AQA passages signal their tense through key time words. Identifying the tense correctly is essential — if you misread a past event as present, your answer will be wrong even if your Spanish comprehension was otherwise sound.
| Signal word | Tense | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ayer, el año pasado, la semana pasada | Preterite | Ayer fui... |
| cuando era niño/a, siempre, de niño | Imperfect | Siempre comía... |
| mañana, el próximo año, en el futuro | Future | Mañana iré... |
| me gustaría, si pudiera | Conditional | Me gustaría... |
| nunca, nadie, nada, tampoco | Negative | Nunca salgo... |
⭐ P/N/P+N: the pero rule
A sentence containing pero or sin embargo often creates a P+N answer. Example: "Me gusta el colegio, pero los deberes son aburridos." → P+N (likes school, but homework is boring).
This deep dive covers Tiempo verbal y detalles — Tense and Detail Clues within Short passage comprehension for GCSE Spanish. Revise Short passage comprehension in Reading + Translation (ES→EN) for GCSE Spanish with 16 exam-style questions and 12 flashcards. Use this page as part of a wider topic revision path rather than treating it as an isolated fact. It is section 2 of 4 in this topic. Use this deep dive to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
Practice questions for Short passage comprehension
Read the passage and answer the questions in English. **Mi familia vive en una casa grande en el norte de España. Tengo dos hermanos y una hermana. Mi madre trabaja en un hospital como médica. Cada mañana, voy al colegio en autobús con mis hermanos. Me gustan las matemáticas y el inglés.** (a) Where does the family live? (b) What is the writer's mother's job? (c) How does the writer travel to school?