No te desanimes si te equivocas; lo importante es aprender.

to be

Breakdown of No te desanimes si te equivocas; lo importante es aprender.

• tú: you
• aprender: to learn
• equivocarse: to make a mistake

Questions & Answers about No te desanimes si te equivocas; lo importante es aprender.

Why is it desanimes in No te desanimes instead of desanima?

Because this is a negative tú command: Don’t get discouraged.

In Spanish, negative commands for tú use the present subjunctive form:

• Te desanimas = you get discouraged
• No te desanimes = don’t get discouraged

So:

• desanima would be the affirmative tú command of desanimar if it were not reflexive
• but with desanimarse and a negative command, Spanish uses no + te + subjunctive

That is why No te desanimes is correct.

What is the function of te in te desanimes and te equivocas?

Te is the reflexive pronoun for tú.

Both verbs here are commonly used as reflexive verbs:

• desanimarse = to become discouraged
• equivocarse = to be mistaken / to make a mistake

So:

• te desanimas = you get discouraged
• te equivocas = you make a mistake / you are mistaken

In English, we usually do not translate the reflexive part literally as yourself. It is just part of how these verbs are used in Spanish.