• All Spanish verbs end in either ar, er or ir in the infinitive form.

• Some of the most common verbs in Spanish are irregular verbs and are conjugated differently.

• Use the definite article when talking about school subjects and days of the week.

• This guide contains reading and listening practice.

Have a look through the slideshow for the most common school subjects:

Other useful nouns for talking about school subjects include:

Useful adjectives for talking positively about subjects include:

Useful adjectives for talking negatively about subjects include:

Useful vocabulary for expressing opinions includes:

For example:

Me encanta la física porque es práctica. - I love physics because it is practical.

Odio la cocina porque es aburrida. - I hate food technology because it is boring.

All Spanish verbs end in either ar, er or ir. This form of the verb is called the infinitive.

For example:

estudiar - to study

aprender - to learn

escribir - to write

When using verbs, you will need to be able to conjugate them. Conjugating a verb means changing the infinitive ending to match the subject pronouns, eg yo, tú, él, ella etc.

Remember

You don’t always need to use subject pronouns in Spanish as there is a unique verb ending for each subject pronoun.

To conjugate regular verbs, remove the ar, er or ir ending from the infinitive and add the unique ending that goes with each subject pronoun to the stem.

Click or tap on Show more to see how to conjugate the regular verbs in Spanish.

Some of the most common verbs in Spanish are irregular verbs. This means that they don’t follow the usual pattern in the present tense. You have to learn each one separately.

Three of the most common irregular verbs are:

• ser - to be

• tener - to have

• ir - to go

For example:

Mi profe de matemáticas es aburrido. – My maths teacher is boring.

Tenemos un buen profesor de español. - We have a good Spanish teacher.

Voy a la clase de ciencias a las dos. – I go to the science lesson at two o’clock.

Find out more about verbs in the present tense in Present tense regular verbs in Spanish and Irregular verbs in the present tense in Spanish guides.

Read what these students say about the subjects they are studying.

For each extract write down:

a) which subject the student is studying

b) their opinion of that subject, choosing one of the following options:

• positive

• negative

• both positive and negative

Answer in English.

Useful phrases for giving more detailed positive opinions about school subjects include:

Useful phrases for giving more detailed negative opinions about school subjects include:

All Foundation Tier vocabulary listed in this guide can be found on the vocabulary sheet below.

Spanish uses the definite article in many situations where English doesn't, such as referring to days of the week and school subjects.

Days of the week

Days of the week typically are preceded by either el or los, depending on whether the day is singular or plural. All days of the week are masculine so it will always be el or los.

The names of the weekdays don't change in the plural form.

For example:

Voy al club de fútbol el martes. - I'm going to football club on Tuesday.

Voy al club de fútbol los martes. - I go to football club on Tuesdays.

School subjects

School subjects are typically preceded by the definite article el, la,los or las. For example:

Me gusta el inglés – I like English

No me gustan las ciencias – I don’t like science

Me encanta el español – I love Spanish

Saying what time it is - on the hour

To find out what the time is, ask ¿Qué hora es? - What time is it?

Reply with son las followed by a number to say the time on the hour.

For example:

Son las dos. - It is two o’clock.

However, for one o’clock only, use es la instead of son las.

For example:

Es la una. - It is one o’clock.

Listen to a Peruvian student talking about her school day and say what time each activity starts.

Click or tap on the image below for a list of useful vocabulary to use when talking about school subjects.

Useful Higher Tier vocabulary for talking about school subjects and giving opinions includes:

All vocabulary listed in this guide can be found on the vocabulary sheet below.

Click or tap on the image below for a list of useful Higher Tier vocabulary to use when talking about yourself and others.

Now you have revised the important vocabulary and key grammar points for school subjects and studies, why not have a look at the House and home in Spanish guide?