Social Issues: Poverty, Homelessness and Inequality
Translation on poverty, homelessness and inequality is a higher-tier GCSE Spanish topic covering both English-to-Spanish and Spanish-to-English translation, testing structures such as the present subjunctive after impersonal expressions of necessity and the impersonal se used for statistics.
Before you start
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Method
- Use the definite article with abstract nouns naming the issue itself: la pobreza (poverty), la desigualdad (inequality), el desempleo (unemployment), since Spanish keeps the article where English drops it.
- Use the present perfect (ha aumentado, ha empeorado) for a recent change with present relevance, distinguishing it carefully from the preterite for a single completed past event.
- Recognise when the subjunctive is required: after impersonal expressions of necessity or opinion with a change of subject (es importante que el gobierno actúe, es necesario que ayudemos), the verb after que must be subjunctive, not indicative.
- Translate the impersonal/passive se for statistics and general statements: se calcula que, se estima que (it is calculated/estimated that), no se debe ignorar (it must not be ignored).
- Translate hay que + infinitive and es fundamental/esencial + infinitive for recommendations that do not need the subjunctive because there is no change of subject.
- Use the personal a before specific groups of people as direct objects (ayudar a las personas sin hogar, apoyar a las familias necesitadas), and do not drop it even in a formal, abstract sentence.
- Check register and precision last: this theme rewards exact statistics and connectives (por un lado/por otro lado, además, sin embargo) reproduced accurately, not approximated.
Worked example
Translate into Spanish: Poverty has increased in many countries in recent years. It is important that the government helps homeless people, and it is estimated that thousands of families live without a fixed home.
- Split into chunks: 'Poverty has increased in many countries in recent years' / 'It is important that the government helps homeless people' / 'and it is estimated that thousands of families live without a fixed home'.
- 'Poverty has increased' needs the article and the present perfect: la pobreza ha aumentado en muchos países en los últimos años.
- 'It is important that the government helps' is an impersonal expression of necessity with a change of subject (the government, not the speaker), so the verb after que must be subjunctive: es importante que el gobierno ayude a las personas sin hogar.
- 'it is estimated that thousands of families live without a fixed home' uses the impersonal se: y se estima que miles de familias viven sin un hogar fijo.
- Full translation: La pobreza ha aumentado en muchos países en los últimos años. Es importante que el gobierno ayude a las personas sin hogar, y se estima que miles de familias viven sin un hogar fijo.
Practice questions
Try each question, then tap to reveal the answer.
Q1Translate into Spanish: Poverty affects millions of people.Show answer
Answer: La pobreza afecta a millones de personas.
Q2Translate into English: Es necesario que ayudemos a las personas sin hogar.Show answer
Answer: It is necessary for us to help homeless people.
Q3Translate into Spanish: Unemployment has increased this year.Show answer
Answer: El desempleo ha aumentado este año.
Q4Translate into English: Se calcula que hay miles de personas sin hogar en la ciudad.Show answer
Answer: It is estimated that there are thousands of homeless people in the city.
Q5Translate into Spanish: It is essential to help vulnerable families.Show answer
Answer: Es fundamental ayudar a las familias vulnerables.
Q6Translate into English: Es importante que el gobierno actúe rápido.Show answer
Answer: It is important that the government acts quickly.
Q7Translate into Spanish: Inequality has got worse in recent years.Show answer
Answer: La desigualdad ha empeorado en los últimos años.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE Spanish exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Translate this passage into English: La desigualdad ha aumentado mucho en las últimas décadas, y se calcula que miles de personas viven en la pobreza extrema. Es importante que los gobiernos inviertan más en programas sociales, y es necesario que todos ayudemos, por ejemplo con el voluntariado. Sin embargo, muchas personas siguen ignorando el problema.
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Translate this passage into Spanish: Poverty has got worse in many cities, and it is estimated that thousands of families live without a fixed home. It is essential that governments act quickly, and it is important that we support charities. On the other hand, many people do not understand the problem.
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See real GCSE Spanish past-paper questions, with official mark schemes →
Free printable worksheet
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