How to write a NOTE for the Leaving Cert paper

 ¡Hola a todos! ¿Qué tal?

Most of you might have finished your Christmas tests by now, so I hope they went well and you get the results you expect :) 

In today's blog, we are going to talk about how to write the perfect NOTE for the Leaving Cert paper. Perhaps some of you have never tried writing the note. Well, let's call spade a spade: it not everyone's first choice on the writing part! This is because the points to develop are more specific than on the diary entry and hence, some students decide to not even give it a go. 

However, I have noticed that the note in the mock exams are easier to write than the diary entry, so you might want to try then! If that is the case, I invite you to read on. 

The topics that are commonly found on the notes are: 

-Mentioning an event that took place.

-Mentioning future plans.

-Saying that you will be back and how to contact you if needed.

Marking scheme

As the diary entry, the note is worth 20 marks and you will be given four points that are worth 5 marks each. You will gain full marks if you include a proper phrase, the agreement between words is on point and the verbs are in the correct tense.

Timing

If you are doing the Ordinary level, the note should take you 20 minutes maximum; if you are a Higher level student, it should take you about 15 minutes. Don't worry if at the beginning it takes you longer than expected. The longer you practice, the more you get used to it and with time, you will reduce that time. 

Tenses

The tenses involved are the present, the past - el pretérito indefinido - the future and the conditional tense. 

Always write something

At the time of the exam, you might find a point or a topic you are unsure of how to word it. Use simple phrases or vocabulary to express it. Avoid long sentences but always write something, even if you think it does not really answer the question. Something is better than nothing. 

Useful phrases and vocabulary

A phrase at the start or at the end of the paragraph really makes the note more complete and nicer to read and it will give you those extra marks you will need. These are fixed phrases that you can use in almost all the formats, so learn them off and start using them! 

First of all, write the day of the week and the time on the top right corner. 

Start the note by addressing the person you are writing the note to: 

¡Hola Pedro! 

A Juan:

Hola familia Sánchez:

In Spanish we don't write a comma after the name but a colon! This is very important. 

Te dejo este mensaje para decirte que - I am leaving you this message to say...

Le dejo este mensaje para decirle que - I am leaving you this message to say.. (formal way)

Os dejo este mensaje para decirte que - I am leaving you (plural) this message to say...

Acabo de + verb in infinitive - I have just ... (In Spanish, if you want to express that you have just done something, we use the verb ACABAR in present simple + de + verb in infinitive).

María ha llamado esta mañana - Maria has called this morning

Volveré antes de cenar - I will be back before dinner

¿Te gustaría venir conmigo? - Would you like to come with me?

Tengo muchas ganas de + infinitive - I look forward to...

Llámame lo antes posible - Call me as soon as possible

Tengo mi móvil por si me necesitas - I have my phone in case you need me

No te preocupes por mí - Don't worry about me

No me esperes despierto - Don't wait up for me

Hasta luego - See you later

(And at the botton, sign the note!)

Here you can find a sample I wrote based on the 2022 HL Leaving Cert paper. I encourage you try and feel free to post your answers below :) 

Note: the paper says you have to answer four out of the five points given, but for this sample I answered them all. 

¡Hasta la próxima! :)

How to write a DIARY ENTRY for the Leaving Cert paper

 ¡Hola a todos! ¿Cómo estáis?

The holiday season is coming and this means we are getting ready for the Christmas exams. However, this year schools decided to have their tests a bit earlier than usual, leaving the students with the uncertainty if they are totally ready for these exams. If you are a Leaving Cert student - higher or ordinary level - and you feel that you need more tips on how to do well in the test, don't worry! You are in the right place because I am going to give you some useful info on how to write the perfect DIARY ENTRY. 

In my opinion, the Diary Entry is the writing piece to shine and show how much Spanish you have learnt in the last years. This is because the topics you are often given are very generic and easy to explain: 

- You are living with a Spanish family and you have to express how to feel about it.

-You are on holidays in Spain and you have to talk about what you will or would like while in there.

-You are just back from Spain and you have to describe how the trip went.

-You had a problem and describe what happened and how you felt. 

Marking scheme

The diary entry is worth 20 marks and you will be given four points that are worth 5 marks each. You will gain full marks if you include a proper phrase, the agreement between words is on point and the verbs are in the correct tense.

Timing

If you are doing the Ordinary level, the entry should take you 20 minutes maximum; if you are a Higher level student, it should take you about 15 minutes. Don't worry if at the beginning it takes you longer than expected. The longer you practice, the more you get used to it and with time, you will reduce that time. 

Tenses

The tenses involved are the present, the past - el pretérito indefinido - the future and the conditional tense. 

Always write something

At the time of the exam, you might find a point or a topic you are unsure of how to word it. Use simple phrases or vocabulary to express it. Avoid long sentences but always write something, even if you think it does not really answer the question. Something is better than nothing. 

Useful phrases and vocabulary

A phrase at the start or at the end of the paragraph really makes the diary entry more complete and nicer to read and it will give you those extra marks you will need. These are fixed phrases that you can use in almost all the formats, so learn them off and start using them! 

