Breakdown of Durante la adolescencia mi hermano estaba muy tímido.
Questions & Answers about Durante la adolescencia mi hermano estaba muy tímido.
Both estaba and estuvo are past forms of estar, but they belong to different past tenses:
- estaba = imperfect (ongoing, repeated, or background state in the past)
- estuvo = preterite (completed, bounded event or state)
Durante la adolescencia mi hermano estaba muy tímido presents his shyness as an ongoing condition throughout that whole period. Adolescence is a stretch of time, not a single event, so the imperfect fits:
- estaba muy tímido = he was (used to be / was generally) very shy during that time.
If you said estuvo muy tímido, it would sound like his shyness was a more clearly delimited episode (e.g., he was very shy that one summer), and it would be less natural with durante la adolescencia, which already sounds like a broad stage of life.
Both are grammatically possible, but the nuance changes because of ser vs estar:
ser + adjective: more permanent or defining traits
- Era muy tímido = He was (by nature, as a personality trait) very shy.
estar + adjective: temporary or situational states, how someone is at a given time
- Estaba muy tímido = He was very shy then / in that stage / in that context.
In this sentence:
Durante la adolescencia mi hermano era muy tímido
→ Very natural. Suggests shyness was a core part of his personality in adolescence.Durante la adolescencia mi hermano estaba muy tímido
→ Also possible. Slightly more like “he was (behaving / feeling) very shy during that stage,” implying it’s tied specifically to that period, and maybe not before or after.
In many regions, era muy tímido would be the more “default” way to talk about a personality trait over an entire life stage, but estaba muy tímido isn’t wrong; it just frames it more as a state during that time.
It leans more toward a state, yes, but context matters.
On its own:
- Estaba muy tímido can often mean “he was (feeling/acting) very shy” in a particular situation (e.g. at the party, he was very shy).
In your sentence, the phrase Durante la adolescencia stretches that state over a whole period. So:
- It still sounds more “situational” than era muy tímido,
- but because the “situation” here is an entire life stage, it doesn’t feel like a short mood; it feels like “During adolescence, he was in a shy phase.”
So yes, estaba keeps a sense of “state,” but the time expression makes that state long-term.
Yes, both are possible, but they don’t mean exactly the same:
Durante la adolescencia mi hermano estaba muy tímido.
→ “During adolescence, my brother was very shy.”
This talks about the general period of adolescence (his adolescence is implied).Durante mi adolescencia mi hermano estaba muy tímido.
→ “During my adolescence, my brother was very shy.”
Now the reference point is your adolescence. It could imply:- You’re focusing on the time when you were a teenager, and at that time your brother was shy (maybe he’s older/younger).
So:
- la adolescencia = the period of adolescence in general (or his own, from context).
- mi adolescencia = specifically my adolescence.
In Spanish, abstract or general concepts often take a definite article where English uses none:
- la adolescencia = (the period of) adolescence
- la vida, la felicidad, la pobreza, etc.
So:
- ✅ Durante la adolescencia… = natural
- ❌ Durante adolescencia… = incorrect; it sounds incomplete.
The article la treats adolescencia as a known, specific period of life, much like saying “during the summer” (durante el verano) instead of “during summer” in Spanish.
You can move it; word order is flexible for time expressions:
- Durante la adolescencia mi hermano estaba muy tímido.
- Mi hermano estaba muy tímido durante la adolescencia.
Both are correct. The difference is emphasis:
- Time expression at the beginning (Durante la adolescencia…) slightly emphasizes the period: “As for adolescence, during that time my brother was very shy.”
- Time expression at the end is more neutral and common in everyday speech: “My brother was very shy during adolescence.”
No grammatical rule is broken either way.
Adjectives in Spanish agree in gender and number with the noun they describe:
- mi hermano = masculine, singular
→ tímido (masculine singular)
Other possibilities:
mi hermana estaba muy tímida
→ “my sister was very shy” (feminine singular)mis hermanos estaban muy tímidos
→ “my brothers were very shy” (masculine plural, or mixed group)mis hermanas estaban muy tímidas
→ “my sisters were very shy” (feminine plural)
So in your sentence, tímido matches hermano in gender (masculine) and number (singular).
Yes, that version is very natural and, in many contexts, actually more typical:
- Durante la adolescencia mi hermano era muy tímido.
This emphasizes shyness as a character trait he had during adolescence (not just how he was behaving).
Both versions are acceptable:
- estaba muy tímido → focuses on a state during that stage.
- era muy tímido → focuses on his character/personality in that stage.
If you’re describing personality during a whole life period, many speakers would default to era.
Yes, but it changes the focus slightly:
estaba muy tímido
→ “he was very shy” (state / condition)se sentía muy tímido
→ “he felt very shy” (subjective feeling, internal perception)
So:
- Durante la adolescencia mi hermano se sentía muy tímido.
Sounds like: “During adolescence my brother felt very shy (inside),” which is fine if you want to highlight his internal experience.
Both are correct; choose based on whether you want to focus on how he was or how he felt.
No, the sentence:
- Durante la adolescencia mi hermano estaba muy tímido.
is perfectly standard and would be understood everywhere in the Spanish‑speaking world.
Minor tendencies:
- Many speakers (in both Latin America and Spain) might naturally choose era muy tímido for a long-standing trait during adolescence.
- The vocabulary (durante, adolescencia, tímido) is neutral and not region-specific.
So you can safely use this sentence anywhere in Latin America without sounding regionally marked.