Festivals and Traditions (AQA GCSE Spanish): Revision Note

Festivals and traditions

• These notes focus on describing when and how major festivals happen, equipping you to discuss cultural customs and events effectively in your Spanish exams

• This sub-topic is essential for linking the Spanish language to the vibrant culture of Spanish-speaking countries

• To discuss Festivals and Traditions, you need to confidently use specific vocabulary. Here you will also learn about numbers and dates

• The required grammar focus here is on adjective position and indefinite adjectives

Festivals and traditions: vocabulary

The specification explicitly requires knowledge of dates, months, and numbers. Knowing specific cultural terms is also essential.

Key vocabulary: time and quantity

Stating the day (Days of the week):

• Do not use capital letters for the days of the week (lunes, martes, miércoles, etc.)

• To say "on Monday," use the definite article [link to the definition of definite articles in the course] el (el lunes).

• To say "on Tuesdays" (habitually), use the plural article los (los martes)

Stating the date (Numbers):

• To express any date (except the first), use the definite article el followed by the number and de

  • Example: El desfile es el diez de marzo. (The parade is on March 10th)

Shortening of ordinal numbers:

•  For the ordinal numbers primero (first) and tercero (third), you must drop the final 'o' when they precede a masculine singular noun

  • Example: We use primer when referring to the first day of the month (el primer día) and tercer for the third festival (el tercer festival)

Key festivals and cultural Items

Higher tier only vocabulary

Use these terms strategically to demonstrate a wider range of vocabulary required at Higher Tier.