These are the structures that lift a Higher answer above the crowd: the present subjunctive (just five verbs), the passive, acabar de ("to have just…"), seguir + gerund ("to still…"), and desde hace for "how long".
⚠️ Higher tier only. Everything in this lesson is assessed at Higher tier in AQA GCSE Spanish (8692). If you're sitting Foundation, you don't need these — but recognising them still helps your reading.
Work through each screen and answer the questions as you go — some ask you to recognise the right form, some ask you to produce it by typing. Collect ⭐ stars and press Start.
The present subjunctive Higher
A mood, not a tense
The subjunctive is a special verb form for things that are wished for, hoped, wanted, or not yet real. AQA keeps the scope tight: you need it for five high-frequency verbs, in the singular persons only (yo / tú / él-ella-usted).
verb
yo / tú / él
hacer (to do/make)
haga / hagas / haga
ser (to be)
sea / seas / sea
ir (to go)
vaya / vayas / vaya
venir (to come)
venga / vengas / venga
tener (to have)
tenga / tengas / tenga
Formation tip: take the yo present, drop the -o, add the "opposite vowel" endings — -ar verbs take -e, and -er/-ir verbs take -a: hablar → hable, comer → coma, vivir → viva.
The present subjunctive Higher
The four times you use it
Only four triggers are in scope. Learn to spot each one:
1. Future after cuando. When "when" points to the future: Cuando sea mayor, seré médico — When I'm older, I'll be a doctor.
2. After wishing / wanting / command / emotion.Quiero que vengas (I want you to come); Espero que tengas suerte (I hope you have luck).
3. After que for a wish.¡Que tengas un buen día! — Have a good day!
4. Purpose after para que.Te lo digo para que lo sepas — I'm telling you so that you know.
Stay in scope. AQA does not ask for the imperfect subjunctive, the plural persons, or other verbs. Just the five verbs, singular, in these four situations.
Quick check
After cuando
?Complete this future plan: Cuando ____ mayor, quiero viajar. (from ser, "when I'm older…")
Quick check
After a wish
?You want to say "I want you to come": Quiero que ____ (from venir, tú).
Type it
Your turn — the subjunctive
1Write the tú subjunctive of tener: Espero que tú ____ suerte.
Hint: take the yo form tengo, drop the -o, add the "opposite vowel" tú ending -as.
Sort it
Subjunctive or normal?
Pick the form that fits each gap.
The passive Higher
The passive with ser
In a passive sentence the thing comes first and the action is done to it. Spanish builds it with ser + a past participle, and the participle agrees (like an adjective). Add por + the doer:
La casa fue construida por los obreros. — The house was built by the workers.
El libro es leído por muchos. — The book is read by many.
Agreement:construida is feminine (matching la casa); it would be construido for a masculine noun, construidos/as for plurals.
The passive Higher
The se passive — far more common
Spanish usually avoids the ser passive and uses se + the verb in the 3rd person instead. It's the everyday way to say something is done without saying who:
se + verb (3rd person)singular thing → verb singular · plural things → verb plural
Se habla español aquí. — Spanish is spoken here.
Se venden casas. — Houses are sold (note: plural → venden).
Aquí se come bien. — You eat well / one eats well here.
Exam tip: the se passive is what markers see most. Reach for it before the wordier ser + participle version.
Quick check
The se passive
?How do you say "Spanish is spoken here"? Aquí ____ español.
Type it
Your turn — the se passive
2Translate "Spanish is spoken" into Spanish. Three words.
Hint: se + the "he/she" form of hablar + español.
acabar de Higher
acabar de + infinitive = "to have just…"
Use acabar de (in the present) + an infinitive to say something has just happened:
acabar de + infinitive= "to have just (done something)"
Acabo de llegar. — I've just arrived.
Acaban de salir. — They've just left.
Note: conjugate acabar like a normal -ar verb (acabo, acabas, acaba, acabamos, acabáis, acaban), keep de, then the infinitive never changes.
Quick check
What does it mean?
?A friend texts: Acabo de comer. What are they saying?
Type it
Your turn — acabar de
3Translate "I've just arrived" into Spanish. Three words.
Hint: acabar in the "I" form + de + the infinitive llegar.
seguir + gerund Higher
seguir + gerund = "to keep / still…"
Use seguir + the gerund (the -ando/-iendo form) to say an action keeps happening / is still going:
Sigo estudiando. — I'm still studying.
Sigue lloviendo. — It's still raining.
Watch the boot:seguir is an e→i stem-changer, so the singular forms shift: sigo, sigues, sigue, then seguimos, seguís, siguen.
Related:llevar + time + gerund tells you how long something's been going: Llevo dos años estudiando español — I've been studying Spanish for two years.
Quick check
What does it mean?
?Your penpal writes: Sigo estudiando. What does it mean?
desde hace Higher
desde hace — "for how long"
To say you've been doing something for a length of time (and still are), Spanish uses the present tense + desde hace + the time:
present + desde hace + time= "have been (doing) for …"
Estudio español desde hace tres años. — I've been studying Spanish for three years.
Vivo aquí desde hace seis meses. — I've been living here for six months.
Present, not past: the verb stays in the present because the action is still going on. Don't use a past tense here. (The imperfect desde hacía is out of scope for GCSE.)
Type it
Your turn — desde hace
4Fill the gap for "I've been living here for a year": Vivo aquí ____ un año.Two words.
Hint: two words — the present tense plus this phrase means "for" (up to now).
Type it
Your turn — the subjunctive again
5Write the yo subjunctive of ir: Cuando ____ a España, hablaré español.
Hint: cuando + future triggers the subjunctive; the "I" subjunctive of ir starts with va-.
Sort it
Does it trigger the subjunctive?
Some openers wish, want or aim at something not-yet-real (subjunctive). Others just state a fact (normal / indicative). Sort them.
Triggers the subjunctive
Takes the normal (indicative)
A few more Higher touches Higher
Extras that earn marks
Light-touch, but worth recognising and dropping into Higher writing:
Negation.ya no = no longer (ya no fumo, I no longer smoke); tampoco = neither/not either; ni… ni… = neither… nor… (ni carne ni pescado).
Pronouns after prepositions. Use mí, ti, él… — para mí (for me), según él (according to him). Two irregulars: conmigo (with me), contigo (with you): ¿vienes conmigo?
The relative lo que = "what / that which": Lo que dices es verdad — What you say is true.
Use them for opinions and topics:Para mí, lo que importa es el medio ambiente — For me, what matters is the environment. Great for the future-ambitions and social-issues questions in Higher writing.
Game · Match
Match the structure to its meaning
Tap a Spanish structure on the left, then tap its English meaning on the right.
SPANISH
Acabo de comer
Sigo estudiando
Se habla español
desde hace un año
Cuando sea mayor
Quiero que vengas
ENGLISH
for a year (up to now)
I've just eaten
I want you to come
Spanish is spoken
When I'm older
I'm still studying
Recap
Your Higher-tier toolkit
Subjunctive (5 verbs, singular):haga, sea, vaya, venga, tenga — after cuando + future, wishing/wanting, que for a wish, and para que.
Passive:ser + participle (agrees) — fue construida; or the far commoner se + verb — se habla español.
acabar de + infinitive = "to have just…": acabo de llegar.
seguir + gerund = "to still / keep…": sigo estudiando.
desde hace (with the present) = "for (how long)": estudio español desde hace tres años.
Extras:ya no / tampoco / ni…ni…; para mí, conmigo, contigo; lo que.
These structures push you into the top bands. Press Finish to see your score.
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