Theme 2.2: Healthy living and lifestyle - Vocabulary
The vocabulary for Theme 2.2, healthy living and lifestyle, covers diet, exercise, sleep, and the physical and mental habits that make up a healthy or unhealthy routine. Examiners test whether you can name specific habits rather than just 'good' or 'bad' health in general - llevar una vida sana, mantenerse en forma, evitar la comida basura - and whether you can talk about problem behaviours such as fumar, emborracharse and drogarse with the right verb and, where needed, the reflexive form. The theme also requires opinion language built with tener que and es importante, since GCSE writing and speaking tasks on health almost always ask what you do and what you should do, with a reason for each.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Learn the core lifestyle collocations as whole phrases, not single words: llevar una vida sana, mantenerse en forma, hacer ejercicio con regularidad, seguir una dieta equilibrada - Spanish pairs a specific verb with each noun, and mixing them up sounds unnatural.
- Learn the unhealthy-habit verbs and note which are reflexive: fumar (to smoke) is not reflexive, but emborracharse (to get drunk) and drogarse (to take drugs) are, so they need a reflexive pronoun that agrees with the subject (me emborracho, se droga).
- Learn the pair engordar/adelgazar (to put on weight / to lose weight) and the noun el bienestar (wellbeing), plus la salud mental as a distinct idea from physical health, since higher-grade answers discuss both.
- Learn sentirse + adjective for feelings about health and lifestyle (sentirse cansado, sentirse deprimido, sentirse con energía), and note that sensible in this context still means emotionally sensitive, not sensible/reasonable.
- Build advice and obligation language around the vocabulary: es fundamental/importante + infinitive, hay que + infinitive, deberíamos + infinitive - these let you give recommendations, which higher-tier tasks specifically ask for.
- For listening, train your ear for numbers and frequency words attached to this vocabulary (dos veces por semana, todos los días, nunca), since exam recordings often test exactly how often someone does something, not just whether they do it.
- For writing and translation, practise the full sentence pattern opinion + habit + reason (creo que es importante..., porque si no...) so your answer explains, rather than lists, healthy and unhealthy behaviours.
Worked example
Using these bullet points, write two full Spanish sentences: (1) what you do to stay healthy; (2) one unhealthy habit that worries you, with a reason.
- For bullet 1, pick a specific, frequency-marked habit: hacer ejercicio con regularidad plus tres veces por semana (three times a week) for precision.
- Build the sentence: 'Para mantenerme en forma, hago ejercicio tres veces por semana y como una dieta equilibrada.'
- For bullet 2, choose a reflexive unhealthy-habit verb and agree it correctly: 'Me preocupa que muchos jóvenes se emborrachen los fines de semana.'
- Add a reason with a linking phrase: 'porque puede afectar gravemente a la salud mental y física.'
- Check the sentence uses bienestar-related vocabulary correctly and that no health-related false friend (such as sensible for a personality trait) has slipped in where it does not belong.
Practice questions
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Q1Give the Spanish phrase for 'to lead a healthy life'.Show answer
Answer: Llevar una vida sana.
Q2Is emborracharse a reflexive verb? Give its 'yo' form.Show answer
Answer: Yes - me emborracho.
Q3Translate into English: 'Es importante seguir una dieta equilibrada.'Show answer
Answer: It is important to follow a balanced diet.
Q4Give the Spanish for 'junk food'.Show answer
Answer: La comida basura.
Q5Complete: Si no duermo lo suficiente, me siento muy _____ (tired).Show answer
Answer: Cansado (or cansada if the speaker is female).
Q6Give one Spanish verb meaning 'to put on weight' and one meaning 'to lose weight'.Show answer
Answer: Engordar (to put on weight); adelgazar (to lose weight).
Q7Translate into Spanish: 'You have to exercise regularly to stay fit.'Show answer
Answer: Hay que hacer ejercicio con regularidad para mantenerse en forma.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE Spanish exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Translate this passage into English: 'Antes fumaba y no dormía lo suficiente, pero ahora llevo una vida mucho más sana. Hago ejercicio tres veces por semana y evito la comida basura siempre que puedo. Creo que cuidar la salud mental es tan importante como cuidar el cuerpo, así que también intento relajarme cada día.'
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Read this text and answer the questions in English. 'Según un estudio reciente, muchos adolescentes españoles no llevan una vida tan sana como deberían. Casi la mitad no hace suficiente ejercicio y muchos comen comida basura a diario. Sin embargo, los expertos destacan que la salud mental preocupa cada vez más: uno de cada tres jóvenes dice sentirse estresado por los exámenes. Los especialistas recomiendan dormir al menos ocho horas y hablar con un adulto de confianza cuando algo preocupa.' (a) According to the study, what proportion of teenagers does not exercise enough? (1 mark) (b) What do many teenagers eat on a daily basis? (1 mark) (c) What worrying statistic is given about mental health? (2 marks) (d) What two things do specialists recommend? (2 marks)
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Write approximately 40 words in Spanish about healthy living. You must include: what you do to stay fit; something you avoid, and why; an opinion about mental health; how your habits have changed recently.
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See real GCSE Spanish past-paper questions, with official mark schemes →
Free printable worksheet
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