Year 8 - Spanish
Relationships and routines: reflexive 'me'
Relationships and daily life: personal 'a', pronouns
Study Hub
Study Guides
This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
In this unit, pupils learn how to use personal 'a'. Pupils are introduced to reflexive verbs and reflexive pronouns 'me' and 'te'. They contrast these with possessive adjectives 'mi' and 'tu'. Key sounds revisited are hard g with ga, go, gu, and soft g with ge, gi, j.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to use verbs with the reflexive pronoun 'you' for routine activities that you do for myself, and verbs with the personal 'a' for actions you do to and for others.
Key Notes
- Spanish verbs like 'despertar' have a stem change in some of their forms, e.g. 'despierto' is the 1st person singular.
- The word 'demasiado' can be both adjective and adverb. As an adverb it needs no agreement but as an adjective it does.
- When a direct object is a specific person or pet, in Spanish the personal 'a' goes after the verb, e.g. 'veo a la niña'.
- Sometimes the subject and object of a verb are the same. Use a reflexive pronoun before the verb, e.g. 'me lavo'.
- When subject and object of verbs are the same, Spanish always uses a reflexive pronoun. English does not always do this.
Vocabulary To Learn
- reflexive pronoun: pronoun used to indicate doing something to or for yourself, words like 'myself' and 'yourself'
- me: 'myself' in Spanish
- reflexive verb: verb used with a reflexive pronoun when the subject and object of the action are the same
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- If you use 'me' in Spanish you need 'myself' in English.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain what you can now say or understand in this lesson.
Spanish verbs like 'despertar' have a stem change in some of their forms, e.g. 'despierto' is the 1st person singular. The word 'demasiado' can be both adjective and adverb. As an adverb it needs no agreement but as an adjective it does.
2. Define this key language word and use it in context. 'reflexive pronoun'
pronoun used to indicate doing something to or for yourself, words like 'myself' and 'yourself'. Say or write it in a short sentence so you use the word actively.
3. Correct this common language-learning mistake.
Mistake: If you use 'me' in Spanish you need 'myself' in English. Correction: When the action of a verb is directed towards the self, Spanish always uses a reflexive pronoun. English does not always do this; for example, 'me levanto a las siete' - 'I get up at seven'.
More Lessons In This Unit
Browse all guides in the Year 8 Spanish guide library.