Spanish GCSE Reading and Grammar — Constance e Imran Episode 3 (learn through a novel)
- The story episode in Spanish.
- The translation into English.
- A grammar explanation with examples from the story.
Jason dice, con una sonrisa despectiva:
Jason says, with a mocking smile:
«Imran: musulmán, dieciséis años, pobre. Fin.»
“Imran: Muslim, sixteen years old, poor. The end.”
Imran responde sin bajar la vista:
Imran replies without lowering his gaze:
«Soy musulmán, pero soy británico. Soy pobre, pero tengo una familia fantástica.»
“I am Muslim, but I am British. I am poor, but I have a fantastic family.”
Constance apoya a Imran:
Constance supports Imran:
«Me llamo Constance. Vivo con mi madre. No tengo hermanos y tampoco tengo amigos estúpidos como tú.»
“My name is Constance. I live with my mother. I have no brothers or sisters, and I don’t have stupid friends like you.”
Jason se queda quieto. Por primera vez, no ríe.
Jason goes quiet. For the first time, he does not laugh.
En ese momento, una voz suena detrás de ellos. Es Mr Whitmore, profesor de literatura en Ravenswood High School, en Nottingham. Tiene 28 años. Es joven y tiene gafas. Dice:
At that moment, a voice sounds behind them. It is Mr Whitmore, literature teacher at Ravenswood High School in Nottingham. He is 28 years old. He is young and wears glasses. He says:
«Todos éramos iguales hasta que la raza nos desconectó, la religión nos separó, la política nos dividió y el dinero nos clasificó. Y ahora, a clase.»
“We were all equal until race disconnected us, religion separated us, politics divided us and money classified us. And now, to class.”
To introduce yourself, you need some basic verbs:
- Me llamo… → My name is…
Me llamo Constance (My name is Constance) - Soy… → I am…
Soy musulmán (I am a Muslim) - Vivo… → I live…
Vivo con mi madre (I live with my mother) - Tengo… → I have…
Tengo una familia fantástica (I have a fantastic family)
Tengo 15 años (I am 15 years old — literally: I have 15 years)
Tengo un hermano (I have a brother)
Tengo una hermana (I have a sister)
No tengo móvil (I don’t have a phone)
No tengo bicicleta (I don’t have a bike)
Notice: In Spanish we usually omit the pronouns (yo, tú, él…). So instead of yo soy, yo vivo, yo tengo, we simply say soy, vivo, tengo. It means the same, but sounds more natural.
Constance said to Jason: “No tengo hermanos y tampoco tengo amigos estúpidos como tú”.
Two useful words are también (also) and tampoco (neither). Use them to make your sentences richer:
- Tengo un perro y también un gato. (I have a dog and also a cat)
- No tengo un perro y tampoco un gato. (I don’t have a dog and I don’t have a cat either)
Teachers love it when you use these words — they show you know more Spanish and it can make a difference in your GCSE exam.
Find all the episodes here: Contents – GCSE Spanish
Highly qualified native teacher with 30 years of experience. One-to-one lessons via Zoom. Contact me at laura@spanishforlondon.com
We post two new episodes every week — keep up with Constance and Imran’s story!
