Spanish GCSE Reading and Grammar-Constance e Imran Episode 19 (learn through a novel)

Spanish GCSE Reading and Grammar – Constance e Imran Episode 19 (learn through a novel)

TOPIC: Spanish Irregular Verbs in the Present Tense (-oy / -y) explained — Learn with Examples and Reading Practice

In every blog you will always find the same format:

  1. The story episode in Spanish.
  2. The translation into English.
  3. A grammar explanation with examples from the story.

This way you can practise reading, understanding and grammar, all at the same time.

Constance e Imran – episodio 19

Constance and Imran – Episode 19

Mr. Collins insiste en que el Imperio trajo progreso y cultura, pero Constance no se calla:
Mr. Collins insists that the Empire brought progress and culture, but Constance won’t stay silent:
—Si construyo un imperio, al mismo tiempo destruyo muchas culturas; eso pasó con el Imperio Romano, con el Imperio Británico, con el Imperio Ruso y con tantos otros. Inglaterra destruyó Irlanda.
—If I build an empire, at the same time I destroy many cultures; that happened with the Roman Empire, with the British Empire, with the Russian Empire, and with so many others. England destroyed Ireland.
Daniel interviene por primera vez:
Daniel speaks for the first time:
—Tú tienes razón, Constance, pero no es solo Irlanda. Podríamos hablar de África. La riqueza de Inglaterra se construyó también sobre la venta de esclavos. ¿Podemos hablar de progreso con gente encadenada?
—You’re right, Constance, but it’s not just Ireland. We could talk about Africa. England’s wealth was also built on the sale of slaves. Can we really talk about progress when people were in chains?
El aula se queda en silencio. Collins lo mira con una sonrisa tensa.
The classroom falls silent. Collins looks at him with a tense smile.
—Voy a decirle algo, señor Adeyemi. Usted juzga con los ojos del presente.
—I’m going to tell you something, Mr. Adeyemi. You judge with the eyes of the present.
—Y usted —responde Daniel con calma— enseña con los prejuicios del pasado.
—And you —Daniel replies calmly— teach with the prejudices of the past.
Collins toma aire, irritado.
Collins takes a deep breath, irritated.
—Si seguimos por ese camino, no terminaremos nunca de discutir.
—If we go on like this, we’ll never finish this discussion.
—Cierto —dice Constance—. Quizás sea tiempo de empezar con la verdadera conversación.
—True —says Constance—. Maybe it’s time to start the real conversation.

📘 GRAMMAR:

● There are four verbs that in the present tense end in -oy for yo:

yo soy, I am (as in I am Laura: yo soy Laura)
yo estoy, I am (as in I am at home: estoy en casa)
yo voy, I go
yo doy, I give

Don’t worry now about the two verbs to say “to be”, we will cover this in the next blogs!

In the episode, you find: “Voy a decirle algo, señor Adeyemi.” → “I’m going to tell you something, Mr. Adeyemi.”

● We also have some verbs ending in -uir (construir, destruir, huir, distribuir, etc.) which take y in this way:

Ejemplo Traducción
Construir → construyo, construyes, construye, construimos, construís, construyen To build → I build, you build, he/she builds, we build, you (pl.) build, they build
Destruir → destruyo, destruyes, destruye, destruimos, destruís, destruyen To destroy → I destroy, you destroy, he/she destroys, we destroy, you (pl.) destroy, they destroy

You have this example in our episode: “Si construyo un imperio, al mismo tiempo destruyo muchas culturas.” → “If I build an empire, at the same time I destroy many cultures.”

Now, you know all the forms in the Simple Present! You can always revise: the regular forms are in Episodes 4, 5 and 6, and the irregular forms from Episode 14 to 19.

Here you have a video where I explain these irregularities:
Watch the video on YouTube

💡 TIP:

In English, you is always you, no matter if you are talking to your friend, your mother, your boss or the Prime Minister. But English is an exception. In many languages around the world, there are two different words: one for close relationships and another one to show respect. Spanish is one of them. In this episode, you find examples of this:

  • ● Daniel speaking to his friend says:
    —Tú tienes razón, Constance. You’re right, Constance.
  • ● Daniel speaking to Mr Collins says:
    —Usted enseña con los prejuicios del pasado. You teach with the prejudices of the past.

You will find more information about tú and usted here:
TÚ vs USTED

Find all the episodes here:
Spanish for London — 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!

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