AAPPL Spanish flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Usted vs. tú

Usted marks formality and social distance with adults, strangers, and authority figures; tú marks informality with peers, children, and close friends. Choosing correctly affects the interpersonal score.

Repair phrase

A phrase used to keep a conversation going when you don't understand, such as '¿Puede repetir, por favor?' or '¿Cómo se dice...?' Using one is better than silence.

Follow-up question

A question asked after answering to maintain the exchange, e.g., '¿Y tú?' or '¿Qué opinas?' It demonstrates interpersonal engagement and raises the speaking score.

Usted command form

Formal commands use the opposite vowel ending: -ar verbs take -e (hable), -er/-ir verbs take -a (coma, viva). Used with usted/ustedes in polite requests.

Tú command form

Informal affirmative commands use the third-person singular present form: habla, come, vive. Irregulars include di, haz, ve, pon, sal, sé, ten, ven.

Spanish vowel pronunciation

The five vowels a, e, i, o, u are always pronounced clearly and consistently, unlike English. Clear vowels are a key factor in intelligibility scoring.

Preterite vs. imperfect

Preterite narrates completed actions (comí, fui); imperfect describes background, habits, and ongoing states (comía, era). Combining both creates a full past narrative.

Formal email greeting

Formal Spanish emails open with Estimado/a Sr./Sra. [apellido]: or Estimados señores: and close with Atentamente or Un saludo, followed by the signature.

Connectors for writing

Words that organize ideas: primero, además, sin embargo, por lo tanto, finalmente, en conclusión. They improve coherence and are rewarded in presentational writing.

Accent meaning pairs

Accents distinguish words: el (the) vs. él (he), tu (your) vs. tú (you), si (if) vs. sí (yes), mas (but) vs. más (more), esta (this) vs. está (is).

False cognates

Words that look like English but differ in meaning: embarazada (pregnant), librería (bookstore), éxito (success), realizar (to carry out), actual (current). Misreading them causes errors.

Skimming vs. scanning

Skimming reads quickly for the main idea; scanning searches for specific details like names, dates, or numbers. Use skimming first, then scanning, in interpretive reading.

Main idea question

A question asking what the text is mostly about. The answer summarizes the whole passage, not a single detail, and is usually found in the title or first paragraph.

Inference question

A question requiring a conclusion not stated directly but supported by evidence in the text. The correct answer must be justified by the passage, not by personal opinion.

Register in reading

The level of formality signaled by address forms (usted vs. tú), vocabulary, and structure. It reveals the relationship between writer and reader and the text's audience.

Context clues

Using surrounding words, word families, and prefixes/suffixes (des-, re-, -ción, -mente) to infer the meaning of an unknown word without a dictionary.

Text type identification

Recognizing whether a reading is a sign, menu, schedule, advertisement, email, article, or literary excerpt. The text type determines layout, vocabulary, and expected information.

Time markers

Words like ayer, mañana, hace dos años, ahora, and entonces that place events in time. They help sequence events and choose the correct tense in reading questions.

Listening for gist

On the first hearing, focus on the overall meaning, setting, and speakers rather than every word. Details are captured on the second pass.

Numbers as distractors

Prices, times, and dates in audio are often mentioned more than once with different values. Note each one and match the question's specific request.

Tense sound pairs

Forms like habla/habló and compro/compró differ only by stress and accent. Mishearing them changes the time frame of the message.

Signal words in audio

Discourse markers that organize speech: sin embargo (contrast), por eso (result), además (addition), antes/después (sequence). They predict what comes next.

Speaker's intent question

A question asking why a speaker says something-to persuade, inform, request, apologize, or warn. The answer comes from tone, verbs, and context.

Tone from intonation

Emotion such as entusiasmo, preocupación, or enojo is conveyed by pitch, speed, and word choice. Tone questions require interpreting these cues, not just words.

Setting identification

Determining where a conversation takes place (restaurant, school, airport, store) from vocabulary, background sounds, and the speakers' roles. It frames the entire listening task.

Voicemail listening

A common ILS/IL audio type: a recorded message with caller identity, purpose, and a requested action. Listen for the caller's name, reason, and callback number.

Task completion score

In ILS and PW, raters check whether every required element of the prompt was addressed. Missing a bullet point caps the score regardless of grammar quality.

Noun-adjective agreement

Spanish adjectives match nouns in gender and number: casa blanca, casas blancas, libro nuevo, libros nuevos. Agreement errors are frequent in presentational writing.

Formal writing conventions

Formal Spanish texts avoid contractions, slang, and anglicisms, use complete sentences, and employ usted forms. Informality is reserved for personal messages and friends.

Subordinate clauses

Clauses introduced by que, porque, aunque, cuando, and si that combine ideas into complex sentences. They raise the syntactic variety score in writing.

Author's purpose

The reason a text was written: informar, persuadir, entretener, advertir, or solicitar. Purpose questions ask for this overall aim, not a detail.

Second-pass strategy

On a repeated hearing, confirm uncertain answers with new evidence rather than changing correct ones without support. This reduces careless errors in interpretive listening.