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Knowing who does what:�–ar verbs with ‘I’ versus ‘s/he’�

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Knowing who does what:�–ar verbs with ‘I’ versus ‘s/he’

Nick Avery / Emma Marsden / Rachel Hawkes

In Spanish, the words for ‘I’ and ‘s/he’ (pronouns) are often unnecessary.

This is because the verb ending tells us who is doing the action.

Compare:

Hablo

Habla

So, for regular Spanish verbs ending in –ar (e.g. hablar):

To talk about ‘I’, remove –ar and add –o.
To talk about ‘s/he’, remove –ar and add –a.

🡪 I speak

🡪 S/he speaks

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

3 of 17

Maria is talking about her twin sister, Silvia. She talks about the things her twin sister does, and the things she herself does.

Gemelas (twins)

	Maria says:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

So, they look the same, but how are they different?

Hint: pay attention to the verb endings!

Practica muchos deportes.

Escucho música electrónica.

Camina al colegio.

Llega tarde a casa.

Bailo salsa.

Habla italiano.

Ayuda en casa.

Canto en un grupo.

Monta en bici.

Paso mucho tiempo con amigos.

Reading

Nick Avery / Emma Marsden / Rachel Hawkes

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

4 of 17

	Maria (the person talking, ‘I’)	Silvia (the sister, ‘she’)
1. Who does a lot of sports?
2. Who listens to electronic music?
3. Who walks to school?
4. Who arrives home late?
5. Who dances salsa?
6. Who speaks Italian?
7. Who helps at home?
8. Who sings in a group?
9. Who rides a bike?
10. Who spends a lot of time with friends?

✔

Reading

Nick Avery / Emma Marsden / Rachel Hawkes

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

5 of 17

Now listen to Maria talk about what she and Silvia do at home.

Nick Avery / Emma Marsden / Rachel Hawkes

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

6 of 17

	Maria (the person talking, ‘I’)	Silvia (the sister, ‘she’)
Who washes clothes?
Who takes the clothes out?
Who looks after the cat?
Who cleans the floor?
Who washes the car?
Who tidies the house?
Who helps in the garden?
Who paints the walls?
Who prepares the food?
Who takes out the rubbish?

✔

Listening

Nick Avery / Emma Marsden / Rachel Hawkes

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

7 of 17

Sam’s parents are complaining again.

They say he and his brother don’t do enough to help out at home.

Student A: You’re Sam. Tell your parent what you and your brother do when the parents are away.

Student B: You’re one of the parents. Listen and complete the grid. What does Sam say he does?

speaking / listening

Household chores

Nick Avery / Emma Marsden / Rachel Hawkes

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

8 of 17

me

wash clothes

2. brother

take clothes out

5. me

wash the car

4. brother

clean the floor

3. me

look after the cat

speaking / listening

Nick Avery / Emma Marsden / Rachel Hawkes

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

9 of 17

neighbour

wash clothes

2. me

take clothes out

5. me

wash the car

4. neighbour

clean the floor

3. neighbour

look after the cat

Student B: you are the parent - you don’t believe any of this!

Tell your son/daughter:�

what the neighbour does when you are away.
what you do when you return home

speaking / listening

Nick Avery / Emma Marsden / Rachel Hawkes

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

10 of 17

Need some help?

To wash clothes (do the washing) – lavar la ropa
To take the clothes out – sacar la ropa
To look after the cat – cuidar al gato
To clean the floor – limpiar el suelo
To wash the car – lavar el coche

speaking / listening

Nick Avery / Emma Marsden / Rachel Hawkes

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

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	Sam (your partner)	Sam’s brother
1. Who washes the clothes?
2. Who takes the clothes out (to dry)?
3. Who looks after the cat?
4. Who cleans the floor?
5. Who washes the car?

Student B

speaking / listening

Nick Avery / Emma Marsden / Rachel Hawkes

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

12 of 17

	Sam (your partner)	Sam’s brother
1. Who washes the clothes?
2. Who takes the clothes out (to dry)?
3. Who looks after the cat?
4. Who cleans the floor?
5. Who washes the car?

✔

speaking / listening

Student B

Nick Avery / Emma Marsden / Rachel Hawkes

ANSWERS

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

13 of 17

	parent	neighbour
1. Who washes the clothes?
2. Who takes the clothes out (to dry)?
3. Who looks after the cat?
4. Who cleans the floor?
5. Who washes the car?

speaking / listening

Student A

Nick Avery / Emma Marsden / Rachel Hawkes

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

14 of 17

	parent (your partner)	neighbour
1. Who washes the clothes?
2. Who takes the clothes out (to dry)?
3. Who looks after the cat?
4. Who cleans the floor?
5. Who washes the car?

✔

speaking / listening

Student A

Nick Avery / Emma Marsden / Rachel Hawkes

ANSWERS

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

15 of 17

Student A (you are Sam)

Using the prompt cards, write 5 sentences about what you do and your brother does.

1) __________ la ropa.

2) __________ la ropa.

3) __________ al gato.

4) __________ el suelo.

5) __________ el coche.

writing

Nick Avery / Emma Marsden / Rachel Hawkes

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

16 of 17

Student A (you are Sam)

Using the prompt cards, write 5 sentences about what you do and your brother do.

1) __________ la ropa.

2) __________ la ropa.

3) __________ al gato.

4) __________ el suelo.

5) __________ el coche.

writing

lavo

cuido

saca

limpia

lavo

Nick Avery / Emma Marsden / Rachel Hawkes

ANSWERS

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes

17 of 17

Student B (you are the parent)

Using your prompt cards, write 5 sentences about what the neighbour does when you are away and what you do when you get home.

1) __________ la ropa.

2) __________ la ropa.

3) __________ al gato.

4) __________ el suelo.

5) __________ el coche.

writing

lava

cuida

saco

limpia

lavo

Nick Avery / Emma Marsden / Rachel Hawkes

ANSWERS

Material licensed as CC BY-NC-SA 4.0�

Rachel Hawkes