10 tips to get a top grade in your GCSE Spanish writing exam!
1) Use two tenses in the same sentence:
Impress the examiner by using two different tenses in the same sentence. For example, you could use both the preterite and imperfect tenses:
E.g. Fuimos a San Sebastián que era bonito pero bastante caro.
We went to San Sebastian which was pretty but quite expensive. Continue reading
How to say “Let’s …” in Spanish
If you want to invite someone out in Spanish or suggest going out to do something the easiest way is just to say “Let’s go to the beach”, “Let’s have a coffee”, “Let’s dance” and so on. Once you learn how to say this in Spanish, you will sound a lot more natural and native like rather than a textbook. This blog post explains how to form this phrase, “Let’s …”: Continue reading
How to Use Negative Words in Spanish
Negative words in Spanish do not work in the same way as in English. If you try to translate a negative sentence from Spanish directly into English it will not sound right.
For example, in English we do not use double negatives whereas in Spanish they do.
e.g. No tiene nada que hacer. – Literal translation: He doesn’t have nothing to do.
(This is incorrect English and anyway, this would mean that he does have something to do, so is not negative.)
You will also find that you do not hear plural nouns used in negative sentences. You always use the noun in the singular form.
e.g. No hay problema. – There are no problems.
In this blog post we will teach you everything you need to be able to make up your own negative sentences. Continue reading
5 Easy Ways to Use the Spanish Subjunctive in Everyday Conversation
When you are learning Spanish you soon come across grammatical jargon that just doesn’t make sense – things like, the ‘subject of the verb’, ‘object pronouns’, ‘possessive adjectives’ and the ‘subjunctive’! You panic as you don’t know what these all mean. The problem is most of us haven’t learnt English grammar at school so when faced with these terms it is natural to worry that you won’t understand. However, all these are, are names of parts of the language we speak all the time. For example, the subject of the verb is simply, “I”, “he”, “she”, “we”, “you” or “they”. A possessive adjective is just “my”, “your”, “his”, “her”, “our”, “their”. We use these all the time but we don’t know what they are actually called. Likewise, using the subjunctive is just the same. We use it without knowing that we are. Continue reading
7 Common Uses of the Spanish Verb “Pasar”
The verb pasar in Spanish is one of the most used verbs in Spanish. It is used in many different situations so can seem tricky to use and therefore cannot be translated in one word easily. However, the good thing is that it is a regular verb, so it is easy to conjugate in any tense.
In this blog post we will look at the 7 most common uses of pasar:
1) To spend time
2) To happen
3) Relating to a place
4) Change of state or condition
5) Accepting and adapting to a situation
6) To pass an object to someone
7) Experience something good or bad Continue reading
5 Ways To Use the Conditional Tense in Spanish
The conditional tense in Spanish is used whenever you want to talk about what you would, should or could do. There are several bonuses about this tense;
- It is easy to form and all 3 sets of verbs -ar, -er and -ir verbs have the same endings!
- There is only a few irregular verbs to learn which are exactly the same ones as the future tense. So if you have already learnt the future tense, the conditional will be a doddle!
How to use “mismo” in Spanish
‘Mismo’ can be a confusing word to understand in Spanish because it has several uses; it can mean ‘same’, ‘right’ or ‘only’. You will hear it used as an adjective, a pronoun or an adverb.
In today’s blog post we will try to simplify ‘mismo’ for you to understand it more easily.
1) Mismo as an adjective
When you hear mismo used as an adjective it must agree with the noun it goes before. Here are some examples: Continue reading
So many ways to say “perhaps” & “maybe” in Spanish
You have probably worked out that there is more than one way to say “perhaps” or “maybe” in Spanish.
quizás (or: quizá): perhaps
tal vez: perhaps
a lo mejor: maybe
puede que: it can be
posiblemente: possibly
Impress the examiner!: Simple ways to use the subjunctive in your Spanish speaking/writing (AS, A2 Spanish advice)
If you can show the examiner that you know how to use the subjunctive mood in Spanish you are proving to them that you are capable of using complex grammar structures and therefore you will gain higher marks. Here we will look at ways you can easily include subjunctive phrases into your essays and your oral presentations. Continue reading
Tips for GCSE / AS / A2 Spanish – Using connecting phrases
To gain a higher grade in speaking and writing exams one tip is to use a good variety of connecting words and phrases which will help you sound more natural. These connecting words will link parts of a sentence together to make them more complex, earning you extra marks!
Tip: Try to use a wide range of connecting words and phrases rather than sticking to the same ones all the time. This shows the examiner that you have a wide range of vocabulary at your fingertips.
Here are some key connecting words and phrases to learn: Continue reading
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