Describing free time activities in Spanish

• Adverbs describe a verb and usually end in mente and are formed from the adjective.

• Use the preterite (past) tense to describe a completed action in the past.

• This guide contains a video as well as reading and listening practice.

Watch the video of Denia explaining how she spends her free time.

Useful nouns for talking about sport and social activities include:

Useful nouns for talking about other activities include:

Useful verbs to talk about sport include:

Useful verbs to talk about social activities include:

Adverbs are usually used to describe a verb. They describe actions and add more detail.

Adverbs can describe how something is being done, eg 'quickly', 'badly', or when, where or how often something takes place.

Most Spanish adverbs end in mente. For example:

• regularmente - regularly

• lentamente - slowly

Generally the adverb goes after the verb it is describing. For example:

Juego al tenis regularmente. - I play tennis regularly.

Hugo corre lentamente. - Hugo runs slowly.

An adverb can be formed from almost any adjective in Spanish by adding mente to the feminine singular form of the adjective.

For example:

Some adverbs are completely irregular including bien (well) and mal (badly).

These adverbs have to be learned, as they don't follow a pattern. For example:

David juega video juegos muy mal. - David plays video games very badly.

Marta juega muy bien al fútbol. - Marta plays football very well.

Remember

Adverbs are invariable, which means they only have one form and do not change according to gender or number.

Useful common adverbs include:

Find out more about adverbs in the Adverbs in Spanish guide.

You’re looking at some online social media posts. Bolivian students, Andrea, Javier and María are describing what they do in their free time.

Read what they say and answer the questions below

Andrea

El sábado pasado jugué en el equipo de mi instituto y ganamos el partido. Sin embargo, me gusta más ir de compras con mis amigas en la ciudad.

Javier

No me interesa ningún deporte. Prefiero pasar mi tiempo libre jugando videojuegos hablando con mis amigos o mirando cosas graciosas en las redes sociales.

María

Creo que una vida activa es esencial. Me encanta bailar y hacer yoga para mantenerme en forma.

All Foundation Tier vocabulary listed in this guide can be found on the vocabulary sheet below.

The Spanish preterite tense is used to describe completed actions in the past.

For example:

Fui al cine ayer. - I went to the cinema yesterday.

Bailamos con nuestros amigos. - We danced with our friends.

Mi hermano tuvo una clase de baile. - My brother had a dance class.

The preterite tense is used if the past action had a definite beginning and definite end. It is often used with phrases that give a specific time frame.

For example:

ayer - yesterday

anteayer - the day before yesterday

anoche - last night

el año pasado - last year

el mes pasado - last month

la semana pasada - last week

Remember

The preterite tense is not used to:

• describe people in the past

• describe or set a scene

• describe repeated or continuous actions in the past with no specific beginning or end

Regular verbs in the preterite tense

Most verbs are regular in the preterite tense. This means that they follow a pattern.

For regular verbs, the preterite is formed by removing the ar/er/ir from the infinitive to form the stem and adding the preterite endings:

Some verbs in the preterite tense have a spelling change in the yo (I) form only.

Here are some examples:

For example:

Jugué con mis amigos en el parque. - I played with my friends in the park.

Empecé a leer un nuevo libro. - I started to read a new book.

There is more information about the preterite tense in the Regular verbs in the preterite tense in Spanish guide guide.

Find out more about irregular verbs in the preterite in the Irregular verbs in the preterite tense in Spanish guide.

Marcos is talking about what he did last week.

Listen to the extract and decide what he did on each day.

Click or tap on the image below for a list of useful vocabulary to use when describing personal activities.

Useful Higher Tier verbs to talk about social activities include:

Useful Higher Tier nouns include:

Useful Higher Tier adjectives include:

All vocabulary listed in this guide can be found on the vocabulary sheet below.

Common Higher Tier adverbs include:

Click or tap on the image below to download a list of Higher Tier useful vocabulary to use when describing social and personal activities.

Now you have revised the important vocabulary and key grammar points for talking about personal activities why not have a look at the Talking about life at school guide?