KS2 · Spanish · Year 5
Birthdays: questions with 'cuándo'
Describe things and events: 'es'
Learn it. Recall it. Make it stick.
IllumED Slides
IllumED · 1/9
Your learning goal
I can say when my birthday is and ask others about their birthday.
1 of 9
Birthdays: questions with 'cuándo': 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.
Download original PowerPoint ↓What you’ll learn
I can say when my birthday is and ask others about their birthday.
Key learning points
- The definite article 'el' can be used to mean 'on the' with birthdays. It is not used for today's date.
- To ask someone's birthday, we use the question ¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños?
- To say when your birthday is, use ‘mi cumpleaños es el…’.
- We combine the numbers 1-31 and the months of the year to talk about birthdays.
- Practising vocabulary regularly helps reinforce learning and improves communication.
Words to know
- el
- masculine definite article 'the', also meaning on the when used with specific dates
- cuándo
- question word meaning 'when'
Common mistakes
To say what the date is, you always use the definite article 'the' as in English.
In Spanish, the definite article is used with specific dates, like birthdays. Unlike in English, 'the' is not used for today's date.
For parents, carers and teachers
- A classroom display could be created showing the birthdays of pupils. They could write their birthdays on balloon templates or something similar (e.g. cupcakes, stars, or candles) to create a fun and engaging visual.