Reading Spanish biographies and personal profiles involves picking out key facts about a person's background, appearance, hobbies, and achievements. In the Junior Cycle exam, you will read short authentic or adapted texts and answer questions in either English or Spanish.
Grasping the Profile and Core Identity
Read the text once for the main idea before searching for details. Ask yourself who is being described and what makes them notable.
- nació en means 'was born in', while es de means 'is from'.
- vive en tells you where they live now, which is often different from where they were born.
- Age uses tener: tiene catorce años means 'he/she is fourteen years old'.
- Watch timeline markers: a los diez años means 'at ten years old', whereas hace diez años means 'ten years ago'.
Physical Features, Character, and Qualifiers
Descriptions rely on two key verbs: use ser for height, build, and personality, and tener for hair, eyes, and age.
| Verb | Used For | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| ser | Height, build, personality | es alto/a (tall), delgado/a (thin), trabajador/a (hardworking) |
| tener | Hair, eyes, age | tiene el pelo castaño (brown hair), tiene los ojos verdes (green eyes) |
Words like muy (very), bastante (quite), and un poco (a little) change how strong a description is. Keep the whole description: muy fuerte means very strong.
Sports, Milestones, and Past Actions
Profiles often detail hobbies and sporting milestones using specific verbs.
- Sports often take jugar al (juega al fútbol, juega al tenis) or hacer / practicar (hace natación, practica atletismo).
- Musical instruments take tocar (toca la guitarra), never jugar.
- Common biography verbs include nació (was born), empezó (started), ganó (won), hizo (did), and fue (was/went).
- Key achievement nouns include la medalla de oro/plata (gold/silver medal) and el campeonato (championship).
Tackling Questions and Answer Formats
Check the instructions carefully to see whether your answers must be in English or Spanish.
- ¿Quién? asks who, ¿Dónde? asks where, and ¿Por qué? asks why.
- ¿Cuándo? asks when (often a day or date), while ¿A qué hora? asks for a time of day.
- ¿Cuántos/as? asks how many, and ¿Cómo es? asks for appearance or character.
- For tick-the-box questions, read all options first. Tick only the box matching the passage, not just a word you recognise.
- A short phrase can answer the question. If you write a full sentence in Spanish about someone, use third-person forms like tiene or vive.
Key terms
- nació en
- Was born in.
- es de / vive en
- Is from / lives in.
- tiene ... años
- Is ... years old.
- muy / bastante
- Very / quite.
- jugar al
- To play (sports).
- tocar
- To play (an instrument).
- ganó
- Won.
Check yourself
What is the difference between 'nació en Valencia' and 'vive en Valencia'?
'Nació en Valencia' means born in Valencia; 'vive en Valencia' means lives in Valencia.
How do you translate 'bastante tímido' into English?
Quite shy.
Translate the phrase 'juega al tenis' into English.
He/she plays tennis.
What specific information does '¿A qué hora?' ask for?
The time of day.