Spanish · B2 · Everyday language
People Around the School Gate in Spanish
Helping your child describe and interact with the people at school is a great way to build social vocabulary. At a B2 level, we focus on accuracy and natural phrasing. While the prompt mentioned German n-declension, in Spanish we focus on noun-adjective agreement and the 'personal a' when referring to specific people as direct objects.
What you'll learn
- Identify people in the school environment accurately.
- Use the 'personal a' correctly when interacting with or referring to specific people.
- Express polite requests and social observations to a child.
- Practice common school-related vocabulary in natural contexts.
Spanish phrases for people around the school gate
El niño que está junto a la puerta está en tu grupo de lectura, ¿verdad?
The boy by the gate is in your reading group, isn't he?
Use 'junto a' for 'by' or 'next to'. '¿Verdad?' is a common tag question.
¿Le preguntamos al niño si quiere caminar con nosotros?
Shall we ask the boy whether he wants to walk with us?
We use 'al' (a + el) because 'preguntar' takes an indirect object, and the 'personal a' is required.
Puedes devolverle el lápiz al niño después de clase.
You can give the boy his pencil back after class.
The redundant pronoun 'le' is natural in Spanish when the indirect object (al niño) is explicitly mentioned.
¿Es esa la mochila de deporte del niño que está debajo del banco?
Is that the boy's sports bag under the bench?
Possession is shown with 'de'. 'Del' is the contraction of 'de + el'.
Preguntémosle a nuestro vecino si ha visto tu balón.
Let's ask our neighbour whether he has seen your ball.
'Preguntémosle' uses the imperative 'we' form (nosotros).
Podemos darle las gracias al estudiante que ayudó a tu clase en la biblioteca.
We can thank the student who helped your class in the library.
Note the 'personal a' before 'estudiante' and 'tu clase' when they are objects of the action.
Por favor, dile al fotógrafo si necesitas un momento antes de la foto.
Please tell the photographer if you need a moment before the photo.
'Dile' is the imperative 'tell him'.
Aunque no estemos de acuerdo con una persona, aún podemos escuchar con amabilidad.
Even when we disagree with a person, we can still listen kindly.
'Estar de acuerdo' is the standard way to say 'to agree'.
Hear these phrases and practise them
Tildi plays every phrase out loud, tests you in five-minute lessons and builds them into bedtime stories from your own picture books.
Try it free for 7 daysKey words
niño
boy / child
Commonly used for primary school-aged children.
vecino
neighbor
Used here for a familiar person living nearby.
estudiante
student
In Spanish, this is gender-neutral; you change the article (el/la) to indicate gender.
fotógrafo
photographer
Ends in -o for masculine, -a for feminine.
The Personal 'a'
In Spanish, when the direct or indirect object of a verb is a specific person, you must use the preposition 'a'. If the person is masculine singular (el), it contracts to 'al'.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Direct Object | Verbo + a + Persona | Ayudamos a la maestra. |
| Indirect Object | Verbo + al (a+el) + Persona | Dile al niño que venga. |
More examples
¿Ves al fotógrafo allí?
Do you see the photographer there?
Demonstrates 'ver' + personal 'a' + 'el' contraction.
Saluda a tu vecino.
Say hello to your neighbor.
A polite instruction for a child using the personal 'a'.