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SavannahYear 8
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LanguagesYo y mi familia22 min★★ difficulty

Ser y tener: the two verbs you need most

Ser and tener carry an enormous amount of everyday Spanish. Learning both fully now saves months of guessing later.

Part of your national curriculum
  • Grammar and vocabulary: Use accurate grammar, spelling and punctuation, including gender, agreement and word order as appropriate to the language

Lesson overview

What you'll learn in this lesson

Use accurate grammar, spelling and punctuation, including gender, agreement and word order as appropriate to the language

Key learning points

  • • Ser — to be
  • • Tener — to have
  • • Ser versus estar

This lesson at a glance

  • 22 minutes
  • 15 parts to scroll through
  • 4 quick checks
  • Marked quiz at the end
  • Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses

Words to know

accurategrammarspellingpunctuationgender

Scroll down — the lesson carries on below

Part 1 of 15 · Discover7%
1

Watch & discover

Part 1 of 15

Watch first

Ser y tener: the two verbs you need most

An English teaching video on this topic from Book Time with Mel📚. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.

In a nutshell

Use accurate grammar, spelling and punctuation, including gender, agreement and word order as appropriate to the language

2

Learning cycle

Part 2 of 15

Learning cycle 1 of 2

Part 1 · Ser — to be

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

3

Explore the idea

Part 3 of 15

Learn

Ser — to be

soy, eres, es, somos, sois, son. Ser is used for permanent-feeling things: identity, nationality, personality, appearance. Soy alta. Mi hermano es divertido. Somos británicos.

4

Explore the idea

Part 4 of 15

Learn

Tener — to have

tengo, tienes, tiene, tenemos, tenéis, tienen. Beyond possession, tener carries age, hunger, thirst, cold and fear: tengo hambre, tengo frío, tengo miedo. English uses 'am' for all of these, which is exactly why they are easy to get wrong.

5

Quick check

Part 5 of 15

Quick check

How do you say 'I am thirteen'?

6

Quick check

Part 6 of 15

Quick check

Which verb for 'I am tired'?

7

Reset break

Part 7 of 15

Pause

That's sitting 1 of 2 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now
8

Learning cycle

Part 8 of 15

Learning cycle 2 of 2

Part 2 · Ser versus estar

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

9

Explore the idea

Part 9 of 15

Learn

Ser versus estar

Estar covers position and temporary states: estoy en casa, estoy cansada. A useful test: if the sentence answers 'what is this, essentially?' use ser; if it answers 'where or how is it right now?' use estar.

10

Quick check

Part 10 of 15

Quick check

What does 'tengo frío' mean?

11

Quick check

Part 11 of 15

Quick check

Which sentence is correct?

12

Explore the idea

Part 12 of 15

Worked example

Worked example: correcting three sentences

'Soy trece años' → Tengo trece años (age uses tener). 'Estoy inglesa' → Soy inglesa (nationality is identity). 'Soy en el parque' → Estoy en el parque (location uses estar). Each error is a direct translation from English, which is the pattern to watch for.

13

Challenge round

Part 13 of 15

Game · Sort it

Which of these are true?

Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.

True

Not true

14

Mastery quiz

Part 14 of 15

Marked quiz

End of lesson quiz: Ser y tener: the two verbs you need most

4 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.

  1. 1. How do you say 'I am thirteen'?

  2. 2. Which verb for 'I am tired'?

  3. 3. What does 'tengo frío' mean?

  4. 4. Which sentence is correct?

15

Lesson round-up

Part 15 of 15

Lesson round-up

Ready when you are

Quiz score

Not sat

Games

Not played

Points this lesson

0

Best run

0 in a row

Luna: 0 out of 4 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?

Ask Luna

Do the work

Your written work for this lesson

This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.

Extract

Une journée à Lyon

Samedi matin, je me lève à sept heures et demie. Je prends le petit déjeuner avec ma sœur — du pain, du beurre et un chocolat chaud. Ensuite, nous prenons le bus jusqu'au centre-ville.

J'aime beaucoup Lyon parce qu'il y a un grand marché près du fleuve. Ma sœur préfère les magasins, mais moi, je préfère le marché : c'est moins cher et c'est plus intéressant. À midi, nous mangeons un sandwich au parc.

L'après-midi, il commence à pleuvoir, alors nous rentrons à la maison en tram. Le soir, je fais mes devoirs et je regarde un film avec mes parents.

Original text written for Good Learning Co.

Reading questions

  1. In English, say what the writer does in the morning, at midday and in the evening.
  2. Find the phrases that give an opinion and a reason, and copy them out.
  3. Write 8–10 sentences about your own Saturday, using at least three phrases from the text.

  • Written practice

    Writing

    Write the sentences out in the language, then translate them back into English.

    8–10 sentences

  • Vocabulary page

    Working out

    Copy the new words, cover them, and test yourself. Note the ones you keep missing.

    15 words

Saved as you type.

Part 1 of 15 · Watch & discover

How this is going

  • Not looked at yet

    Use accurate grammar, spelling and punctuation, including gender, agreement and word order as appropriate to the language

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