SPANISH CORRECTIONS GUIDE

TEACHER’S CODE WHERE TO LOOKPr Presentation, page 2Pu Punctuation, page 3Sp Spelling, page 3Pl Plurals, page 3WO Word order, page 5MW Missing word, page 5WW Wrong word, page 5AA Adjective agreement, page 6C Connectives, page 6Op Opinions, page 7Ju Justify opinions, page 8WT Wrong tense, page 9WP Wrong person of the verb, page 9Pres. Present tense, page 9NFut. Near future tense, page 10Fut. Future tense, page 11Pret. Preterite tense, page 13Per. Perfect tense, page 14Imp. Imperfect tense, page 15Con. Conditional tense, page 16Eng. English word, page 16? Unclear, page 16

ALL CORRECTIONS/FEEDBACK SHOULD BE COMPLETED USING A GREEN PEN.

(Pr)PresentationCheck that you have underlined your date and title.

Is your handwriting neat? Can the words be read easily? Re-write any words/sentences/passages that need to be re-written.

Have you graffitied on the page? This is not allowed! Please glue a piece of white blank paper over the graffiti. If you continue to graffiti, you may be given a detention.

Have you used the correct subheadings your teacher asked you to use during the lesson?

Have you written the title ‘Homework’ or ‘Deberes’ for homework tasks?

(Pu)PunctuationPlease check that you have used the correct punctuation.

Full stops at the end of sentences.

Commas to separate words in a list.

In Spanish, upside-down exclamation marks and question marks are used at the beginning of exclamations and questions. EXAMPLES: ¡Qué bien! ¿Cómo te llamas?

Capital letters at the beginning of new sentences and for proper nouns (names of people and places). In Spanish the days of the week and the months do not need capital letters unless they are the first word in a sentence.

(Sp)SpellingYou have misspelt one or more words on this line. The words will be underlined or highlighted. To find the correct spellings, look in your notes, in your vocabulary list or in a dictionary. Please write each spelling mistake out three times in green pen.

(Pl)Singular plural There is at least one word in the sentence that you have written as singular when it needs to be plural.

BASIC RULES:

Words ending in a vowel (a,e,i,o,u) add an ‘s’ to the end. Words ending in any other letter add an ‘es’ to the end. Words ending in ‘z’ change the ‘z’ to ‘c’ before adding ‘es’ (pez peces)

THE FULL RULES:

Words Ending in an Unstressed Vowel

When the word ends in a vowel without an accent, simply add the letter s.

el libro, the book; los libros, the books

el gemelo, the twin; los gemelos, the twins

el pato, the duck; los patos, the ducks

Nouns Ending in a Stressed Vowel

A few nouns have a single syllable ending in a vowel or have multiple syllables and end in an accented vowel. In standard or formal writing, simply add the letters es.

el tisú, the tissue, los tisúes, the tissues

el hindú, the Hindu, los hindúes, the Hindus

Words Ending in a Consonant

As is common in English, nouns ending in a consonant are made plural by adding es.

el escultor; the sculptor; los escultores, the sculptors

la sociedad, the society; las sociedades, the societies

el azul, the blue one; los azules, the blue ones

el mes, the month; los meses, the months

Y is treated as a consonant for this rule: la ley, the law; las leyes, the laws.

Words Ending in S Preceded by an Unstressed Vowel

The plural form is the same as the singular form for nouns ending in an unstressed vowel followed by s.

el lunes, Monday; los lunes, Mondays

el rompecabezas, the puzzle; los rompecabezas, the puzzles

la crisis, the crisis; las crisis, the crises

The Exceptions

Exceptions to the above rules are few. Here are the most common ones:

Words Ending in É

Words ending in a stressed e or é simply need an s at the end:

el café, the coffeehouse; los cafés, the coffeehouses

la fe, the faith; las fes, the faiths

Nouns Ending in Z

The z changes to c when followed by es:

el pez, the fish; los peces, the fishes;

el juez, the judge; los jueces, the judges

Nouns Ending in an Accented vowel followed by S or N

The written accent isn't needed in pluralizing a noun ending in a vowel followed by s or n.

el interés, the interest; los intereses, the interests

el francés, the Frenchman, los franceses, the Frenchmen

el avión, the airplane; los aviones, the airplanes

Nouns Ending in N in an Unstressed Syllable:

But an accent is needed when a noun ending in an unstressed vowel and n is made plural:

el examen, the exam; los exámenes, the exams

el crimen, the crime; los crímenes, the crimes

(WO)Word orderSometimes words are not written in the same order in a Spanish sentence as they are in an English sentence. The most common cause of this is adjectives.

EXAMPLE:

The white dog = el perro blanco.

An arrow will be marked on your page to show which words need to be swapped.

EXAMPLE:

El blanco perro(MW)Missing wordYou have missed one or more words out of your sentence. Re-read it and think about what you were trying to say.

Common words that students miss out include:

Es = (it) is

Y = and

O = or

Son = they are

Porque = because

(WW)Wrong wordYou have used one or more wrong words in the sentence. The word(s) you used do not make sense in the context.

Common mix-ups include:

Es /En Es = is En = in/on

Y/es Y = and Es = is

(AA)Adjective agreementIn Spanish adjectives agree with the noun they describe. This means that is a noun is masculine, so if the adjective that describes it. If a noun is feminine, the adjective is feminine too. If a noun is plural, then the adjective with me plural too.

EXAMPLES:

El chico es alto = the boy is tall (masculine, singular sentence)

La chica es alta = the girl is tall (feminine, singular sentence)

Los chicos son altos = the boys are tall (masculine, plural sentence)

Las chicas son altas = the girls are tall (feminine, plural sentence)

If an adjective ends in a vowel (a,e,i,o,u) just add an ‘s’ to make it plural.

