Theme 1.1: Me, my family and friends - Writing
Writing about oneself, family and friends is the foundation task of GCSE Spanish writing exams, producing a short piece such as an email or blog post that gives personal details, describes family and friends, and says what they do together.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Read every bullet point before writing anything, and note which tense each one needs: the present for facts about your family now, the preterite for something you did together, and the conditional (me gustaría) or immediate future (voy a) for a wish or plan.
- Plan before you write full sentences: for each bullet, jot down two or three words such as a family noun, a personality adjective and a preterite verb, plus one opinion phrase and one connective, so your ideas are ready.
- Build the answer bullet by bullet so the response shows range: at least three different tenses (present, preterite, conditional or immediate future), one opinion introduced by creo que or en mi opinión and justified with porque, one connective such as además, sin embargo or por eso, and one sentence containing a subordinate clause with que, for example mi hermana, que se llama Ana.
- Check the ending of every conjugated verb against its subject: -o, -as, -a for regular -ar verbs in the present (hablo, hablas, habla), the shared irregular preterite of ir and ser (fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos), and the irregular preterite of hacer (hice, hiciste, hizo, hicimos).
- Check gender and number agreement on every adjective describing a person: alto, alta, altos, altas; trabajador, trabajadora; simpático, simpática - the ending must match the noun it describes, not the writer.
- Check accents on words that are easy to drop under exam pressure but change meaning or tense without them, such as mamá and papá, and the third person preterite ending on -er and -ir verbs (comió, vivió), which needs its accent to read as a completed past action.
- Count your words against the target of 40 or 90: a response that is too short usually means a missing bullet point, while padding with repeated ideas does not earn extra content marks.
Worked example
Write a short paragraph in Spanish for a school magazine about your best friend. Mention: their name and what they are like; something you did together recently; why you like spending time with them.
- PLAN - list the building blocks for each bullet: bullet 1 needs a name plus personality adjectives such as simpático, gracioso, leal; bullet 2 needs a preterite verb plus a time marker such as la semana pasada; bullet 3 needs an opinion phrase plus porque plus a reason.
- PLAN - choose one connective to link two ideas, either además to add or pero to contrast, and decide where a subordinate clause with que will sit, for example straight after your friend's name.
- BUILD bullet 1: state the name and add a relative clause with que for range - Mi mejor amigo, que se llama Carlos, es muy gracioso y leal. This covers who they are and their personality in one connected sentence rather than two short ones.
- BUILD bullet 2: switch into the preterite with a clear time marker - La semana pasada, fuimos al cine y vimos una película de acción. Fuimos and vimos are both irregular preterite forms, so their endings are checked against the yo and nosotros pattern, not guessed.
- BUILD bullet 3: close with an opinion justified by porque and a connective - Me encanta pasar tiempo con él porque siempre me hace reír, y además nunca discutimos. This adds the opinion-plus-reason and the connective that the mark scheme rewards, on top of the tenses already used.
Practice questions
Try each question, then tap to reveal the answer.
Q1Conjugate llevarse (bien) in the yo form to say 'I get on well with my brother'.Show answer
Answer: Me llevo bien con mi hermano - llevarse is reflexive, so the pronoun me comes before the conjugated verb llevo.
Q2Fill the gap with the correct preterite: El sábado, mi familia y yo ___ (ir) a la playa.Show answer
Answer: fuimos - the preterite of ir is irregular and identical to the preterite of ser: fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueron.
Q3Spot and correct the agreement error: 'Mi madre es muy simpático.'Show answer
Answer: Mi madre es muy simpática - simpático must agree with the feminine noun madre, so it becomes simpática.
Q4Translate into Spanish: 'My younger sister is short and very funny.'Show answer
Answer: Mi hermana menor es baja y muy graciosa.
Q5Translate into English: 'Mis abuelos viven con nosotros y nos ayudan mucho.'Show answer
Answer: My grandparents live with us and help us a lot.
Q6Which connective best links these ideas: 'Discutimos a veces ___ nos llevamos muy bien en general'?Show answer
Answer: pero (but) shows the contrast between occasional arguments and generally getting on well; sin embargo would also work in a more formal register.
Q7Fill the gap with the correct present-tense form: Mi abuela ___ (cuidar) de mis primos pequeños los fines de semana.Show answer
Answer: cuida - regular -ar present tense, third person singular: cuido, cuidas, cuida, cuidamos, cuidan.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE Spanish exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Write an account of your family for a Spanish exchange partner. Answer all four bullet points in Spanish. Write approximately 40 words in Spanish. - who lives in your house - what your family is like (personality) - an activity you do together at the weekend - your opinion of family life, with a reason
Show mark scheme
Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
Nothing ticked yet - 10 available
Your Spanish pen friend wants to know about you and your family. Write an email in Spanish. You must mention: - a description of one member of your family - what your family did together last weekend - what your family used to do together when you were a child - what you would like to do with your family in the future, and why
Show mark scheme
Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
Nothing ticked yet - 16 available
See real GCSE Spanish past-paper questions, with official mark schemes →
Free printable worksheet
Want more practice on paper? Download the theme 1.1: me, my family and friends - writing worksheet pack - 4 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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