Proyecto 1: Presentarme y conocer a otros
Chapter Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- Greet people, introduce yourself, and use basic courtesy expressions accurately.
- Use ser to identify yourself and others, state origin, and describe basic characteristics.
- Use hay to say what people or things are present, and use articles and plural nouns correctly.
- Use tener to talk about age, family, and possession.
- Ask and answer yes/no and information questions using material from Chapters 1 through 4.
- Produce a short spoken and written self-introduction with correct accent marks, punctuation, and capitalization.
Communication Scenario
The language program is holding a welcome gathering for new students. Marisol and Marcos, along with several classmates, are meeting people they have not talked to before. Around the room, students introduce themselves, ask where others are from, describe the people and things around them, and talk briefly about their families. This chapter is a single connected project: instead of introducing new grammar, it asks you to bring together everything from Chapters 1 through 4 in one realistic round of introductions.
- You will greet someone new, exchange names, and ask where they are from.
- You will describe people and objects around you, mention family members, and ask a few follow-up questions.
Unit Review Map
This project chapter does not introduce a new grammar system. It reviews and connects the systems developed across Chapters 1 through 4. The map below shows what each earlier chapter contributed and how those pieces come together here.
Chapter 1
Greetings, courtesy, the alphabet, tú/usted, singular ser, and the formulaic Me llamo....
Chapter 2
Full present-tense ser, origin and nationality, adjective agreement, and question words.
Chapter 3
Articles, gender, plural nouns, hay, and near demonstratives for people and objects.
Chapter 4
Tener for age and possession, possessive words, adjective agreement, and recognition of the personal a.
No item in this chapter requires a system beyond these four chapters. The personal a remains recognition-only, as in Chapter 4.
Vocabulary Review
The tables below pull together the productive vocabulary you will need for this project. All items are recycled from Chapters 1 through 4; no new vocabulary is introduced.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Hola. / Buenos días. / Buenas tardes. | Hello. / Good morning. / Good afternoon. |
| Me llamo... / Mucho gusto. | My name is... / Nice to meet you. |
| ¿Cómo estás? / ¿Cómo está usted? | How are you? (tú) / How are you? (usted) |
| Por favor. / Gracias. / De nada. | Please. / Thank you. / You're welcome. |
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| ¿De dónde eres? / Soy de... | Where are you from? / I am from... |
| ¿Cómo te llamas? / ¿Cómo se llama usted? | What is your name? (tú) / (usted) |
| estudiante, profesor(a), amigo/a | student, teacher, friend |
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| hay un/una..., hay unos/unas... | there is a..., there are some... |
| mi hermano/a, mi mamá, mi papá, mi abuelo/a | my brother/sister, my mom, my dad, my grandfather/grandmother |
| Tengo ... años. / ¿Cuántos años tienes? | I am ... years old. / How old are you? |
Review these tables before beginning the chapter's tasks. If any item feels unfamiliar, return to the relevant chapter before continuing.
Pronunciation and Orthography Review
This project brings together the pronunciation and spelling habits practiced in the first four chapters. No new sound or spelling pattern is introduced.
As you speak and write for this project, keep the following habits active:
- Link articles and possessive words smoothly to the nouns that follow them, as in mi amigo and una amiga.
- Keep the natural stress pattern of tiene and tienes on the first syllable.
- Use the written accent on question words such as qué, cómo, dónde, and cuántos.
- Open every question and exclamation with the correct inverted mark: ¿ and ¡.
- Capitalize names of people but keep nationalities and languages in lowercase, as in Marisol es mexicana.
Language Review: Ser, Tener, Hay, and Questions
Purpose: connect identity, description, existence, possession, and questions into one flexible set of tools for meeting new people.
5.1 Ser for identity and description
Ser identifies who someone is, where they are from, and what they are like. Review the full present-tense forms from Chapter 2: soy, eres, es, somos, son. Remember that descriptive adjectives after ser must agree in gender and number with the person or thing they describe.
- Soy estudiante. Mi amiga es de Colombia. I am a student. My friend is from Colombia.
