Key points about TV and film preferences
Use Used to describe nouns and must agree with the nouns they are describing. and opinion phrases to describe how you feel about TV and film.
Build up vocabulary on different types of TV programmes and films to talk about you preferences.
This guide contains a listening activity.
Vocabulary - TV and film
Useful vocabulary for describing TV programmes includes:
| Spanish | English | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| la competición | competition, contest | el programa de música | music programme |
| los dibujos animados | cartoons | los programas infantiles | children's programmes |
| el documental | documentary | la seriela telerrealida | reality show |
| las noticias | news | la telenovela | soap opera |
| el programa de cocina | cookery programme | el programa de deporte | sports programme |
Note that el programa is a masculine noun, although it ends in a.
Film genres
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| la película de acción | action film |
| la película de amor | romance film |
| la película de ciencia ficción | science fiction film |
| la película extranjera | foreign film |
| la película de terror | horror film |
When you want to talk about TV and films, here is some useful additional vocabulary:
| Spanish | English | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| el actor | actor | la historia | story |
| la actriz | actress | el mensaje | message |
| el canal | channel | el papel | role, part |
| el cine | cinema | la película | film |
| el descuento | discount | la entrada entrance | admission ticket |
| el personaje | character | el espectáculo | show |
For example:
Me encanta la telerrealidad porque es divertida. - I love reality TV because it’s funny.
Es mi película favorita porque me gusta la comedia – me hace reír. - It’s my favourite film because I like the comedy – it makes me laugh.
Fue una historia maravillosa porque fue tan emocionante. - It was a wonderful story because it was so exciting.
Grammar - Using adjectives to give opinions
Adjectives are useful to use when giving opinions. Remember that adjectives need to agree with the noun they describe in Spanish.
For example:
un programa gracioso - a funny programme
una película aburrida - a boring film
The endings in the adjectives gracioso and aburrida have changed to match the gender of the nouns before them.
For example:
los espectáculos divertidos - the funny spectacles
las entradas caras - the expensive tickets
Divertidos is masculine and plural to agree with los programas* and caras is feminine and plural to agree with las entradas.
*Note that el programa is a masculine noun, although it ends in a.
Adjectives which do not end in o do not changes according to gender, but add an s when the noun they describe is plural.
For example:
Vi una serie emocionante. - I saw an exciting series.
Los personajes fueron fuertes. - The characters were strong.
Mini quiz - Opinion phrases
Complete the following sentences in Spanish.
La telerrealidad es __________.
Reality TV is exciting.
La telerrealidad es emocionante.
Emocionante means 'exciting' and its ending does not change according to whether the noun it describes is masculine or feminine.
Las comedias son __________.
Comedies are funny.
Las comedias son graciosas.
The adjective graciosas needs to agree with the noun comedias, which is feminine plural, and so ends in as.
La historia es __________.
The story is interesting.
La historia es interesante.
Interesante is an adjective which ends in e and does not change according to whether it is masculine or feminine.
Find out more about making adjectives agree in the Adjectives in Spanish guide.
Vocabulary - Opinion phrases
It's important to be able to recognise a range of different opinions. Here are some examples that could be used to describe films and TV programmes:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| aburrido/a | boring |
| divertido/a | funny, amusing |
| educativo/a | educational |
| emocionante | exciting, touching, moving |
| entretenido/a | entertaining |
| extranjero/a | foreign |
| famoso/a | famous |
| increíble | incredible, unbelievable |
| interesante | interesting |
| maravilloso/a | wonderful, marevellous |
The following verbs can be followed by the infinitive or a noun for giving your opinion on films or TV:
| Me gusta(n) - I like | Me gustan las comedias. - I like comedies. |
| Odio - I hate | Odio las películas de terror. - I hate horror films. |
| Me encanta(n) - I love | Me encanta ver programas de deporte. - I love watching sports programmes. |
| Prefiero - I prefer | Prefiero ver las películas extranjeras. - I prefer watching foreign films. |
| Me interesa(n) - …interest(s) me | Los programas sobre los animales me interesan. - Programmes about animals interest me. |
| Me parece - seems to me | Me parece que los dibujos animados son graciosos. - It seems to me that cartoons are funny. |
| Soñar - to dream | Sueño con aparecer en un programa de telerrealidad. - I dream of being on a reality TV programme. |
All Foundation Tier vocabulary listed in this guide can be found on the vocabulary sheet below.
Listening practice
Listen to Amina talking about the sorts of things she and her family like watching and answer the questions.
What two things do Amina's parents like watching?
News and documentaries.
She says, … a mis padres siempre les gusta ver las noticias y los documentales. (my parents always like watching the news and documentaries).
What does her sister like watching?
Reality programmes.
She says, … mi hermana prefiere los programas de realidad. (my sister prefers reality TV programmes).
Why doesn't Amina watch TV?
She prefers watching films on her computer.
She says, … prefiero ver las películas en mi ordenador. (I prefer watching films on my computer).
Click or tap on Show more to see the full transcript and translation.
Transcript
A mis padres siempre les gusta ver las noticias y los documentales, pero mi hermana prefiere los programas de realidad porque piensa que son divertidos. Yo nunca veo la tele porque prefiero ver las películas en mi ordenador. Me gustan las películas de terror porque me dan miedo.
Translation
My parents always like watching the news and documentaries, but my sister prefers reality TV programmes because she thinks they are fun. I never watch TV because I prefer watching films on my computer. I like horror films because they scare me.
Listen to Lin talking about the TV shows he likes to watch and answer the questions.
What does he say about cartoons?
He used to watch/love them when he was younger.
He says, … cuando era más joven, me encantaban los dibujos animados. (when I was younger, I used to love cartoons).
What does he like watching now? Why?
He likes watching soaps because they are entertaining.
He says, … las telenovelas son los programas que más me gustan porque son entretenidas. (soaps are the programmes I like the most because the stories are entertaining).
Does he like detective series? Why (not)?
No, because they are long and repetitive.
He says, … las series policíacas no me interesan nada porque son largas y repetitivas. (detective series don't interest me at all because they are long and repetitive).
Click or tap on Show more to see the full transcript and translation.
Transcript
Cuando era más joven, me encantaban los dibujos animados, pero ahora las telenovelas son los programas que más me gustan porque son entretenidas. Las series policíacas no me interesan nada porque son largas y repetitivas. Tampoco me gustan las películas de acción.
Translation
When I was younger, I used to love cartoons. But now soaps are the programmes that I like the most because the stories are entertaining. Detective series don't interest me at all because they are long and repetitive. I don't like action films either.
Vocabulary sheet
Click or tap on the image below for a list of useful vocabulary to use when talking about TV and film preferences.
Higher Tier - Vocabulary - TV and films
Useful vocabulary for describing TV and film includes:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| la comedia | comedy |
| la cadena | (cinema) chain |
| el escenario | stage |
| la pantella | screen, monitor |
| el sonido | sound |
| temer | to fear |
All vocabulary listed in this guide can be found on the vocabulary sheet below.
Higher Tier - Vocabulary sheet
Click or tap on the image below for a list of useful Higher Tier vocabulary to use when talking about TV and film preferences.
Now you have revised the important vocabulary and key grammar points for talking about TV and film preferences, why not have a look at the Talking about social media & games guide.
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