New
New
Year 8

Describe family members: possessive adjective 'su'

Learning outcomes

I can use possessive adjectives 'mi(s)' and 'su(s)' to say what my and someone else's family members are like and what they do.

I can use the 1st person preterite ending -qué to keep the hard 'c' sound in verbs like 'sacar'.

New
New
Year 8

Describe family members: possessive adjective 'su'

Learning outcomes

I can use possessive adjectives 'mi(s)' and 'su(s)' to say what my and someone else's family members are like and what they do.

I can use the 1st person preterite ending -qué to keep the hard 'c' sound in verbs like 'sacar'.

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. The preterite is used to describe completed past events. For the 'I' form with -ar verbs, you remove the -ar and add -é.
  2. For -ar verbs ending in -car, remove -car and add -qué for the 'I' form in the preterite, e.g. 'saqué' - 'I took out'.
  3. To talk about a mixed-gender group of people, you use the masculine form of the noun, e.g. ‘mis hermanos'.
  4. In Spanish, the possessive adjective 'my' is 'mi' before a singular noun, and 'mis' before a plural noun.
  5. The possessive adjective 'his', 'her' or 'its' is 'su' before a singular noun, and 'sus' before a plural noun.

Keywords

  • Preterite - tense used for completed events in the past

  • Possessive adjective - shows who something belongs to

  • Su - his, her, its (singular), possessive adjective

  • Sus - his, her, its (plural), possessive adjective

Common misconception

To talk about completed events in the past with -ar verbs you always take off the -ar ending and add -é in the 1st person singular ('I').

For -ar verbs ending in -car, you remove the -car and add -qué in the 1st person singular, for example; 'sacar' - 'saqué' - 'I took out'.


To help you plan your year 8 Spanish lesson on: Describe family members: possessive adjective 'su', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

It can be tricky for students to grasp that possessive adjectives match the noun, not the person it belongs to. For 'his, her, its', it's either 'su' (sing) or 'sus' (plural). Teachers could show some flashcards with singular/plural nouns and ask students to stand up for 'su' and sit down for 'sus'.
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

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which word means 'almost'?
cada
Correct answer: casi
siempre
nadie
nunca
Q2.
Match the Spanish and English.
Correct Answer:cuidar,to look after, looking after

to look after, looking after

Correct Answer:olvidar,to forget, forgetting

to forget, forgetting

Correct Answer:regalar,to give, giving

to give, giving

Correct Answer:quitar,to take off, take away

to take off, take away

Correct Answer:tirar,to throw, throwing

to throw, throwing

Correct Answer:traer,to bring, bringing

to bring, bringing

Q3.
Match the Spanish and English.
Correct Answer:cumpleaños (m),birthday

birthday

Correct Answer:novio (m),boyfriend

boyfriend

Correct Answer:novia (f),girlfriend

girlfriend

Correct Answer:reloj (m),watch

watch

Correct Answer:salud (f),health

health

Correct Answer:tarjeta (f),card

card

Q4.
Order the words to say: 'I give you a gift and you give me some gifts'.
1 - te
2 - doy
3 - un regalo
4 - y
5 - me
6 - das
7 - unos regalos
Q5.
Write in English: 'mi habitación está vacía'.
Correct Answer: my room is empty, my bedroom is empty
Q6.
Write in Spanish: 'the box is full'.
Correct Answer: la caja está llena

Assessment exit quiz

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4 Questions

Q1.
What can 'mis hijos' mean?
my son
Correct answer: my sons
my daughter
my daughters
Correct answer: my sons and daughters
Q2.
Which verb correctly says 'I looked for'?
buscar
busco
buscé
Correct answer: busqué
Q3.
Write in Spanish: 'my uncle and my aunties'.
Correct Answer: mi tío y mis tías
Q4.
Write in Spanish: 'his sister and her brothers'.
Correct Answer: su hermana y sus hermanos

Additional material

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