HSC Spanish Continuers flashcards

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

Listening: catching corrections

Speakers often revise figures with signals such as perdón, mejor dicho, es decir or quiero decir. The corrected number or time is the answer; the first one stated is usually the distractor.

Syllable-final /s/ dropping

Caribbean and coastal varieties weaken or drop final /s/, so los amigos may sound like lo' amigo'. Plural and second-person verb markers can become inaudible, so rely on context.

Voseo pronoun and verb forms

In Argentina, Uruguay and parts of Central America, vos replaces tú with modified forms: vos tenés, vos podés, vos sos. The corresponding pronoun is vos, not tú.

Listening cue: sin embargo

A contrast connector meaning however or nevertheless. It signals that the next statement reverses or qualifies the previous one, which is often the point tested in a listening item.

Register cues in listening

Tú and vosotros indicate informal address; usted and ustedes indicate formal or plural address. Register usually reveals the relationship between speakers and the setting.

Double negation in Spanish

Negative words reinforce rather than cancel: no viene nadie (nobody is coming), no dijo nada (he said nothing). Keep the negative word even when English drops it.

Formal letter opening

Spanish formal letters open with Estimado or Estimada plus Sr./Sra. and surname, and close with Le saluda atentamente followed by a signature. Use usted forms throughout.

Informal email closing

Informal messages end with Un abrazo, Besos, Saludos or Nos vemos plus a first name. Greeting is Hola plus name; no title or surname appears.

Narrative tense pairing

Preterite narrates completed events that move the story forward; imperfect supplies background, habitual actions and description. Interrupted actions pair imperfect plus preterite.

Subjunctive triggers in writing

Persuasive and evaluative writing uses expressions such as es importante que, recomiendo que, para que and ojalá, all of which require the subjunctive in the dependent clause.

Diary entry conventions

A diario personal opens with a date, uses first person and past tenses, records events and feelings, and often closes with a reflective or forward-looking comment.

Review text structure

A reseña names the work, summarizes briefly, evaluates with reasons, and ends with a recommendation. Opinion markers include me pareció, destaco, vale la pena.

Reading: false friend actual

Actual means current or present-day, not actual. Similarly realizar means to carry out, éxito means success, and sensible means sensitive. Check meaning against context.

Resolving object pronouns

Lo, la, los, las, le, les and ello refer back to a previously mentioned noun. Identify that noun before answering a comprehension question about who did what.

Text type from layout

Headlines and columns indicate a news article; a date and greeting indicate a letter; short lines with times indicate a notice or schedule. Layout narrows the purpose before reading.

Time markers and tense

Markers such as ayer, hace dos años, desde, dentro de and el próximo mes locate an action in past, present or future and should be matched to the verb form used.

Scanning for main idea

Topic sentences usually open a paragraph and are restated in the closing sentence. Reading these first gives the gist before detailed questions are attempted.

Presentational talk structure

A spoken presentation moves from greeting and purpose, through two or three developed points with examples, to a conclusion and an invitation for questions.

Circumlocution strategy

When a word is unavailable, describe it in Spanish: es una cosa que sirve para..., es parecido a..., es cuando alguien... This keeps the exchange in the target language.

Spanish vowel pronunciation

Spanish vowels are short and pure, with no glide: casa has two distinct a sounds. Adding an English off-glide changes the word and is a common pronunciation error.

Stress and written accents

Words ending in a vowel, n or s stress the penultimate syllable; others stress the final syllable. Any exception carries a written accent mark.

Interpersonal turn-taking

Sustaining an interaction requires returning questions: ¿Y tú?, ¿qué te parece?, ¿y en tu caso? A monologue without these signals loses marks for interaction.

Preterite irregular stems

Tener gives tuve, estar estuve, hacer hice, poder pude, decir dije, venir vine, ser and ir both give fui. These strong preterites take unstressed endings.

Ser versus estar

Ser expresses identity, origin and inherent characteristics; estar expresses location, temporary states and the progressive. Some adjectives change meaning with each verb.

Por versus para

Por marks cause, exchange, duration and movement through; para marks purpose, destination, deadline and recipient. Compare gracias por with para mañana.

Present subjunctive endings

From the yo form of the present indicative, drop -o and add opposite endings: -ar verbs take -e, -es, -e; -er and -ir verbs take -a, -as, -a.

Affirmative tú commands

Regular affirmative tú commands use the third-person present indicative: habla, come, escribe. Irregulars include di, haz, ve, pon, sal, sé, ten and ven.

Indirect plus direct pronoun order

Indirect object pronouns precede direct ones: me lo dio, te la envío. When le or les precedes lo, la, los or las, it becomes se: se lo di.

Spanish official-language count

Spanish is an official language in 21 countries, including Equatorial Guinea in Africa. It is also widely spoken in the United States without official status there.

Día de los Muertos

A Mexican observance on 1 and 2 November honoring deceased relatives with ofrendas, altars, cempasúchil flowers and pan de muerto. It is distinct from Halloween.

Indigenous loanwords

Nahuatl contributed chocolate, tomate and aguacate; Quechua contributed papa and llama; Guaraní contributed words shared in Paraguay. Loanwords show pre-Columbian language contact.

Paraguayan bilingualism

Paraguay recognizes Spanish and Guaraní as official languages, and most of the population uses Guaraní daily. It is the clearest case of official bilingualism in Latin America.