Ahora puedo estudiar español con calma.

Now I can study Spanish calmly.

Breakdown of Ahora puedo estudiar español con calma.

• yo: I
• ahora: now
• español: Spanish
• estudiar: to study
• con calma: calmly
• poder: may

Questions & Answers about Ahora puedo estudiar español con calma.

What does con calma literally mean, and what feeling does it add to the sentence?

Literally, con calma means “with calm.”

In this sentence it’s idiomatic and means something like:

• calmly
• without rushing
• in a relaxed way / at ease

So:

• Ahora puedo estudiar español con calma.
  ≈ Now I can study Spanish calmly / without feeling stressed or rushed.

It adds the idea that before, maybe the person was busy, anxious, or distracted, but now they can study in a relaxed, unhurried way.

Why is it estudiar and not estudio after puedo?

In Spanish, after verbs like poder, querer, necesitar, deber, etc., you normally use the infinitive (the “to _” form):

• puedo estudiar = I can study
• quiero estudiar = I want to study
• debo estudiar = I must study

So:

• puedo estudiar = I can study (correct)
• puedo estudio ❌ (not correct)

Pueder is conjugated (puedo = I can), and estudiar stays in the infinitive (to study).

Why is it poder (can) and not saber (to know) here?

In Spanish:

• poder + infinitive = to be able to do something (have the possibility/permission/conditions)
• saber + infinitive = to know how to do something (have the skill)

So:

• Ahora puedo estudiar español.
  Now I can study Spanish (I have time / permission / conditions).

• Ahora sé hablar español.
  Now I know how to speak Spanish (I have the skill).

The sentence is about being able to study now (circumstances), not about knowing how to study.

Why is español not capitalized like Spanish in English?

In Spanish, names of languages are written with a lowercase initial letter:

• el español = Spanish
• el inglés = English
• el francés = French

So:

• estudiar español (correct)
• estudiar Español ❌ (wrong in standard writing)

This is just a spelling convention in Spanish, not a difference in meaning.

Why is there no el before español? Why not estudiar el español?

Both are possible, but there is a difference in usage:

• estudiar español
  → the usual way to say to study Spanish (the language in general)

• estudiar el español
  → can sound more specific or more “academic” in some contexts, like studying the Spanish language as a subject (its grammar, structure, etc.), or when you are contrasting languages.

In everyday speech, estudiar español (no el) is the most common and natural way to say to study Spanish.

Can I change the word order to Puedo estudiar español ahora? Does it mean the same?

Yes, you can say:

• Ahora puedo estudiar español.
• Puedo estudiar español ahora.

Both mean basically the same: Now I can study Spanish.

Nuance:

• Placing ahora at the beginning (Ahora puedo…) slightly emphasizes “Now” as a contrast with before.
• Putting it at the end (…español ahora) can sound a bit more like “I can study Spanish now (as opposed to later).”

In normal conversation, both are completely natural and interchangeable.

Could I say Ahora puedo estudiar con calma español or Ahora puedo con calma estudiar español?

Grammatically, these are not wrong, but they sound unnatural or at least odd in everyday Spanish.

The most natural options are:

• Ahora puedo estudiar español con calma.
• Ahora puedo estudiar con calma español. (less common but still okay)
• Ahora puedo estudiar español, con calma. (with a pause / comma for emphasis)

Spanish tends to keep verb + object (estudiar español) together, and then add details like con calma after that.

What’s the difference between ahora and ya in this kind of sentence?

In many cases, both can appear, but they have slightly different focuses:

• Ahora puedo estudiar español.
  Emphasizes the time: now (as opposed to earlier or later).

• Ya puedo estudiar español.
  Emphasizes a change or new situation: I can study Spanish *now (finally / at last).*

In lots of real conversations, ya often suggests something like “finally” or “from now on”, while ahora is more neutral: now, at this moment.

You could even say:

• Ahora ya puedo estudiar español.
  Now I can study Spanish already / at last.

Why is it con calma and not something like calmamente?

Spanish often prefers preposition + noun instead of an adverb ending in -mente:

• con calma = calmly, in a relaxed way
• con cuidado = carefully
• con rapidez = quickly

Calmamente exists, but it’s much less common and sounds more formal or bookish.
In everyday speech, people almost always say con calma, tranquilo, relajado, etc.

What does the accent mark in español do?

The accent in español marks the stressed syllable:

• es-pa-ñol

Without the written accent, by normal stress rules it would be pronounced ES-pa-nyol, which is wrong. The accent tells you to stress the last syllable: es-pa-ÑOL.

So the accent mark controls where the stress goes, which can change pronunciation and sometimes meaning.

How do you pronounce the letter ñ in español?

Ñ is a separate letter in Spanish (not just an N with a tilde).

It’s pronounced like the “ny” in:

• canyon
• onion (the “ni” sound)

So español sounds like:

• es-pa-NYOL

That ñ is never pronounced like the English “n” in no; it always has that ny sound.

Can ahora also mean “these days / nowadays” here?

In many contexts, ahora can mean either:

1. right now / at this moment, or
2. nowadays / these days, especially in context.

For this sentence, both readings are possible depending on the situation:

• If someone just finished work and sits down:
  Ahora puedo estudiar español con calma.
  → Now (this moment) I can study Spanish calmly.

• If someone is talking about their life situation in general:
  Ahora puedo estudiar español con calma.
  → Nowadays / at this stage of my life I can study Spanish calmly.

If you really want to make “these days” explicit, you can say hoy en día:

• Hoy en día puedo estudiar español con calma.
  → These days I can study Spanish calmly.