Understanding Spanish Vocabulary for Describing People

Family related vocabulary:

madre (mother)
padre (father)
hermano (brother)
hermana (sister)

Character related adjectives:

amable (kind)
divertido (fun)
serio (serious)
maleducado (rude)

Matching Gender and Using Verbs

Matching the gender of adjectives with the person you’re describing:

Remember to use terms such ‘inteligente’ correctly for both male and female - un chico inteligente (an intelligent boy) or una chica inteligente (an intelligent girl).

Using verbs ‘ser’ and ‘tener’ in descriptions:

Practice using verbs like ser (to be) for qualities or characteristics.
Use tener (to have) for physical descriptions like ‘tener ojos azules’ (to have blue eyes).
Don’t forget to use estar (to be) for temporary conditions or states such as ‘ella está enfadada’ (she is angry).

Building and Connecting Sentences

Use of sentence connectives:

Shape sentences using connectives like y (and), pero (but), también (also), or sin embargo (however).

Physical Descriptions:

Practice the vocabulary related to physical descriptions: alto/a (tall), bajo/a (short), gordo/a (fat), and delgado/a (thin) etc.

Usage of Tenses, Reflexive Verbs and Possessive Adjectives

Applying tenses:

Remember the importance of using different tenses. Describe past events using the preterite and imperfect tenses, and future events with the future tense or ir + a + infinitive construction.

Usage of reflexive verbs:

Get comfortable using reflexive verbs such as me llamo (my name is), se llama (his/her name is).

Correct use of possessive adjectives:

Learn to use possessive adjectives correctly. For example mi (my), tu (your), su (his/her), nuestro/a (our), vuestro/a (your), su (their).

Discussing Interests and Using Pronouns

Discussing interests with ‘gustar’:

Discuss interests and hobbies using verbs like gustar (to like). For example, a mi hermano le gusta el fútbol (my brother likes football).

Avoiding repetition with pronouns:

Practice using pronouns regularly to avoid unnecessary repetition: él/ella (he/she), nosotros/nosotras (we), vosotros/vosotras (you, plural) and ellos/ellas (they).

The more you use and practise this vocabulary and these structures, the more confident you will become in your Spanish speaking and writing abilities.