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Year 11 - Spanish

Las redes sociales: preterite and present, picture task (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 use the simple present and preterite tenses and confidently describe photos in Spanish.

Key Notes

  • Revisiting words through themes can be a good way to strengthen vocabulary.
  • The simple present tense is used to express habitual events in the present, e.g. 'I do'.
  • The preterite tense is used to express completed actions in the past, e.g. 'I did'.
  • Common verbs that are irregular in the present and preterite tenses include: 'ser', 'tener', 'estar', 'hacer' and 'ir'.
  • The PALM acronym is a useful tool to describe photos using a range of information.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • simple present: verb tense used to express habitual events in the present, e.g. 'I do'
  • preterite: verb tense used to express completed actions in the past, e.g. 'I did'

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • I always need to use subject pronouns in Spanish to show who is doing an action.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

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

Revisiting words through themes can be a good way to strengthen vocabulary. The simple present tense is used to express habitual events in the present, e.g. 'I do'.

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

verb tense used to express habitual events in the present, e.g. 'I do'. Say or write it in a short sentence so you use the word actively.

3. Correct this common language-learning mistake.

Mistake: I always need to use subject pronouns in Spanish to show who is doing an action. Correction: It is not usually necessary to use subject pronouns in Spanish to show who is doing an action. The subject of an action is usually shown by the verb ending.

More Lessons In This Unit

Browse all guides in the Year 11 Spanish guide library.