KS2 · Spanish · Year 5

How are we? 'Somos' and 'estamos'

Me and others: singular 'estar' (for states) and 'ser' (for traits)

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Your learning goal

I can say where we are and how we are today using 'estamos', and what we are like generally using 'somos'.

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How are we? 'Somos' and 'estamos': 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

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What you’ll learn

I can say where we are and how we are today using 'estamos', and what we are like generally using 'somos'.

Key learning points

To read and say words accurately, it is important to practise the vowel sounds: [a], [e], [i], [o], [u].
There are two verbs to say ‘to be, being’ in Spanish: estar and ser.
To mean 'we are' with 'estar', we use 'estamos'. This means 'we are' for location and temporary states.
To mean 'we are' with 'ser', we use 'somos'. This means 'we are' for general traits.
When describing more than one, the adjective ends in -os with masculine nouns and -as with feminine nouns.

Words to know

estamos: 'we are' for location and temporary states, part of the verb 'estar'
somos: 'we are' for general traits, part of the verb 'ser'
adjective: word that gives information about a noun

Common mistakes

There is only one to say 'we are' in Spanish as in English.

There are two verbs meaning 'to be, being' in Spanish. To say 'we are' for location and temporary state, we use estamos from the verb estar and to say 'we are' for general traits, we use somos from the verb ser.

For parents, carers and teachers

To consolidate the uses of 'ser' and 'estar', you could practise using pair work and whiteboards. Give pupils simple sentences like '_____ en casa', 'siempre _____ positivos' etc. and pupils can write 'somos' or 'estamos' for a quick assessment.