Family Celebrations: Grammar and Phonics (AQA GCSE Spanish): Revision Note
Exam code: 8692
Family celebrations: grammar
To discuss celebrations effectively, you must master past tenses, especially the Imperfect, and know how to integrate pronouns smoothly into your Spanish.
The imperfect tense (el imperfecto)
The Imperfect tense is fundamental for describing habitual actions or ongoing situations in the past. Think of it as saying "I used to [verb]" or "I was [verb]-ing" in English.
Pronoun | -AR verbs (e.g., hablar) | -ER / -IR verbs (e.g., comer, vivir) | Example Phrase |
Yo | hablaba | comía / vivía | De niño, celebraba mi cumpleaños con mis primos. (As a child, I used to celebrate my birthday with my cousins.) |
Tú | hablabas | comías / vivías | Cuando vivías en Madrid, ¿ibas a muchas fiestas? (When you lived in Madrid, did you use to go to many parties?) |
Él / Ella / Usted | hablaba | comía / vivía | Mi madre organizaba la cena cada Nochebuena. (My mother used to organise dinner every Christmas Eve.) |
Nosotros/as | hablábamos | comíamos / vivíamos | Siempre disfrutábamos de la música tradicional. (We always used to enjoy traditional music.) |
Vosotros/as | hablabais | comíais / vivíais | ¿Qué hacíais vosotros para el Día de Reyes? (What did you all use to do for Epiphany?) |
Ellos/as / Ustedes | hablaban | comían / vivían | Mis abuelos bailaban tango en todas las bodas. (My grandparents used to dance the tango at all the weddings.) |
Effective strategies for spotting tense
The most effective strategy is to hunt for the specific grammatical markers and time adverbials that definitively place the action
N (Now/Present): For events happening now, look for current and ongoing actions:
Present tense & adverbials: Identify the simple present tense and explicit markers like Actualmente (Currently)
Present continuous: Look for actions that are ongoing in the present, using the construction estar + gerund, such as estoy haciendo (I am doing) or Mis padres están ahorrando (My parents are saving)
P (Past): The past is often the trickiest, as students must distinguish between single events (Preterite) and habitual or descriptive events (Imperfect)
Imperfect tense (Habitual past): This tense often indicates repeated actions or states in the past ("used to do"). Look for verb forms like recibía (I used to receive), organizaba (she used to organise), or use of the Solía structure (used to)
Preterite tense (Completed past): This indicates a single action with a clear end point. Look for forms like decidí (I decided) or decidimos ir a cenar (we decided to go to dinner)
Past adverbials: Look for phrases like Cuando era más joven (When I was younger) or El año pasado (Last year)
F (Future): For events in the future, you should seek out plans, intentions, or formal future tenses:
Intention and Near Future: Look for structures expressing plans, such as tenemos la intención de viajar (we have the intention of traveling), or the near future ir a + infinitive
Conditional/Aspirations: Phrases expressing desire or plans are often future indicators, such as Quiero cenar (I want to dine)
Formal Future Tense: Look for the direct future tense (e.g., elegirán (they will choose), or a statement about a trend or prediction)
Examiner Tips and Tricks
To score top marks at Foundation Tier, show you can distinguish between the two main past tenses:
Imperfect tense: Use for repeated actions
Preterite tense: Use for single, completed actions
Example: Antes, cenábamos a las ocho (Imperfect: repeated action), pero anoche cenamos a las siete (Preterite: single, completed action) (Before, we used to have dinner at eight, but last night we had dinner at seven).
To achieve high marks at Higher Tier, focus on accuracy, variety, and complexity.
Tense control: Demonstrate secure command of the Imperfect and Preterite distinction across extended responses
Pronoun complexity: Integrate H-Tier specific structures, such as using multiple pronouns (e.g., combined Direct and Indirect object pronouns) and plural reflexive forms, as mastery of these systems is expected at this tier
Example: Cuando éramos (Imperfect) pequeños, siempre nos regalaban (Imperfect) juguetes, pero el año pasado nos compramos (Preterite) un reloj. Luego, se lo dimos (Preterite + Combined Pronouns) a nuestro abuelo. (When we were little, they always used to give us toys as gifts, but last year we bought ourselves a watch. Then, we gave it to our grandfather.)
Direct and indirect object pronouns
Object pronouns are fundamental grammar used in Spanish (at both Foundation and Higher Tiers) to replace nouns (objects) in a sentence. Their main purpose is to help the language flow better and avoid repetition.
Imagine the difference in English: "I bought the flowers for her → I bought them for her". The word "them" is the object pronoun.
In Spanish, object pronouns fall into two main categories based on their function:
Direct object pronouns
The direct object is the noun that directly receives the action of the verb.
Spanish Direct Object Pronouns | English Equivalent | Function |
lo, la, los, las | him, her, it, them | They replace the thing or person directly being verb-ed. |
me, te, nos, os | me, you, us, you (pl. inf.) | These can function as either direct objetc pronouncs or indirect object pronouns. |
Example in context: If you bought a present (un regalo) for your mother:
Compré un regalo. (I bought a present.)
Lo compré. (I bought it.) (Here, Lo replaces un regalo, which is masculine singular.)
Indirect object pronouns
The indirect object is the noun that benefits from or receives the direct object indirectly. It often answers the question "to whom?" or "for whom?" the action was performed.
Spanish indirect object pronouns | English equivalent | Function |
le, les | (to/for) him, her, it, them | They indicate the recipient of the action or object. |
me, te, nos, os | me, you, us, you (pl. inf.) | These can function as either direct object pronouns or indirect object pronouns. |
Example in context: If you gave a gift (un regalo) to your brother (a mi hermano):
Di un regalo a mi hermano. (I gave a present to my brother.)
Le di un regalo. (I gave a present to him.) (Here, Le replaces a mi hermano.)
Key rules for placement (Word order)
The position of object pronouns is a crucial element of this grammar point.
With a single verb (Conjugated verb): The pronoun is typically placed before the conjugated verb
Example: Te doy (I give you)
With two verbs (Conjugated verb + infinitive): The pronoun has two possible positions:
It can go before the conjugated verb (Example: Lo puedo mirar, I can look at it)
It can be attached to the end of the infinitive (Example: Puedo mirarlo, I can look at it)
Foundation tier expectation: You are expected to handle object pronouns when only a single pronoun is used
Higher tier expectation: You should be combining both indirect object pronoun and direct object pronoun to demonstrate your ability to use more complex grammar structures:
Indirect + direct object pronoun
se lo / se la / se los / se las (I gave it to him/her/them)
Example: Mi padre me regaló un reloj. Me lo dio ayer (My father gave me a watch as a gift. He gave it to me yesterday)
Family celebrations: phonics
Practicing these sounds will ensure your pronunciation is clear and comprehensible, which is key for the Speaking and Listening papers.
The sound [ñ] (e.g., in mañana or cumpleaños)
Example: Mi cumpleaños es mañana. (My birthday is tomorrow.)
The sound [ll] (e.g., in llamar or calle)
Example: Tienes que llamar a tu abuela en la calle. (You have to call your grandmother on the street.)
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