New
New
Year 5

Today vs. in general: 'somos' and 'estamos'

Learning outcomes

I can say how we are today and in general.

I can identify and pronounce syllables in words.

Link copied to clipboard

New
New
Year 5

Today vs. in general: 'somos' and 'estamos'

Learning outcomes

I can say how we are today and in general.

I can identify and pronounce syllables in words.

Link copied to clipboard

These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

Switch to our new teaching resources now - designed by teachers and leading subject experts, and tested in classrooms.

These resources were created for remote use during the pandemic and are not designed for classroom teaching.

Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. In Spanish, syllables often come in consonant-vowel pairs. Each syllable in a word is pronounced fully.
  2. When describing more than one, adjectives end in -os if the noun is masculine and -as if it's feminine.
  3. When an adjective ends in -es, it can describe a masculine or feminine plural noun.
  4. To mean 'we are' for location and temporary state, use 'estamos'.
  5. To mean 'we are' for general traits, use 'somos'.

Keywords

  • Syllable - a unit of sound within a word

  • Adjective - a word that gives information about a noun

  • Estamos - we are for location and temporary states, part of the verb 'estar'

  • Somos - we are for general traits, part of the verb 'ser'

Common misconception

There is one way to say 'we are' in Spanish.

There are two ways to say 'we are' in Spanish. Estamos is used to say 'we are' for location and temporary state. Somos is used to say 'we are' for general traits.


To help you plan your year 5 spanish lesson on: Today vs. in general: 'somos' and 'estamos', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

You could explore consonant-vowel syllables in more detail by splitting up additional words (e.g. adjectives), reading them aloud and counting the syllables together.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

Loading...

Some of our videos, including non-English language videos, do not have captions.

6 Questions

Q1.
Match the Spanish to the English.
Correct Answer:ahora,now

now

Correct Answer:siempre,always

always

Correct Answer:normalmente,normally

normally

Correct Answer:hoy,today

today

Correct Answer:buenos días,good morning

good morning

Correct Answer:buenas tardes,good afternoon

good afternoon

Q2.
Order these words to say 'normally we are active but today we are ill'.
1 - normalmente
2 - somos
3 - activos
4 - pero
5 - hoy
6 - estamos
7 - enfermos
Q3.
Match the Spanish to the English.
Correct Answer:buscar,to search, searching

to search, searching

Correct Answer:escuchar,to listen, listening

to listen, listening

Correct Answer:ser,to be, being (permanent traits)

to be, being (permanent traits)

Correct Answer:estar,to be, being (temporary states)

to be, being (temporary states)

Correct Answer:tener,to have, having

to have, having

Correct Answer:terminar,to end, ending

to end, ending

Q4.
'La profesora es muy .' Which words could complete this sentence?
enfermo
Correct answer: elegante
cansado
nervioso
Correct answer: rara
Q5.
'Ahora tu estás muy cansada.' Translate this sentence into English.
Correct Answer: You are very tired now., Now you are very tired.
Q6.
'We are always independent.' Translate this sentence into Spanish.
Correct Answer: Siempre somos independientes.

6 Questions

Q1.
Order these numbers from smallest to biggest.
1 - uno
2 - tres
3 - cuatro
4 - seis
5 - ocho
6 - nueve
7 - diez
Q2.
Which word means 'strange'?
enferma
preparada
tranquila
Correct answer: rara
nerviosa
Q3.
Which word is a conjunction?
muy
tranquilo
Correct answer: y
grupo
está
Q4.
Match the Spanish to the English.
Correct Answer:estoy,I am (temporary state)

I am (temporary state)

Correct Answer:estás,you are (temporary state)

you are (temporary state)

Correct Answer:está,she, he, it is (temporary state)

she, he, it is (temporary state)

Correct Answer:soy,I am (permanent trait)

I am (permanent trait)

Correct Answer:eres,you are (permanent trait)

you are (permanent trait)

Correct Answer:es,she, he, it is (permanent trait)

she, he, it is (permanent trait)

Q5.
'Estamos perdidos hoy'. Translate this sentence into English.
Correct Answer: Today we are lost., We are lost today., We're lost today., Today we're lost.
Q6.
'The tortoise is always slow.' Translate this sentence into Spanish.
Correct Answer: La tortuga siempre es lenta.

Additional material

Download additional material