New
New
Year 8

Preferences and opinions: personal 'a' and gustar-type verbs

Learning outcomes

I can use gustar-type verbs and the personal 'a' in the context of pets and animals.

I can accurately pronounce the sounds [r] and [rr].

New
New
Year 8

Preferences and opinions: personal 'a' and gustar-type verbs

Learning outcomes

I can use gustar-type verbs and the personal 'a' in the context of pets and animals.

I can accurately pronounce the sounds [r] and [rr].

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. Word-initial 'r' is rolled and pronounced as in 'rojo'. It sounds identical to the 'rr' in 'perro'.
  2. Gustar-type verbs commonly appear after an indirect object pronoun like 'me' or 'le'.
  3. We use the personal 'a' before the object if it's a person or animal.
  4. There are two frequently used word orders in Spanish: subject + verb + object and object + verb + subject.

Keywords

  • Indirect object pronoun - replaces the person, people or thing(s) that the verb action is done to; in English, this includes '(to/for) me'

  • Gustar-type verb - type of verb that appears after an indirect object pronoun

  • 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.


To help you plan your year 8 Spanish lesson on: Preferences and opinions: personal 'a' and gustar-type verbs, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

In Task C3, further support could be given to students by providing these verb infinitives: 'preocupar', 'gustar', 'alegrar', 'encantar', 'molestar', 'interesar' and 'importar'.
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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.
'The rabbit worries her.' Which sentence best translates this?
El conejo le molesta.
El gato le preocupa.
El conejo le da miedo.
Correct answer: El conejo le preocupa.
El conejo le encanta.
Q2.
'A mi abuela, __________ la tortuga.' Which answer best completes this sentence?
me gusta
le encantan
Correct answer: le encanta
le molestan
te preocupa
Q3.
Match the Spanish to the English.
Correct Answer:alegrar,to make someone happy, making someone happy

to make someone happy, making someone happy

Correct Answer:encantar,to delight, be a delight, delighting

to delight, be a delight, delighting

Correct Answer:gustar,to please, to be pleasing

to please, to be pleasing

Correct Answer:importar,to matter, mattering

to matter, mattering

Correct Answer:interesar,to interest, interesting

to interest, interesting

Correct Answer:molestar,to annoy, bother, annoying, bothering

to annoy, bother, annoying, bothering

Q4.
Order the words to say 'yesterday, she looked at herself in the mirror'.
1 - ayer
2 - ella
3 - se
4 - miró
5 - en
6 - el
7 - espejo
Q5.
Order the words to say 'the spider scared her when it appeared'.
1 - la
2 - araña
3 - le
4 - dio
5 - miedo
6 - cuando
7 - apareció
Q6.
'Los monos me alegran.' Translate this sentence into English.
Correct Answer: monkeys make me happy, the monkeys make me happy

Assessment exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the Spanish to the English.
Correct Answer:crear,to create, creating

to create, creating

Correct Answer:desayunar,to have breakfast, having breakfast

to have breakfast, having breakfast

Correct Answer:despertar,to wake someone up, waking someone up

to wake someone up, waking someone up

Correct Answer:levantar,to get someone up, getting someone up

to get someone up, getting someone up

Correct Answer:llamar,to call, calling

to call, calling

Correct Answer:poner,to put, putting

to put, putting

Q2.
Which word means 'dress'?
pantalón
Correct answer: vestido
falda
blusa
cinturón
Q3.
Order the words to say 'the snake worries you but interests him'.
1 - el
2 - serpiente
3 - te
4 - preocupa
5 - pero
6 - le
7 - interesa
Q4.
Order the words to say 'the elephants and gorillas matter to me'.
1 - me
2 - importan
3 - los
4 - elefantes
5 - y
6 - los
7 - gorilas
Q5.
'The cat doesn't interest me.' Translate this sentence into Spanish.
Correct Answer: Al gato no me interesa, No me interesa al gato
Q6.
'The dog likes my mum.' Translate this sentence into Spanish.
Correct Answer: Al perro le gusta mi madre, Mi madre le gusta al perro

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