Personalities

Section: Personalities

  • Begin your revision by familiarising yourself with the Spanish vocabulary for different personality traits. E.g., simpático/a (nice), divertido/a (fun), aburrido/a (boring), serio/a (serious), etc.

  • Practice using these adjectives in sentences. Remember to match the adjective with the gender and number of the person you are referring to.

  • Become comfortable with using the verbs ‘ser’ and ‘estar’ to describe character. For instance, ‘Ella es muy graciosa’ (She is very funny) vs ‘Estoy aburrido’ (I am bored). Recall that ‘ser’ is used for permanent characteristics and ‘estar’ is used for temporary states or feelings.

  • Perfect the use of ‘tener’ (to have) for describing features of personality e.g., ‘tener paciencia’ (to have patience).

  • Understand how to properly describe yourself and others. This includes using accurate vocabulary, using the right gender and number agreement, and placing the adjectives correctly in a sentence.

  • Practice using comparative adjectives to compare your personality with others. E.g., ‘Yo soy más tranquilo que mi hermano’ (I am calmer than my brother).

  • Learn vocab for expressing likes and dislikes to further build on your ability to describe personalities. E.g., ‘A él le gusta leer’ (He likes to read), ‘No le gustan las matemáticas’ (She does not like mathematics).

  • Try to incorporate levels of intensity when describing personality e.g., bastante (quite), muy (very), demasiado (too), poco/a (a little).

  • Revise reflexive verbs which are often used when talking about daily routines and personal care which links to personality, such as ‘me levanto’ (I get up) or ‘se ducha’ (he/she showers).

  • Use authentic Spanish resources such as short stories, podcasts, or videos as part of your revision. Try to pick out the adjectives or phrases used to describe personalities.

Remember to regularly test your understanding by self-quizzing the words and phrases you have learned. Practice using them in sentences or try writing a paragraph about yourself or a fictional character. Don’t forget to practise out loud too; speaking and listening skills are just as important as writing and reading in language learning.