Learn Spanish (Latin America): A él le da vergüenza hablar en público.

In Spanish, many emotional reactions are expressed using dar plus a noun. Instead of saying it embarrasses him, you literally say it gives him embarrassment (le da vergüenza). This is exactly how phrases like dar miedo (to scare) and dar lástima (to cause pity) work.

Why do we need both A él and le? Isn't that redundant?

Yes, it is redundant, but this is a very common structure in Spanish! The indirect object pronoun le is required. Because le can mean to him, to her, or to you (formal), adding A él clarifies exactly who is feeling the emotion or just adds emphasis.

What is the subject of the verb da in this sentence?

The subject is the action itself: hablar en público. Just like with the verb gustar, the thing causing the emotion is the grammatical subject. Since the act of speaking is a single concept, it takes the third-person singular verb da.

Can vergüenza also mean shame?

Yes, vergüenza translates to both embarrassment and shame depending on the context. In everyday situations like public speaking, it refers to embarrassment or shyness. In more serious contexts, it means shame.