Money vocab with ganar, gastar, ahorrar
Learn money nouns with their article: el dinero, la paga (pocket money), el sueldo (wage), el precio, los ahorros (savings), la hucha (piggy bank), la cuenta bancaria. Keep three verbs apart: ganar (earn/win), gastar (spend), ahorrar (save): Gano diez euros a la hora, gasto mi paga en ropa, ahorro para un móvil nuevo — three different directions of money.
Future for firm plans, conditional for wishes
A high-mark "what job would you like, what would you earn" answer needs two tenses beyond the present. Simple future (firm plan) = infinitive + -é/-ás/-á/-emos/-éis/-án: ganaré, tendré (irregular stem tendr-). Conditional (a wish, "would") = the same stem + -ía endings: ganaría, tendría. Me gustaría trabajar como ingeniero/a y tendría un buen sueldo uses the conditional throughout. Full tables in the note.
Drawn from real examiner reports.
ganar (earn) vs gastar (spend)
Asked how much they earn, candidates sometimes answer with gastar (to spend): the verbs sound loosely similar but are opposite.
When a question asks how much you earn from a job, the verb is ganar.
ganar confused with gastar (s23 RP6 Q4 Speaking).
Bare number without the currency
State the amount and the currency together: diez euros, not just diez — a number alone is incomplete. Keep a natural word order: Gano veinte euros a la semana, not euros veinte. Teen numbers such as dieciséis are specifically flagged as mispronounced, so practise saying them clearly.
Numbers, currency and days mispronounced or omitted (s23 RP3 Q2, RP5; w22 RP2 dieciséis, RP3 currency omitted).
Present tense for a future wish
When a task asks what job you would like to do, the present tense loses Task Completion marks.
Rubric words would like / en el futuro / cuando sea mayor demand a future or conditional.
Answering with the present when a past/future was required (s23 P41 Q2 Task 5 conditional; w23 P41 Task 5 future).
me gustaría + infinitive, not a verb
Me gustaría (I would like) is always followed by an infinitive, never a conjugated verb: me gustaría trabajar, never me gustaría trabajo or me gustaría trabajaré. Only the first verb carries person and tense; the second stays infinitive — exactly like voy a trabajar (ir a + infinitivo).
(general FL trap)
Dropping the accent on tendré / tendría
The accent is meaning-bearing: tendré (I will have, future) vs tendría (I would have, conditional) — the -é vs -ía ending signals a firm plan vs a hypothetical wish, and both keep the stress on the final syllable. Dropping the accent changes the stress and can lose the tense. The same holds for ganaré/ganaría, ahorraré/ahorraría.
(general FL trap)
Myths: ganar = spend; me gustaría + verb
Two false beliefs recur. (1) ganar = to spend is wrong — ganar is to earn/win, gastar is to spend; they describe opposite directions. (2) me gustaría can take a conjugated verb is wrong — it is always followed by an infinitive: me gustaría trabajar, never me gustaría trabajo, like ir a + infinitivo.
ganar/gastar confusion (s23 RP6 Q4); me gustaría + infinitivo is the standard rule underlying future-wish tasks.
State the plan in future or conditional first
For a money/future-plans task, state each plan in the future or conditional, matching the rubric's timeframe (tendré un trabajo, me gustaría ganar, ahorraría), then justify it with porque — the reason earns Task Completion marks, not the plan alone.
Mix in a present-tense detail for Range
Alongside the future wish, add what you currently do with your pocket money or part-time job (ahora gano..., gasto..., ahorro...). Contrasting present and conditional mixes tenses naturally and lifts the Range mark, rather than forcing every sentence into one tense.
Always give a number and currency
Vague amounts ("some money") lose the precision credit that specific figures earn. Give a concrete number with the currency and a time frame: veinte euros a la semana, diez euros a la hora. Say teen numbers like dieciséis clearly in the Speaking exam.
This topic covers pocket money and saving, part-time jobs, and talking about future plans and ambitions — an area tested across Speaking and Writing, where precise numbers, currency and the correct future/conditional tense all carry marks.
Money and pocket money:
| Spanish | English | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| el dinero | the money | la paga | pocket money/allowance |
| el sueldo | the salary/wage | el precio | the price/cost |
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