Friendship phrases keep their preposition
Friendship vocabulary is tested through fixed phrases that each keep their own preposition:
Dropping or changing the preposition is a language error even when the verb is right. Full phrase list in the note.
Adjectives agree; opinions need a reason
Two skills lift a friendship answer into the top band:
An opinion with no porque-clause is graded as under-developed, even when the vocabulary is accurate.
Drawn from real examiner reports.
Adjective not agreeing with the friend
When describing a friend, the adjective agrees with the person, not the dictionary form:
Same rule that trips ella es bajo (should be baja): check the person's gender before the ending, not the dictionary form.
Digest "By topic area" (Personal & social life, Area B): describing appearance/traits with correct agreement is a Writing common-error, e.g. "ella es bajo" (s23 P41 Q2; w23 P41 Q2 Task 3).
Malforming gustar in an opinion
Opinion phrases often use gustar/encantar, which work backwards from English — the person or thing liked is the subject:
The verb agrees with the thing/person liked (gusta / gustan), not the speaker, and the preceding a mí / a él is required, not optional.
Digest "gustar / encantar type verbs": malformations me gusto, mi gusta, se gustan and omission of the preceding a mí named on the Writing common-errors list every sitting.
SER vs ESTAR: character vs mood
Describing a friend means choosing ser (permanent character) or estar (temporary mood):
Using estar for a lasting trait (está generoso) or ser for a passing mood (es triste hoy) changes the meaning and is marked as an accuracy error.
Digest "ser / estar, por / para, hay": ser/estar confusion named on the Writing common-errors list every sitting.
Dropping the fixed preposition
Relationship verbs carry a fixed preposition that must not be dropped or swapped, even when the verb is correct:
Learn each verb as a whole chunk with its preposition, as gender-exception nouns are learned with their article.
General FL trap (fixed prepositions confiar en / llevarse con; not tied to a specific report question).
Leaving an opinion with no reason
A bare opinion caps the Writing Range mark. Every me gusta / creo que sentence needs a reason:
The porque / ya que reason and a subordinate clause (aunque, cuando) are what the mark scheme rewards under Range.
Digest "Q3 Range is the ceiling": top-band answers need opinion markers plus subordinate clauses (porque, aunque) and connectors.
The dictionary adjective is not always right
Many candidates learn a personality adjective as one fixed word and never change the ending for who is described:
Some adjectives (optimista, leal) genuinely do not change for gender, which reinforces the trap.
Digest "Gender & number agreement": adjective agreement failures are a top Writing common-error every sitting, e.g. "ella es bajo" (w23 P41 Q2 Task 3).
Decide the person's gender first
Before any adjective ending, fix the gender of the person you are describing (una chica / un chico). Then every adjective — simpática, generosa, leal — agrees with that person, not its dictionary form.
Never write a bare opinion
Every me gusta / creo que sentence must be followed by a porque / ya que clause giving a reason. A justified opinion is what the mark scheme rewards under Range; an unjustified one is graded as under-developed however accurate the vocabulary.
Check gustar-type verbs separately
For each opinion verb, check two things: does the thing liked control the ending (gusta singular, gustan plural), and is the preceding a mí / a él present? Getting the verb to agree with the speaker instead of the thing is the most-cited gustar error.
Add a subordinate clause per sentence
Move out of short simple sentences by adding one subordinate clause — aunque (although), cuando (when), porque (because). Mixing ser (lasting character) and estar (current mood) correctly in one paragraph also lifts the Range band.
Describing a friend, giving your opinion of them and justifying it is one of the most frequently tested Area B (Personal and social life) topics — it rewards agreeing personality adjectives, correctly formed gustar-type opinion phrases, and a confident ser/estar contrast.
Friendship phrases (learn as whole chunks, with their preposition):
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| el mejor amigo / la mejor amiga | best friend (m/f) |
| llevarse bien/mal con alguien | to get on well/badly with someone |
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