Spanish GCSE Reading and Grammar — Constance e Imran Episode 14 (learn through a novel)
- The story episode in Spanish.
- The translation into English.
- A grammar explanation with examples from the story.
—No puedo hablar de esto en mi casa —dice Imran—. Mi familia es muy tradicional y se van a morir cuando tire esta bomba.
Ella asiente lentamente.
—Bueno, con mi mamá tampoco podemos contar. Pero podemos ir a ver a mi abuela. Es una mujer genial.
Imran la mira incrédulo.
—¿Y tu abuela me va a entender?
—Sí. Ella es absolutamente genial.
Imran respira hondo.
—Yo prefiero que alguien lo sepa antes de que esto explote en casa. Sin embargo, tengo miedo.
Constance sonríe con complicidad.
—Entonces, vamos.
Imran la mira sorprendido.
—¿Ahora?
—Sí. Ahora.
“I can’t talk about this at home,” says Imran. “My family is very traditional, and they’ll die when I drop this bomb.”
She nods slowly.
“Well, we can’t count on my mum either. But we can go and see my grandmother. She’s an amazing woman.”
Imran looks at her, incredulous.
“And your grandmother will understand me?”
“Yes. She’s absolutely amazing.”
Imran takes a deep breath.
“I prefer someone to know before this explodes at home. Still, I’m scared.”
Constance smiles knowingly.
“Then let’s go.”
Imran looks surprised.
“Now?”
“Yes. Now.”
Today and in the next two episodes, we will discuss irregular verbs in the Present Tense. Although we will see three different groups, they behave exactly in the same way, so if you understand one group, you understand the three of them.
In Spanish, some verbs change their stem vowel in the present tense. When the stem has e, it often changes to ie — except in the nosotros and vosotros forms.
🔹 Example: preferir (to prefer)
| Subject | Conjugation | English |
|---|---|---|
| yo | prefiero | I prefer |
| tú | prefieres | you prefer |
| él, ella, usted | prefiere | he or she prefers, you (formal) prefer |
| nosotros, nosotras | preferimos | we prefer |
| vosotros, vosotras | preferís | you all or you both prefer |
| ellos, ellas, ustedes | prefieren | they, you all or you both (formal) prefer |
This is only one example, but this irregularity affects many verbs. Some of them are:
| Entender | Pensar | Querer | Empezar |
|---|---|---|---|
| entiendo | pienso | quiero | empiezo |
| entiendes | piensas | quieres | empiezas |
| entiende | piensa | quiere | empieza |
| entendemos | pensamos | queremos | empezamos |
| entendéis | pensáis | queréis | empezáis |
| entienden | piensan | quieren | empiezan |
Here you have the full explanation for these verbs, including the others which are the topic of the next two episodes:
In English, we can take an adjective (slow, quick) and convert it into an adverb by adding the suffix -ly. In grammar, a suffix is an ending that gives another meaning or function to the word. The same happens in Spanish, but for us, the ending is -mente.
| English | Spanish adjective | Spanish adverb |
|---|---|---|
| slow | lento, lenta | lentamente |
| quick | rápido, rápida | rápidamente |
Notice that, when the adjective has two endings (o/a), you use the feminine one (a) to form the adverb.
These are examples from our episode:
- Ella asiente lentamente.
- Ella es absolutamente genial.
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!
