TOPIC: Spanish GCSE Grammar – Adjective Agreement (el chico alto, la chica alta, los chicos altos, las chicas altas) with examples
Welcome to episode 8 of our story “Constance e Imran”. In every blog you will always find the same format:
- The story episode in Spanish.
- The translation into English.
- A grammar explanation with examples from the story.
This way you can practise reading, understanding and grammar, all at the same time.
EPISODIO 8 – La chica lectora (The Bookish Girl)
Constance llega a casa y deja el libro sobre la mesa.
«Hoy discutimos en clase de literatura…»
La madre suspira.
Constance arrives home and leaves the book on the table.
“Today we argued in literature class…”
Her mother sighs.
«¡Ah, la chica lectora!» dice con sarcasmo. Constance aprieta el libro contra el pecho.
«¿Alguna vez te importa lo que hago?»
La madre se cruza de brazos.
“Ah, the bookish girl!” she says with sarcasm. Constance presses the book against her chest.
“Do you ever care about what I do?”
Her mother crosses her arms.
«Haz lo que quieras. Yo trabajo todo el día, no estoy para escuchar tus tonterías.»
Constance respira hondo.
«Imran tiene una madre que lo presiona. Yo tengo una que no espera nada. ¿Cuál es peor?»
“Do whatever you want. I work all day, I’m not here to listen to your nonsense.”
Constance takes a deep breath.
“Imran has a mother who pressures him. I have one who expects nothing. Which is worse?”
La madre se gira y la mira por primera vez.
«¿Peor? Peor sería que no tuvieras madre. Así que deja de quejarte.»
Un segundo de silencio, una sombra en su mirada, pero enseguida aparta la vista. Constance da un paso hacia ella.
«No quiero órdenes. Quiero que estés. Que seas mi madre.»
Her mother turns and looks at her for the first time.
“Worse? Worse would be if you didn’t have a mother. So stop complaining.”
There’s a pause, a shadow in her eyes, but she quickly looks away. Constance takes a step toward her.
“I don’t want orders. I want you to be here. To be my mother.”
La madre no responde. Se queda inmóvil, con los brazos cruzados, como si la frase la hubiera golpeado. Finalmente, gira la cabeza hacia la televisión. Constance recoge su libro y sube a su cuarto. Cierra la puerta, se sienta en la cama y lo abre despacio. El silencio la rodea. Afuera, la casa sigue igual de vacía. Constance acaricia la primera página y piensa:
«Si nadie me escucha aquí, hablaré con mis libros.»
Her mother doesn’t answer. She stands frozen, arms still crossed, as if the words had struck her. Finally, she turns her head toward the TV. Constance picks up her book and goes upstairs to her room. She closes the door, sits on the bed, and opens it slowly. Silence surrounds her. Outside, the house is just as empty. Constance strokes the first page and thinks:
“If no one listens to me here, I will speak to my books.”
GRAMMAR:
«¡Ah, la chica lectora!» dice con sarcasmo.
One of the most easy things to understand but most difficult to remember when you talk or write is the agreement in Spanish. This simply means that words are like football players following the ball, all of them running in the same direction. If one is feminine, the rest are feminine (or masculine, or singular, or plural). So you have la chica lectora (la is feminine, chica is feminine, lectora is feminine). Here you have more examples:
la chica alta, the tall girl
las chicas altas, the tall girls
el chico alto, the tall boy
los chicos altos, the tall boys
And to continue comparing words and football players, consider that the captain of the team is the article (la, las, el, los). Simply follow the direction. And remember: this must become second nature. Otherwise, you will lose grades in your exam.
TIP:
«Hoy discutimos en clase de literatura…»
Three words to talk about time:
Ayer, hoy, mañana (yesterday, today, tomorrow)
Ayer fui al cine con mi amiga y luego comimos una pizza.
Yesterday, I went to the cinema with my friend and then we ate pizza.
Hoy tengo clase de guitarra.
Today I have a guitar lesson.
Mañana voy a estudiar para el examen de inglés.
Tomorrow, I am going to study for the English exam.
Find all the episodes here: https://spanishforlondon.com/2025/08/29/contents-gcse-spanish/
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