Relationships and routines: reflexive 'me'
Lesson details
Learning outcome
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.
Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons
Key learning points
- Spanish verbs like ‘despertar’ have a stem change in some of their forms, e.g. ‘despierto’ is the 1st person singular.
- The word ‘demasiado’ can be both adjective and adverb. As an adverb it needs no agreement but as an adjective it does.
- 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'.
- Sometimes the subject and object of a verb are the same. Use a reflexive pronoun before the verb, e.g. 'me lavo'.
- 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'.
Teacher tip
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.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which word means 'hardly' or 'barely'?
Q2.Which word means 'already'?
Q3.Match the Spanish and English.
to know, knowing
to hide, hiding
to offer, offering
to suffer, suffering
to break, breaking
to look, looking
Q4.Order the words to say: 'the culture of the United States'.
Q5.Write in English: 'I take photos of my dog'.
Q6.Write in Spanish: 'I spend time with my family'.
Assessment exit quiz
4 Questions
Q1.'Hablo __________ con mis amigos'. Choose the correct missing word.
Q2.Which sentences need to add the personal 'a'?
Q3.Order the words to say: 'I get up and I wash my dog'.
Q4.Write in Spanish: 'I think that I wake up'.
To help you plan your 8 Spanish lesson on: Relationships and routines: reflexive 'me', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 8 Spanish lesson on: Relationships and routines: reflexive 'me', 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 Relationships and daily life: personal 'a', pronouns unit, dive into the full secondary Spanish curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.