Environmental Issues: Grammar and Phonics (AQA GCSE Spanish): Revision Note

Environmental issues: grammar

This section of grammar will help you to mention necessity (what needs to happen within the topic of the environment), and the actions to be taken.

Modal verbs

Modal verbs express ability, necessity, or permission. They are crucial for discussing solutions.

Obligation

• tener que + infinitive

Tengo que reciclar más plástico. (I have to recycle more plastic.)

Necessity

• hay que + infinitive

Hay que reducir la contaminación. (One must / You must reduce pollution.)

Ability

• poder + infinitive

Podemos evitar el daño grave. (We can avoid serious damage.)

General Ability

• se puede + infinitive

Se puede proteger el río. (You can / One can protect the river.)

The passive voice (HT only)

The passive voice (ser + past participle + por) is specified for Higher Tier. It emphasises the action rather than the doer, suitable for formal articles on environmental impact.

Passive structures:

• ser (conjugated) + past participle (+ por agent)

El bosque fue destruido por el fuego. (The forest was destroyed by fire.)

• será (future passive)

La basura será recogida mañana. (The rubbish will be collected tomorrow.)

In these constructions, the past participle functions more like a description of the subject, and therefore must agree in gender and number with that subject, like an adjective.

• se + 3rd person singular or plural

Se puede reciclar todo el cristal. (All glass can be recycled.)

Environmental issues: phonics

• [ll]

Crucial for words like lluvia (rain) and botella (bottle).

La lluvia cayó en la calle. (The rain fell in the street).

• [rr] / [r-] (strong, rolled 'r')

Needed for reciclar (to recycle), Tierra (Earth).

Para salvar la Tierra, es necesario reciclar el vidrio. (To save the Earth, it is necessary to recycle glass).

• [z] / soft [c]

Common in action verbs: reciclar, reducir.

Es necesario reducir la contaminación cerca. (It is necessary to reduce the pollution nearby).