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Year 8 - Spanish

Socialising: adverbs of position, contraction 'del'

Activities past and present: -ar verbs, pronouns, adverbs

Unit Summary

This unit introduces pupils to the third person singular preterite of -ar, -er, and -ir verbs. Pupils contrast these forms with their present tense counterparts. Key sounds revisited are z, que, qui. Pupils contrast z with ce and ci.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to use the present and past tense to talk about how you and others socialise online and offline.

Key Notes

  • In Spain, the sound-symbol correspondence [z] is pronounced like the 'th' in 'think', and [s] like an 's'.
  • In Latin America, the Canary Islands and parts of Spain, the sounds [z] and [s] are pronounced like an 's'.
  • The present tense of -ar verbs in 1st person singular ends in -o.
  • The preterite tense of -ar verbs in 3rd person singular ends in -ó.
  • Adverbs of position are always followed by 'de', 'del' or 'de la' depending on what follows.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • present: describes habitual events in the present, e.g. 'I do'
  • preterite: describes completed events in the past, e.g. 'I did'
  • adverb of position: a word that provides information about the location or position of things or people, e.g. 'close', 'inside'

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • Adverbs of position are always followed by 'de'.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

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

In Spain, the sound-symbol correspondence [z] is pronounced like the 'th' in 'think', and [s] like an 's'. In Latin America, the Canary Islands and parts of Spain, the sounds [z] and [s] are pronounced like an 's'.

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

describes 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: Adverbs of position are always followed by 'de'. Correction: Adverbs of position are followed by 'de' when they refer to a place/person, by 'del' when they refer to masculine nouns, and by 'de la' when they refer to feminine nouns.

More Lessons In This Unit

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