Advantages and disadvantages of celebrity culture in Spanish

• Use opinion phrases and adjectives to express your thoughts on celebrity culture.

• Modal and impersonal verbs can be used to talk about what celebrities can, should or must do.

• Use the simple future and conditional tense to talk about what will or could happen in the future.

• This guide contains reading and listening practice.

Useful opinion phrases include:

Useful adjectives which can be used with opinions about the theme of celebrity culture include:

For example:

Pienso que la vida de una personalidad siempre es emocionante y divertida. - I think the life of a celebrity is always exciting and fun.

Creo que una ventaja de ser famoso es que estás rico y tienes una casa esupenda. - I think one advantage of being famous is that you are rich and have a wonderful house.

A mi modo de ver, una desventaja de ser famoso es que, si los seguidores se enfadan, pueden ser peligrosos. - As I see it, one disadvantage of being famous is that if your followers are angry, they can be dangerous.

Impersonal verbs in English include verbs such as ‘one does’ or ‘one goes’.

To turn any Spanish verb into an impersonal verb, use the pronounse and the he/she form of the verb.

For example:

Se necesitan muchos seguidores. - One needs lots of followers.

If there is a subject in the sentence, use the singular verb ending (the he/she ending) for a single subject, and the ‘they’ verb ending for plural subjects.

For example:

Se paga mucho. – You pay a lot.

Las puertas se abren a las ocho. - The doors open at eight.

The following modal verbs often are used with the impersonal se:

• se puede - one can

• se debe - one must

• se necesita - one needs

For example:

Se puede ir a los mejores restaurantes. - One can go to the best restaurants.

Se debe subir vídeos regularmente. - One must upload videos regularly.

Se necesita un buen equipo. - One needs good equipment.

Remember

Modal verbs in Spanish are followed by an infinitive in Spanish.

Find out more about using impersonal verbs in the Impersonal verbs in Spanish guide.

Read about Toni, a Columbian actor and complete the sentences.

Toni nació en un pequeño pueblo en el campo el en este de Colombia. Su familia tenía poco dinero y su padre tenía que trabajar en el extranjero. A la edad de quince años un director* de televisión la descubrió y le dio un papel en un programa de telerrealidad.

Ahora su vida es muy distinta. Tiene una casa enorme en Bogotá. A ella le gusta ser famosa porque el dinero que gana significa que puede ayudar a su familia y ya no son pobres. Pero dice que el éxito tiene un precio y ahora no puede siempre hacer lo que quiere.

*director=director

Useful verbs include:

Useful nouns include:

For example:

Una de las mayores desventajas de ser famoso es la falta de privacidad. - One of the biggest disadvantages of being famous is the lack of privacy.

La gente siempre se interesa en tu vida personal. - People are always interested in your personal life.

Ser famoso abre muchas puertas. – Being famous opens many doors.

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

The simple future tense is used to say what will happen.

For example:

He will have a great career.

She will buy a beautiful house.

To form the simple future tense, add the correct ending to the infinitive of the verb. The endings are the same for ar, er and ir verbs:

For example:

Mañana ganará un premio - Tomorrow, she will win a prize

Veremos la nueva película - We will see the new film

¿Irás al concierto? - Will you go to the concert?

Some verbs have an irregular form. Common irregular verbs include:

For example:

Tendrá muchos seguidores. - She will have lots of followers.

Hará un nuevo vídeo la semana próxima. – He will make a new video next week.

Note that hay (there is/are) becomes habrá (there will be).

For example:

Habrá un nueve presidente el año próximo. - There will be a new president next year.

The conditional tense is used to describe what someone would do or what would happen in the future.

It can also be used to express ambitions and intentions, eg I would like to play football, we would like to go to the cinema.

For example:

Su casa ideal tendría una piscina. - Her ideal house would have a swimming pool.

¿Que harías? - What would you do?

Con más tiempo ella terminaría de escribir su canción. - With more time, she would finish writing her song.

The most common verb in the conditional tense is me gustaría (I would like). This can be used to say what you would like to do in the future.

For example:

Le gustaría vivir en Nueva York. - He would like to live in New York.

The conditional of hay (there is/there are) is habría (there would be). For example:

En su casa ideal habría un cine. - In his ideal house, there would be a cinema.

The conditional tense is formed by adding the conditional endings to the infinitive. The endings are the same for ar, er and ir verbs.

For example:

Compraría un nuevo coche y una grande casa. – I would buy a new car and a big house.

Aprendería a tocar la guitarra. – He would learn to play the guitar.

Vivirían una vida llena de éxito y de lujo. – They would live a life of success and luxury.

Find out more about using the simple future and the conditional in the Future tenses in Spanish and the Conditional tense in Spanish guides.

You are listening to a Spanish podcast. The celebrities are talking about their lifestyle.

• Which part of each speaker’s lifestyle is good?

• Which part needs to improve?

Choose from the following options:

Click or tap on the image below for a list of useful vocabulary to use when describing the advantages and disadvantages of celebrity culture.

Useful adjectives include:

Useful verbs include:

Useful nouns include:

For example:

Una ventaja de ser famoso es que se tiene mucha influencia sobre la gente, sobre todo los jóvenes. – One advantage of being famous is that you have a lot of influence over people, above all young people.

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

The plural forms of the simple future tense are needed at Higher Tier only.

The simple future tense is formed by adding the conditional endings to the infinitive. The endings are the same for ar, er and ir verbs.

For example:

Mañana ganará un premio. - Tomorrow, she will win a prize.

Veremos la nueva película. - We will see the new film.

¿Irás al concierto? - Will you go to the concert?

Some verbs have an irregular form. Common Higher Tier irregular verbs include:

For example:

Saldré a las tres. - I will go out at three.

Querré muchos regalos. - I will want lots of presents.

¿Vendrás a la fiesta? - Will you come to the party?

The plural forms of the conditional tense are only needed at Higher Tier.

The conditional tense is formed by adding the conditional endings to the infinitive. The endings are the same for ar, er and ir verbs.

Click or tap on the image below for a list of Higher Tier useful vocabulary to use when describing the advantages and disadvantages of celebrity culture.

Now you have revised the important vocabulary and key grammar points for talking about the advantages and disadvantages of celebrity culture, why not have a look at the Future education and employment in Spanish guide?