Mr Kidman's Classroom
Revise the key ideas
Identity and description
- Names and age — Me llamo Ana means My name is Ana; tengo quince años means I am fifteen. Spanish uses tener, to have, for age: soy quince is incorrect. Ask ¿Cómo te llamas? and ¿Cuántos años tienes? Keep the ñ in años: ano is a different word.
- Subject and person — Yo, tú, él/ella/usted, nosotros/nosotras, vosotros/vosotras and ellos/ellas/ustedes identify the subject. Subject pronouns are often omitted because the verb ending shows person. Usted and ustedes address people respectfully and use third-person verbs; vosotros is familiar plural in Spain, while ustedes is used for plural you throughout much of Latin America.
The subject is who or what the verb is about. Third-person forms are the forms used with él/ella or ellos/ellas: usted uses the él/ella form and ustedes the ellos/ellas form.
- Identity and location — Soy español means I am Spanish; estoy en casa means I am at home. Ser describes identity and characteristic qualities; estar locates people and things or describes a state. The permanent/temporary shortcut fails: Madrid está en España uses estar for a lasting location.
- Description and agreement — Mi hermano es alto y simpático means My brother is tall and friendly; mi hermana es alta y simpática describes a sister. Change adjectives for gender and number where required: mis hermanas son altas. Inteligente keeps the same singular ending for both genders, but becomes inteligentes in the plural.
- Appearance — Tengo el pelo castaño y los ojos verdes means I have brown hair and green eyes. Pelo is singular; ojos is plural, so castaño and verdes agree separately. Lleva gafas means He or she wears glasses. Do not transfer an adjective ending from the English translation.
Family and friendships
- Family and possession — Mi madre, mi padre, mi hermana, mi hermano and mis padres mean my mother, father, sister, brother and parents. Mi/mis agree in number with the owned noun, not the owner. Su hermano can mean his, her, your formal or their brother; context or el hermano de Ana resolves ambiguity.
- Homes and family situations — Vivo con mi abuela means I live with my grandmother; mis padres están separados means My parents are separated. Hay cuatro personas en mi familia gives a family overview. Use an imagined family if preferred: language practice does not require private disclosures.
- Getting along — Me llevo bien con mi hermana means I get on well with my sister. Me peleo con mi hermano means I argue with my brother. Keep the reflexive pronoun with its subject: me llevo, te llevas, se lleva. Add a reason: porque me escucha, because she listens to me.
Here the reflexive pronoun is the short word belonging to the verb, such as me, te or se. Keep it with the matching verb form: me llevo, te llevas, se lleva.
- Qualities and evidence — Un buen amigo es fiel means A good friend is loyal. Es generosa porque ayuda a los demás supports generous with an action: she helps others. Pero introduces a contrast; a veces means sometimes. Do not turn a limited criticism into an entirely negative description.
- Comparisons — Mi hermana es más paciente que yo means My sister is more patient than me. Menos…que means less…than; tan…como means as…as. Mejor and peor mean better and worse: es mejor, not es más mejor. The adjective still agrees with the person described.
- Liking people and activities — Me gusta hablar con mis amigos means I like talking with my friends. Me gustan las personas sinceras means I like sincere people. The thing liked controls gusta/gustan; me identifies who likes it. Mis amigos me gustan has a plural subject even when only one person does the liking.
Experiences and communication
- Completed and habitual past — Ayer hablé con mi primo means Yesterday I spoke with my cousin: hablé is a completed event. Cuando era pequeño, jugaba con mi primo means When I was little, I used to play with my cousin: era and jugaba describe a past background or habit. Time words help, but the verb carries tense.
- Plans and wishes — Mañana voy a ver a mis amigos means Tomorrow I am going to see my friends. Use ir + a + infinitive: voy a ver, not voy veo. Me gustaría tener más tiempo means I would like to have more time. Personal a precedes a specific human object in ver a mis amigos.
An infinitive is the verb’s dictionary form, such as ver (to see). In voy a ver, voy changes for the subject and ver stays infinitive. The second a in ver a mis amigos marks the specific people being seen.
- Reading reference — In Ana quiere a su hermana, pero no le cuenta todo, Ana loves her sister but does not tell her everything. Le is an indirect object, to him/her; context identifies the sister. No…todo means not everything, not nothing. Follow the whole clause before judging the relationship.
- Building and checking a response — Answer ¿Cómo es tu mejor amigo? with a quality and evidence: Es simpático porque me ayuda. Then add a past meeting and a future plan using the right verbs. Check age with tener, adjective agreement and a before a specific human object. A correct translation preserves these choices rather than copying English word order.
- Spoken interaction — Ask a partner three unprepared questions about a fictional friend, respond to their actual answers and request clarification with ¿Puedes repetir? Describe a meeting and a future plan. Listener feedback on intelligibility and relevant responses is needed; a vocabulary quiz does not measure spontaneous conversation.
- Extended family and household — Mi abuelo, mi abuela, mi tío, mi tía and mis primos mean my grandfather, grandmother, uncle, aunt and cousins. Soy hijo único means I am an only child, with hija única for a female speaker. Vivo con mi familia means I live with my family. Familia is singular, so mi familia vive aquí, not viven; a plural list of people instead takes a plural verb.
- Shared responsibilities — En casa lavo los platos y mi hermano limpia la cocina means At home I wash the dishes and my brother cleans the kitchen. Ordeno mi habitación means I tidy my bedroom. Es amable porque me ayuda gives evidence for describing someone as kind. Use the actual action to justify a quality; a description of a chore alone does not establish whether someone likes doing it.
- Disagreement and support — No estamos de acuerdo means We do not agree; a veces discutimos means Sometimes we argue. Discutir can mean argue or discuss, according to context. Me escucha cuando tengo un problema means He/she listens to me when I have a problem. A disagreement on one occasion does not prove a permanently bad relationship; preserve frequency and evidence when summarising the text.
- Knowing and meeting people — Conozco a Marta means I know Marta; sé hablar francés means I know how to speak French. Conocer takes personal a with a specific person; saber + infinitive expresses a learned ability. Tengo ganas de ver a mis amigos means I feel like seeing my friends: keep de before the infinitive. These patterns help explain how a friendship develops without translating each English word mechanically.
