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Lesson 1 of 3
  • Year 8

Who does what? SVO vs OVS word order, personal 'a'

Learning outcomes

I can change the positions of the subject and object in a sentence and use them correctly to show who is performing the action and who is receiving it.

I can accurately identify whether a word has [ñ] or [n].

Lesson 1 of 3
New
New
  • Year 8

Who does what? SVO vs OVS word order, personal 'a'

Learning outcomes

I can change the positions of the subject and object in a sentence and use them correctly to show who is performing the action and who is receiving it.

I can accurately identify whether a word has [ñ] or [n].

Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. The sound-symbol correspondence [ñ] is pronounced as in 'español' and [n] as in 'mano'.
  2. MAP is a useful strategy to learn vocabulary in a meaningful way.
  3. In sentences, the subject does the action and the object receives it.
  4. There are two frequently used word orders in Spanish: subject + verb + object and object + verb + subject.
  5. We use the personal ‘a’ before the object if it’s a person or animal.

Keywords

  • Subject - person, people or thing(s) doing the verb

  • Object - person, animal or thing that receives the action of the verb

  • Personal 'a' - preposition placed before a direct object when that object is a specific person or animal we have a name for

Common misconception

In Spanish, like in English, the object always goes after the verb.

In Spanish, unlike in English, the object can go before or after the verb. In object-first sentences, we add the object pronouns lo (masculine) or la (feminine) before the verb.


To help you plan your year 8 Spanish lesson on: Who does what? SVO vs OVS word order, personal 'a', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Students need access to paper for Task B1. In learning cycle 3, the teacher might want to ask students to come up with their own story using the two different word orders.
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This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2026), 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.
'Sus manos están __________'. Choose the correct adjective.

sucio
sucia
sucios
Correct answer: sucias

Q2.
'Tengo un regalo __________ mi madre'. Choose the correct missing word.

con
en
Correct answer: para
por
sin

Q3.
Match the Spanish and English.

Correct Answer:chico (m),boy

boy

Correct Answer:chica (f),girl

girl

Correct Answer:coche (m),car

car

Correct Answer:hombre (m),man

man

Correct Answer:mujer (f),woman

woman

Correct Answer:perro (m),dog

dog

Q4.
Match the Spanish and English.

Correct Answer:abrazar,to hug, hugging

to hug, hugging

Correct Answer:esconder,to hide, hiding

to hide, hiding

Correct Answer:llamar,to call, calling

to call, calling

Correct Answer:llevar,to take, carry

to take, carry

Correct Answer:mirar,to look, looking

to look, looking

Correct Answer:ver,to see, seeing

to see, seeing

Q5.
Order the words to say: 'the cat is not in the street'.

1 - el
2 - gato
3 - no
4 - está
5 - en
6 - la
7 - calle

Q6.
Write in English: 'había mucho tráfico'.

Correct Answer: there was a lot of traffic, there was lots of traffic, there was much traffic

Assessment exit quiz

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4 Questions

Q1.
MAP is a strategy for ...

checking written work
tackling reading tasks
developing listening skills
improving pronunciation
Correct answer: learning vocabulary

Q2.
Which words are missing the sound [ñ]?

esce_a
Correct answer: enga_ar
ma_o
Correct answer: ni_a
Correct answer: oto_o

Q3.
Order the words to say: 'the girl greets the boy'.

1 - al
2 - chico
3 - lo
4 - saluda
5 - la
6 - chica

Q4.
Write in Spanish: 'I kiss the dog'.

Correct Answer: beso al perro, yo beso al perro