Spanish GCSE Reading and Grammar-Constance e Imran Episode 20 (learn through a novel)

Spanish GCSE Reading and Grammar – Constance e Imran Episode 20 (learn through a novel)

TOPIC: Spanish Near Future (IR + infinitive / “going to”) 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 20

Constance and Imran – Episode 20

La clase de literatura empieza en silencio. Jason levanta la mano:
The literature class begins in silence. Jason raises his hand:

—Profesor, ¿podemos hablar de la época del Imperio y de la esclavitud?
—Sir, can we talk about the time of the Empire and about slavery?

Mr. Whitmore sonríe.
Mr. Whitmore smiles.

—“Era el mejor de los tiempos, era el peor de los tiempos”.
—“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”.

Constance ubica la cita de inmediato:
Constance recognizes the quote immediately:

—Eso lo dijo Charles Dickens —dice enseguida, entusiasmada.
—That was Charles Dickens —she says quickly, excited.

—Correcto, Constance. El Imperio Británico prosperó gracias al desarrollo industrial, pero de la mano de la esclavitud. Y no solo la africana. Las fábricas británicas tenían sus propios esclavos: niños que trabajaban dieciséis horas al día. Dickens mostró ese mundo en sus libros. Siempre pensamos que los esclavos estaban en las colonias, pero deberíamos recordar que la miseria también fue doméstica. Esa fue la realidad de la gran época victoriana.
—Correct, Constance. The British Empire prospered thanks to industrial development, but side by side with slavery. And not only African slavery. British factories had their own slaves: children who worked sixteen hours a day. Dickens showed that world in his books. We always think that slavery happened only in the colonies, but we should remember that misery was also domestic. That was the reality of the great Victorian age.

El timbre suena, pero nadie se levanta. Maya dice:
The bell rings, but no one moves. Maya says:

—Debemos leer sus libros, entonces.
—Then we must read his books.

—La próxima semana vamos a hablar de “Grandes esperanzas”, y también de “Cuento de Navidad”. No es un libro sobre fantasmas, es un libro sobre responsabilidad moral.
—Next week we’re going to talk about “Great Expectations”, and also “A Christmas Carol”. It’s not a book about ghosts; it’s a book about moral responsibility.

📘 GRAMMAR:

● In Spanish, one of the most common ways to talk about the future is with the structure ir + a + infinitive, which works like “to be going to” in English:

voy a comer → I am going to eat
vas a comer → you are going to eat (informal)
va a comer → he/she is going to eat; you are going to eat (formal)
vamos a comer → we are going to eat
vais a comer → you all / you both are going to eat (informal, Spain)
van a comer → they are going to eat; you all / you both are going to eat (formal)

● Did you notice that we don’t need to write the personal pronouns (yo, tú, él, ella…)?

➜ In Spanish, the verb ending already shows who is speaking, so you can drop the pronoun if it is not strictly necessary.

● Example from the episode:

La próxima semana vamos a hablar de “Grandes esperanzas”, y también de “Cuento de Navidad”.
Next week we’re going to talk about “Great Expectations”, and also “A Christmas Carol”.

● Learn more about the Near Future here:

💡 TIP:

● deber has two important uses:

  • ● debo trabajar → I must work. (Obligation)
  • ● Te debo dinero → I owe you money.

You also know the word deberes = homework, something you must do.

● When you want to express obligation, you use forms like:

debemos leer sus libros, entonces. → Then we must read his books.

● When you want to say that something would be a good idea or the right thing to do (but not a strict obligation), you use the conditional form (we will study it later):

deberíamos recordar que la miseria también fue doméstica. → We should remember that misery was also domestic.

Compare:

  • ● debo estudiar para el examen. → I must study for the exam.
  • ● debería hacer más deporte. → I should do more sport.

Find all the episodes here:
Spanish for London — Contents GCSE Spanish

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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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