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Year 8 - Spanish

Routines: personal 'a'

Relationships and daily life: personal 'a', pronouns

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 the personal 'a' between verbs and people or pets as direct objects, to describe routine activities.

Key Notes

  • The SSC [ga] is pronounced as in 'ganar', [go] is pronounced as in 'domingo' and [gu] is pronounced as in 'preguntar'.
  • A direct object is the person, animal or thing that receives the action of the verb.
  • When a direct object is a person or pet, Spanish uses the personal 'a' after the verb, e.g. 'cuido a mi gato'.
  • For other direct objects it is not necessary, e.g 'cuido mi casa'.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • [ga]: sound-symbol correspondence pronounced as in 'ganar' ('to win')
  • [go]: sound-symbol correspondence pronounced as in 'domingo' ('Sunday')
  • [gu]: sound-symbol correspondence pronounced as in 'preguntar' ('to question')
  • direct object: person, animal or thing that receives the action of the verb
  • personal 'a': preposition placed before a direct object when that object is a specific person or pet

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • In Spanish the personal 'a' is required between verbs and all direct objects.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

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

The SSC [ga] is pronounced as in 'ganar', [go] is pronounced as in 'domingo' and [gu] is pronounced as in 'preguntar'. A direct object is the person, animal or thing that receives the action of the verb.

2. Define this key language word and use it in context. '[ga]'

sound-symbol correspondence pronounced as in 'ganar' ('to win'). Say or write it in a short sentence so you use the word actively.

3. Correct this common language-learning mistake.

Mistake: In Spanish the personal 'a' is required between verbs and all direct objects. Correction: In Spanish you use the personal 'a' after the verb when the following direct object is a specific person or an animal we have a name for (a pet).

More Lessons In This Unit

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