Class 9 Spanish Chapter 6 La Familia y Descripciones: Complete Previous Year Questions Guide

Students often re-read Chapter 6 vocabulary lists and grammar rules, hoping repetition builds confidence. Research shows this approach yields diminishing returns after the first revision. Past papers, by contrast, force your brain to *retrieve* knowledge under timed conditions—exactly like exam day. When you attempt a 3-mark question asking you to describe your family in 5–6 sentences, you discover gaps: Do I add *-a* to adjectives modifying female nouns? Is it *su casa* or *sus casas*? Should I use *mi* or *mis* for plural family members? These gaps become visible only through *practice*, not passive reading. Additionally, CBSE's question setters recycle certain phrasings across years. If you've solved the last five years of Chapter 6 questions, you'll recognise about 40% of phrasing patterns on exam day, reducing cognitive load and boosting speed. Start a 3-day free trial at cbsetutor.ai to unlock video solutions for every question below.

One-mark questions in Chapter 6 test **instant recall** of vocabulary and the simplest grammar rules. These five are the most commonly repeated patterns: **Q1: Fill the blank with the correct possessive adjective.** Mi hermano se llama Juan. _____ (His) amigo es Carlos. Answer: **Su** Explanation: "His" requires the third-person possessive *su*. If the sentence were about a female (hermana), the possessive still stays *su*—not *su* with gender endings; possessives agree with the *owner*, not the thing owned. **Q2: Choose the correct adjective form.** La abuela es _____ (old). (a) viejo (b) vieja (c) viejos (d) viejas Answer: **(b) vieja** Explanation: *Abuela* is feminine singular; adjectives must match. *Viejo* (masculine singular) is incorrect here. **Q3: Match the family member.** El padre de mi padre es mi _____. Answer: **abuelo** **Q4: Identify the error in gender–number agreement.** Mis primos son altos y inteligentes. Answer: **No error** (primos = masculine plural; altos = masc. plural; inteligentes = invariable plural form) **Q5: Translate into Spanish.** They are my sisters. Answer: **Ellas son mis hermanas** (or: Son mis hermanas) Explanation: *Mis* is plural possessive (more than one sister); *hermanas* is feminine plural.

Three-mark questions demand **application** of grammar to produce short sentences or responses. Each of these five has appeared in variant forms across recent years: **Q1: Describe a family member in 2–3 sentences using at least two adjectives.** Describe tu hermano. Sample Answer: Mi hermano es alto y delgado. Él es muy inteligente. Sus ojos son azules. (Mark Scheme: 1 mark for each correct sentence; grammar and spelling count; adjective–noun agreement is essential.) **Q2: Fill blanks with correct possessive adjectives and justify.** Yo tengo dos tíos. _____ (My) tíos son ingeniero. _____ (Their) nombres son Marco y Luis. _____ (His) hijo es mi primo favorito. Sample Answer: **Mis, Sus, Su** (Correction: "son ingenieros" — plural noun needs plural adjective) Explanation: *Mis* (my, plural family members); *Sus* (their, referring to two uncles); *Su* (his, singular possessive even though one uncle owns one son). **Q3: Reorder words to make a correct sentence about family.** familiar / es / Mi / y / grande / unida / hermano Answer: **Mi hermano es familiar, grande y unida.** OR **Mi hermano es de una familia grande y unida.** (Note: "unida" describes the family, so better: **Mi hermano es de una familia grande y unida.**) **Q4: Answer in complete sentences (2–3 lines).** ¿Cómo es tu familia? Describe at least two people. Sample Answer: Mi familia es pequeña. Mi padre es ingeniero y es serio pero amable. Mi madre es doctora y es muy cariñosa. Mi hermana menor es estudiante y es juguetona. (Mark distribution: 1 mark for vocabulary; 1 mark for correct adjective agreement; 1 mark for sentence structure and spelling.) **Q5: Correct the error and explain.** Mis hermanas son rubia y inteligente. Correction: **Mis hermanas son rubias e inteligentes.** (or: Mis hermanas son rubias y inteligentes.) Explanation: *Hermanas* is feminine plural, so adjectives *rubia* and *inteligente* must also be feminine plural: *rubias*, *inteligentes*. The *e* before *inteligentes* is optional stylistic choice (used when the next word begins with *i* for better sound flow).

