pide…
Incorrect:
Mi mentora pide me… ✗

Basic rule:

With a simple conjugated verb:
- me pide, te pide, nos pide, etc.
With an infinitive or gerund, the pronoun can go:
- before the conjugated verb: me quiere pedir
- or attached to the infinitive/gerund: quiere pedirme

But you can’t say pide me in standard Spanish; it must be me pide.

If I change the sentence to the past, how would the verb after que change? For example: “My mentor asked me to speak without reading my notes.”

In the past, you’d typically use me pidió plus the imperfect subjunctive:

Mi mentora me pidió que hablara sin leer mis apuntes.
- pidió = preterite of pedir
- hablara = imperfect subjunctive of hablar

This follows the general “sequence of tenses” rule:

Present main verb → present subjunctive:
- Me pide que hable…
Past main verb → imperfect subjunctive:
- Me pidió que hablara…

Meaning stays the same in English (asked me to speak); the change is just to keep the tenses consistent in Spanish.

Is the word order fixed, or could I move para tener más confianza or sin leer mis apuntes to other positions?

You have some flexibility, but not every option sounds equally natural.

Original:

Para tener más confianza, mi mentora me pide que hable sin leer mis apuntes.

Other natural orders:

Mi mentora me pide que hable sin leer mis apuntes para tener más confianza.
Mi mentora, para tener más confianza, me pide que hable sin leer mis apuntes.

Much less natural / awkward:

Mi mentora me pide que, para tener más confianza, hable sin leer mis apuntes.
Mi mentora me pide que hable, para tener más confianza, sin leer mis apuntes.

And something like:

Mi mentora me pide que sin leer mis apuntes hable…
sounds quite unnatural and is generally avoided.

So, the original order and the versions that keep para tener más confianza as a clear introductory phrase or at the end are the most idiomatic.