Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Si mi respuesta está equivocada, sé que soy capaz de aprender de ese error. - If my answer is wrong, I know that I am capable of learning from that mistake.

Spanish usually uses estar with equivocado / equivocada because it describes a temporary state: your answer is wrong this time, not by nature.

estar equivocado ≈ to be wrong / mistaken (a changeable situation)
ser equivocado is very rare and sounds off; with ser you would more likely say es incorrecta (it is incorrect), but even that talks more about the answer itself as incorrect, not about you being mistaken.

So mi respuesta está equivocada means my answer is (currently) wrong in this specific situation.

Why does equivocada end in -a instead of -o?

Because adjectives in Spanish agree in gender and number with the noun they describe.

respuesta is a feminine singular noun: la respuesta
So the adjective must be feminine singular: equivocada

Examples:

la respuesta está equivocada (feminine singular)
el resultado está equivocado (masculine singular)
las respuestas están equivocadas (feminine plural)
los resultados están equivocados (masculine plural)

Why is it sé and not sabo for I know?

The verb saber (to know facts/how to do something) is irregular in the first person singular of the present:

yo sé – I know
tú sabes
él / ella sabe
nosotros sabemos
ustedes / ellos saben

There is no form sabo; it is simply incorrect.
So sé que soy capaz = I know that I am capable.

Why do we say sé que soy capaz de aprender and not just sé que puedo aprender? Is there a difference?

Both are correct, but there is a nuance:

soy capaz de aprender – literally I am capable of learning.
Emphasizes inner ability, potential, strength of character.
puedo aprender – literally I can learn.
Emphasizes possibility or permission more than inner capability.

In this sentence, soy capaz de aprender de ese error sounds more like a statement of confidence in yourself, not just a statement about what is practically possible.

Why is there a comma after Si mi respuesta está equivocada?

In Spanish, when a conditional si clause comes first, it is normal (and preferred) to separate it from the main clause with a comma:

Si mi respuesta está equivocada, sé que soy capaz de aprender de ese error.

If you reverse the order, the comma is usually not used:

Sé que soy capaz de aprender de ese error si mi respuesta está equivocada.

So the comma is a standard punctuation rule for si clauses placed at the beginning.

Can you say sé soy capaz instead of sé que soy capaz?

No. You need que here.

In Spanish, verbs like saber, creer, pensar, decir, notar, ver that introduce a clause with a conjugated verb normally require que:

Sé que soy capaz. – I know (that) I am capable.
Creo que tienes razón. – I think (that) you are right.
Dijo que vendría. – He/She said (that) he/she would come.

Leaving out que in this structure (sé soy capaz) sounds wrong or, at best, extremely unnatural.

Why is it de ese error and not something like desde ese error or just ese error?

Aprender de algo is the standard expression for to learn from something:

aprender de ese error – to learn from that mistake

Some contrasts:

de: origin, cause, or source in a very general sense
- aprender de la experiencia – learn from experience
- aprender de los errores – learn from mistakes
desde: starting point in space or time (from a place, from a time)
- desde ayer – since yesterday / from yesterday
- desde mi casa – from my house

So aprender desde ese error would sound strange.
You also cannot just say aprender ese error for learn from that mistake; that would mean to learn that mistake (as if the mistake itself were content you are memorizing).

Why ese error and not este error or eso?

Spanish has three basic demonstratives:

este / esta / estos / estas – this (near the speaker)
ese / esa / esos / esas – that (near the listener or relatively close)
aquel / aquella / aquellos / aquellas – that over there (far from both)

And one neuter form:

eso – that (idea or situation, not a specific masculine/feminine noun)

In ese error:

error is masculine singular → ese must match it (masculine singular)
eso error is impossible (neuter does not modify nouns)
este error or aquel error could work in other contexts, depending on how psychologically or physically close the mistake feels, but ese error is the neutral, most common that mistake.

Why is mi (my) written without an accent here? What about mí?

Spanish distinguishes:

mi (without accent) – possessive adjective: my
- mi respuesta – my answer
- mi casa, mi libro, mi error
mí (with accent) – stressed pronoun me, used mainly after prepositions
- para mí – for me
- de mí – of me / from me

In the sentence, mi describes the noun respuesta, so it is the possessive adjective and has no accent.

Why is the subject pronoun yo missing before soy capaz? Would yo soy capaz be wrong?

In Spanish, subject pronouns are usually optional because the verb ending tells you who the subject is:

soy capaz already tells you it is I am capable (first person singular).
Adding yo gives emphasis: Yo soy capaz = I am capable (me, not someone else).

So:

sé que soy capaz de aprender de ese error – normal, neutral
sé que yo soy capaz de aprender de ese error – more emphatic, stressing I.

Both are correct; the version without yo is just more natural in everyday speech.

Why is it Si mi respuesta está equivocada and not Cuando mi respuesta está equivocada?

Si and cuando express different ideas:

si = if → a condition that may or may not happen
- Si mi respuesta está equivocada… – If my answer is wrong (maybe it is, maybe it is not)
cuando = when → something that is expected to happen (at some time)
- Cuando mi respuesta está equivocada… – When my answer is wrong (whenever that happens)

In this sentence, the speaker is talking about a possibility, not an event that is certain to occur, so si is the natural choice.

Could you say Si mi respuesta estuviera equivocada, sabría que soy capaz de aprender de ese error instead? What is the difference?

Yes, you can, but it changes the nuance because it uses a different si-clause pattern:

Original sentence:
- Si mi respuesta está equivocada, sé que soy capaz de aprender de ese error.
  Pattern: si + present indicative → present (or future)
  Meaning: a real or likely condition.
Alternative sentence:
- Si mi respuesta estuviera equivocada, sabría que soy capaz de aprender de ese error.
  Pattern: si + imperfect subjunctive → conditional
  Meaning: a hypothetical or less likely situation (more like if my answer were wrong, I would know…).

So the original sounds more practical and general, the alternative sounds more theoretical or speculative.

Why aprender de ese error and not aprender ese error or aprenderse ese error?

Because aprender de means to learn from, while aprender without de usually means to learn (something) as content:

aprender ese poema – to learn / memorize that poem
aprender español – to learn Spanish
aprender de ese error – to learn from that mistake (gain a lesson from it)

Aprenderse is a pronominal form often used for memorizing:

aprenderse una canción – to learn a song by heart

But for learning from mistakes, the natural expression is aprender de los errores / aprender de ese error, not aprender ese error or aprenderse ese error.