New
New
Year 8

Exercise and fitness: 'este' and 'esta'

I can distinguish between singular forms of 'estar' and demonstrative adjectives when using the present continuous to describe exercise.

New
New
Year 8

Exercise and fitness: 'este' and 'esta'

I can distinguish between singular forms of 'estar' and demonstrative adjectives when using the present continuous to describe exercise.

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. To say what is happening right now, Spanish uses the present continuous which is 'estar' + present participle.
  2. For -ar verbs the present participle is formed by removing -ar from the verb infinitive and adding -ando.
  3. Demonstrative adjectives distinguish one thing from another. For masculine nouns use 'este' (this) or 'estos' (these).
  4. For feminine nouns it's 'esta' (this) or 'estas' (these), which are similar to 'está' (he, she is), 'estás’ (you are).
  5. Accents avoid confusion in writing; stress on the final syllable distinguishes them in speaking.

Keywords

  • Present continuous - describes events happening right now, e.g. 'I am doing'

  • Estar - Spanish verb meaning 'to be', also the auxiliary verb for the present continuous

  • Demonstrative adjective - specifies a particular noun, indicating 'this', 'that', 'these' or 'those'

Common misconception

Some singular forms of 'estar' and feminine demonstrative adjectives look and sound the same.

The feminine demonstrative adjectives 'esta' (this) and 'estas' (these) have no accent. The 2nd and 3rd person singular forms of 'estar' have an accent on the -a: 'estás' (you are) and 'está' (she, he is). They are pronounced with stress on the -a.


To help you plan your year 8 Spanish lesson on: Exercise and fitness: 'este' and 'esta', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

This lesson directly compares 'esta' and 'estas' (feminine demonstrative adjectives) with 'está' and 'estás' (forms of 'estar') so lots of pronunciation practice is advised.
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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.
'Tengo una mochila __________'. Choose the correct missing word.
ligero
Correct answer: ligera
ligeros
ligeras
Q2.
Match the Spanish and English.
Correct Answer:esperar,to wait, waiting

to wait, waiting

Correct Answer:guardar,to keep, keeping

to keep, keeping

Correct Answer:llorar,to cry, crying

to cry, crying

Correct Answer:parecer,to seem, seeming

to seem, seeming

Correct Answer:pasar,to spend, spending (time)

to spend, spending (time)

Correct Answer:correr,to run, running

to run, running

Q3.
Match the Spanish and English.
Correct Answer:euro (m),euro

euro

Correct Answer:ejercicio (m),exercise

exercise

Correct Answer:marca (f),brand

brand

Correct Answer:pared (f),wall

wall

Correct Answer:mamá (f),mum

mum

Correct Answer:papá (m),dad

dad

Q4.
Order the words to say: 'the price of the skirt is low'.
1 - el
2 - precio
3 - de
4 - la
5 - falda
6 - es
7 - bajo
Q5.
Write in English: 'es un mes difícil'.
Correct Answer: it is a difficult month, it's a difficult month
Q6.
Write in Spanish: 'the stories are interesting'.
Correct Answer: las historias son interesantes

Assessment exit quiz

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4 Questions

Q1.
Match the articles and nouns.
Correct Answer:este,brazo

brazo

Correct Answer:estos,brazos

brazos

Correct Answer:esta,mano

mano

Correct Answer:estas,manos

manos

Q2.
Match the Spanish and English.
Correct Answer:esta,this

this

Correct Answer:estas,these

these

Correct Answer:está,she, he is

she, he is

Correct Answer:estás,you are

you are

Q3.
Which phrase means 'she is jumping'?
está salta
está saltar
Correct answer: está saltando
esta saltar
esta saltando
Q4.
Write in Spanish: 'you are recording'.
Correct Answer: estás grabando, tú estás grabando

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