Phrases to learn for my GCSE spanish writing?

Hi well we were going over our mock spanish paper last week and i got 15/20 which I was happy about. The problem is I am a perfectionist and the teacher's comment was that I didnt have enough "nice" phrases.
I included things like lo bueno es que and pienso que but is there anything else I should be including. BTW I am on the AQA board if that even matters

Thanks

Reply 1

Danules

7

Best one to learn is Ojala fuera- If only I was (imperfect subjeunctive). then follow it with a conditional. I think ojala has an accent on it

Also continuous tenses are easy if you know how to use them
And perfect tenses- such as I have gone he ido can be made from all tenses by changing haber- habia ido (with accent on i of habia-computer wont insert them) means I had gone

Reply 2

lettyloo

Learn things like cuando era pequena and try to use as many tenses as possible. Also once you have said a phrase dont use it again too much as you probably wont get any more marks for it. Well done for the 15/20 in a mock- it is near impossible to get 20/20 i got 17/20 in the real thing and ended up with an A* in it. Are you taking Spanish next year? x

Reply 3

Miss Mary

14

mammamia:0

Hi well we were going over our mock spanish paper last week and i got 15/20 which I was happy about. The problem is I am a perfectionist and the teacher's comment was that I didnt have enough "nice" phrases.
I included things like lo bueno es que and pienso que but is there anything else I should be including. BTW I am on the AQA board if that even matters

Thanks

If you feel like it, you can tell me all the English phrases that you wish to know in Spanish, and I'll translate them for you.

Reply 4

mammamia:0

OP

2

Miss Mary

If you feel like it, you can tell me all the English phrases that you wish to know in Spanish, and I'll translate them for you.

How do you say things like

"I remember when" and "It would be better/worse if" thanks

I cant think of any more at the moment :biggrin:

Reply 5

Miss Mary

14

mammamia:0

How do you say things like

"I remember when" and "It would be better/worse if" thanks

I cant think of any more at the moment :biggrin:

I remember when = Recuerdo que... (for specific moments), Me acuerdo cuando... (for past habits, e.g. me acuerdo cuando solía ir a la escuela)
It would be better/worse if = Sería mejor/peor si... , Sería una mejor idea ...

Reply 6

CatatonicStupor

15

Maybe the simplest thing to do instead of learning the subjunctive and trying to remember how things follow Ojalá, Querer and Esperar, is just to vary your vocab a lot. I mean, Pienso que is all well and good, but there are so many ways to say things like that:

Pienso que - I think that
Siento que - I feel that
Creo que - I believe that
Me parece que - It seems to me that
En mi opinion - In my opinion
Segun yo - according to me
A mi modo de ver - In my opinion

Other useful phrases:

Además/También
Es decir (que) - "That's to say (that)..."
No soló [algo] sino también... - "Not only [blank] but also..."
Por lo tanto - "Therefore/For that reason"
Es por esa razón que - "It's for this reason that..."
Por esta razón - "It's for this reason..."
Actualmente - "Currently..." [it's a false friend, so it might show you're a bit smarter than the average Osa].
A un lado/Al otro lado - "On the one hand/On the other hand..."
Por supuesto - "Of course..."
Supongo que - "I suppose that"
Sin embargo/No obstante - "However..."
De hecho - "In fact..."

I'm running out of thoughts on this. It's the best I can give you off the top of my head - usually it'd be better if I were translating or writing my own essay, but, they're a few decent phrases that you can pepper your essay with.

Oh, and despite saying I wouldn't give you a subjunctive, this one happened to be my Spanish teacher's favourite one, so I may as well pass it on:

Es imprescindible que + subj. EG. "Es imprescindible que vayas a sus clases" - "It is essential that you go to your classes".

Reply 7

hastalavista

Los examenes son un rollo!! I use that one a lot :P

Reply 8

Beth__X

On this note i'm trying to write a sixty word essay on my school of the future but i am totally stumped, anybody have any ideas at all? =] :woo:

Reply 9

sarah beli

Original post by lettyloo

Learn things like cuando era pequena and try to use as many tenses as possible. Also once you have said a phrase dont use it again too much as you probably wont get any more marks for it. Well done for the 15/20 in a mock- it is near impossible to get 20/20 i got 17/20 in the real thing and ended up with an A* in it. Are you taking Spanish next year? x

well i wanted to know how to get an a* in my essay 'school life' and i dont know how to start ? can you help me "/

Reply 10

RemiMarcelle

17

This is a really useful thread, as I'm doing my Spanish GCSE at the moment, just took a speaking exam last week.

