Favourite social media and games in Spanish

• Use impersonal and modal verbs to talk about what you can do on social and what games you can play.

• The present tense can be used to talk about regular media and technology habits.

• This guide contains listening and reading practice.

Useful nouns to use when describing media and technology includes:

For example:

Prefiero usar mi móvil para ir en la red porque es más rápido. – I prefer to use my phone to go on the internet because it’s faster.

Me encanta esta aplicación porque puedo colgar imagenes y mensajes. – I love this app because I can upload images and messages.

Este juego es muy popular y tiene mucha influencia en los jóvenes. – This game is very popular and it has a lot of influence over young people.

Impersonal verbs in English include verbs such as ‘one does’ or ‘one goes’. Although these sound very formal in English, they are used a lot more commonly in Spanish.

To turn any Spanish verb into an impersonal verb, use the pronoun se and the 'he' or 'she' form of the verb.

For example:

Se necesita una contraseña fuerte. - One needs a strong password.

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

For example:

Se chatea mucho en línea. – One chats a lot online.

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 bajar música fácilmente. - One can easily download music.

Se debe guardar su trabajo. - One must save one’s work.

Se necesita un ordenador. - One needs a computer.

Hay is a very common impersonal verb meaning ‘there is’ or ‘there are’.

Existe means ‘… exists’.

For example:

Hay muchos jugadores internacionales. – There are lots of international players.

Existe una competición muy popular. – There is a very popular competition.

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

Listen to the following three people, discussing how they access online media and answer the questions.

Useful vocabulary

Listen out for the following opinion phrases used throughout the activity.

Useful verbs on the theme of media and technology include:

For example:

Pienso que es divertido compartir fotos con mis amigos. – I think it’s fun to share photos with my friends.

Prefiero crear imágenes con fotos que he sacado. – I prefer to create images with photos that I’ve taken.

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

All Spanish verbs end in either ar, er or ir. This form of the verb is called the  infinitive.

For example:

chatear - to chat (online)

vender - to sell

compartir - to share

When using verbs, you will need to be able to conjugate them. Conjugating a verb means changing the infinitive ending to match the subject pronouns, eg yo, tú, él, ella etc.

Remember

You don’t always need to use subject pronouns in Spanish as there is a unique verb ending for each subject pronoun.

To conjugate regular verbs, remove the ar, er or ir ending from the infinitive and add the unique ending that goes with each subject pronoun to the stem.

Radical-changing verbs usually take the same endings as regular verbs but the stem also changes. The vowel in the stem changes for the following parts of the verb:

• I

• you (singular)

• he/she/you (polite)

• they/you (polite plural)

There are four groups of stem-changing verbs:

For example:

Quieren una competición. - They want a competition/contest.

Pide una nueva contraseña. - He asks for a new password.

Podemos bajar música. - We can download music.

Juego en mi videoconsola con mis amigas. - I play on my games console with my friends.

Learn more about present tense verbs in the Present tense regular verbs and Irregular verbs in the present tense in Spanish guides.

Read these comments from an internet forum and complete the activity below.

Karima

Juego en línea con mis amigas todas las tardes. Hay un juego de coches que encuentro muy dícifil.

David

Me gusta bajar música a menudo. No puedo comprar ropa en línea porque no tengo mi propia tarjeta bancaria.

Sasha

Prefiero leer blogs los fines de semana. Este año, en mi instituto aprendemos como publicar en la red.

Click or tap on the image below for a list of useful vocabulary to use when describing favourite social media and games.

For example:

Es importante tener una contraseña fuerte. – It’s important to have a strong password.

Es importante guardar tu trabajo antes de apagar el ordenador. – It’s important to save your work before you switch off your computer.

A veces grabo un vídeo y lo subo a la red. – Sometimes I record a video and I upload it on the net.

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

Parece que means ‘it seems that’.

For example:

Parece que es normal. - It seems to be normal.

Basta followed by the infinitive means ‘you have only to’.

For example:

Basta con colgar una foto popular. - You have only to upload a popular photo.

Vale la pena means ‘it’s worth it’.

For example:

El juego es complejo pero vale la pena. - The game is complicated but it is worth it.

Vale la pena followed by the infinitive means ‘it’s worth doing something’.

For example:

Vale la pena pasar menos tiempo en las redes sociales. - It’s worth spending less time on social media.

Hace falta followed by the infinitive means ‘it’s necessary to’.

For example:

Hace falta apagar el ordenador después de usarlo. - It’s necessary to switch off the computer after using it.

Click or tap on the image below for a list of useful Higher Tier vocabulary to use when describing favourite social media and games.

Now you have revised the important vocabulary and key grammar points for talking about holiday activities, why not have a look at the Describing the local area in Spanish guide.