School subjects (Edexcel GCSE Spanish): Revision Notes
School subjects
Subject vocabulary
Learning the names of school subjects in Spanish is essential for discussing your education and future plans. Here are the key terms you need to know:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| la asignatura | subject |
| la clase | class, classroom |
| el curso | course, school year |
| la educación física | PE |
| el español | Spanish |
| los estudios | studies |
| la historia | History |
| el inglés | English |
| las matemáticas | Maths |
| la música | Music |
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| la nota | grade, mark, result |
| la religión | Religion |
| la tecnología | Technology |
| el idioma | language |
| el dibujo | Art, drawing |
| la ciencia | Science |
Notice that many school subjects are feminine nouns (la historia, la música, la ciencia), but there are important exceptions like el español and el inglés which are masculine.
Key verbs for education
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| continuar | to continue, carry on |
| dejar | to leave, drop (a subject) |
| estudiar | to study |
Example sentences:
- Estudio matemáticas y ciencias. (I study Maths and Science.)
- Quiero continuar con el español. (I want to continue with Spanish.)
- Va a dejar la música al final del curso. (He/she is going to drop Music at the end of the year.)
Cognates and word families
Understanding cognates can significantly boost your Spanish vocabulary. Cognates are words that look very similar in both Spanish and English because they share the same origin.
Easy cognates to remember:
- religión → religion
- música → music
- historia → history
- tecnología → technology
These words are almost identical in both languages, making them simple to recognise and use.
Word families are groups of related words that share the same root. Once you learn one word, you can often work out the meaning of related words:
| Root: cocina (kitchen) | Root: viaje (journey) |
|---|---|
| cocinar - to cook | viajar - to travel |
| cocinero/a - cook, chef | viajero/a - traveller |
Example sentences with word families:
- Mi madre cocina muy bien en la cocina. (My mother cooks very well in the kitchen.)
- El viajero planifica su viaje a España. (The traveller is planning his journey to Spain.)
Expressing duration with "llevar"
To say how long you have been doing something, use this pattern:
Llevar + time period + present participle
Llevo tres años estudiando español. (I've been studying Spanish for three years.)
This structure is very useful for talking about your educational experience and is commonly tested in GCSE exams.
More examples:
- Llevo dos años tocando el piano. (I've been playing piano for two years.)
- Llevas mucho tiempo aprendiendo francés. (You've been learning French for a long time.)
Translation practice
Translation Practice
Spanish to English:
- Mi clase favorita es la ciencia.
- Voy a dejar la asignatura de música.
English to Spanish: 3. I study Maths and Science. 4. She wants to continue with Spanish and English.
Answers:
- My favourite class is Science.
- I'm going to drop the Music subject.
- Estudio matemáticas y ciencias.
- Quiere continuar con español e inglés.
Exam tips
For listening exercises: Pay attention to key verbs like dejar (to drop), continuar (to continue), and estudiar (to study). These often appear in questions about future study plans.
For translation tasks:
- Remember that "to drop" a subject uses the verb dejar
- Use the first person singular of the preterite dejé for "I dropped"
- Watch out for time expressions - they often require specific tenses
Pronunciation tips
Understanding correct stress patterns will help you sound more natural:
- las matemáticas - stress on the second 'a': ma-te-MA-ti-cas
- tecnología - stress on the 'i': tec-no-lo-GI-a
- religión - stress on the final syllable: re-li-GION
Key takeaways
Essential points to remember:
- Cognates are your friends - words like música, historia, and religión are almost identical in both languages
- Word families help you expand vocabulary quickly - learn one word and guess related ones
- Use llevar + time + present participle to say how long you've been doing something
- The verb dejar means "to drop" a subject, while continuar means "to continue"
- Practice recognising subject names as they frequently appear in listening and reading exercises