DAY ONE

3
Section Three:
My Birthday/My Age/My Preferences
DAY ONE
In this lesson, I will learn about cultural aspects of
birthdays in Canada and in Latin America.
1. Open Section Three, Day One of the Workbook and do question 1.
Pg 53
In many Canadian homes, as families celebrate birthdays,
we hear the Happy Birthday song.
In most Latin American homes, a very similar
song is sung. Read the context below then
listen to Track 27 on the Module 2 CD. Use the
following pictures to help you understand.
Context: Raúl is celebrating his birthday. He has invited a
few friends over for supper. They have just finished their
pizza and his mother is bringing out the cake. They all
sing to him.
Cumpleaños feliz,
Te deseamos a ti,
Cumpleaños, cumpleaños,
¡Cumpleaños feliz!
Pg 54
María’s family moved to Canada from México. She speaks
Spanish but her customs differ from those of Raúl.
Read the context below then listen to Track 28
on the Module 2 CD.
Context: Raúl’s mother asks María how they celebrate
birthdays in México. María explains that their celebrations
are similar, a birthday is called el cumpleaños as in
Spanish but they sing Las mañanitas, which is translated
into Morning Songs in English.
Estas son las mañanitas,
Que cantaba el Rey David,
Hoy por ser día de tu santo,
¡Te las cantamos a ti!
2. Open Section Three, Day One of the Workbook and do
questions 2 and 3.
Pg 55
DAY TWO
In this lesson, I will learn how to express my birthday and
the birthday of others in Spanish.
1. When we state people’s birthdays, we use the date. Do you
remember how to write a date in Spanish? Open Module One,
Section Four, Day Five and review the correct format for writing a
date in Spanish.
2. Open Section Three, Day Two of the Workbook and do
questions 1 and 2.
3. Read the context below then listen to Track 29 on the Module 2 CD.
Use the following pictures from left to right to help you understand.
Context: Today is Enrique’s birthday. Raúl and Bárbara discuss their birthdays and
their ages.
Pg 56
4. Open Section Three, Day Two of the Workbook and do question 3.
When you ask someone about his/her birthday you say:
¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños?
He/she would answer:
Mi cumpleaños es el 20 de diciembre.
Also, remember that dates are expressed differently in
Spanish than in English. Months are not capitalized in
Spanish. Note the structure: el 20 de diciembre 2006.
5. Open Section Three, Day Two of the Workbook and do
questions 4 and 5.
Pg 57
DAY THREE
In this lesson, I will learn to express my age and the age
of others in Spanish.
1. Open Section Three, Day Three of the Workbook and do
questions 1 and 2.
Pg 58
To express your age in Spanish you say:
Tengo diez años. (Literal translation: I have 10 years.)
To ask someone what their age is in Spanish you would
say:
¿Cuántos años tienes? or ¿Cuántos años tiene
usted?
Remember that the first question is informal and the
second is formal.
Listen to Track 30 on the Module 2 CD.
Bárbara: ¿Cuántos años tienes?
María: Tengo diez años.
Bárbara: ¿Cuántos años tiene Ud.?
Sra. de la Torre: Tengo veinte y nueve años.
If you are saying the age of someone else, you would say:
Él tiene doce años. (male)
Ella tiene doce años. (female)
Notice that usted is usually abbreviated when it is written.
In the abbreviation it has a capital ‘U’ and a period after
the letter ‘d’.
2. Open Section Three, Day Three of the Workbook and do
questions 3, 4, and 5.
Pg 59
DAY FOUR
In this lesson, I will review the verb Gustar (to like) in
Spanish, how to express the months of the year, and the
seasons.
1. Let’s start today with some review. Open Module One, Section
Four. Do you remember working with the months of the year and
the seasons? Turn to Days Three and Four, and listen again to
Tracks 49 and 51 on the Module 1 CD.
2. Open Section Three, Day Four of the Workbook and do question 1.
Pg 60
Did you notice when answering question 1 in the
Workbook that Enrique used the verb Gustar to describe
the months and seasons he likes?
In Spanish, to express that you like something you would
say: Me gusta… (if the thing you like is in the singular)
and Me gustan… (if the thing you like is in the plural) and
then place what you like directly after. The pronoun Le is
also used in place of él, ella, or Ud., and the pronoun Les
is used in place of ellos, ellas, or Uds. (Uds. is short for
ustedes.)