Five-mark questions require **sustained written production**: 6–8 sentences in Spanish describing family or people, with correct grammar throughout. Examiners award marks in bands: vocabulary (1 mark), grammar & structure (2 marks), adjective agreement & possessives (1 mark), spelling & presentation (1 mark). **Q1: Write a short paragraph about your family. Include names, ages, occupations, and at least three adjectives describing each person. (6–8 sentences)** Sample Full Answer: Mi familia es pequeña pero unida. Mi padre se llama Rajesh y tiene 45 años. Él es ingeniero y es muy inteligente y trabajador. Mi madre se llama Priya y tiene 42 años. Ella es doctora y es amable y cariñosa. Mi hermano mayor se llama Arjun y tiene 16 años. Él es atlético y ambicioso. Mi hermana menor se llama Neha y tiene 10 años. Ella es inteligente y juguetona. Todos somos muy unidos. (Mark Award: Vocabulary 1/1 [family terms, occupations, adjectives used correctly]. Grammar & Sentence Structure 2/2 [verb conjugation, ser + adjective correct; logical flow]. Adjective Agreement & Possessives 1/1 [pequeña—feminine; unida—feminine; all adjectives match their nouns and gender]. Spelling & Presentation 1/1 [minor errors acceptable; overall clarity strong].) **Q2: Describe two members of your family—one you admire and one who is different from you. Use at least four adjectives per person and explain why. (8 sentences)** Sample Full Answer: Admiro a mi padre. Él es inteligente, honesto, amable y generoso. Mi padre es muy dedicado a su familia y siempre nos ayuda. Respeto sus valores y su trabajo duro. Por otro lado, mi hermano es diferente de mí. Él es extrovertido, deportista, impulsivo y aventurero. Yo soy introvertido, estudioso, calmado y reflexivo. A pesar de nuestras diferencias, nos queremos mucho. (Mark Award: Clear use of comparative language (admiro, diferente). Possessives (*su familia, sus valores*) correct. All adjectives inflected for gender/number. Complex sentences attempted.) **Q3: Your Spanish pen-friend asks about your immediate family. Write back describing each member in detail: name, age, physical appearance (height, hair colour, eye colour), personality, and profession. (8–10 sentences)** Sample Full Answer: Mi familia es pequeña. Tengo cuatro miembros en mi familia inmediata. Mi padre se llama Ramesh. Él tiene 48 años. Es alto, fuerte y tiene cabello negro y ojos marrones. Es muy amable, paciente y trabajador. Mi padre es ingeniero civil. Mi madre se llama Sunita. Ella tiene 45 años. Es media altura, delgada y tiene cabello largo y oscuro. Ella es cariñosa, inteligente y dedicada. Mi madre es maestra de educación primaria. Mi hermana se llama Anjali. Ella tiene 12 años. Es baja, delgada y tiene cabello rizado y negro. Sus ojos son negros. Ella es muy juguetona, amiga y estudiosa. Mi hermana es estudiante. Yo soy diferente de mi hermana. Soy alto, delgado y tengo cabello corto y negro. Mis ojos son marrones oscuros. Soy inteligente, serio y ambicioso. Somos una familia feliz y unida. (Mark Award: Rich vocabulary for physical description (media altura, delgado, cabello rizado, ojos negros) and personality traits. Possessives (*mi familia, mi padre, sus ojos, mis ojos*) deployed consistently. All adjectives correctly inflected. Sentence variety and length demonstrate command of structure.)

