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Year 10 - Spanish

Mis últimas vacaciones: prenominal adjectives, preterite questions

Travel and tourism: nuevas experiencias

Unit Summary

This unit revisits singular forms of the preterite, including first person spelling changes, and introduces the addition of 'y' in some third person preterite verbs. Pupils learn 'alguno' as an indefinite adjective, and the syntax of questions with prepositions.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to use prenominal adjectives and preterite questions to ask and answer about past holidays in Spanish.

Key Notes

  • In questions, to say 'a', 'an' or 'any' before masc. sing. nouns use 'algún' and 'algunos' before masc. pl. nouns.
  • In questions, to say 'a', 'an' or 'any' before fem. sing. nouns use 'alguna' and 'algunas' before fem. pl nouns.
  • Some adjectives can go before the noun. These are called 'prenominal adjectives'.
  • Prenominal adjectives 'primero', 'tercero', 'bueno', 'malo' and 'alguno' come before the noun and lose the -o ending.
  • Verbs ending in '-car', 'gar' or '-zar' have a spelling change in 1st person singular in the preterite.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • preterite: a tense used for events completed in the past
  • prenominal adjective: an adjective that appears before a noun
  • algún: a word meaning 'a', 'an' or 'any' in questions
  • alguna: a word meaning 'a', 'an' or 'any' in questions

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • Adjectives in Spanish only ever appear after the noun.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Explain what you can now say or understand in this lesson.

In questions, to say 'a', 'an' or 'any' before masc. sing. nouns use 'algún' and 'algunos' before masc. pl. nouns. In questions, to say 'a', 'an' or 'any' before fem. sing. nouns use 'alguna' and 'algunas' before fem. pl nouns.

2. Define this key language word and use it in context. 'preterite'

a tense used for events completed in the past. Say or write it in a short sentence so you use the word actively.

3. Correct this common language-learning mistake.

Mistake: Adjectives in Spanish only ever appear after the noun. Correction: Most adjectives in Spanish appear after the noun. However, some are used before it. These are called prenominal adjectives.

More Lessons In This Unit

Browse all guides in the Year 10 Spanish guide library.