Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Antes de que empiece la misa de Navidad, hablamos en voz baja en la iglesia. - Before the Christmas mass begins, we speak in a low voice in the church.

In Spanish, antes de que (before…) normally triggers the subjunctive when what follows is an action that has not yet happened (future, unknown, not completed).

Antes de que empiece la misa… = Before the mass starts (in the future / not yet real)
If you said antes de que empieza la misa, it would sound wrong to native speakers; they expect the subjunctive (empiece) after antes de que in this type of sentence.

So: antes de que + future/unknown event → subjunctive (empiece).

Could I say Antes de que empieza la misa de Navidad…?

No, that’s considered incorrect in standard Spanish.

With a full clause after antes de que (subject + verb), the verb should be in the subjunctive, so you need:

✅ Antes de que empiece la misa de Navidad…
❌ Antes de que empieza la misa de Navidad…

Can I use an infinitive instead, like Antes de empezar la misa de Navidad…?

Yes, but the structure and nuance change a bit.

Antes de que empiece la misa de Navidad…
Focus: before the mass (as an event) begins.
Grammar: antes de que
- clause with subjunctive.
Antes de empezar la misa de Navidad…
Literal: before starting the Christmas mass.
Grammar: antes de
- infinitive (empezar).

The infinitive version is used when the subject is the same as the subject of the main verb, often meaning before we start the mass.
The que + subjunctive version is more neutral: the mass starting is its own event, not necessarily tied to "we" as the subject.

Why is hablamos in the present tense and not something like hablábamos?

Here, hablamos is present simple, used for:

habits / routines
- We speak quietly (whenever this situation happens).
general statements

So the sentence expresses a habitual action:

Antes de que empiece la misa de Navidad, hablamos en voz baja…
= Before the Christmas mass starts, we (always / usually) speak quietly…

If you used hablábamos (imperfect), it would refer to a repeated habit in the past:

Cuando yo era niño, antes de que empezara la misa de Navidad, hablábamos en voz baja…
= When I was a child, before the mass started, we used to speak quietly…

Why isn’t hablamos also in the subjunctive?

Because hablamos is in the main clause, describing what actually happens (or habitually happens). It’s not dependent on a conjunction like antes de que, cuando, aunque, etc. that might trigger the subjunctive.

Subordinate clause (future, not yet real): empiece → subjunctive
Main clause (real, factual/habitual): hablamos → indicative

Spanish only uses the subjunctive where the grammar or meaning requires it, not in every part of the sentence.

What does en voz baja mean exactly, and is it idiomatic?

En voz baja literally means in a low voice, and it’s a very common idiomatic expression meaning:

softly
quietly
in a low voice

So:

Hablamos en voz baja en la iglesia.
→ We speak quietly in church.

Other natural alternatives:

Hablamos bajito. (colloquial; we talk softly)
Hablamos despacio. (can mean slowly more than quietly)
Hablamos en silencio. (less natural; we speak in silence is odd in English too)

En voz baja is the most neutral and standard way to say quietly in this context.

Why do we say en la iglesia and not just en iglesia, like English in church?

Spanish normally needs an article (el, la, los, las) before countable nouns:

en la iglesia = in the church
en la casa = in the house
en el parque = in the park

English often drops the article in specific fixed expressions (at school, in church, at work), but Spanish usually does not. So:

✅ en la iglesia
❌ en iglesia (unnatural in this sense)

Why is it la misa de Navidad and not Navidad misa, like Christmas mass?

Spanish doesn’t stack nouns in front of other nouns the way English does. Instead, it typically uses:

noun + de + noun
- misa de Navidad = mass of Christmas → Christmas mass
- árbol de Navidad = Christmas tree
Or noun + adjective
- misa navideña = Christmas mass (using the adjective navideño/a)

The English structure Christmas mass (adjective-like noun before another noun) doesn’t work in Spanish, so you use de or an adjective:

✅ la misa de Navidad
✅ la misa navideña
❌ la Navidad misa

Can I change the word order and say Antes de que la misa de Navidad empiece…?

Yes, that’s grammatically correct:

Antes de que empiece la misa de Navidad…
Antes de que la misa de Navidad empiece…

Both are fine. The first one (verb before la misa) is more common and flows more naturally in everyday speech. The second can sound a bit more formal or literary, but it’s not wrong.

What’s the difference between antes de que, antes que, and antes de?

They’re related but not the same:

antes de que
- conjugated verb (subjunctive most of the time)
- Antes de que empiece la misa…
  = Before the mass starts…
antes de
- infinitive or noun
- Antes de empezar la misa… (before starting the mass)
- Antes de la misa… (before the mass)
antes que
- In modern standard Spanish, it’s used much less in this temporal sense and more often in comparisons:
  - Prefiero llegar antes que tú. (I prefer to arrive before you.)
- Some dialects use antes que where others say antes de que, but antes de que is the safest, most standard choice for before [something happens].

For you as a learner, for time expressions like this, use:

antes de
- infinitive or noun
antes de que
- subjunctive clause

Should iglesia be capitalized, like Iglesia?

In this sentence, no:

en la iglesia = in the church building → lowercase iglesia

Use Iglesia (capital I) when referring to the institution or denomination:

La Iglesia Católica = the Catholic Church

Here we’re talking about a physical place where the mass happens, so la iglesia is correctly written with a lowercase i.