Respira suave antes del examen.

Breathe gently before the exam.

Breakdown of Respira suave antes del examen.

• antes de: before
• el examen: the exam
• respirar: to breathe
• suave: gentle

Questions & Answers about Respira suave antes del examen.

What verb form is respira, and who is being addressed?

Respira is the affirmative imperative form of respirar for tú (informal singular “you”).

So the sentence is telling one person you know well (a friend, classmate, child, etc.) to breathe gently.

Why isn’t tú written? How do we know it means “you” and not “he/she breathes gently…”?

Spanish usually omits subject pronouns when the verb ending already makes the subject clear.

• Él/Ella respira suave = He/She breathes gently (statement)
• (Tú) respira suave = Breathe gently (command)

In writing, context tells you which one it is. Here, because it’s giving advice and starts with a verb form that matches the tú imperative, it’s clearly a command, not a statement. You could say Tú respira suave… for emphasis, but it’s not necessary.

What’s the difference between respira, respire, respirad, and respiren?

These are all imperative forms of respirar, used with different kinds of “you”:

• Respira suave… – informal tú (one person)
• Respire suave… – formal usted (one person, polite)
• Respirad suave… – informal vosotros/vosotras (you all, plural, used in Spain)
• Respiren suave… – formal ustedes (you all, plural; in Latin America this is the only plural “you”)

In Spain:

• To one friend: Respira suave…
• To one teacher (politely): Respire suave…
• To a group of friends: Respirad suave…
• To a group formally: Respiren suave…

Why suave and not suavemente? Isn’t an adverb supposed to end in -mente?

Both are possible, but they sound a bit different:

• Respira suave – very natural and common in spoken Spanish; suave here acts adverbially, even though it looks like an adjective.
• Respira suavemente – perfectly correct, but sounds more formal, careful, or literary in many contexts.

Spanish often uses adjectives as adverbs after verbs, especially with actions involving the body, movement, or manner:

• Habla claro. – Speak clearly.
• Conduce despacio. – Drive slowly.
• Respira profundo / hondo. – Breathe deeply.

So Respira suave is normal, especially in Spain, and means “Breathe gently/softly.”

Does suave change for gender or number here?

In this sentence, no—it stays suave.

When suave is an adjective modifying a noun, it agrees:

• una música suave – soft music
• unas luces suaves – soft lights

But in Respira suave, it’s functioning as an adverbial modifier of the verb respira, not describing a noun, so it does not change. It would still be Respira suave regardless of whether the person is male or female.

Could we use other words instead of suave? Do they change the meaning?

Yes, some common alternatives (with slightly different nuances) are:

• Respira despacio. – Breathe slowly. (focus on speed)
• Respira lentamente. – Breathe slowly. (a bit more formal/neutral)
• Respira hondo / profundo. – Breathe deeply. (focus on depth of breath)
• Respira tranquilo. – Breathe calmly. (emotional calm)
• Respira con calma. – Breathe calmly.

Suave focuses on the gentleness/softness of the breathing more than speed or depth.

Why is it antes de and not just antes or antes que?

Because in Spanish:

• Use antes de before a noun or an infinitive:

  • antes del examen – before the exam
  • antes de estudiar – before studying

• Use antes de que before a full clause (with a conjugated verb):

  • antes de que empiece el examen – before the exam starts

• Antes alone usually acts as an adverb meaning “earlier/before” without a following noun:

  • Llega antes. – Arrive earlier.

So with examen (a noun), you need antes de:
Respira suave antes del examen.

Why del examen and not de el examen?

Del is just the contraction of de + el:

• de + el examen → del examen

Spanish always contracts de + el → del and a + el → al:

• Voy a el parque → Voy al parque. – I’m going to the park.
• Hablo de el libro → Hablo del libro. – I’m talking about the book.

You cannot write de el examen; it must be del examen.

Can we change the word order, like Antes del examen, respira suave?

Yes. Both are correct:

• Respira suave antes del examen.
• Antes del examen, respira suave.

Spanish is quite flexible with adverbial phrases of time. Moving antes del examen to the beginning can give it a bit more emphasis (“Before the exam, make sure you breathe gently”), but the meaning is the same.

How would you say this politely to someone you address as usted in Spain?

You would change the verb to the usted imperative:

• Respire suave antes del examen.

Everything else stays the same; only respira → respire changes to match usted.

How would the negative command look (for tú)?

For negative imperatives with tú, Spanish uses the present subjunctive:

• No respires suave antes del examen. – Don’t breathe gently before the exam.

Pattern:

• Affirmative tú command: respira
• Negative tú command: no respires

How do you pronounce each word, and where is the stress?

Approximate pronunciation (Spain, standard):

• Respira → /res-ˈpi-ra/ – stress on PI
• suave → /ˈswa-βe/ – stress on SUA (one syllable “swa”)
• antes → /ˈan-tes/ – stress on AN
• del → /del/
• examen → /eɡ-ˈsa-men/ or /ek-ˈsa-men/ – stress on XA

So the rhythm is:
res-PI-ra SUÁ-ve ÁN-tes del e-XA-men (stressed syllables in caps).