Breakdown of No estés avergonzada; no es nada.
ser
to be
no
no, not
estar
to be (location/state)
nada
nothing
avergonzado
embarrassed, ashamed
Questions & Answers about No estés avergonzada; no es nada.
Why do we use a form of estar (estés) here instead of ser (seas)?
We use estar because being embarrassed is a temporary feeling or emotional state. If you used ser to describe a permanent personality trait, you would use a different adjective like vergonzoso (shy or easily embarrassed). But for how someone feels right at this moment, it is always estar avergonzado.
Why is the verb estés instead of estás?
Because this is a negative command. In Spanish, when you tell someone not to do something, you must use the subjunctive mood. No estás is simply a statement meaning 'you aren't,' but no estés is the direct command 'don't be.'
Why does avergonzada end in an '-a'?
Adjectives must match the gender of the person they describe. The -a ending tells us the speaker is talking to a woman. If they were telling a man not to be embarrassed, they would say No estés avergonzado.
Why are there two negative words in no es nada?
Spanish strictly requires double negatives in this structure. Whenever a negative word like nada (nothing) comes after the verb, you must also put no before the verb. Translating it literally as 'it is not nothing' sounds wrong in English, but it is the perfectly natural and required way to say 'it is nothing' in Spanish.
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