Physical + personality descriptions

SpanishAQAGCSEUnit: Theme 1 — People & Lifestyle
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The basics

El aspecto físico — Physical Appearance

👤 El aspecto físico — Physical Appearance

Spanish uses two different verbs for physical description: tener (to have) for hair and eyes, and ser (to be) for height and build. Mixing them up is one of the most common GCSE errors — the table below shows which verb goes where.
Estatura y complexión — Height & build (ser) Pelo y ojos — Hair & eyes (tener)
es alto/a (is tall) tiene el pelo rubio (has blond hair)
es bajo/a (is short) tiene el pelo negro (has black hair)
es de mediana estatura (is of average height) tiene el pelo castaño (has brown/chestnut hair)
es delgado/a (is slim) tiene el pelo pelirrojo (has red hair)
es gordo/a (is overweight) tiene el pelo canoso (has grey hair)
es de complexión media (is of average build) tiene el pelo largo/corto (has long/short hair)
tiene el pelo rizado/liso/ondulado (curly/straight/wavy)
tiene los ojos azules/marrones/verdes/grises/negros
lleva gafas (wears glasses)
lleva barba / lleva bigote (has a beard / moustache)

Describe appearance in Spanish using tener for hair and eyes, and ser for height and build.

Spotlight
Los adjetivos de personalidad — Personality Adjectives

Personality adjectives follow the standard agreement rules: they change ending to match the gender of the person being described. The table below gives the most useful AQA adjectives — note that some have distinct masculine and feminine forms, while a few are invariable.

Exam tip

Earn the mark scheme marks

❌ Errores frecuentes — Common Mistakes

❌ Error 1: Sus ojos son azules.

✅ Correcto: Tiene los ojos azules.

Por qué importa: In Spanish, physical features such as eyes and hair use the verb tener, not ser. The construction tiene los ojos azules (literally "has the blue eyes") is the standard AQA form and the one examiners expect. Sus ojos son azules is grammatically possible but sounds unnatural in authentic Spanish and is not the preferred construction for AQA assessments. Always use tener for eye colour and hair description.

❌ Error 2: Es muy trabajadoro.

✅ Correcto (masc): Es muy trabajador. ✅ Correcto (fem): Es muy trabajadora.

Por qué importa: Trabajador is an adjective ending in -r. The masculine form has no added ending — trabajador itself is masculine. To make the feminine form, add -a: trabajadora. Never add -o to make a masculine form — trabajadoro does not exist in Spanish. This same pattern applies to hablador / habladora and jugador / jugadora.

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