Theme 1.3: Free-time activities and hobbies - Translation
Theme 1.3 translation covers both directions on free-time activities and hobbies: sport, music, gaming and going out with friends. The examiner is testing the full range of gustar-type verbs (gustar, encantar, interesar, aburrir), soler + infinitive for habitual actions, direct object pronouns, and the distinction between jugar a for games/sport and tocar for instruments, none of which translate literally from English.
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Method
- With every gustar-type verb (gustar, encantar, interesar, aburrir, apasionar), identify the true subject first, the thing liked or disliked, and match the verb to it: singular for one thing or an infinitive, plural for several things.
- Keep the indirect object pronoun (me, te, le, nos, os, les) even when the person is also named, since Spanish repeats it: a mi hermano le encanta el fútbol.
- Translate soler + infinitive as usually rather than as a separate main verb: suelo jugar al baloncesto los sábados means I usually play basketball on Saturdays.
- Replace a repeated direct object with a direct object pronoun (lo, la, los, las) once it has already been mentioned, placing it immediately before a conjugated verb or attached to an infinitive.
- Translate frequency phrases precisely and in the right position: a menudo (often), de vez en cuando (from time to time), todos los fines de semana (every weekend), which usually go after the verb in Spanish, unlike English.
- Watch the difference between jugar a + [sport/game] and tocar + [instrument], since both can mean to play in English but never translate into each other in Spanish.
- Check agreement of gustar-type verbs last, since a common error is leaving gustar in the singular when the things liked are plural: me gustan los videojuegos, not me gusta.
Worked example
Translate into Spanish: My friends love playing video games, but I prefer playing the guitar. I usually go out with them at the weekend, and from time to time we go to concerts together.
- Split into chunks: 'My friends love playing video games' / 'but I prefer playing the guitar' / 'I usually go out with them at the weekend' / 'and from time to time we go to concerts together'.
- 'My friends love playing video games' is encantar with an infinitive subject, so it stays singular even though friends is plural: a mis amigos les encanta jugar a los videojuegos.
- 'but I prefer playing the guitar' uses tocar for an instrument, not jugar: pero yo prefiero tocar la guitarra.
- 'I usually go out with them at the weekend' uses soler + infinitive: suelo salir con ellos el fin de semana.
- 'and from time to time we go to concerts together' places the frequency phrase after the verb: y de vez en cuando vamos a conciertos juntos.
- Full translation: A mis amigos les encanta jugar a los videojuegos, pero yo prefiero tocar la guitarra. Suelo salir con ellos el fin de semana, y de vez en cuando vamos a conciertos juntos.
Practice questions
Try each question, then tap to reveal the answer.
Q1Translate into Spanish: I love playing tennis.Show answer
Answer: Me encanta jugar al tenis.
Q2Translate into English: A mi hermana le interesa la moda.Show answer
Answer: My sister is interested in fashion.
Q3Translate into Spanish: We usually watch films on Fridays.Show answer
Answer: Solemos ver películas los viernes.
Q4Translate into English: Los videojuegos me aburren un poco.Show answer
Answer: Video games bore me a little.
Q5Translate into Spanish: I play the piano, but my brother plays football.Show answer
Answer: Toco el piano, pero mi hermano juega al fútbol.
Q6Translate into English: Vamos al cine de vez en cuando.Show answer
Answer: We go to the cinema from time to time.
Q7Translate into Spanish: Do you like reading? Yes, I read it every night (use a direct object pronoun for 'it').Show answer
Answer: ¿Te gusta leer? Sí, lo leo todas las noches.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE Spanish exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Translate this passage into English: A mí me apasiona el deporte y suelo entrenar tres veces a la semana. A mis padres les preocupa que estudie menos, pero a mí también me interesan mucho mis asignaturas. De vez en cuando salgo con mis amigos, y nos encanta ir al cine juntos.
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Translate this passage into Spanish: My friends love going to concerts, but personally I prefer playing video games at home. I usually go out with them on Saturdays, although from time to time I stay at home to read. We are very interested in music.
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