Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Mi hermana también está ansiosa a veces, pero aprende a calmarse con respiraciones profundas. - My sister is also anxious sometimes, but she is learning to calm down with deep breaths.

Está ansiosa = she is feeling anxious (right now / in this period) → temporary emotional state.
Es ansiosa would suggest that being anxious is a fixed characteristic of her personality (like saying “she’s an anxious person” as a trait), and even then many speakers prefer other phrasing.

Because the sentence describes how she feels sometimes, not what she is like by nature, está ansiosa is the natural choice.

2. Why is ansiosa feminine? Could it be ansioso?

Ansiosa agrees with mi hermana:

Mi hermana = my sister → feminine noun
Adjective must match in gender and number → ansiosa (feminine, singular)

If the subject were mi hermano (my brother), you’d say:

Mi hermano también está ansioso a veces…

So:

Feminine singular: ansiosa
Masculine singular: ansioso
Feminine plural: ansiosas
Masculine/mixed plural: ansiosos

3. What’s the role of también here, and where can it go in the sentence?

También means “also / too”. It shows that my sister shares the same characteristic as someone already mentioned (probably the speaker or another person).

The most neutral and common position is before the verb:

Mi hermana también está ansiosa a veces…

You’ll also hear:

También mi hermana está ansiosa a veces… (more emphasis on “my sister”)
Mi hermana está también ansiosa a veces… (can sound a bit more formal/written or slightly marked)

The version in your sentence is the most typical in everyday speech.

4. Why is it a veces instead of something like algunas veces?

A veces is the standard, very common way to say “sometimes”.

a veces = sometimes
algunas veces = literally “some times”; it’s also correct but sounds a bit more formal or emphatic.

In conversation, people overwhelmingly prefer a veces. Your sentence uses the most natural option.

5. Why is it pero aprende and not pero está aprendiendo?

Both are possible, but they focus on different things:

pero aprende a calmarse
- Simple present (aprende)
- In Spanish, simple present often covers meanings that English might express with “learns / is learning / learns to (in general)”.
- Suggests a general habit or a process repeated over time.
pero está aprendiendo a calmarse
- Present progressive (está aprendiendo)
- Emphasizes that she is in the middle of the learning process right now.

In context, aprende is like saying “but she learns / she is learning (over time)” as a general pattern, which is very typical Spanish usage.

6. Why do we say aprender a calmarse and not just aprender calmarse?

In Spanish, when aprender is followed by another verb, you almost always use the preposition a:

aprender a leer – to learn to read
aprender a conducir – to learn to drive
aprender a calmarse – to learn to calm down

Leaving out the a (aprender calmarse) sounds incorrect or at least very unnatural. Think of aprender a + infinitive as a fixed pattern: “to learn to (do something)”.

7. Why is calmarse reflexive? Could it just be calmar?

Calmar = to calm (something/someone)
Calmarse = to calm oneself / to calm down

In your sentence, my sister is calming herself, not another person, so you need the reflexive form:

aprende a calmarse = “she learns to calm herself / to calm down”

If you used calmar without se, you’d need a direct object:

aprende a calmar a su hijo – she learns to calm her son

With calmarse, the reflexive pronoun (se) shows that the action falls back on the subject.

8. Why is it con respiraciones profundas and not something like por respiraciones profundas?

Here, con means “with” in the sense of “using / by means of”:

calmarse con respiraciones profundas
= to calm down with deep breaths / by using deep breaths

Using por would not be idiomatic in this context. When you talk about a method or tool you use to achieve something, con is normal:

escribir con lápiz – write with a pencil
curarse con medicina – heal with medicine
calmarse con respiraciones profundas – calm down with deep breaths

9. Why is it plural respiraciones profundas instead of singular respiración profunda?

Both are possible, but they emphasize slightly different things:

respiraciones profundas (plural)
→ literally “deep breaths”
→ emphasizes several individual breaths
respiración profunda (singular, often used as a general technique)
→ “deep breathing” or “deep breath” as a practice/technique

In everyday speech, when people talk about calming down, they often think of taking several deep breaths, so the plural respiraciones profundas sounds especially natural.

10. Does ansiosa always mean “anxious,” or can it also mean “excited” like in English?

Ansioso/ansiosa can mean both:

Anxious, worried, nervous
- Está ansiosa por el examen. – She’s anxious about the exam.
Eager, can’t wait / very excited (but a bit impatient)
- Está ansiosa por verte. – She’s eager / can’t wait to see you.

In your sentence, because it’s about calming down with deep breaths, it clearly leans toward the “anxious/nervous” meaning. Context usually tells you which meaning is intended.

11. Where can a veces go in the sentence, and does the position change the meaning?

All of these are grammatically correct:

Mi hermana también está ansiosa a veces… (most common)
A veces mi hermana también está ansiosa…
Mi hermana a veces también está ansiosa…

The basic meaning (“sometimes she is anxious”) doesn’t really change. Differences:

Sentence-initial A veces slightly emphasizes “sometimes”:
- A veces mi hermana también está ansiosa… = “Sometimes my sister is also anxious…”
The version in your sentence sounds very natural and neutral in conversation.

12. How do you pronounce ansiosa and respiraciones profundas?

Approximate pronunciation (Latin American):

ansiosa → [ahn-SYOH-sah]
- an – like “ahn” (nasal n)
- sio – “syoh” (the i and o combine: syo)
- sa – “sah”
respiraciones → [rehs-pee-rah-SYOH-nes]
- res – “rehs” (short e)
- pi – “pee”
- ra – “rah”
- cio – “syoh” (again, cio = “syoh”)
- nes – “ness”
profundas → [proh-FOON-dahs]
- pro – “proh”
- fun – “foon”
- das – “dahs”

Stress:

anSIOsa
respiraCIOnes
proFUNdas

13. Could you say this in another natural way in Latin American Spanish?

Yes, some very natural alternatives:

Mi hermana también se pone ansiosa a veces, pero ha aprendido a calmarse con respiraciones profundas.
(“se pone ansiosa” = “gets anxious”; “ha aprendido” = “has learned”)
Mi hermana también se siente ansiosa a veces, pero aprende a tranquilizarse respirando profundo.
(“se siente ansiosa” = “feels anxious”; “tranquilizarse” instead of “calmarse”; “respirando profundo” = “by breathing deeply”)

Your original sentence is already perfectly natural; these just show common variants you might hear.