KS4 · Spanish · Year 10

Aprender un idioma: 'hay que', 'se puede', 'se necesita', 'se debe'

My personal world: cuestiones de identidad

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Your learning goal

I can make suggestions about how to learn Spanish using 'hay que', 'se debe', 'se puede' and 'se necesita'.

1 of 11

Aprender un idioma: 'hay que', 'se puede', 'se necesita', 'se debe': slides adapted from the imported teaching text; recall questions created from its keywords, learning points and common mistakes. Self-check practice, with no automatic grading or XP. Answers stay on this page and are cleared when you leave.

Original teaching resources

The original illustrated PowerPoint is available as well as the IllumED text slides. It retains the publisher’s design and credits.

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What you’ll learn

I can make suggestions about how to learn Spanish using 'hay que', 'se debe', 'se puede' and 'se necesita'.

Key learning points

Impersonal verbs don’t refer to a particular person or thing.
Common impersonal verb phrases in Spanish are 'hay que', 'se puede', 'se necesita' and 'se debe'.
To make suggestions to someone, use 'hay que', 'se puede', 'se necesita' or 'se debe' followed by an infinitive verb.
Passive sentences focus on what is done rather than who does it.
In Spanish, passive sentences can be formed using reflexive pronoun 'se' + 3rd person singular or plural verb.

Words to know

impersonal verb: verb that doesn't refer to a particular person or thing
se: pronoun used for impersonal verbs and also in reflexive passive constructions
infinitive: form of the verb giving its general meaning, with no subject or tense
passive: grammatical construction that focuses on what is done rather than who does it

Common mistakes

To mean 'you' in an impersonal, general sense use 'tú'.

'Tú' means 'you' when directed at a specific person. To mean 'you' in an impersonal, general sense use 'se' e.g. 'se puede' (you can).

For parents, carers and teachers

Learning Cycle 3 contains Higher Tier grammar. Task B1a provides a good opportunity for the use of mini-whiteboards to check students' translations in real time.