If an adjective ends in a consonant (any other letter), add ‘es’ to make it plural.

EXAMPLES:

Grande (big) grandes

Trabajador (hardworking) trabajadores

HOWEVER…

Adjectives which end in ‘z’ change the ‘z’ to ‘c’ before adding ‘es’.

EXAMPLES:

Feliz (happy) felices

Capaz (capable) capaces

(C)ConnectivesYou may need to add one or more connectives to your sentence to make it flow better.

Some common connectives are:

ConnectorsSin embargo - However Pero - But Porque - Because También - Also Además - Also Aunque - Although A pesar de - despite Entonces - Then Así que - So Por lo tanto – therefore Mientras que – whilst

Time expressions

Normalmente - Normally Usualmente - Usually Generalmente - Generally

A veces - Sometimes De vez en cuando - From time to time A menudo - Often Siempre -Always Nunca – Never

Sequencing words

Sequencing words or expressions are those that tell use in which order things happen. They function as both connectors and expressions of time.

Primero / Segundo / Tercero… - First / Second / Third

Luego - Then Después - After Más tarde - Later

Por último - In last place Finalmente - Finally

(Op)Give an opinionGive an opinion about the topic you are writing about (whether you like/dislike a school subject, etc.)

Some opinion phrases are:

NOTE: where an ‘n’ is in brackets (n) it means you add it when you are giving an opinion about something plural. [Me gusta el inglés, me gustan las matemáticas]

Me gusta(n) I likeNo me gusta(n) I don’t likeMe gusta(n) mucho I really likeNo me gusta(n) nada I don’t like at allDetesto/odio I hateMe encanta(n) I loveCreo que I think thatMe parece que It seems to me thatMe temo que I’m afraid thatMe pone [+ adjective] It makes me

Me pone nervioso/a It makes me nervousEstoy de acuerdo que I agree thatSupongo que I suppose thatEn mi opinión In my opinionDesde mi punto de vista From my point of viewPuede que me equivoque, pero… I could be wrong, but…Yo diría que… I would say…Me da igual I don’t mindMe chifla(n)… I’m crazy about…Me mola(n)… It’s really coolPrefiero I preferMe fastidia(n) It annoys meMe molesta(n) It bothers mePersonalmente PersonallyNo soporto I can’t standTengo la impresión de que… I have the impression that…

(Ju)Justify opinionGive a reason for the opinion you have expressed. Say what you like/dislike what you are writing about. Use a dictionary to find suitable adjectives.

Some useful words and phrases:

Porque becauseDado que Given thatYa que BecauseA causa de Because/due toDebido a Due toComoComo soy estudiante, tengo los fines de semana libres.

Because/as (at start of sentence)Because / as I’m a student, I have the weekends free.

Gracias aSoy quien soy gracias a mi familia.

Thanks to/due toI am who I am thanks to my family.

Es It is/he is/she isSon They are

(WT)Wrong tenseYou have used the wrong tense in this sentence.

If you are writing about something that is over and done with in the past, you need to use the preterite tense.

If you are writing about something that used to happen or was ongoing in the past, you need to use the imperfect tense.

If you want to say something HAS HAPPENED (I have spoken, we have played, she has studied, etc.) then you need to use the perfect tense.

If you are writing about something that will happen in the future, you need to use either the near future tense or the future tense.

If you want to use the word WOULD (I would like, they would go, etc.) then you need to use the conditional tense.

(WP)Wrong person of the verbYou have used the wrong verb ending for the person you are writing about, for example you have written ‘I spoke’ when you needed to write ‘they spoke’.

See the section of this guide for the tense you are writing in to review the correct verb endings.

(Pres.)Present tenseThe present tense is used to talk/write about what is happening now. Below is a table showing the endings for regular verbs in the present tense. First take off the AR, ER or IR and then add the correct ending for the person you need to write about.

(NFut.)Near future tenseAlso called the immediate future tense, this tense uses the word GOING in English (I am going to go to Spain, we are going to play football).

(Fut.)Future tenseYou use the future tense when you want to use WILL in English (I will go to Spain, you will leave at 3 o’clock).

Below is a table showing the endings for the future tense. You add these ending ONTO the whole verb. You do not have to take off the AR, ER or IR.

Underneath the table is a list of some of the most common verbs that do not follow the normal pattern and so are irregular

I

You (singular)

He/she/it

We

You (plural)

They

(Pret.)Preterite tenseThe preterite tense, sometimes called the simple past, is used to write/talk about actions that are over and done with in the past (I spoke, he listened, they went).

(Per.)Perfect tenseIf you want to say something HAS HAPPENED (I have spoken, we have played, she has studied, etc.) then you need to use the perfect tense.

Some past participles in Spanish are irregular:

(Imp.)Imperfect tenseIf you are writing about something that used to happen or was ongoing in the past, you need to use the imperfect tense.

(Con.)Conditional tenseIf you want to use the word WOULD (I would like, they would go, etc.) then you need to use the conditional tense.

To form the conditional tense, add the endings in the table below to the whole verb. You do not have to remove the AR, ER or IR first.

Some of the common verbs that do not follow the normal pattern (irregular verbs) are listed at the bottom of the graphic.

(Eng.) English WordsYou have used English words in this sentence/passage. Please look up the Spanish words in your vocabulary sheets or use a dictionary.

(?) UnclearThis sentence/section is unclear. Please tell your teacher what you want to write.

I

You (singular)

He/she/it

We

You (plural)

They