New
New
Year 8

Routines: personal 'a'

Learning outcomes

I can use the personal 'a' between verbs and people or pets as direct objects, to describe routine activities.

I can recognise and pronounce the SSCs [ga], [go] and [gu] correctly.

New
New
Year 8

Routines: personal 'a'

Learning outcomes

I can use the personal 'a' between verbs and people or pets as direct objects, to describe routine activities.

I can recognise and pronounce the SSCs [ga], [go] and [gu] correctly.

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. The SSC [ga] is pronounced as in 'ganar', [go] is pronounced as in 'domingo' and [gu] is pronounced as in 'preguntar'.
  2. A direct object is the person, animal or thing that receives the action of the verb.
  3. When a direct object is a person or pet, Spanish uses the personal 'a' after the verb, e.g. 'cuido a mi gato'.
  4. For other direct objects it is not necessary, e.g 'cuido mi casa'.

Keywords

  • [ga] - sound-symbol correspondence pronounced as in ‘ganar’ ('to win')

  • [go] - sound-symbol correspondence pronounced as in ‘domingo’ ('Sunday')

  • [gu] - sound-symbol correspondence pronounced as in 'preguntar' ('to question')

  • Direct object - person, animal or thing that receives the action of the verb

  • Personal 'a' - preposition placed before a direct object when that object is a specific person or pet

Common misconception

In Spanish the personal 'a' is required between verbs and all direct objects.

In Spanish you use the personal 'a' after the verb when the following direct object is a specific person or an animal we have a name for (a pet).


To help you plan your year 8 spanish lesson on: Routines: personal 'a', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

In this lesson the Spanish personal 'a' is introduced. As part of a plenary you could consider a fun 'call and response' activity where you say a noun and if it needs a personal 'a' the pupils hold up their arms in an A shape. If it doesn't, pupils should stay completely still.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Licence

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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6 Questions

Q1.
'Las tiendas están '. Choose the correct missing word.
cerrado
cerrada
cerrados
Correct answer: cerradas
Q2.
Match the Spanish and English.
Correct Answer:comentario (m),comment

comment

Correct Answer:éxito (m),success

success

Correct Answer:foto (f),photo

photo

Correct Answer:red (f),network

network

Correct Answer:razón (f),reason

reason

Correct Answer:país (m),country

country

Q3.
Match the Spanish and English.
Correct Answer:amar,to love, loving

to love, loving

Correct Answer:crear,to create, creating

to create, creating

Correct Answer:dejar,to leave, leaving

to leave, leaving

Correct Answer:entender,to understand, understanding

to understand, understanding

Correct Answer:enviar,to send, sending

to send, sending

Correct Answer:publicar,to publish, post

to publish, post

Q4.
Order the words to say: 'I am lucky and he is tired'.
1 - tengo
2 - suerte
3 - y
4 - tiene
5 - sueño
Q5.
Write in English: 'mi gato está encima de la mesa'.
Correct Answer: My cat is on top of the table., My cat is on the table.
Q6.
Write in Spanish: 'there are thirteen open doors'.
Correct Answer: Hay trece puertas abiertas.

5 Questions

Q1.
Match the word with the missing sound.
Correct Answer:[ga],__to

__to

Correct Answer:[go],jue__

jue__

Correct Answer:[gu],se__ndo

se__ndo

Q2.
Which sentences require the personal 'a'?
Correct answer: Busco ___ mi perro.
Mi madre busca ___ mis deberes.
Mi gato necesita ___ una cama.
Correct answer: Me gusta visitar ___ mis abuelos.
Siempre visito ___ la piscina con mi novia.
Q3.
Order the words to say: 'I know an English teacher'.
1 - conozco
2 - a
3 - una
4 - profesora
5 - de
6 - inglés
Q4.
Write in Spanish: 'I don't understand my boyfriend'.
Correct Answer: No entiendo a mi novio., Yo no entiendo a mi novio.
Q5.
Write in Spanish: 'I bring the drinks'.
Correct Answer: Traigo las bebidas., Yo traigo las bebidas.

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