First of all, write the day of the week and the time on the top right corner. 

Start the entry with Querido diario: In Spanish we don't write a comma after 'diario' but a colon! This is very important. 

¡Hola! Soy yo - Hello, it is me

Estoy escribiendo estas líneas en la cama - I am writing these lines in bed

Estoy agotado/a - I am exhausted

Estoy muy cansado/a - I am very tired

Estoy hecho/a polvo - I am worn out

Estoy feliz - I am happy

Estoy enfadado/a - I am angry

Estoy harto/a - I am fed up

Acabo de + verb in infinitive - I have just ... (In Spanish, if you want to express that you have just done something, we use the verb ACABAR in present simple + de + verb in infinitive).

¡Vaya día he tenido! - What a day I have had!

Tengo muchas ganas de + infinitive - I look forward to...

Echo de menos - I miss

Ahora me tengo que ir - Now I have to go

Nada más por ahora - Nothing else for now

Hasta mañana - See you tomorrow

And at the botton, sign the entry!

Here you can find a sample I wrote based on the 2022 HL Leaving Cert paper. I encourage you try and feel free to post your answers below :) 

Note: the paper says you have to answer four out of the five points given, but for this sample I answered them all. 

¡Adiós! :)

El tiempo + diario

 ¡Hola a todos y a todas! ¿Cómo estáis?

Yo he estado muy ocupada pero hoy os traigo vocabulario específico para hablar de EL TIEMPO - THE WEATHER.

These pages are focused more on the Leaving Cert aural part but anyone can really benefit from them as the weather is an universal vocabulary. 

You can also see an example of a diary entry that can be found in the Leaving Cert Higher Level version. Feel free to give it a go and post your answers below. I would love to read them :) 

¡Hasta pronto!

Direct and indirect pronouns

A pronoun (in Spanish ‘pronombre’), is a short word that we use to substitute something we have said before to avoid redundancy. Pronouns are words like ‘yo’, ‘tú’, ‘nosotros’… because they substitute names: Peter, Mary, Lisa and I, etc. 

However, there are other objects that can be a bit trickier to spot. These are called direct and indirect pronouns. 

Pronombres de objeto directo – direct object pronouns.

Direct pronouns substitute things. There are four:

Lo – masculino, singular Los – masculino, plural

La – femenino, singular las – femenino, plural

Normally the direct object goes after the verb but when we use the pronoun, it goes before the verb.

Tengo el libro 🡪 Lo tengo (I have it) Tengo los libros – Los tengo (I have them)

Compro la comida 🡪 La compro (I buy it) Compro las cosas – Las compro (I buy them)

Pronombres de objeto indirecto – indirect object pronoun

Indirect pronouns substitute people or animals. There are six: me, you, he/she, us, you all and them:

Me –  me

Te –  you 

Le –   him (masculino, singular)

La –   her (femenino, singular)

Nos –  us

Os  -  you (plural)

Les –  them (masculino, plural) 

Las –  them (femenino, plural)

When we substitute the noun for a pronoun, this pronoun will go before the verb. 

Veo a Juan 🡪 Le veo (I see him)     Recojo a los niños 🡪 Les recojo (I collect them)

Veo a Ana 🡪 La veo (I see her)             Recojo a las chicas 🡪 Las recojo (I collect them)

Substitution of both direct and indirect objects together

If we substitute a direct and an indirect object in the same sentence, we need to follow an specific order:

Indirect + direct + verb

Additionally, when we encounter these two objects together, the indirect objects from the third person le, la, les, las turn into 'se'. This needs to happen as they are very similiar to the direct objects and they would clash if we did not make that change.

Compro el libro 🡪 Lo compro                                Leo una historia 🡪 La leo.

Compro el libro a María 🡪Se lo compro               Leo una historia a los niños 🡪 Se la leo

Exceptions: We mentioned that the pronouns must go before the verb. However, when the verb is an infinitive or gerund, they can either go before or after the verb. If they go after the verb, they need to be attached to it and follow the order verb + indirect + direct

Voy a ver a María 🡪 Voy a verla / La voy a ver

Voy a comprar el libro 🡪 Voy a comprarlo / Lo voy a comprar

Voy a comprar el libro a María – Voy a comprárselo / Se lo voy a comprar

Estoy haciendo una paella 🡪 Estoy haciéndola / La estoy haciendo

Estoy haciendo una paella para ti 🡪 Estoy haciéndotela / Te la estoy haciendo.

¡Vamos a practicar!

1. Sustituye los objetos por un pronombre.

a. Compro las flores.

b. Practico el español.

c. Voy a soplar las velas porque es mi cumpleaños

d. Estoy contando una historia a mis estudiantes.

e. Ayer comimos galletas saladas.

f. Estamos pintando la habitación del bebé.

g. Recojo a mis padres.

h. Mañana llamaré a ti.

i. Vamos a ver a Lucas y a Ana.

j.El verano pasado visité a mi abuela.