I really love Spanish, just need to remember more phrases...

Reply 11

mahogany_

1

Original post by CatatonicStupor

Maybe the simplest thing to do instead of learning the subjunctive and trying to remember how things follow Ojalá, Querer and Esperar, is just to vary your vocab a lot. I mean, Pienso que is all well and good, but there are so many ways to say things like that:

Pienso que - I think that
Siento que - I feel that
Creo que - I believe that
Me parece que - It seems to me that
En mi opinion - In my opinion
Segun yo - according to me
A mi modo de ver - In my opinion

Other useful phrases:

Además/También
Es decir (que) - "That's to say (that)..."
No soló [algo] sino también... - "Not only [blank] but also..."
Por lo tanto - "Therefore/For that reason"
Es por esa razón que - "It's for this reason that..."
Por esta razón - "It's for this reason..."
Actualmente - "Currently..." [it's a false friend, so it might show you're a bit smarter than the average Osa].
A un lado/Al otro lado - "On the one hand/On the other hand..."
Por supuesto - "Of course..."
Supongo que - "I suppose that"
Sin embargo/No obstante - "However..."
De hecho - "In fact..."

I'm running out of thoughts on this. It's the best I can give you off the top of my head - usually it'd be better if I were translating or writing my own essay, but, they're a few decent phrases that you can pepper your essay with.

Oh, and despite saying I wouldn't give you a subjunctive, this one happened to be my Spanish teacher's favourite one, so I may as well pass it on:

Es imprescindible que + subj. EG. "Es imprescindible que vayas a sus clases" - "It is essential that you go to your classes".

using No soló [algo] sino también
how would you say it is important to avoid alcohol because not only does binge drinking cause more violence but also it causes more crime.

Reply 12

rose1614

1

a mi mode de ver/pensar- to my way of thinking/seeing

Reply 13

Ariella12345

So how do you say if only i was brave?

Reply 14

George Potter

great phrase i use is 'Si ganase la lotería me gustaria' - 'If i won the lottery i would like....'

Reply 15

nerdygirl123

3

We were told that if we want to get an A/A*, we need to include:
- comparatives (for a higher level they have to be followed by an infinitive e.g. es más interestante que ir al cine etc.) -
- superlatives - lo mejor/lo peor/ lo que más me gusta etc.
- negatives - no...ni...ni
- idioms/colloquial expressions
- he/she/we/they forms of verbs
- evidence of all tenses used correctly
- structures followed by infinitives - suelo +infinitive, para + infinitive

We also have to link our ideas and refer back to them or make sure that our work flows well.

I hope this helps.

Reply 16

beyknowles

3

Why is there so much time between posts in this thread?

Reply 17

The_Prince

4

It's also good to include some exclamations as well, such as ¡Qué emocionante! (How exciting!). These round off paragraphs quite well in my experience. Be careful not to forget the acute accent in the "¡Qué" though.

Reply 18

Nana Cass

3

Hi, I'm 66 and just about to take my Higher Spanish as an external candidate. I am working without a teacher and am trying to practice writing a 150 -180 word essay for the exam. I have looked at past papers over the last 4 years and the subject is very similar, a young student either going on a school exchange visit to Spain, or on a family holiday to Spain or going to stay at a friends home in Spain.
I got 68% in my prelims but was marked down in my essays. I needed more complex sentences and a more varied use of verbs. My Spanish was also too literal, as though I was writing an essay in English. I think that is my biggest problem, how to structure a sentence in a ' Spanish way'!
Anyone got any ideas either on sentence structure or more eloquent ways to express myself. It's difficult to put myself into the mind of a 17/18year old .. but definitely not impossible.
I have written down all the previous suggestions. Many Thanks

Reply 19

dinosaaur

Can you help me I need to this translated in spanish:
If I was headteacher I would give every student chocolates every Friday morning. I feel that students would work better, currently as most students don't eat breakfast.

Phrases to learn for my GCSE spanish writing?

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