GCSE Spanish: Grammar

Ten sentences with a gap and four forms to choose from, covering the decisions Spanish makes that English does not. The questions are in English and the Spanish is in the sentence, so what is being tested is whether you know the rule.

Two questions turn on ser against estar, and they are built so the meaning decides it rather than a memorised list. Height is what someone is; soup that has gone cold because it was left out of the fridge is a state it has ended up in. Two more turn on the preterite against the imperfect: a childhood that went on for years takes the imperfect, homework finished inside a stated hour takes the preterite, and the sentence says "en menos de una hora" precisely so that only one tense fits.

One question is deliberately built the other way round. "Compré este regalo ______ mi madre" works with both por and para — but they mean different things, so the question states the English meaning and the explanation says openly that the rejected option is also good Spanish. A question that quietly has two right answers teaches nothing, and there is no honest way to ask this one without saying what you mean.

The rest covers the near future and the "a" students drop out of it, the subjunctive after "quiero que", a direct object pronoun in front of its verb, "más ... que", and the agreement of gustar with the thing liked rather than the person liking it.

Every sentence here was written for this set. Exam board specifications, past papers and mark schemes are copyright material and nothing is taken from them.

Zestly is an independent study tool. It is not affiliated with any exam board and it is not an exam centre.

• Choose between ser and estar from what the sentence means rather than from a memorised list
• Choose between the preterite and the imperfect using the time expression in the sentence
• Form the irregular preterite of hacer and build the near future with ir a plus an infinitive
• Recognise the present subjunctive after a trigger such as quiero que
• Place a direct object pronoun correctly in front of a conjugated verb
• Build a comparative with más ... que, and agree gustar with the thing being liked

Which word completes the sentence so that it means 'I bought this present FOR my mother', with my mother as the person who will receive it? « Compré este regalo ______ mi madre. » — one of ten gap-fill questions written for this set, alongside ser and estar, the preterite and imperfect, the near future, the subjunctive, pronouns, comparatives and gustar.