Observe the uses of the verb Gustar below:
Me gustan los deportes.
Te gusta el mes de enero.
Le gusta (for él) el color azul.
Le gusta (for ella) la escuela.
Nos gusta el mes de abril.
Les gusta el mes de mayo.
3. Open Section Three, Day Four of the Workbook and do
questions 2 and 3.
Pg 61
DAY FIVE
In this lesson, I will become familiar with new vocabulary.
1. In the next days of work, we will be discussing likes and dislikes. On the next
page you will find the pictures and words of items or activities we will refer to
throughout the rest of the section. Your likes and dislikes will go beyond the
words you see; this, however, is a starting point.
Pg 62
las verduras
el apio
el brécol
las zanahorias
la coliflor
la salsa
las frutas
las bananas
las naranjas
las manzanas
las uvas
las magdalenas
las palomitas
las galletas
el queso
la leche
el helado
el fútbol
el basquetbol
el hockey
el baile
leer
la música
2. Listen to Track 33 on the Module 2 CD. Follow along with the
pictures above from left to right. You will hear Me
gusta(n)…followed by the name of the item in the picture.
Listen a second time and this time, repeat after each. Next, record yourself and
compare your pronunciation with the track. How close are you? Repeat the ones you
had difficulty with.
Pg 63
How do you remember whether a noun is masculine or
feminine? Look at the article before the noun.
Please review the chart below:
Masculine Singular:
El (definite article )
Example: el queso (the cheese)
Feminine Singular:
La (definite article)
Example: la manzana (the apple)
Pay attention to the article when you learn new words in
Spanish. This will help you remember whether words are
masculine or feminine.
Remember when the plural article los is used, the noun is
masculine. When the plural article las is used, the noun is
feminine.
3. Open Section Three, Day Five of the Workbook and do
questions 1, 2, and 3.
Pg 64
DAY SIX
In this lesson, I will be introduced to the expressions Me
gusta and No me gusta to express likes and dislikes.
1. Read the context below then listen to Track 35 on the Module 2 CD.
Use the following pictures from left to right to help you understand.
Context: Enrique is talking to María and they are planning his birthday party. They are
discussing what they would like to eat and what sports or activities they would like to
do.
Pg 65
Pg 66
In Spanish, when someone asks you:
¿Te gustan las manzanas?
(Do you like apples?)
You either answer I do or I don’t:
Sí, me gustan las manzanas.
No, no me gustan las manzanas.
2. Open Section Three, Day Six of the Workbook and do
questions 1 and 2.
When you see the definite articles el and la before a noun,
this means that the specific noun it accompanies is
singular.
If you want to transform the noun from singular to plural,
replace el with los, and replace la with las.
Don’t forget that the noun will also become plural, which
means that it will take an ‘s’ or an ‘es’ at the end.
Examples:
el helado
la coliflor
los helados
las coliflores
3. Open Section Three, Day Six of the Workbook and do
questions 3, 4, and 5.
Pg 67
DAY SEVEN
In this lesson, I will be introduced to the verbs Encantar
and Detestar to express levels of likes and dislikes.
1. Open Section Three, Day Seven of the Workbook and do
question 1.
In Spanish as in English, you can express the level of your
likes and dislikes using the verbs Gustar, Encantar and
Detestar.
On Day Six, you learned to use Me gusta(n) and
No me gusta(n) to express I like and I dislike.
However if you want to express that you really like
something you would say (depending on whether you
really like one thing or more than one thing):
Me encanta…
or
Me encantan…
If you want to express that you really dislike something
you would say:
Detesto…
Pg 68
2. Read the context below then listen to Track 37 on the Module 2 CD.
Use the following pictures from left to right to help you understand.
Context: Enrique has planned his party. He shares his plan with Raúl and Bárbara and
asks them what they like. Their opinions vary, but Enrique concludes there will be
something for everyone.
3. Open Section Three, Day Seven of the Workbook and do
questions 2, 3, 4, and 5.
Pg 69
DAY EIGHT
In this lesson, I will use food vocabulary to ask questions
using the structure: ¿Te gusta(n)...?
1. Open Section Three, Day Eight of the Workbook and do question 1.
2. Below you will find pictures of various healthy snacks that parents
would suggest you serve to your friends. Read the context below
then listen to Track 39 on the Module 2 CD. Use the following
pictures from left to right to help you understand.
