Year 8 - Spanish
Routines: personal 'a' and contraction 'al'
Relationships and daily life: personal 'a', pronouns
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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 know how to use personal 'a' with the contraction 'al' and a range of adjectives, to understand and describe routine activities.
Key Notes
- In Spanish we use a personal 'a' between the verb and the direct object if the object is a specific person or pet.
- The article 'el' ('the') refers to a singular masculine noun. If personal 'a' is followed by 'el', it becomes 'al'.
- Some adjectives come before the noun in Spanish, these are called prenominal adjectives, e.g. 'mismo', 'propio'.
- Certain prenominal adjectives, 'bueno', 'primero', 'tercero' and 'malo', lose their -o ending before a masculine noun.
- These adjectives may appear in sentences with personal 'a' or 'al', e.g. 'conoces a un buen doctor'.
Vocabulary To Learn
- personal 'a': preposition placed before a direct object when that object is a specific person or pet
- al: contraction of the preposition 'a' with the article 'el'
- prenominal adjectives: adjective that goes before the noun
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- All prenominal adjectives ending in -o drop the -o before masculine nouns.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain what you can now say or understand in this lesson.
In Spanish we use a personal 'a' between the verb and the direct object if the object is a specific person or pet. The article 'el' ('the') refers to a singular masculine noun. If personal 'a' is followed by 'el', it becomes 'al'.
2. Define this key language word and use it in context. 'personal 'a''
preposition placed before a direct object when that object is a specific person or pet. Say or write it in a short sentence so you use the word actively.
3. Correct this common language-learning mistake.
Mistake: All prenominal adjectives ending in -o drop the -o before masculine nouns. Correction: Not all prenominal adjectives ending in -o drop it before a masculine noun, although there are many common ones that do like 'bueno' and 'malo'. However 'segundo' and 'último' do not, and there are others that hold on to their -o too.
More Lessons In This Unit
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