GCSE Spanish: Opinions and Connectives

An opinion on its own is worth very little in a Spanish exam; an opinion with a reason attached, and a second sentence that turns against the first, is worth a great deal more. This practice is about the words that do that work. You introduce a view with en mi opinión, keep the indicative after creo que and switch to the subjunctive the moment it becomes no creo que, and pick the reason word that can actually take a clause — porque, where debido a and a causa de need a noun and por needs a noun or an infinitive. Then come the connectives: one that contradicts what you have just said, one that adds to it, and aunque, which concedes a difficulty instead of giving a reason. The set finishes with lo que to open a sentence, hay que with an infinitive, and a si clause whose two halves have to match. Where more than one option would otherwise be good Spanish, the question states the English meaning, because that is the only honest way to have a single right answer. Zestly is an independent study tool. It is not affiliated with any exam board and it is not an exam centre.

• Introduce an opinion with the fixed phrase en mi opinión, and avoid the preposition errors it attracts
• Keep the indicative after creo que and use the subjunctive after no creo que
• Choose a reason word that fits what follows it: porque before a clause, debido a and a causa de before a noun, por before an infinitive
• Separate connectives of contrast from connectives of result, and use además to add a further point
• Use aunque to concede something rather than to give a reason
• Open a sentence with lo que, use hay que with an infinitive, and match a present-tense si clause with a future main verb

No voy a la fiesta ______ tengo que estudiar. — porque. What follows the gap is a full clause with its own conjugated verb, tengo, and porque is the only one of the four that can introduce a clause: debido a and a causa de need a noun, and por, when a verb follows it, needs an infinitive.