A1 Spanish Course

I.- Grammar contents for level A1

Nouns
Gender and number of nouns.
Masculine/ feminine.
Plural forms.
Kinds of nouns: proper nouns, place names, common nouns.

Nominal syntagm
Agreement in gender and number of the determinative, substantive and adjective.
Order of nominal syntagm.
Agreement with the noun.
Vocative.

Adjectives
Gender and number of adjectives.
Masculine/ feminine.
Plural forms.
Position of adjectives.
Comparatives. Degree of adjective: más que, menos que, tan / tanto como.
Superlative.
Shortened forms: grande / gran.
Adjective classes: qualifying adjectives, names.

Adjectival syntagms
Modifiers: muy, poco, bastante.
The exclamatory pronoun qué + adjective.

Articles
Definite articles: el / la / los / las.
Indefinite articles: un / una / unos / unas.
Masculine and feminine.
Gender and number of articles.
Articles with days of the week.
Absence of article.
Contracted forms: al / del.

Pronouns
Personal subject pronouns
Difference between tú and usted.
Accusative pronouns (DO): lo, la, los, las.
Dative pronouns (IO): le, les.
Double construction of dative / accusative: se + lo(s) / la(s).
Presence/ absence of pronouns.
Interrogative pronouns: ¿cómo?, ¿dónde?, ¿de dónde?, ¿cuánto?
Interrogative pronouns: ¿qué?, ¿cuál, ¿cuáles?
Exclamative pronouns.
Impersonal form se.

Possessives
Determinant possessive pronouns: mi / tu / su.
Possessive pronouns.
Demonstratives.
Demonstratives determinants: este / ese / aquel.
Demonstrative pronouns.
Quantifiers.
Cardinal numbers.
Ordinal numbers up to the tenth.
Muy / Mucho.
Quantitatives: mucho, poco, algo, nada,…
Indefinite: algo / algún / alguien, nada / ningún / nadie.

Prepositions
Simple prepositions.
Compound prepositions: detrás de, al lado de, delante…

Adverbs and adverbial locutions
Location adverbs: aquí, allí, cerca, lejos…
Distance: a 20 km, a 10 minutos.
Time adverbs: hoy, mañana, ayer,…
Quantity adverbs: poco, mucho,…
Frequency adverbs: generalmente, frecuentemente,…
Adverbs ending in -mente. General rule.
Qué + adverb.
también / tampoco.
Expressions of frequency: todos los días,…
Temporal expressions: a las… por la mañana…

Interjections
Interjections: ¡ah! ¡oh!, ¡eh!

Verbs
Present indicative. The three conjugations.
Regular verbs.
Irregular verbs.
– irregularities of ser, estar, haber;
– irregularities of saber and dar;
– vowel and consonant irregularities.

Defective verbs
Pronominal verbs: llamarse.
Reflexive verbs: levantarse, acostarse, despertarse,…
Difference between reflexive verbs / non reflexive: quedar / se, ir / se.
Present with future value.
Preferences between habitual present and the current present.

Differences between the use of haber / tener.
The verb haber.
– in its impersonal form hay;
– As the auxiliary for perfect forms.

Attributive verbs: ser, estar y parecer.
Differences between ser / estar.
– ser + profession / ser + de + country / city;
– ser + adjective / estar + en + place;
– ser / estar + bueno / malo, bien / mal;
– ser de + material.

Intransitive verbs: ir, venir, llegar,…
The functioning of the type of verbs with dative similar to gustar.
Future Simple: its form and its uses.
Indicative present perfect: its form and its uses.

Imperatives.
The structure and use of some basic forms of the imperative.

Expressions
Hay que / tener que + Infinitive.
Estar + gerund.
Ir a + Infinitive.

Impersonal forms of the verb
Simple infinitive in the three conjugations.
Simple gerund in the three conjugations.
Regular participles (and some irregular ones) in the three conjugations
Participle with attributive value.
Participle in perfect tense.

Simple clauses
Agreement subject- verb.
Subject, object, verb order.
Enunciative clauses (affirmative and negative).
Interrogative direct clauses.
Impersonal with the verbs haber y hacer.
Linking clauses. The attributive.
Transitive and intransitive verbs.
Reflexive clauses.
Impersonal form with verbs related to atmospheric phenomena.
Simple clauses joined by juxtaposition.

Compound clauses
Linking words: y, ni.
Disjunctive words: o.
Appositive words: pero.

Subordinate Clauses
1. Substantive subordinate clauses
Subordinate substantive clauses in the infinitive
– subject function : Me gusta estudiar español;
– DO function: Quiero aprender español.
Subordinate substantive clause (with two conjugated verbs)
– DO function: Creo que mi profesora es buena.
2. Adjectival subordinate clauses
The relative pronoun que.
3. Adverbial subordinate clauses
Para in final clauses.
Porque in causal clauses.

II- Conversation contents for level A1

1. Give and ask for information
Give and ask for very basic personal information.
Give and ask for information about the time.
Give and ask for information about directions.
Give and ask for information about distances.
Give and ask for information about food.
Give and ask for information about products and objects.
Give and ask for information about the weather.
Give and ask for information about prices
Give and ask for information about reasons and causes
Ask for words.
Spell out loud.

Describe and narrate
Express existence.
Identify objects. Point something out.
Describe and compare countries/ cities.
Description of landscapes.
Describe and locate objects
Describe yourself.
Physically describe people.
Describe personality.
Compare people.
Compare objects.
Speak about a moment in which an action took place.
Describe actions which are taking place in the present.
Describe daily routine.
Describe habits.
Narrate in the past.
Speak about the future.

2. Express opinions, attitudes and knowledge
Express opinion.
Value.
Express agreement or disagreement.
Speak about skills, aptitudes and abilities
Express lack of awareness.
Generalise.

3. Express likes, desires and feelings
Speak about passions.
Express and ask about personal taste.
Express and ask about preferences.
Express and ask about plans and intentions.
Express and ask about desires.
Express surprise or admiration.
Show interest in an object.

4. Influence the interlocutor
Ask permission in basic situations.
Give basic orders.
Give instructions.
Ask for help.
Ask for objects and products.

5. Socialise
Greetings and farewells.
Introduce yourself.
Introduce someone else (formal and informal).
Excuse yourself.
Suggest a meeting/ activity.
Agree to/ turn down an appointment
Congratulate.
Invite.
Welcome.

6. Structuring the speech
Establishing communication and response.
Asking a questions for someone and responding on their behalf.

III.-Phonetic and orthographic contents for level A1

Phonetic
Spanish phonetic system.
Ways of articulating vowels and consonants.
Recognition of diphthongs.
Recognition of stressed syllables.
Link between phonemes and letters.
Sounds /r/ and /rr/.
Sounds /b, d, g/ vs. /p, t, k/.
Recognitions of the sound /ñ/.
Intonation of enunciative, interrogative and exclamatory speech.

Orthographic
The alphabet.
Spanish graphics: ñ.
Basic spelling.
Accent.
Use of basic punctuation signs: full stop, commas, colon, ellipses, parentheses, question marks and exclamation marks.