Extended reading (Don Quijote): 'había' and 'tenía'
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can use imperfect tense verbs to understand and discuss an important work of Spanish literature, such as Don Quijote.
Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons
Key learning points
- To talk about something that used to happen in the past, we use the imperfect tense.
- To say ‘there used to be’, ‘there was’ or ‘there were’, use ‘había’. Sentences with ‘había’ often start with ‘en’.
- To say ‘I, she, he used to have’ or ‘I, she, he had’ in the imperfect tense, use ‘tenía’.
- With other -ar verbs, to talk about 'she' or 'he', add -aba to the stem of the verb. With -er and -ir verbs, add -ía.
- Don Quijote de La Mancha, written by Miguel de Cervantes, is considered the first modern novel.
Keywords
Imperfect tense - tense used to describe how things were or used to be in the past
Había - form of 'haber' meaning 'there was, were' or 'there used to be'
Tenía - form of 'tener' meaning 'I had, used to have' or 'she, he, it had, used to have'
Common misconception
'Había' only means 'there used to be' or 'there was'.
'Había' means 'there used to be', 'there was' or 'there were'.
Teacher tip
The teacher may choose to show a brief video about Don Quijote de La Mancha.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which noun is a synonym for 'empresa'?
Q2.Match the Spanish and English.
to understand, understanding
to achieve, achieving
to answer, answering
to deliver, delivering
to include, including
to respect, respecting
Q3.Match the Spanish and English.
boss
law
office
map
audience
time
Q4.Order the words to say: 'I had a useful meeting at the university'.
Q5.Write in English: 'al final del proyecto'.
Q6.Write in Spanish: 'three months ago'.
Assessment exit quiz
4 Questions
Q1.Don Quijote de La Mancha is __________.
Q2.What does 'había' mean?
Q3.Order the words to say: 'in a house there was a knight and he had a horse'.
Q4.Write in Spanish: 'she used to travel and she used to read'.
To help you plan your 9 Spanish lesson on: Extended reading (Don Quijote): 'había' and 'tenía', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 9 Spanish lesson on: Extended reading (Don Quijote): 'había' and 'tenía', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 Spanish lessons from the Past routines and past events: imperfect tense unit, dive into the full secondary Spanish curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.