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Year 8 - Spanish

Famous Spanish speakers: regular verbs 3rd person singular (preterite)

Asking questions: -ar, -er, -ir verbs

Unit Summary

This unit revisits past and present regular -ar, -ir, -er verbs. Pupils listen to and ask questions using rising intonation, and are reminded that Spanish does not use do, did or does to ask questions. Pupils revisit penultimate syllable stress.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to use the preterite tense to talk about the lives of famous Spanish speakers.

Key Notes

  • If the stress is on the penultimate syllable and the word ends in a vowel, -n, or -s, an accent is not needed.
  • To say the date in Spanish, we use cardinal numbers such as 'uno', 'dos', 'tres'. 'First' is an exception.
  • To mean 'she, he, it' when using the preterite for past events, use '-ó' for -ar verbs, and '-ió' for -er/-ir verbs.
  • The verbs 'ir' and 'hacer' are irregular. Their 3rd person singular preterite forms are 'fue' and 'hizo'.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • penultimate (syllable) stress: pronouncing the second-last syllable more heavily than other syllables in a word
  • cardinal numbers: numbers that indicate quantity, e.g. 'one', 'two', 'three'
  • ordinal numbers: numbers that indicate position or order, e.g. 'first', 'second', 'third'
  • preterite: tense used for events completed in the past

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • All Spanish words with stress on the second-to-last syllable must have a written accent.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

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

If the stress is on the penultimate syllable and the word ends in a vowel, -n, or -s, an accent is not needed. To say the date in Spanish, we use cardinal numbers such as 'uno', 'dos', 'tres'. 'First' is an exception.

2. Define this key language word and use it in context. 'penultimate (syllable) stress'

pronouncing the second-last syllable more heavily than other syllables in a word. Say or write it in a short sentence so you use the word actively.

3. Correct this common language-learning mistake.

Mistake: All Spanish words with stress on the second-to-last syllable must have a written accent. Correction: If a word ends in a vowel, -n, or -s, it usually has that stress naturally and doesn't need an accent. Accents are only used when the word sounds different from the normal rule.

More Lessons In This Unit

Browse all guides in the Year 8 Spanish guide library.