Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Mis amigas van perdiendo el miedo y hablando más en clase cuando opinan. - My friends are gradually losing their fear and speaking more in class when they give their opinions.

Mis amigas pierden el miedo…
= My friends lose their fear… (more neutral, just states the fact)
Mis amigas van perdiendo el miedo…
= My friends are gradually losing their fear… / They’re slowly getting less afraid…

So «van perdiendo» adds the idea of progress over time, not a sudden change.

Does «van» also apply to «hablando», even though it’s not repeated?

Yes. The auxiliary verb «van» is understood for both gerunds:

Mis amigas van perdiendo el miedo y (van) hablando más en clase…

Spanish often omits the repeated auxiliary when it’s clear from context. So the structure is:

ir + gerundio → van perdiendo
(ir) + gerundio → (van) hablando

Both «perdiendo» and «hablando» depend on the same «van».

Why is it «el miedo» and not «su miedo»?

Spanish often uses the definite article (el, la, los, las) with abstract nouns (like miedo, hambre, sed) where English uses “their/your” or no article:

Perder el miedo
literally: to lose the fear
actually means: to lose (their) fear / to stop being afraid

Using «su miedo» is not wrong, but «perder el miedo» is a fixed, idiomatic expression meaning to get over one’s fear. So «el miedo» here is the natural, standard choice.

What exactly does «perder el miedo» mean in this context?

Literally it is “to lose the fear”, but in idiomatic English it means:

to get over their fear
to become less afraid / more confident
to stop being shy or scared (about something specific)

Here, «perder el miedo» is specifically about speaking up and giving their opinions in class. It’s not about fear in general; it’s about that particular situation, but Spanish still uses the general expression «perder el miedo».

Why is it «cuando opinan» (present indicative) and not «cuando opinen» (subjunctive)?

«Cuando opinan» uses the present indicative because it describes a habitual action:

They regularly or usually give their opinions in class.
Whenever that happens in general, they gradually lose their fear and speak more.

In Spanish:

Cuando + indicative → for habits or facts
- Cuando opinan, participan más.
  When(ever) they give their opinions, they participate more.
Cuando + subjunctive → for future, unknown, or not-yet-real situations
- Cuando opinen, te lo diré.
  When they give their opinion (in the future), I’ll tell you.

Here, it’s a general, recurring situation, so indicative: «cuando opinan» is correct.

Could we say «cuando están opinando» instead of «cuando opinan»?

You could, grammatically, say «cuando están opinando», but it would sound unnecessary or a bit unnatural in most contexts.

Spanish uses the progressive (estar + gerundio) less than English.
For general, habitual situations, Spanish almost always uses the simple present:
- Cuando opinan, participan más.
  = When(ever) they give their opinions, they participate more.
Saying «cuando están opinando» would suggest a very specific ongoing moment rather than the usual pattern, so it doesn’t fit as well here.

Why is it «en clase» and not «en la clase»?

«En clase» is a set phrase meaning “in class / during class” in a general, institutional sense:

Hablan más en clase.
= They speak more in class (during lessons).

Spanish often drops the article with certain common locations or contexts:

en casa – at home
en clase – in class
en misa – at mass
en prisión – in prison

«En la clase» is possible, but it focuses more on a specific class/group/lesson:

Hablan más en la clase de historia.
= They speak more in (the) History class.

Why is it «amigas» and not «amigos»?

In Spanish, nouns have gender, and the plural group’s gender depends on the people in it:

amigas = only female friends
amigos = all male friends or a mixed group

So «Mis amigas» tells us that the speaker is talking about a group of only women. If the group were mixed or all male, it would be «Mis amigos».

Why is «hablando» a gerund and not «hablan»?

With «van perdiendo… y hablando…», both «perdiendo» and «hablando» are gerunds that depend on «van» and describe an ongoing, evolving situation:

They are gradually losing their fear
and (at the same time) speaking more in class

If you said:

Mis amigas pierden el miedo y hablan más en clase…

you’d have two separate finite verbs, simply stating two facts, without that same sense of a process in progress.

Using gerunds here makes it feel more like a continuous development rather than just two disconnected actions.

Could I change the word order, for example: «Mis amigas, cuando opinan, van perdiendo el miedo y hablando más en clase»?

Yes. Spanish word order is fairly flexible, and your version is grammatically correct:

Mis amigas, cuando opinan, van perdiendo el miedo y hablando más en clase.

This version:

Puts «cuando opinan» in the middle as a clarifying clause.
Keeps the meaning the same: it still describes a gradual process that happens when they give their opinions.

You could also start with the cuando clause:

Cuando opinan, mis amigas van perdiendo el miedo y hablando más en clase.

All of these are natural in Spain; they just differ slightly in emphasis.