Theme 1: Identity and culture - Translation into Spanish
Translation into Spanish for Theme 1, identity and culture, teaches the core translation-into-Spanish technique using material on name, age, physical description, personality, family and free-time likes. Unlike the two-direction translation topics later in this strand, every task here goes from English into Spanish only, so the examiner is testing production, not recognition - can the student build an accurate Spanish sentence with the correct verb ending, the correct word order and the correct agreement, rather than just understand a Spanish one. This includes the idioms tener + [number] + años for age and gustar + infinitive for likes, both of which have no direct word-for-word English equivalent.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Read the whole English sentence before writing anything in Spanish, so a decision at the start of the sentence (such as tense) is not contradicted by something later in it.
- Identify the subject and verb of each clause and decide the grammatical person (yo, tú, él/ella, nosotros) before choosing the verb ending, since Spanish verb endings carry the subject and a wrong ending is a wrong sentence even with the right vocabulary.
- Recognise the idioms specific to this theme that cannot be translated word for word: 'I am 15 years old' is tengo quince años, not soy quince; 'I like reading' is me gusta leer, with gusta agreeing with the infinitive leer, not with yo.
- Plan Spanish word order before writing: most descriptive adjectives (colours, nationality, shape) go after the noun (ojos azules, pelo largo), while a small set of short, common adjectives can go before the noun for emphasis.
- Insert the personal a before a direct object that is a specific person (quiero mucho a mi hermana), since English has no equivalent word and it is easy to forget when translating out of English.
- Write a full draft, then check every agreement last: adjective and noun gender/number, verb person, and possessive adjectives (mi/mis, su/sus) agreeing in number with the thing owned, not with the owner's gender.
Worked example
Translate into Spanish: My name is Sofia and I am fourteen years old. I have brown eyes and long black hair. I get on well with my family, and I like listening to music in my free time.
- Split the sentence into chunks of meaning: 'My name is Sofia' / 'I am fourteen years old' / 'I have brown eyes and long black hair' / 'I get on well with my family' / 'I like listening to music in my free time'.
- 'My name is Sofia' uses the reflexive llamarse in the present tense, first person singular: me llamo Sofia.
- 'I am fourteen years old' is the idiom tener + number + años, not the verb ser: tengo catorce años.
- 'I have brown eyes and long black hair' uses tener with plural nouns, and both adjectives follow their noun and agree with it: tengo los ojos marrones y el pelo largo y negro.
- 'I get on well with my family' is the reflexive llevarse bien con: me llevo bien con mi familia.
- 'I like listening to music' is gustar + infinitive, third person singular gusta because the thing liked is one action: me gusta escuchar música en mi tiempo libre. Full translation: Me llamo Sofia y tengo catorce años. Tengo los ojos marrones y el pelo largo y negro. Me llevo bien con mi familia y me gusta escuchar música en mi tiempo libre.
Practice questions
Type your answer and press Check to be marked straight away, or reveal the answer and mark yourself.
Q1Translate into Spanish: I am fifteen years old.Show answer
Answer: Tengo quince años.
Q2Translate into Spanish: My brother is very funny.Show answer
Answer: Mi hermano es muy gracioso.
Q3Translate into Spanish: She has blue eyes.Show answer
Answer: Ella tiene los ojos azules.
Q4Translate into Spanish: I like playing football.Show answer
Answer: Me gusta jugar al fútbol.
Q5Translate into Spanish: We get on well with our neighbours.Show answer
Answer: Nos llevamos bien con nuestros vecinos.
Q6Translate into Spanish: I love my grandmother very much (use the personal a).Show answer
Answer: Quiero mucho a mi abuela.
Q7Translate into Spanish: My little sister is called Elena.Show answer
Answer: Mi hermana pequeña se llama Elena.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE Spanish exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Translate this passage into Spanish: My name is Daniel and I am sixteen years old. I am tall and I have short brown hair. I am quite shy, but my friends say that I am very kind. I have two sisters and I get on really well with them.
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Translate this passage into Spanish: My family is quite small. My mother is a teacher and she is very patient. I don't get on well with my older brother because he is selfish, but I love my little sister a lot. In my free time I like going out with my friends.
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Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
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See real GCSE Spanish past-paper questions, with official mark schemes →
Free printable worksheet
Want more practice on paper? Download the theme 1: identity and culture - translation into spanish worksheet pack - 3 pages of exam-style questions with a full mark scheme. One email opens every download in this browser for 14 days - no account, no card. Print it for personal and classroom use.
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