Year 9 - Spanish
Past routines: -er and -ir verbs imperfect tense
Past routines and past events: imperfect tense
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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 form the imperfect tense for past habitual events with -ar, -er, -ir verbs. Irregular imperfect forms for 'ser' 'era' and 'eras' are also taught. Pupils reinforce their knowledge of the imperfect tense by exploring the text 'El Quijote'.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to use modal and imperfect tense verbs to describe your own and other people's past routines.
Key Notes
- The -y at the end of an English word often changes to -ía or -ia in Spanish. e.g. energy - energía.
- Words ending in -ía stress the final syllable and need an accent to show that, e.g. energía.
- Words ending in -ia stress the penultimate syllable and need no accent, e.g. ciencia.
- The verbs 'querer', 'poder' and 'deber' are modal verbs and are often followed by an infinitive.
- To talk about something that used to happen repeatedly in the past, we use the imperfect tense.
Vocabulary To Learn
- final syllable stress: pronouncing the last syllable more heavily than other syllables in a word
- penultimate syllable stress: pronouncing the second-to-last syllable more heavily than other syllables in a word
- modal verb: verb of necessity or possibility used with a 2nd verb in infinitive e.g. must, can, want
- imperfect tense: tense used to describe how things were or used to be in the past
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- All words ending in -ia must have an accent.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain what you can now say or understand in this lesson.
The -y at the end of an English word often changes to -ía or -ia in Spanish. e.g. energy - energía. Words ending in -ía stress the final syllable and need an accent to show that, e.g. energía.
2. Define this key language word and use it in context. 'final syllable stress'
pronouncing the 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 words ending in -ia must have an accent. Correction: Words ending in a vowel usually stress the penultimate syllable. Words ending in -ía have stress on the final syllable, so they need an accent e.g., energía. Words ending in -ia stress the penultimate syllable, so no accent is needed e.g. ciencia.
More Lessons In This Unit
- Extended reading (Don Quijote): 'había' and 'tenía' Study Guide
- Extended reading (Don Quijote): imperfect continuous Study Guide
- Past celebrations: -er and -ir verbs imperfect tense Study Guide
- Past experiences of work: -ar verbs imperfect tense 1st person singular Study Guide
- Past experiences of work: -ar verbs imperfect tense 2nd and 3rd person singular Study Guide
- The past of a Spanish-speaking city: 'era', 'eras' Study Guide
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