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Year 11 - Spanish

Entre amigos: present and imperfect continuous, extended writing (AQA)

Communication and the world around us: Repaso - la vida diaria y en línea

Unit Summary

This first revision unit covers all persons of the present and preterite. Pupils strengthen direct objects and modal verbs. They contrast the preterite and imperfect, use imperfect forms of 'estar' with a present participle to discuss actions in progress, and use the preterite for interruptions.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to complete exam-style writing tasks on the topics of friends, family and festivals.

Key Notes

  • To form the present continuous, use the present tense of 'estar' followed by the present participle.
  • To form the imperfect continuous, use the imperfect tense of 'estar' followed by the present participle.
  • To form the present participle of -ar and -er/ir verbs, remove the infinitive ending and add -ando or -iendo.
  • Some verbs have spelling changes in the present participle e.g. 'construyendo', 'leyendo', 'pidiendo'.
  • The BORDER acronym is a useful tool to respond fully and accurately to bullet point writing prompts.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • present continuous: verb tense used to describe actions happening right now, e.g. 'I am doing'
  • imperfect continuous: verb tense used to describe ongoing actions in the past, e.g. 'I was doing'
  • BORDER: acronym used to respond fully and accurately to bullet point writing prompts

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • The present participle of 'leer' is 'leiendo'.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

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

To form the present continuous, use the present tense of 'estar' followed by the present participle. To form the imperfect continuous, use the imperfect tense of 'estar' followed by the present participle.

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

verb tense used to describe actions happening right now, e.g. 'I am doing'. Say or write it in a short sentence so you use the word actively.

3. Correct this common language-learning mistake.

Mistake: The present participle of 'leer' is 'leiendo'. Correction: As the stem of 'leer' ends in a vowel, it has a spelling change in the present participle, forming 'leyendo'. This is the same with other verbs with a stem ending in a vowel e.g. 'constuyendo' from the verb 'construir'.

More Lessons In This Unit

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