Describing a photo
A few sentences in Spanish about what a photo shows (Foundation).
Learn
Describing a photo, explained point by point
Everything the GCSE specification expects you to be able to do, and how to actually do it - the same lesson a signed-in student studies from.
Know how the photo task is set and marked
Question 1 of the Foundation writing paper asks for sentences in Spanish about a photo: five for 10 marks with AQA, four for 8 with Edexcel. Each sentence earns up to 2 marks: 2 if a relevant message is clearly communicated, 1 if it is relevant but a little ambiguous, and 0 if it is not relevant or cannot be understood. The whole sentence counts, so one clear sentence beats a long, muddled one.
Write about what you can see in the photo
Every sentence needs to be about the photo: who is there, where they are, what they are doing, what they are wearing and what the weather is like. Hay una familia en la playa is relevant. A sentence about your own weekend is not, however good its Spanish.
Use hay and the present tense
The photo shows what is happening now, so write in the present. Hay (there is, there are) starts many sentences: Hay dos chicos. Use es for what something is like (El parque es grande), está for where it is (El perro está en el agua) and the present continuous for actions (Están jugando al fútbol).
Say where people and things are
Position phrases make clear sentences easy: a la izquierda (on the left), a la derecha (on the right), en el centro (in the middle), delante de (in front of) and detrás de (behind). A la derecha hay un árbol is a complete, relevant sentence.
Describe people, clothes and the weather
Lleva una camiseta azul means he or she is wearing a blue T-shirt, and Tiene el pelo largo means he or she has long hair. Hace sol and hace calor cover the weather, and Están contentos says how people feel. Make each adjective agree: una camiseta roja, unos pantalones negros.
Keep each sentence short, complete and accurate
Four or five sentences of five to eight words each is plenty. Every sentence needs a verb: Un perro grande is not a sentence, but Hay un perro grande is. Check that each verb matches who is doing it: el chico juega, los chicos juegan.
Describing a photo key terms
The words the specification and the mark schemes use, each defined the way an examiner wants it.
- Hay
- There is or there are: the most useful word for a photo, followed by a noun, as in hay tres personas.
- En la foto
- In the photo: a natural way to begin a sentence, as in en la foto hay una familia.
- Está and están
- Is and are, for where something is or how someone feels: la chica está en la playa, están contentos.
- Llevar
- To wear: lleva una camiseta means he or she is wearing a T-shirt.
- Present continuous
- Estar with an -ando or -iendo form, for what is happening in the photo right now, as in están comiendo (they are eating).
- A la izquierda and a la derecha
- On the left and on the right, for placing people and things in the photo.
- Relevant
- About the photo. A sentence earns its marks only if it says something about what the photo shows.
- Agreement
- Making an adjective match its noun in gender and number: un coche rojo, una casa roja, dos perros pequeños.
Common mistakes in Describing a photo
The slips that cost marks year after year, and what to do instead.
Writing about yourself instead of the photo, such as what you did last weekend.
A sentence only earns its marks if it is relevant to the photo. Keep to who is there, where they are, what they are doing, what they are wearing and the weather.
Writing a phrase with no verb, such as una playa bonita.
A sentence needs a verb to communicate clearly. Add hay, es or está: Hay una playa bonita.
Using es to say where something is, as in el perro es en el parque.
Use estar for where something is: el perro está en el parque. Keep ser for what something is like: el parque es grande.
Forgetting plural endings for more than one person, as in los chicos juega.
Check who is doing the action. Two or more people need a plural verb and plural adjectives: los chicos juegan, están contentos.
Writing long, ambitious sentences that lose their meaning.
Each sentence is marked on how clearly it communicates. Short, accurate sentences with words you know are the surest way to all 10 marks.