2.Responde a las preguntas y sustituye el objeto por un pronombre y haz todos los cambios necesarios:

Ejemplo:

a. - ¿Viste a Juan?         

- Sí, le vi.

b. ¿Hiciste los deberes?

- Sí, _________________

c. ¿Vas a leer un libro?

- Sí, _________________

d. ¿Alimentas a tus mascotas?

- Sí, _________________

e. ¿Diste la carta a tu madre?

- Sí, _________________

f. - ¿Estás esperando a Laura?

- Sí, __________________

Respuestas - Answers

Ejercicio 1

a. Las compro.

b. Lo practico.

c. Las voy a soplar / Voy a soplarlas porque es mi cumpleaños.

d. Se la estoy contando / Estoy contándosela.

e. Ayer las comimos.

f. La estamos pintando / Estamos pintándola.

g. Les recojo.

h. Mañana te llamaré.

i. Les vamos a ver / Vamos a verles.

j. El verano pasado la visité.

Ejercicio 2

b. ¿Hiciste los deberes? Sí, los hice.

c. ¿Vas a leer un libro? Sí, lo voy a leer / Sí, voy a leerlo.

d. ¿Alimentas a tus mascotas? Sí, las alimento.

e. ¿Diste la carta a tu madre? Sí, se la di.

f. ¿Estás esperando a Laura? Sí, la estoy esperando / Sí, estoy esperándola.

Agreement

¡Buenos días! ¿Qué tal? 

Today's post is about agreement between words in Spanish. You definitely know what agreement is because you have learnt it in the past, but you might not know the technical name for it.

Agreement is basically a phenomenon that happens when words agree in gender (masculine and feminine) and number (singular and plural). In Spanish, a noun has to agree with the words that go with it, which are articles and adjectives.* Examples: 

un libro rojo - a red book

una casa blanca - a white house

los chicos altos - the tall boys

las chicas simpáticas - the nice girls

Of course, where there is a rule, there is an exception. Nouns and adjectives do not need to end with -o or -a. Ajectives that end with any other letter, do not change when agreeing with the noun:

un coche grande - a big car

una televisión grande - a big TV

un perro marrón - a brown dog

una gata marrón - a brown cat

Another exception is for the plural words. When the adjective ends with -e, we only need to add -s. 

un chico inteligente - a clever boy

dos chicos inteligentes - two clever boys

When the adjective goes in plural but ends with a consonant, we need to add -es.

un perro marrón - a brown dog

dos perros marrones - two brown dogs

Here are some of the most popular adjectives!

alto - tall

bajo - short

guapo - good-looking

feo - ugly

grande - big

pequeño - small

pobre - poor

rico - rich

caro - expensive

barato - cheap

útil - useful

inútil - useless

largo - long

corto - short

fuerte - strong

débil - weak

limpio - clean

sucio - dirty

feliz / contento - happy

triste - sad

interesante - interesting

aburrido - boring

blanco - white

negro - black

verde - green

azul - blue

rojo - red

amarillo - yellow

Try this quick exercise to test your agreements!

1.Lucía es una chica muy _____________ (interesting).

2.Los chicos son bastante _____________ (tall).

3.Pablo es un poco _____________ (boring).

4.El libro es _____________ (yellow).

5.Hoy estoy muy __________ (happy).

6.Laura y Penélope son chicas muy _________ (strong).

7.El coche es de color __________ (red).

8.Esta herramienta es ______________ (useful).

9.Las casas son muy ______________ (big)

10.Los libros son bastante ____________ (cheap).

Soluciones - Key

1.interesante

2.altos

3.aburrido

4.amarillo

5.feliz

6.fuertes

7.rojo

8.útil

9.grandes

10.baratos

*For more info on nouns and adjectives, don't forget to check out this other entry :) Happy learning!

How to spot synonyms in the LC Journalistic text

Ejemplo de Journalistic text - La nueva normalidad

 ¡Hola a todos! ¿Cómo estáis? 

Aquí quiero compartiros un ejercicio de comprensión lectora que sigue el modelo de Journalistic Text que podéis encontrar en el Leaving Certificate - Higher level. El ejercicio habla de las nuevas rutinas que tuvimos que seguir durante el confinamiento durante los años 2020 y 2021. También hay dos opinion pieces que podéis practicar. Las soluciones a las respuestas - the key - están al final de la página. Si queréis, puedo corregir vuestras opinion pieces y daros un feedback. ¡Mucha suerte! ☘️

Lista de sinónimos para el Leaving Certificate

 ¡Hola a todos y bienvenidos a la primera entrada del blog! Aquí os comparto una lista de sinónimos para el examen de Leaving Certificate que será muy útil para todos, especialmente para aquellos que optáis por el Higher Level. Durante el primer confinamiento (lockdown) revisé todos los Journalist texts de los exámenes de los últimos años y reuní todo el vocabulario importante. Aquí los podéis encontrar organizados por categorías: verbos, adjetivos, adverbios, nombres y números. ¡Espero que os guste! :)