THE ORAL EXAM - THE PRESENT TENSE - ESSENTIAL NUMBER 1

ESSENTIAL 1 - THE PRESENT TENSE

In the oral exam there are a number of themes and areas that you can get tested on, but there are three that must be asked. The first of these is the present tense.

The Present tense (El Presente de Indicativo) is not used to talk about what is happening now, but rather what happens regularly, often, never, usually. It is about habitual actions.

For this reason we use it with words like 
siempre - always, 
nunca - never, 
a veces - sometimes, 
normalmente - usually.

Two of the main ways you can be asked about the Present tense is by asking about...
(i) pasatiempos (pastimes) or 
(ii) rutina diaria (daily routine).

In the oral, the most important form of the verb is the "Yo" form, the first person, as you are typically talking about yourself. The ending for the first person is, of course, "o" - 
como, 
me llamo, 
trabajo, 
juego al fútbol etc...

For a breakdown of possible verbs to use for talking about pasatiempos, click here.

For a guide on how to talk about your daily routine, click here. 

It is important to note that there are many reflexive verbs involved in talking about a typical day, including  - 
me levanto - I get up, 
me visto - I get dressed, 
me ducho - I have a shower,
me acuesto - I go to bed.

We will have a guide to reflexive verbs coming soon. 

ROLE PLAY 1; THE BEACH (LA PLAYA)

In the Leaving Cert oral exam every student is given one of five role plays to complete. The student has to play the part of a young person in Spain, in a variety of situations, at a first aid post on a beach, on a boat, in a hotel etc. The examiner plays the part of the Spanish person talking to the student.

The best way to prepare for the role plays is to break each section down to individual expressions, and to learn the expressions. For example, in the first role play, you are on a beach in Santander, and step on a piece of broken glass. You go to the first aid hut and say to the attendant there...

"Say you are sorry to bother him/her but you have cut your foot.
Say it is bleeding a lot but you do not think it’s serious but it hurts badly."

Instead of having to learn the whole first part together, it is easier to take it expression by expression..

Sorry to bother you - siento molestarte

I have cut my foot - me he cortado el pie

It is bleeding a lot - está sangrando mucho

It hurts badly - me duele mucho

The whole of role play 1 is done like this, and can be found here. Check out the video above....