New
New
Year 8

Relationships and routines: reflexive 'me'

I can use verbs with the reflexive pronoun ‘me’ for routine activities that I do for myself, and verbs with the personal 'a' for actions I do to and for others.

New
New
Year 8

Relationships and routines: reflexive 'me'

I can use verbs with the reflexive pronoun ‘me’ for routine activities that I do for myself, and verbs with the personal 'a' for actions I do to and for others.

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. Spanish verbs like ‘despertar’ have a stem change in some of their forms, e.g. ‘despierto’ is the 1st person singular.
  2. The word ‘demasiado’ can be both adjective and adverb. As an adverb it needs no agreement but as an adjective it does.
  3. When a direct object is a specific person or pet, in Spanish the personal ‘a’ goes after the verb, e.g. ‘veo a la niña'.
  4. Sometimes the subject and object of a verb are the same. Use a reflexive pronoun before the verb, e.g. 'me lavo'.
  5. When subject and object of verbs are the same, Spanish always uses a reflexive pronoun. English does not always do this.

Keywords

  • Reflexive pronoun - pronoun used to indicate doing something to or for yourself, words like 'myself' and 'yourself'

  • Me - 'myself' in Spanish

  • Reflexive verb - verb used with a reflexive pronoun when the subject and object of the action are the same

Common misconception

If you use 'me' in Spanish you need 'myself' in English.

When the action of a verb is directed towards the self, Spanish always uses a reflexive pronoun. English does not always do this; for example, 'me levanto a las siete' - 'I get up at seven'.


To help you plan your year 8 Spanish lesson on: Relationships and routines: reflexive 'me', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

It's helpful to contrast reflexive and non-reflexive verb use so pupils understand that most verbs can have reflexive and non-reflexive meanings, e.g. knowing that 'llamo a Lucía' means 'I call Lucía' whilst 'me llamo Lucía' is 'I'm called Lucía (I call myself Lucía)' avoids misunderstanding.
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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 'hardly' or 'barely'?
además
antes
Correct answer: apenas
ayer
aunque
Q2.
Which word means 'already'?
a
con
no
Correct answer: ya
Q3.
Match the Spanish and English.
Correct Answer:conocer,to know, knowing

to know, knowing

Correct Answer:esconder,to hide, hiding

to hide, hiding

Correct Answer:ofrecer,to offer, offering

to offer, offering

Correct Answer:sufrir,to suffer, suffering

to suffer, suffering

Correct Answer:romper,to break, breaking

to break, breaking

Correct Answer:mirar,to look, looking

to look, looking

Q4.
Order the words to say: 'the culture of the United States'.
1 - la
2 - cultura
3 - de
4 - los
5 - Estados
6 - Unidos
Q5.
Write in English: 'I take photos of my dog'.
Correct Answer: Saco fotos de mi perro, Yo saco fotos de mi perro
Q6.
Write in Spanish: 'I spend time with my family'.
Correct Answer: Paso tiempo con mi familia, Yo paso tiempo con mi familia

Assessment exit quiz

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4 Questions

Q1.
'Hablo __________ con mis amigos'. Choose the correct missing word.
Correct answer: demasiado
demasiados
demasiada
demasiadas
Q2.
Which sentences need to add the personal 'a'?
Busco _____ mi vestido.
Correct answer: Busco _____ mi gato.
Veo _____ la película.
Correct answer: Veo _____ la chica.
Correct answer: Ayudo _____ mi profesor.
Q3.
Order the words to say: 'I get up and I wash my dog'.
1 - me
2 - levanto
3 - y
4 - lavo
5 - a
6 - mi
7 - perro
Q4.
Write in Spanish: 'I think that I wake up'.
Correct Answer: Pienso que despierto, Yo pienso que yo despierto

Additional material

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