About Me (Leaving Cert Spanish): Revision Notes
About me
This revision note covers essential Spanish vocabulary and phrases for discussing yourself in the Leaving Cert oral exam. You'll learn how to introduce yourself, describe your appearance and personality, talk about your birthday, and discuss your future plans.
Personal information topics are among the most common in Spanish oral exams. Mastering these conversations builds confidence for the entire examination as they typically appear early in the session to help you settle in.
Basic introductions and greetings
When the examiner starts the conversation, they'll typically ask simple questions to put you at ease. Here are the fundamental exchanges you need to master.
Essential greeting phrases
Hola, ¿qué tal? - Hi, how are you? ¿Cómo te llamas? - What's your name?
Model Answer: Basic Introduction
Hola, muy bien gracias, ¿y tú? Me llamo [your name]. Hi, very well thank you, and you? My name is [your name].
Describing yourself physically
Physical descriptions are common exam topics. Practice these key structures to describe your appearance confidently.
Age and basic physical traits
Tengo diecisiete/dieciocho años. - I'm seventeen/eighteen years old. Soy alto/a y bastante delgado/a. - I'm tall and quite thin.
Remember that adjectives must agree with your gender - use 'alto' and 'delgado' if you're male, 'alta' and 'delgada' if you're female. This is one of the most common mistakes students make in oral exams.
Eyes and hair descriptions
- Tengo los ojos azules/marrones/verdes - I have blue/brown/green eyes
- Tengo el pelo largo/corto/liso/rizado - I have long/short/straight/curly hair
- Tengo el pelo rubio/moreno/castaño/pelirrojo - I have blonde/dark/brown/red hair
Model Sentence: Complete Physical Description
Tengo los ojos verdes, el pelo corto y castaño. También tengo muchas pecas. I have green eyes, short brown hair. I also have lots of freckles.
Personality traits
Describing your personality shows more advanced vocabulary and helps create a fuller picture of yourself.
- Soy muy extrovertido/a - I'm very extroverted
- Me gusta salir con mis amigos - I like going out with my friends
- Soy muy trabajador/trabajadora y responsable - I'm very hardworking and responsible
- Soy dormilón/dormilona, me encanta dormir - I'm a sleepyhead, I love sleeping
The phrase me encanta (I love) is stronger than "me gusta" and adds variety to your responses. Use it to show more sophisticated vocabulary range.
Talking about your birthday
Birthday conversations allow you to practice different tenses and show your range of Spanish vocabulary.
Typical examiner questions
- ¿Cuántos años tienes? - How old are you?
- ¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños? - When is your birthday?
- ¿Cómo celebraste tu cumpleaños? - How did you celebrate your birthday?
Expressing age and dates
Tengo dieciocho años y mi cumpleaños es el cuatro de enero. I'm eighteen and my birthday is on January 4th.
Cumplí dieciocho años el uno de febrero. I turned eighteen on February 1st.
Cumpliré/Voy a cumplir dieciocho años el veinte de junio. I'll turn/I'm going to turn eighteen on June 20th.
Notice how cumplir años means "to turn (age)" - literally "to complete years." This is a useful phrase structure to remember for age-related conversations.
Describing past celebrations
Use the preterite tense to describe what you did for your birthday.
Worked Example: Past Birthday Celebration
Este año celebré mi cumpleaños en un restaurante. Invité a muchos amigos, a mis primos, a mis abuelos, etc. Después de la comida, mis amigos y yo fuimos al centro y a bailar. Lo pasamos muy bien.
This year I celebrated my birthday in a restaurant. I invited lots of friends, my cousins, my grandparents, etc. After the meal, my friends and I went to town and to dance. We had a great time.
Discussing gifts
- Me hicieron/Recibí muchos regalos - People gave me/I received lots of presents
- Mi hermano me regaló una entrada para un concierto - My brother gave me a ticket to a concert
Future birthday plans
Practice using future tenses to discuss upcoming celebrations.
Using future tense and "ir a + infinitive"
¿Cómo vas a celebrar tu cumpleaños? - How are you going to celebrate your birthday?
Worked Example: Future Birthday Plans
Por desgracia, este año tengo que estudiar mucho para los exámenes, así que no voy a hacer nada especial. Creo que iré a comer a mi restaurante preferido con mis padres y mis hermanos. Soplaré las velas de la tarta, pero no haré una fiesta y no voy a salir por la noche.
Unfortunately, this year I have to study a lot for my exams, so I'm not going to do anything special. I think I'll go to eat at my favourite restaurant with my parents and siblings. I'll blow out the candles on the cake, but I won't throw a party and I'm not going to go out at night.
Money and future plans
Discussing what you do with birthday money demonstrates practical vocabulary and different tenses.
Past and future money plans
¿Qué hiciste con el dinero que te regalaron? - What did you do with the money you got as a present?
Ahorré el dinero para sacar el carné de conducir. - I saved the money to get my driving licence.
¿Qué vas a hacer con el dinero que te regalaron? - What are you going to do with the money you got as a present?
Model Answer: Future Money Plans
Voy a ahorrar el dinero para mis vacaciones. Después de los exámenes voy a ir con mis amigos a Mallorca. I'm going to save the money for my holidays. After the exams I'm going to go to Majorca with my friends.
Shopping vocabulary
Voy a comprar ropa nueva, una camiseta de rugby y unas zapatillas de deporte. I'm going to buy new clothes, a rugby jersey and some trainers.
Pronunciation tips
Key Pronunciation Points:
- Cumpleaños: Stress falls on the 'a' - cum-ple-A-ños
- Celebrar: The 'c' before 'e' sounds like 'th' in Spain or 's' in Latin America
- Dieciocho: Remember this is one word, not two - die-ci-O-cho
- Ahorrar: The 'rr' should be rolled - ah-o-RRAR
Grammar notes
Essential Grammar Rules:
Preterite vs future: Use preterite (celebré, invité, fui) for completed past actions. Use future (celebraré, iré) or voy a + infinitive for future plans.
Adjective agreement: Physical descriptions must match your gender - alto/alta, delgado/delgada, extrovertido/extrovertida.
Key Points to Remember:
- Use me encanta instead of "me gusta" occasionally to show variety
- Practice both preterite and future tenses for birthday discussions
- Include specific details like restaurant names or gift types to make answers more interesting
- Remember that cumplir años literally means "to complete years" - a useful way to remember this phrase