Aragón PAU English flashcards

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

True/false justification

A reading item where you mark true or false and then support the choice by quoting or paraphrasing the specific lines of the passage that prove it. Unsupported marks lose the justification credit.

Vocabulary in context

An item asking for a synonym or brief definition of a word as it appears in the passage. Match the word class and the meaning in that sentence, not its most common dictionary sense.

Present perfect vs past simple

Use present perfect for past actions with present relevance or no stated time (I have lost my keys). Use past simple with a finished time expression (yesterday, in 2019, last week).

Past perfect

Formed with had plus past participle, it marks an action completed before another past event: When we arrived, the film had already started. Useful for sequencing in narratives.

First conditional

If plus present simple in the condition, will plus infinitive in the result: If it rains, we will stay in. Refers to a realistic future possibility.

Second conditional

If plus past simple, would plus infinitive: If I had more time, I would travel. Describes hypothetical or unlikely present or future situations. With be, use were for all persons.

Third conditional

If plus past perfect, would have plus past participle: If she had studied, she would have passed. Expresses unreal past situations and their imagined results.

Passive voice transformation

Move the object to subject position, use the correct form of be plus past participle, and add by plus agent only if relevant: They built the bridge in 1990 becomes The bridge was built in 1990.

Reported speech backshift

After a past reporting verb, shift tenses back: present to past, past simple to past perfect, will to would. Also adjust pronouns, time and place words (today becomes that day).

Reported questions

Use if or whether for yes/no questions and keep the question word for wh-questions, but restore statement word order and drop the auxiliary do: He asked where I lived.

Defining relative clauses

Give essential identifying information with no commas, using who for people, which for things, where for places, whose for possession, and that in both. The relative pronoun can be omitted as object.

Non-defining relative clauses

Add extra, non-essential information between commas and never use that. The pronoun cannot be omitted: My brother, who lives in Zaragoza, is a teacher.

Modal verbs of obligation

Must and have to express obligation; mustn't means prohibition while don't have to means no obligation; should gives advice; needn't means it is not necessary.

Modal verbs of deduction

Must be expresses strong certainty, might or may be expresses possibility, and can't be expresses impossibility: She must be tired; that can't be true.

Gerund after prepositions

Any verb following a preposition takes the -ing form: interested in learning, good at solving, instead of waiting, before leaving. This pattern appears frequently in cloze and transformation items.

Infinitive after certain verbs

Verbs such as want, decide, hope, promise, refuse and manage take a to-infinitive: They decided to cancel. Others like enjoy, avoid, suggest and mind take the gerund.

Comparative structures

Use -er or more for comparatives and the -est or most for superlatives; add than after comparatives, the before superlatives, and use as plus adjective plus as for equality.

so and such

Use so plus adjective or adverb (so tired) and such plus adjective plus noun (such a tiring day). Both introduce a result clause with that.

Contrast linkers

However and nevertheless start a clause; although and even though take a full clause; despite and in spite of take a noun or -ing form; whereas contrasts two parallel clauses.

Cause and result linkers

Because and since introduce a reason; therefore and as a result introduce a consequence; owing to and due to take a noun phrase. Do not use because with a noun phrase alone.

Opinion essay structure

Typical layout: introduction stating the topic and your position, two body paragraphs each with one argument plus example, and a conclusion restating the position without new arguments.

Word limit compliance

The writing task specifies roughly 100 to 150 words. Stay within the range: a very short text loses content marks, and a much longer one wastes time and increases error risk.

Formal register markers

In essays avoid contractions, slang, and vague words like thing or stuff; prefer full forms, precise nouns, and impersonal structures such as It is often argued that.

Paraphrasing for justification

When quoting is impractical, restate the relevant line in your own words while keeping its meaning. The paraphrase must still be traceable to a specific part of the text.

Reference words in texts

Pronouns and demonstratives such as it, they, this, these and the former point back to earlier nouns. Resolving them is often what a comprehension question tests.

False friends to avoid

English words that resemble Spanish but differ in meaning: actually means in fact, eventually means finally, assist means help, sensible means reasonable, and library means biblioteca.

Prepositions of time

Use in with months, years and parts of the day; on with days and dates; at with clock times, night and the weekend. Fixed phrases like in the morning must be memorised.

Question formation with auxiliaries

Yes/no and wh-questions need an auxiliary before the subject: Do you know him? Where did she go? With be as main verb, invert directly: Is he ready?

Countable and uncountable quantifiers

Use many, few and a number of with countable nouns; much, little and an amount of with uncountable nouns; some and any work with both, any mainly in negatives and questions.

Time management in the exam

A workable split: about 15 minutes for reading and comprehension, 15 for usage, 25 to 30 for planning and writing, and the last 5 to 10 for checking spelling and verb agreement.

Answering in English

All responses, including vocabulary definitions and justifications, must be written in English. Copying the Spanish word or answering in Spanish scores zero for that item.

Reading the task instructions

Check whether an item asks for a synonym, a definition, a true/false with justification, or a full-sentence answer. Answering the wrong question type loses marks even with correct English.