Translation into English
Spanish sentences into natural English, keeping every tense, person and negative.
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Translation into English, 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 translation into English is set
It is Section B of the reading paper with both boards, worth 10 marks: at least 35 words of Spanish at Foundation and 50 at Higher with AQA (five short sentences at Foundation and a short passage at Higher with Edexcel). Translation here means an appropriate and sufficient rendering of the meaning. The marks go on carrying the whole meaning across, so write it in clear, natural English.
Translate the meaning, not word by word
Spanish and English put words together differently. Tengo quince años is I am fifteen, not I have fifteen years; me gusta la música is I like music; una casa grande is a big house. Read the whole sentence, understand it, then write what an English speaker would say.
Keep every tense and person
The verb ending tells you who and when: fuimos is we went, iba is I used to go (or he or she used to go), voy a ver is I am going to see and he comido is I have eaten. Spanish often leaves out I or we because the ending shows it, so add the pronoun in English. Check each verb against its ending before you write it.
Account for every word, including the small ones
Small words carry meaning: muy, también, siempre, mucho, todos los días. Missing no or nunca reverses a sentence, and mi is not the same as su. Tick off each Spanish word as you translate it, so nothing is left out.
Learn the phrases that cannot be translated literally
Some phrases work as whole units: hace sol is it is sunny, tengo hambre is I am hungry and hay que is you have to. At Higher, acabo de llegar is I have just arrived and vivo aquí desde hace dos años is I have lived here for two years. Learn them as phrases rather than word by word.
Use the context for a word you are unsure of
If one word is unfamiliar, translate everything around it and let the sentence suggest what it means. A sensible word that fits keeps the meaning of the sentence; a gap or a nonsense phrase loses it.
Read your English back as a whole
When you finish, read your translation as if you had never seen the Spanish. Fix anything that is not natural English (word order, a missing article, an odd phrase) and check that every sentence keeps its tense.
Translation into English key terms
The words the specification and the mark schemes use, each defined the way an examiner wants it.
- Translation
- Putting the meaning of a text into another language. At GCSE it means an appropriate and sufficient rendering of the meaning, not a word-for-word copy.
- Rendering
- How you express the meaning in the other language. A good rendering keeps every detail and reads naturally.
- Word order
- The order words go in. Spanish usually puts adjectives after the noun, as in un coche rojo, so English swaps them: a red car.
- Idiom
- A phrase whose meaning is not the sum of its words, such as tener hambre (to be hungry) or hace frío (it is cold).
- False friend
- A Spanish word that looks like an English one but means something else, such as la ropa (clothes) or actual (current).
- Time frame
- When the action happens. Keep it the same in English: jugué is I played, juego is I play and jugaré is I will play.
- Dropped subject
- Spanish often leaves out I, we or they because the verb ending shows them, so vamos needs we in English: we go or we are going.
Common mistakes in Translation into English
The slips that cost marks year after year, and what to do instead.
Translating word by word, so tengo quince años becomes I have fifteen years.
Understand the whole sentence first, then write what an English speaker would say: I am fifteen. Learn the common phrases with tener and hacer as whole units.
Changing the tense, such as writing we go for fuimos.
Check every verb ending before you write it in English. Fuimos is we went, vamos is we go and iremos is we will go.
Leaving out small words like muy, también, siempre or a negative.
Every word is part of the meaning you are marked on. Tick off each Spanish word as you translate it, and make sure no and nunca appear in your English.
Writing English that does not read naturally, such as a car red for un coche rojo.
Your translation should read like English. Move adjectives in front of the noun and add the words English needs, such as it in es importante: it is important.
Leaving a gap for an unfamiliar word.
Translate everything around it, then make a sensible guess from the context. A plausible word keeps the meaning of the sentence; a gap loses it.