Context: Bárbara is choosing snacks that she and her friends will eat at her sleepover.
Bárbara’s mother is asking her if she likes each of the items below. Bárbara uses the
expressions Me gusta(n), No me gusta(n), Me encanta(n), or Detesto to answer her mother.
las verduras
el apio
el brécol
las zanahorias
la coliflor
la salsa
las frutas
las bananas
las naranjas
las manzanas
las uvas
las magdalenas
las palomitas
las galletas y el queso
Pg 70
3. Listen to Track 40 on the Module 2 CD. You will hear part of the same
conversation between Bárbara and her mother. However this time,
Bárbara’s mother will ask you some of the questions and you will need
to answer with one of the following sentence starters below.
If you don’t remember how to pronounce the food item, listen
carefully to the question or review Track 39. You will want to
repeat this activity in order to help you with comprehension and
pronunciation. The questions below will guide you through the
activity.
Possible sentence starters:
Sí, me gusta(n)…
Sí, me encanta(n)…
No, no me gusta(n)…
No, detesto…
Mamá: ¿Te gusta el apio?
Tú: ___________________________
Mamá: ¿Te gustan las zanahorias?
Tú: ___________________________
Mamá: ¿Te gustan las bananas?
Tú: ___________________________
Mamá: ¿Te gustan las naranjas?
Tú: ___________________________
Mamá: ¿Te gustan las manzanas?
Tú: ___________________________
Mamá: ¿Te gustan las uvas?
Tú: ___________________________
Mamá: ¿Te gustan las magdalenas?
Tú: ___________________________
Mamá: ¿Te gustan las palomitas?
Tú: ___________________________
Pg 71
4. Open Section Three, Day Eight of the Workbook and do
questions 2, 3, and 4.
Pg 72
DAY NINE
In this lesson, I will use the tú forms of the verbs Gustar,
Encantar and Detestar.
1. Open Section Three, Day Nine, of the workbook and do question 1.
Over the last few days you have learned to express your
likes and dislikes using the following forms:
Me gusta(n)...
No me gusta(n)...
Me encanta(n)…
Detesto...
To express the likes and dislikes of others, you would use
the same verbs, however the pronoun would change from
me to te for Gustar and Encantar; for the verb Detestar
the pronoun would change from the yo to the tú.
Pg 73
continued…
On Day Eight, Bárbara listed her likes and dislikes.
Therefore she said Me gusta(n), No me gusta(n), Me
encanta(n), Detesto.
If you were talking to Bárbara about her likes and dislikes
you would say:
Te gusta(n)…
No te gusta(n)…
Te encanta(n)…
Detestas…
2. Open Section Three, Day Nine of the Workbook and do
questions 2, 3, and 4.
Pg 74
DAY TEN
In this lesson, I will review concepts from previous lessons
in Section Three.
1. Before moving to today’s activities, take some time to review this section and be
aware of all that you have learned.
Day One:
Can you sing the Cumpleaños song? Sing it to yourself.
Day Two:
How would you answer the question “¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños?”
Day Three:
State your age in Spanish. How would you ask your friend his/her age? What about an
adult you do not know?
Pg 75
Day Four:
Match the vocabulary pictures to their names.
las manzanas
las naranjas
las palomitas
las magdalenas
el apio
las bananas
las zanahorias
las uvas
Pg 76
Day Five:
Look at the vocabulary pictures below. Say that you like each of these.
Day Six:
Look at the vocabulary pictures above again. Say that you don’t like each of these.
Day Seven:
There are different degrees of likes and dislikes. Complete each of the following
sentences with an item from above in Day Four. Remember that for Gustar and
Encantar you add an ‘n’ to gusta and encanta if what you like is in the plural form.
Me gusta _______________________________.
Me encanta _____________________________.
No me gusta ____________________________.
Detesto ________________________________.
Day Eight:
How would you ask a friend if he/she likes the items above in Day Four? Can you think
of two different ways to ask the same questions?
Day Nine:
In the review of Day Seven above, you wrote four sentences of your likes and dislikes.
Rewrite these with the tú form of the verbs.
2. Open Section Three, Day Ten of the Workbook and do
questions 1 and 2.
Pg 77
Pg 78