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AQA GCSE Spanish (8692) · Grammar spine 8 of 10 — Joining ideas
Mini-Lesson

Joining ideas

Good Spanish isn't just correct verbs — it's ideas joined smoothly. This lesson gives you the connective toolkit: comparatives (more/less/as … than), adverbs (how you do things), prepositions (to, with, for, without…), the personal a, and the connectives that link your sentences.

Es alta idea 1 más que su hermano idea 2

Work through each screen and answer the questions as you go — some ask you to recognise the right word, some ask you to produce it by typing. Collect ⭐ stars and press Start.

Comparing things

más … que, menos … que, tan … como

To compare two things you wrap the adjective in a fixed frame:

más / menos + adjective + quetan + adjective + como = "as … as"
  • más alta que — Ana es más alta que Luis. (Ana is taller than Luis.)
  • menos caro que — Es menos caro que el otro. (It's less expensive than the other.)
  • tan alto como — Es tan alto como su padre. (He's as tall as his father.)

Irregular comparatives (no más): mejor = better, peor = worse, mayor = older/bigger, menor = younger/smaller. Este libro es mejor que ése — not más bueno que.

Quick check

Completing a comparison

?Complete: Ana es más alta ____ Luis. ("Ana is taller than Luis.")
The most / the least

Superlatives Higher

To say the most or the least, add the article and (often) de for "in/of":

el / la / los / las + más / menos + adjective (+ de)
  • la ciudad más grande de España — the biggest city in Spain.
  • el estudiante menos ruidoso de la clase — the least noisy student in the class.

Irregular superlatives: el mejor = the best, el peor = the worst — Es el mejor jugador del equipo. Keep the whole structure for Higher; at Foundation, recognising el más / el mejor is plenty.

How you do things

Adverbs: adjective + -mente

Most adverbs are built from the feminine singular adjective + -mente (like English "-ly"):

adjectivefeminine → adverb
rápido (fast)rápida → rápidamente
lento (slow)lenta → lentamente
fácil (easy)fácil → fácilmente

Common other adverbs to learn whole: bien (well), mal (badly), muy (very), mucho, poco, siempre, nunca, a veces, a menudo (often), demasiado (too much).

Watch: bueno is an adjective (a good…), bien is the adverb (well). Say Habla bien ("He speaks well") — never habla bueno.

Type it

Your turn — build an adverb

1Turn the adjective fácil (easy) into the adverb meaning "easily".
Hint: fácil is the same in masculine/feminine, so just add -mente (keep the accent).
Little linking words

Prepositions

Prepositions glue words together. The common ones to know:

ato
deof / from
enin / on
conwith
sinwithout
parafor / in order to
sobreon / about
entrebetween
hastauntil
desdefrom / since
haciatowards
  • Possession with de: el coche de mi padre — my father's car (there's no 's in Spanish).
  • para + infinitive = "in order to": Estudio para aprobar — I study in order to pass.
  • sin + infinitive: Se fue sin hablar — he left without speaking.

Higher Higher: antes de + infinitive = "before doing" (antes de salir), después de + infinitive = "after doing" (después de comer). Note: para = purpose; por is best learnt as vocabulary in set phrases (por la mañana, gracias por).

Sort it

Pick the joining word

Choose the word or form that fits each gap.

A heavily-tested rule

The personal a

When a specific person (or a pet) is the direct object of a verb, Spanish puts a in front — even though English has nothing there:

  • Veo a María. — I see María.
  • Busco a mi hermano. — I'm looking for my brother.
  • Conozco a tu profesor. — I know your teacher.

For things, there is no personal a: Veo la casa (I see the house) — no a.

Watch the merge: a + el = al. So "I see the boy" is Veo al niño, never a el niño.

Quick check

Personal a — yes or no?

?Which sentence is written correctly?
Type it

Your turn — personal a

2Translate "I see my brother" into Spanish. Remember the personal a.
Hint: veo + personal a + mi hermano (he's a specific person).
Type it

Your turn — the merge

3Contract a + el into the single Spanish word.
Hint: two letters — it's how "to the / at the (masc.)" is written, as in Veo ___ niño.
Sort it

Does it need the personal a?

Tap a phrase, then drop it into the right bin. The gap is shown as "…".

Needs personal a (a person)

No personal a (a thing)

Type it

Your turn — irregular comparative

4Give the Spanish irregular comparative meaning "better".
Hint: don't use más bueno — there's one special word (as in Es ___ que ése).
Linking your sentences

Connectives (joining words)

These little words turn short sentences into flowing writing — examiners reward them:

SpanishEnglish
y (→ e before i-/hi-)and
o (→ u before o-/ho-)or
perobut
porquebecause
aunquealthough
cuandowhen
mientraswhile
tambiénalso
sin embargohowever

Spelling shifts: y becomes e before an i-/hi- sound (español e inglés), and o becomes u before an o-/ho- sound (siete u ocho) — just to avoid two identical sounds colliding.

Quick check

Building an adverb

?What is the adverb ("quickly") formed from rápido?
Quick check

bien or bueno?

?Which sentence correctly says "He speaks well"?
Quick check

As … as

?Complete: Es tan alto ____ su padre. ("He's as tall as his father.")
Type it

Your turn — complete the comparison

5Complete: Es más inteligente ____ ("more intelligent than"). Type the missing word.
Hint: with más + adjective, "than" is one short word.
Game · Match

Match the connective to its English

Tap a Spanish connective on the left, then tap its English meaning on the right.

SPANISH
pero
porque
aunque
sin embargo
mientras
también
ENGLISH
however
but
also
although
while
because
Recap

Your joining-ideas toolkit

Comparatives: más / menos + adj + que; tan + adj + como; irregulars mejor, peor, mayor, menor.

Superlatives (Higher): el/la + más/menos + adj (+ de); el mejor, el peor.

Adverbs: feminine adjective + -mente (rápida→rápidamente); plus bien, mal, muy, siempre, nunca… — and bienbueno.

Prepositions: a, de, en, con, sin, para, sobre, entre, hasta, desde, hacia; de for possession; para + inf = in order to.

Personal a: before a specific person/pet as object (Veo a María), not a thing; a + el = al.

Connectives: y (e), o (u), pero, porque, aunque, cuando, mientras, también, sin embargo.

Join your ideas and your writing jumps a level. Press Finish to see your score.

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