- Marisol y Marcos son simpáticos. Marisol and Marcos are nice.
5.2 Hay, articles, and plural nouns
Hay says what exists or is present, and does not change form. Review that definite articles (el, la, los, las) point to a specific noun already known to the listener, while indefinite articles (un, una, unos, unas) introduce something new, as with hay.
- Hay muchos estudiantes nuevos en la fiesta. There are many new students at the party.
- Hay una mesa con refrescos. There is a table with drinks.
5.3 Tener for age, family, and possession
5.4 Asking and answering questions
Yes/no questions in Spanish are usually marked by intonation and the inverted question mark rather than by word order alone. Information questions use question words such as qué, quién, cómo, dónde, de dónde, and cuántos, all of which carry a written accent.
- ¿Eres de aquí? — No, soy de Perú. Are you from here? — No, I'm from Peru.
- ¿Cuántos hermanos tienes? How many siblings do you have?
This project introduces no new productive grammar. Every pattern above was taught in Chapters 1 through 4 and is simply being used together.
Model Dialogue: Presentaciones en la fiesta
Context: Marisol meets a new student, Tomás, at the welcome gathering.
Marisol points toward a group near the door.
Notice how the dialogue moves through greetings, identity, origin, description, existence with hay, and family — the same sequence you will use in this chapter's tasks.
Listening Practice
If no audio recording is available, ask a partner, instructor, or text-to-speech tool to read the script below aloud, or read it aloud to yourself slowly.
- Listen for Elena's profession and where she is from.
- Listen for how many students are in her class.
- Listen for her son's name and age.
- Listen for one adjective used to describe her husband.
Speaking Practice
Práctica controlada — Controlled practice: Cadena de preguntas
Practice a short chain of four questions and answers: name, origin, age, and one family member, alternating between tú and usted forms.
Tarea comunicativa — Communicative task: Conocer a alguien nuevo
With a partner, act out meeting someone for the first time at the welcome gathering. Greet each other, exchange names, ask where you are from, describe one person nearby using hay, and mention one family member.
Práctica independiente — Solo alternative
Record or say aloud a one-minute self-introduction that includes your name, origin, age, a brief description of yourself, and one family member, as if meeting a new classmate.
Reading Practice
Una nueva estudiante — A new student
Me llamo Valentina y soy de Argentina. Soy estudiante y tengo veinte años. En la fiesta de bienvenida hay muchos estudiantes nuevos. Conozco a un chico simpático; se llama Diego y es de Ecuador. Tiene dos hermanas y una hermana estudia aquí también. Mi mejor amiga se llama Sofía; ella es alta y muy trabajadora.
Tarea de lectura — Reading task:
- Where is Valentina from, and how old is she?
- Where is Diego from, and how many sisters does he have?
- Find the sentence with the personal a, and identify the specific person it introduces.
Writing Workshop
Complete the following linked writing tasks in order. Together they form your written self-introduction for this project.
Tarea 1 — Datos personales: Write four short sentences: your name, your origin, your age, and one adjective that describes you.
Tarea 2 — Completar la presentación: Fill in the blanks below to build a short self-introduction.
Tarea 3 — Presentación completa: Combine your sentences from Tareas 1 and 2 into one short paragraph of five to seven sentences that introduces yourself to a new classmate, including at least one question you would ask them.
- Write your four personal-data sentences first. This reviews ser, tener, and adjective agreement together.
- Complete the fill-in-the-blank self-introduction. Check that every verb form matches its subject.
- Combine your sentences into one paragraph. Add a closing question for your future classmate.
- Read your paragraph aloud once. Listen for smooth linking and correct stress on question words and on tiene/tienes.
- Check every accent mark, capitalization choice, and inverted question or exclamation mark. Correct anything that does not match the review tables above.
Lista de revisión — Editing checklist:
- Every form of ser, tener, and hay is used correctly for its function.
- Articles and nouns agree in gender and number.
- Adjectives agree with the person or thing they describe.
- Question words carry the correct written accent, and questions open with ¿.
- Names are capitalized; nationalities and languages are lowercase.