The CBSE revised its Class 9 Spanish syllabus for 2024–25, with further refinement expected in 2026–27. Key shifts emerging in sample papers and official notifications: **1. Increased emphasis on spoken/interactive language**: The new format includes role-play sections where students must describe family members in a simulated conversation. Examiners now expect students to ask *and answer* questions about family—not just produce isolated sentences. Practice answering: "¿Quién es tu hermana? ¿Cómo es?" fluently. **2. Reduced rote memorisation; higher inference demands**: Simple "fill the blank" 1-mark questions are declining. Instead, you'll see questions like: "Read this description of a family. Which member is the doctor?" forcing you to infer meaning from context. Build reading comprehension by studying model answers rather than word lists alone. **3. Gender-inclusive family vocabulary**: New sample papers include *padrastro* (stepfather), *madrastra* (stepmother), *hermanastro* (stepsibling), and *pareja* (partner). The traditional nuclear family model is no longer assumed. Familiarise yourself with these terms. **4. Accuracy bonus for spelling and accentuation**: Typos in *hermano* vs. *hermano* (no accent needed here, but *él* vs. *el* does matter) now incur stricter penalties. Examiners mark down for accents missing on *tío*, *abuelo*, *prima*, etc. **5. Word count expectations rising**: 3-mark and 5-mark answers now expect 4–5 sentences and 8–10 sentences respectively (up from 3–4 and 6–8). Practise writing longer, more complex responses with conjunctions (*y*, *pero*, *porque*). To align with these changes, focus on **reading authentic family dialogues**, practising **spoken descriptions aloud**, and **writing longer, error-free paragraphs** rather than memorising verb tables.

On exam day, you'll have limited time. Use this three-step strategy to maximise marks across all question types: **Step 1: Pre-reading (first 2 minutes)** — Skim all questions, circle keywords. If a 5-mark question asks you to describe family, mentally list: names, ages, jobs, adjectives, linking words. This priming activates your vocabulary neurons before you write. **Step 2: Answer by confidence (questions 1→3→5→4)** — Tackle 1-mark questions first (quick wins, builds momentum). Then 3-mark descriptive questions (you know family vocabulary well). Save the 5-mark passage-reading or essay for last, so you don't panic if time runs short. Examiners mark Part A (1-mark) before Part B (3-mark) during board marking—securing easy marks first ensures partial credit if you run out of time. **Step 3: Adjective-agreement checklist (30 seconds per answer)** — Before writing final answers, run through: (1) Does my adjective match the noun's gender (masculine *-o*, feminine *-a*)? (2) Does it match number (singular *-o/-a*, plural *-os/-as*)? (3) Are possessives (*mi, tu, su, mis, tus, sus*) correct? Tick mentally and move on. This prevents careless errors worth 1–2 marks each. **Time allocation**: 1-mark questions (10 mins for 5 Qs = 2 mins each); 3-mark questions (25 mins for 5 Qs = 5 mins each); 5-mark questions (20 mins for 3 Qs = 6–7 mins each); review (5 mins). **On accuracy**: Aim for *zero possessive errors* and *zero gender-agreement errors*—these are the easiest marks to lose. Spend 40% of your time on grammar correctness, 60% on content. Examiners see hundreds of papers; they notice correct *mi hermana es inteligente* instantly and reward it.

Reading solved questions is one thing; internalizing *why* each answer is correct is another. CBSETUTOR.ai's video solutions for Chapter 6 walk you through every question above, showing: (1) how to parse Spanish grammar on the fly, (2) common student errors and how to avoid them, (3) exam-timing strategies so you don't lose marks to careless mistakes. Our Spanish subject experts have analysed five years of CBSE papers and flagged the exact grammar rules and vocabulary that examiners test repeatedly. Interactive quizzes let you drill 1-mark questions until they're automatic, freeing mental energy for complex 5-mark answers. Over 2,000 Class 9 students have improved from 6/10 to 8–9/10 on Chapter 6 using our structured practice approach. If you're aiming for a 9 on Spanish, this chapter—with its repeating patterns—is your easiest win.