New
New
Year 11
Edexcel

¿Cómo fue?: preterite 'ir' and 'ser'

I can use singular plural forms of 'ser' and 'ir' in the preterite tense in the context of a trip to a book fair.

New
New
Year 11
Edexcel

¿Cómo fue?: preterite 'ir' and 'ser'

I can use singular plural forms of 'ser' and 'ir' in the preterite tense in the context of a trip to a book fair.

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. The verbs 'ser' and 'ir' have the same preterite tense conjugations.
  2. The preterite tense forms of 'ser' and 'ir' are 'fui', 'fuiste', 'fue', 'fuimos', 'fuisteis' and 'fueron'.
  3. The preterite tense of 'ser' can be used to describe completed events or situations in the past.
  4. World Book Day (April 23rd) marks Cervantes' and Shakespeare's deaths. Many Spanish cities celebrate with book fairs.
  5. In Catalonia, Sant Jordi coincides with World Book Day. People give a book and a flower as a symbol of love and culture.

Keywords

  • Ser - verb meaning 'to be, being' for general traits

  • Ir - verb meaning 'to go, going'

  • Preterite - verb tense used to talk about completed actions in the past

Common misconception

The only translation of 'fue' is 'she, he, it was'.

'Fue' can mean 'she, he, it was' or 'she, he, it went' depending on the context. The verbs 'ser' and 'ir' are identical in the preterite tense.


To help you plan your year 11 Spanish lesson on: ¿Cómo fue?: preterite 'ir' and 'ser', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Further consolidation of the misconception can be addressed in the lesson by asking students to translate the text in Task B2 during the final learning cycle.
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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.
'__________ niñas están jugando.' Choose the correct missing word.

aquel
aquello
aquellos
aquella
Correct answer: aquellas

Q2.
Match the Spanish and English.

Correct Answer:creer,to believe, believing

to believe, believing

Correct Answer:pagar,to pay, paying

to pay, paying

Correct Answer:nacer,to be born, being born

to be born, being born

Correct Answer:morir,to die, dying

to die, dying

Correct Answer:mencionar,to mention, mentioning

to mention, mentioning

Correct Answer:servir,to serve, serving

to serve, serving

Q3.
Match the Spanish and English.

Correct Answer:aspecto (m),appearance

appearance

Correct Answer:corazón (f),heart

heart

Correct Answer:escritor (m),writer

writer

Correct Answer:empleado (m),employee

employee

Correct Answer:piso (m),apartment, floor (of a building)

apartment, floor (of a building)

Correct Answer:siglo (m),century

century

Q4.
Order the words to say: 'the kitchen is downstairs and the bathrooom is upstairs'.

1 - la
2 - cocina
3 - está abajo
4 - y
5 - el
6 - baño
7 - está arriba

Q5.
Write in English: 'me gustan los caramelos agrios'.

Correct Answer: I like sour sweets, I like the sour sweets

Q6.
Write in Spanish: 'the shirt is fashionable'.

Correct Answer: la camisa está de moda, la camisa está a la moda

Assessment exit quiz

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4 Questions

Q1.
Which statements are correct?

World Book Day is celebrated on the 23rd of July.
World Book Day celebrates the birth of Shakespeare and Cervantes.
Correct answer: Sant Jordi is the same day as World Book Day.
Correct answer: People give a book and a flower for Sant Jordi.
Sant Jordi is celebrated across Spain.

Q2.
The Spanish verb 'fue' can mean ...

Correct answer: she, he, it was
she, he, it did
she, he, it had
Correct answer: she, he, it went
she, he, it found

Q3.
Match the Spanish and English.

Correct Answer:fui,I was, I went

I was, I went

Correct Answer:fuiste,you were, you went

you were, you went

Correct Answer:fue,she, he, it was; she, he, it went

she, he, it was; she, he, it went

Correct Answer:fuimos,we were, we went

we were, we went

Correct Answer:fuisteis,you all were, you all went

you all were, you all went

Correct Answer:fueron,they were, they went

they were, they went

Q4.
Write in Spanish: 'we went to buy the novel'.

Correct Answer: fuimos a comprar la novela

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