Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Antes del examen, respiro hondo para estar más tranquilo. - Before the exam, I breathe deeply to feel calmer.

de + el examen → del examen
You cannot say de el examen; it’s grammatically wrong in standard Spanish.
This happens with other prepositions too, e.g. a + el → al:
- Voy a el médico ✗
- Voy al médico ✓

So antes del examen literally is before the exam with the mandatory contraction del.

What’s the role of antes de / antes del here? Could it be antes que?

Antes de introduces a time expression with a noun or infinitive:

antes de comer – before eating
antes del examen – before the exam

Because examen is a masculine singular noun (el examen), de + el contracts to del → antes del examen.

Antes que is used with a clause (with a verb and subject), often with the subjunctive:

Antes de que empiece el examen, respiro hondo.
(Before the exam starts, I take a deep breath.)

So:

antes del examen – before the exam (noun phrase)
antes de que empiece el examen – before the exam starts (full clause)

Why is there a comma after Antes del examen?

The comma separates an introductory time phrase from the main clause:

Antes del examen, respiro hondo…

In Spanish, when you move an adverbial phrase (time, place, etc.) to the beginning of the sentence, it’s very common (and usually recommended) to use a comma:

Por la mañana, estudio.
En clase, hablamos mucho.

You could omit the comma in casual writing, but the written norm prefers it. It’s similar to English:

Before the exam, I take a deep breath.

Why is respiro (present tense) used and not a future form like respiraré?

Spanish uses the present indicative for:

Habits / routines (what you usually do):
- Antes del examen, respiro hondo…
  = I (always / usually) take a deep breath before the exam.
General truths or typical behavior, even if it’s in the future relative to now:
- You’re describing your usual strategy in exam situations.

You would use respiraré if you wanted to say something like a specific future promise or decision:

Mañana, antes del examen, respiraré hondo.
(Tomorrow, before the exam, I will take a deep breath.)

In your sentence, the habitual present is the natural choice.

What does respiro hondo literally mean, and why hondo instead of profundo?

Literally:

respiro – I breathe
hondo – deep

So respiro hondo ≈ I breathe deeply / I take a deep breath.

About hondo vs profundo:

Both can mean deep, but respiro hondo / respirar hondo is a fixed, very common expression in Spanish.
respirar profundamente is also correct and maybe a bit more formal.

All of these are possible:

respiro hondo ✓ (very natural, everyday)
respiro profundamente ✓
doy una respiración profunda ✓ but less common in casual speech

Hondo here works like an adverb (= “deeply”), even though it’s an adjective in form. This is common in Spanish: adjectives used adverbially (hablar claro, cantar fuerte, etc.).

Could I change the word order in respiro hondo or in the whole sentence?

Some changes are fine; others sound wrong.

✅ Natural alternatives:

Antes del examen, respiro hondo para estar más tranquilo. (original)
Respiro hondo antes del examen para estar más tranquilo.
Para estar más tranquilo, antes del examen respiro hondo.

❌ Not natural:

respiro para estar más tranquilo hondo ✗ (splitting respiro and hondo sounds wrong)
respiro hondo tranquilo para estar más ✗

Key points:

Keep respiro together with hondo.
Time phrases (antes del examen) and purpose phrases (para estar más tranquilo) can move around, but they must remain whole units.

Why is it estar más tranquilo and not ser más tranquilo?

In Spanish:

ser is for inherent, permanent qualities (what something is by nature).
estar is for temporary states or conditions (how something is at a given moment).

Here, you want to be calmer at that moment (during or before the exam), not a permanently calm person:

estar tranquilo – to be calm (right now / in this situation)
ser tranquilo – to be a calm person in general (by character)

So you say:

respiro hondo para estar más tranquilo
= I take a deep breath in order to be calmer (in that situation).

Why tranquilo and not tranquila? What changes if the speaker is female?

Tranquilo agrees with the subject yo in gender and number:

A male speaker:
- Antes del examen, respiro hondo para estar más tranquilo.
A female speaker:
- Antes del examen, respiro hondo para estar más tranquila.

Plural:

A group of males / mixed group:
- …para estar más tranquilos.
A group of females only:
- …para estar más tranquilas.

So the ending of tranquilo changes to match who is speaking or who is being described.

Why isn’t yo used? Could I say yo respiro hondo?

Spanish usually omits subject pronouns (yo, tú, él, etc.) because the verb ending already shows the subject:

respiro can only be yo (I breathe).
So yo respiro hondo is grammatically correct but sounds more marked/emphatic.

You’d add yo if you want to stress I (as opposed to someone else):

Yo respiro hondo, pero mi amigo no.
(I take a deep breath, but my friend doesn’t.)

In your simple statement of habit, respiro hondo is the most natural.

What does para + infinitive express in para estar más tranquilo?

Para + infinitive = in order to + verb / to + verb (for a purpose).

para estar más tranquilo – in order to be calmer

It answers why / for what purpose you do the action:

Respiro hondo (¿para qué?) para estar más tranquilo.

Other examples:

Estudio mucho para sacar buena nota.
Cierro los ojos para concentrarme.

Could I say para calmarme instead of para estar más tranquilo? Is the meaning the same?

Yes, you could say:

Antes del examen, respiro hondo para calmarme.

Differences in nuance:

para estar más tranquilo – focuses on the resulting state: being calmer.
para calmarme – focuses on the action/process of calming myself down.

Both are very natural. You choose based on whether you want to emphasize the state (más tranquilo) or the act (calmarme).

Why is más used in más tranquilo? There’s no explicit comparison in the sentence.

Más forms the comparative: more + adjective.

tranquilo – calm
más tranquilo – calmer / more calm

Even without saying than what, it’s understood from context:

calmer than I would be without breathing deeply
calmer than before doing this

Spanish often uses más + adjective the same way English uses calmer or more calm, even if the comparison is implicit:

Quiero estar más relajado. (than now)
Quiero estar más concentrado. (than usual, than before, etc.)

Is this sentence specifically “Spain Spanish,” or would it sound different in Latin America?

Antes del examen, respiro hondo para estar más tranquilo is perfectly natural in Spain and also in Latin America.

There is no Spain-specific form in this particular sentence.
Vocabulary (examen, respiro, hondo, estar tranquilo) and grammar are standard across the Spanish-speaking world.

A Latin American speaker might say exactly the same sentence.