Quiero mantener la calma cuando estudio español.

I want to stay calm when I study Spanish.

Breakdown of Quiero mantener la calma cuando estudio español.

• yo: I
• querer: to want
• cuando: when
• estudiar: to study
• español: Spanish
• la calma: the calm
• mantener: to maintain

Questions & Answers about Quiero mantener la calma cuando estudio español.

Why is it quiero mantener and not quiero mantenerme?

In quiero mantener la calma, the verb mantener takes a direct object: la calma.
Literally: “I want to maintain the calm.”

Mantenerme would mean “to keep myself,” so you would normally add an adjective:

• Quiero mantenerme calmado / tranquilo. – I want to keep myself calm.

Both ideas are possible in Spanish, but mantener la calma is a very common fixed expression, so it sounds the most natural here.

Why do we say la calma and not just calma or mi calma?

Spanish often uses the definite article la / el with abstract nouns where English uses no article:

• mantener la calma – to keep calm
• decir la verdad – to tell the truth
• tener la paciencia – to have patience (less common, but possible)

Mantener calma (without la) sounds incomplete or unusual.
Mantener mi calma is grammatically correct but adds emphasis on “my own calm,” as if contrasting it with someone else’s. For a neutral, general idea of “keeping calm,” mantener la calma is the standard phrase.

Could I say quiero estar tranquilo cuando estudio español instead? What’s the difference?

Yes, Quiero estar tranquilo cuando estudio español is correct and very natural.

• mantener la calma focuses on not losing your calm (don’t get nervous, don’t get frustrated).
• estar tranquilo focuses more on the state of being relaxed / at ease.

In many real situations they overlap in meaning and either could be used, but mantener la calma sounds a bit more like “stay composed, don’t panic.”

Why is it cuando estudio español and not cuando estoy estudiando español?

Spanish uses the simple present much more than English does.

• cuando estudio español = “when(ever) I study Spanish” (habit, general situation)
• cuando estoy estudiando español is also possible, but it tends to suggest a more specific, ongoing moment (“when I’m in the middle of studying Spanish”), and it’s used less often for general habits.

In a general statement about how you feel while studying, cuando estudio español is the natural choice.

Why is it cuando estudio (indicative), not cuando estudie (subjunctive)?

With cuando (when), Spanish uses:

• Indicative for habits and things you see as regular facts:
  
  • Cuando estudio español, me canso. – Whenever I study Spanish, I get tired.
• Subjunctive for future events that haven’t happened yet in a specific context:
  
  • Cuando estudie español en Madrid, mejoraré mucho. – When I study Spanish in Madrid, I will improve a lot.

Your sentence is about a general, repeated situation, so cuando estudio (indicative) is correct.

Why is there no article before español? Could I say cuando estudio el español?

Both are possible:

• cuando estudio español – very common, neutral.
• cuando estudio el español – also correct; can sound slightly more formal or like you’re treating it more explicitly as a subject (“the Spanish language”).

With verbs like estudiar, hablar, aprender, dropping the article before a language is very typical in contemporary Spanish, especially in Spain:
Estudio español / inglés / francés.

Why is español not capitalized, unlike English “Spanish”?

Spanish capitalization rules are different from English:

• Names of languages and nationalities are written in lowercase:
  
  • español, inglés, francés, alemán…

They are only capitalized at the beginning of a sentence or if they’re part of a proper name. So español in cuando estudio español is correctly written with a lowercase e.

Can I put cuando estudio español at the beginning: Cuando estudio español, quiero mantener la calma? Does it change anything?

Yes, you can say:

• Quiero mantener la calma cuando estudio español.
• Cuando estudio español, quiero mantener la calma.

Both are correct and mean the same thing. Putting cuando estudio español first just shifts the emphasis slightly to the context (“When I study Spanish…”), and you must add a comma after that clause.

What is español here, a noun or an adjective?

In cuando estudio español, español is a noun that means “Spanish (the language).”

Compare:

• Estudio español. – I study Spanish (language) → noun.
• Un chico español. – A Spanish boy → adjective.

Spanish often leaves out the word idioma / lengua and just uses español as a noun.

Why is it la calma (feminine)? Is it just because of the -a ending?

Yes, calma is a feminine noun, so it takes la: la calma.

Many nouns ending in -a are feminine (la casa, la mesa, la silla), but there are exceptions (e.g. el problema, el día). In this particular case you just have to learn calma → la calma as feminine.

That’s why the sentence uses la calma, not el calma.

Is mantener irregular? How does it behave in this sentence?

Mantener is formed from tener, so it shares its irregularities:

• Yo mantengo
• Tú mantienes
• Él / ella mantiene, etc.

But in your sentence it appears as an infinitive after quiero:

• Quiero mantener… – “I want to keep / maintain…”

The structure querer + infinitive is very common:
Quiero comer, quiero descansar, quiero aprender español, etc.

Could I say Quisiera mantener la calma cuando estudio español? What’s the difference from Quiero?

Yes, Quisiera mantener la calma cuando estudio español is correct.

• Quiero is direct: “I want…” – neutral and very common.
• Quisiera (imperfect subjunctive of querer) often softens the statement and can sound more polite or tentative, like “I would like to…” or “I wish I could…”

Both are fine; for a simple statement of your goal or intention, Quiero mantener la calma… is the most straightforward.