Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Mi profesora, quien es muy paciente, escucha las preguntas con calma. - My teacher, who is very patient, listens to the questions calmly.

In Mi profesora, quien es muy paciente, escucha las preguntas con calma, quien refers back to mi profesora and introduces extra information about her.

With commas (non‑defining clause), both are possible:
- Mi profesora, quien es muy paciente, ... (a bit more formal/literary)
- Mi profesora, que es muy paciente, ... (very common in speech)
Without commas (defining clause), you normally use que, not quien:
- La profesora que es muy paciente escucha las preguntas con calma.
  = The teacher who is very patient listens to the questions calmly (this would imply there are several teachers and you mean the patient one).

So:

quien is especially natural when:
- It refers to a person
- The clause is separated by commas (extra information)
- Or after a preposition: la profesora a quien escucho (the teacher whom I listen to).

Why are there commas around quien es muy paciente?

The commas show that quien es muy paciente is extra (non‑defining) information, not essential to identify which teacher we mean.

With commas:
- Mi profesora, quien es muy paciente, escucha las preguntas con calma.
  Meaning: My teacher (and by the way she’s very patient) listens to the questions calmly.
  → You already know which teacher; her patience is just a comment.
Without commas:
- Mi profesora que es muy paciente escucha las preguntas con calma.
  This sounds like you are distinguishing her from another teacher who is not patient. In practice, this version is unusual; people would more likely say:
  - La profesora que es muy paciente... (the patient teacher, not the others)

So the commas tell the reader:

You are talking about your (one and only) teacher
You’re simply adding descriptive information about her.

Why profesora and not profesor? And what about maestra?

Profesora is the feminine form of profesor (teacher, professor).

profesor = male teacher
profesora = female teacher

In Spain:

profesor / profesora is the normal word for:
- Secondary school teachers
- High school teachers
- University lecturers
maestro / maestra is more associated with:
- Primary school teachers (especially in education contexts)
- A bit more “primary-school” in feel

So:

Mi profesora = My (female) teacher (very natural in Spain for school or uni)
If the teacher were male, you’d say: Mi profesor, que es muy paciente, escucha...

What tense and form is escucha, and why is there no to like in listens to?

Escucha is:

Present indicative
3rd person singular
From the verb escuchar (to listen).

So:

(Ella) escucha = She listens / She is listening

In English you say listen to something, but in Spanish escuchar takes a direct object, with no preposition:

escuchar algo = to listen to something
- Escucha las preguntas. = She listens to the questions.
- Not: escucha a las preguntas (that would be wrong here)

Subject–verb agreement:

Subject: Mi profesora (she)
Verb: escucha (3rd person singular)
You cannot use escuchan here, because that’s plural (they listen).

What is the difference between escuchar and oír?

Roughly:

escuchar = to listen (actively)
→ paying attention on purpose
oír = to hear (passively)
→ sound reaches your ears, whether or not you’re paying attention

Examples:

Mi profesora escucha las preguntas.
My teacher listens to the questions (she pays attention to them).
Oigo ruido en la calle.
I hear noise in the street (the sound reaches my ears).

In the classroom context, escuchar is the natural choice, because the teacher is intentionally paying attention to the students’ questions.

Why is it las preguntas and not just preguntas or sus preguntas?

Spanish uses definite articles (el, la, los, las) more often than English, even when English might omit the or use a possessive.

Here:

las preguntas literally = the questions
Context tells us these are the questions the students are asking.

Why not sus preguntas (her/their questions)?

You could say:
- Mi profesora escucha sus preguntas con calma.
But sus is a bit more specific: it highlights that the questions belong to someone (the students, or her).
With las preguntas, you’re simply talking about “the questions being asked in this situation,” which is enough and sounds very natural.

Spanish would normally not drop the article here:

Mi profesora escucha preguntas con calma
sounds more like “My teacher listens to questions calmly (in general, as a habit)” and is less natural in a specific-class context.

What does con calma literally mean, and how is it working in the sentence?

Literally:

con calma = with calm

Function:

It works like an adverbial phrase, meaning calmly / in a calm way.

So:

escucha las preguntas con calma
= she listens to the questions calmly / in a calm manner.

Spanish often uses con + noun instead of an adverb:

con paciencia = patiently
con cuidado = carefully
con alegría = joyfully

You could also say:

Mi profesora escucha las preguntas tranquilamente.
Mi profesora escucha las preguntas con paciencia.

All of these sound natural, with slightly different nuances.

Can I change the word order, like Mi profesora escucha con calma las preguntas?

Yes, there’s some flexibility.

All of these are grammatically correct:

Mi profesora escucha las preguntas con calma. (original)
Mi profesora escucha con calma las preguntas.
Mi profesora, quien es muy paciente, escucha con calma las preguntas.

General ideas:

The basic order is Subject–Verb–Object:
- Mi profesora (S) escucha (V) las preguntas (O)
The adverbial phrase con calma can move around:
- before or after the object, depending on emphasis or style.

More marked, but possible (a bit literary or emphatic):

Mi profesora, quien es muy paciente, con calma escucha las preguntas.

In everyday speech, the original order is the most natural.

Could I say La profesora instead of Mi profesora?

Yes, but it changes the nuance.

Mi profesora = my teacher
Emphasizes your personal relationship to her (she is your teacher).
La profesora = the teacher
More neutral; she’s being talked about as “the teacher” in that context, not necessarily “my” teacher.

In a typical student sentence about their own teacher, Mi profesora feels more natural:

Mi profesora, quien es muy paciente, escucha las preguntas con calma.

In Spain, informally, students might also say:

Mi profe escucha las preguntas con calma. (profe = casual for profesor/profesora).

Why doesn’t paciente change form for feminine (profesora)?

Many Spanish adjectives ending in -e (and some ending in a consonant) have the same form for masculine and feminine.

paciente:
- masculine singular: un profesor paciente
- feminine singular: una profesora paciente
- plural: profesores pacientes, profesoras pacientes

So:

Mi profesora, quien es muy paciente, ... is correct.
For plural teachers:
- Mis profesoras, quienes son muy pacientes, escuchan las preguntas con calma.

The adjective paciente only changes for number (paciente → pacientes), not for gender.