New
New
Year 9

Local and international events: present continuous

Learning outcomes

I can describe what I and others are doing at events now using the present continuous.

I know that the sounds [b] and [v] are the same in Spanish.

New
New
Year 9

Local and international events: present continuous

Learning outcomes

I can describe what I and others are doing at events now using the present continuous.

I know that the sounds [b] and [v] are the same in Spanish.

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. In Spanish, the sounds [b] and [v] are the same, as in 'abuela' and 'verde', so we need to learn spellings by heart.
  2. To say what is happening now, we use the verb 'estar' with a present participle; this is called the present continuous.
  3. The present participle is formed by removing the infinitive ending and adding -ando for -ar verbs and -iendo for others.
  4. To say 'these' for masculine nouns we use 'estos' and for feminine nouns 'estas'; these are demonstrative adjectives.
  5. Relative pronoun 'que' means 'who' or 'that'. 'Donde' means 'where'; there is no accent when it's a relative pronoun.

Keywords

  • Present continous - describes events happening right now: 'I am doing'

  • Demonstrative adjective - specifies a particular noun, indicating 'this', 'that', 'these' or 'those'

  • Relative pronoun - pronoun, e.g. 'que' that introduces a relative clause

Common misconception

The feminine plural demonstrative adjective for 'these' is the same as the 'tú' form of the verb 'estar'.

Accents are really important in Spanish. The 'tú' form of 'estar' has an accent on the á: 'estás' (you are) whereas the demonstrative adjective for plural feminine nouns, 'estas' does not: 'estas flores' (these flowers).


To help you plan your year 9 Spanish lesson on: Local and international events: present continuous, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

To adapt the final speaking activity C4 for pupils who need more support, teachers could provide the full Spanish sentences, so that the second pupil completes the table without the first pupil having to translate the sentence from English into Spanish first.
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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 'message'?

mar
botella
zapatos
canción
Correct answer: mensaje

Q2.
Match the Spanish to the English.

Correct Answer:regresar,to return, returning

to return, returning

Correct Answer:prestar,to pay (attention), paying (attention)

to pay (attention), paying (attention)

Correct Answer:esperar,to wait, waiting

to wait, waiting

Correct Answer:mejorar,to improve, improving

to improve, improving

Correct Answer:salir,to leave, leaving

to leave, leaving

Correct Answer:descansar,to rest, resting

to rest, resting

Q3.
Order these words to say 'these flowers are growing in the sunlight'.

1 - estas
2 - flores
3 - están
4 - creciendo
5 - a la luz
6 - del
7 - sol

Q4.
Order the words to say 'he is walking to the house where there is a party'.

1 - él está
2 - caminando
3 - hacia
4 - la casa
5 - donde
6 - hay
7 - una fiesta

Q5.
'¿Estás buscando esta bolsa?' Translate this sentence into English.

Correct Answer: Are you looking for this bag, Are you searching for this bag

Q6.
'Are you opening the door?' Translate this sentence into Spanish.

Correct Answer: Estás abriendo la puerta

Assessment exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which phrase means 'straight away'?

de repente
Correct answer: en seguida
en este momento
al mismo tiempo
al principio

Q2.
Which word means 'hit, bang'?

atención
boda
espectáculo
Correct answer: golpe
sabor

Q3.
Match the Spanish to the English.

Correct Answer:animar,to cheer (someone up), cheering (someone up)

to cheer (someone up), cheering (someone up)

Correct Answer:anunciar,to announce, announcing

to announce, announcing

Correct Answer:charlar,to chat, chatting

to chat, chatting

Correct Answer:cerrar,to close, closing

to close, closing

Correct Answer:leer,to read, reading

to read, reading

Correct Answer:notar,to notice, noticing

to notice, noticing

Q4.
Order the words to say 'I am closing the window because it is cold'.

1 - estoy
2 - cerrando
3 - la
4 - ventana
5 - porque
6 - hace
7 - frío

Q5.
Order the words to say 'she is preparing the food for dinner'.

1 - ella
2 - está
3 - preparando
4 - la
5 - comida
6 - para
7 - la cena

Q6.
'It is raining but it is hot.' Translate this sentence into Spanish.

Correct Answer: Está lloviendo pero hace calor

Additional material

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