- No vocabulary or grammar from outside Chapters 1–4 has been used.
Culture and Communication
Ways of greeting new people, including gestures, physical distance, and how quickly personal information is shared, vary across Spanish-speaking communities, institutions, and individual comfort levels. The gathering in this chapter reflects one plausible classroom scenario, not a fixed rule for every setting.
Whether new acquaintances of similar age move quickly to tú or maintain usted longer depends on region, setting, and personal or institutional norms. This course models the flexible use of both forms; learners should observe context carefully rather than assuming one fixed rule applies everywhere.
Common Mistakes
Error: Saying Es muchos estudiantes en la fiesta, using ser where existence, not identity, is intended.
Correction: Use hay to say that something exists or is present. Say Hay muchos estudiantes en la fiesta.
Error: Saying Soy veinte años, translating English "I am" directly with ser.
Correction: Spanish uses tener for age. Say Tengo veinte años.
Error: Writing Como te llamas? without the accent on cómo and without the opening inverted question mark.
Correction: Interrogative words carry a written accent, and Spanish questions open with ¿. Write ¿Cómo te llamas?
Chapter Review
Parte A — Comprensión (Comprehension)
1. Return to the Model Dialogue, and answer these short questions.
- Where is Tomás from, and where is Marisol from?
- How old is Marisol's brother?
Parte B — Escritura (Writing)
1. Write one sentence with ser, one with hay, and one with tener, each about a different topic.
2. Write two questions you could ask a new classmate, using two different question words.
Parte C — Lectura (Reading)
1. Return to "Una nueva estudiante," and list every person named together with one fact about each.
Parte D — Habla (Speaking)
1. Introduce yourself to a partner as though you are meeting for the first time, then ask your partner two follow-up questions.
Practical Performance Task
Chapter 5 Practical Check — Proyecto 1
Presentarme y conocer a otros
Complete the following connected tasks, in order, as one integrated introductions round covering Chapters 1 through 4.
- Read the model dialogue and the reading passage. Answer the comprehension questions above before continuing.
- Introduce yourself aloud. Include your name, origin, age, and one adjective describing yourself.
- Describe your surroundings with hay. Mention at least two people or objects present, using correct articles.
- Talk briefly about your family. Name at least one family member and give their age with tener.
- Ask a partner, instructor, or yourself at least two questions using different question words.
- Write your full self-introduction paragraph. Apply the editing checklist from the Writing Workshop.
| Criterion | What is assessed |
|---|---|
| Ser accuracy | The learner uses correct forms of ser for identity, origin, and description. |
| Hay accuracy | The learner uses hay correctly with appropriate articles and plural nouns. |
| Tener accuracy | The learner uses correct forms of tener for age, family, and possession. |
| Question formation | The learner forms and answers yes/no and information questions accurately. |
| Agreement | The learner applies correct article, noun, and adjective agreement throughout. |
| Orthography and pronunciation | The learner uses accent marks, inverted punctuation, and natural stress and linking. |
This checkpoint uses only material introduced in Chapters 1–4. No item on this rubric requires a system that has not yet been taught.
Answer Key
Model Dialogue — Comprehension
- Tomás is from Chile (Chile); Marisol is from Mexico (México).
- Marisol's brother is fifteen years old (quince años).
Escritura
- Sample answers: Mi amigo es de Perú. / Hay veinte estudiantes en la clase. / Tengo dieciocho años. (Other accurate sentences are acceptable.)
- Sample answers: ¿Cómo te llamas? / ¿De dónde eres? (Other accurate questions using different question words are acceptable.)
Lectura
- Valentina (de Argentina, veinte años), Diego (de Ecuador, dos hermanas), Sofía (mejor amiga, alta y trabajadora). The personal a appears in Conozco a un chico simpático, introducing the specific person Diego.
Looking Ahead
Lo que ya sabes hacer — What you can do now
You can greet people and introduce yourself, identify and describe yourself and others with ser, say what is present with hay, talk about age, family, and possession with tener, and ask and answer basic questions — all with correct agreement, accent marks, and punctuation.