Madrid PAU English - Additional Foreign Language flashcards

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

Main idea question

A global comprehension item asking what the whole text is about. The correct option summarizes all paragraphs; options that restate a single detail or add information beyond the text are wrong.

Author's purpose

The communicative aim of a text: to inform, persuade, entertain, instruct, or evaluate. Identify it from the text type, the register, and the presence of opinion markers rather than from the topic alone.

Tone versus mood

Tone is the author's attitude towards the subject, inferred from word choice and punctuation; mood is the feeling the text creates in the reader. Global items usually ask about tone, so look for evaluative adjectives.

Thesis statement location

The sentence expressing the central claim. In expository texts it usually opens or closes the text; in argumentative texts it commonly follows a contrast connector such as 'however', 'yet', or 'although'.

Best title question

An item requiring a heading that covers the entire text. Reject titles that are too narrow (one paragraph) or too general (applicable to any text on the topic); the winner names the specific focus.

Paragraph function mapping

Labelling each paragraph as introduction, example, contrast, cause, or conclusion. This reveals the text's skeleton and lets you match a global option to the overall structure rather than to a single sentence.

Too narrow distractor

An option that is factually true according to the text but describes only one detail or one paragraph. It fails global questions because a main-idea answer must cover the whole passage.

Irony signals in texts

Quotation marks around ordinary words, deliberate exaggeration, unexpected adjectives, and contrast between claim and example. These mark an ironic tone, which is rarely the neutral option in tone questions.

Paraphrase in answer options

The correct option for a detail question usually rewrites the source with synonyms or a changed word class instead of repeating its exact words. Verbatim options are frequently distractors.

Scanning for anchors

Locating proper nouns, dates, figures, and capitalised terms to find the relevant line quickly. Anchors are unique in the text, so they narrow the search before close reading begins.

Inverted distractor

An option that copies the text's vocabulary but reverses the meaning with 'not', 'only', 'never', or a swapped subject. Check polarity and subject before accepting any option that looks familiar.

Valid inference test

An inference is correct only if the text plus general knowledge makes it logically necessary. If the option requires an extra assumption the passage never supports, it is not a valid inference.

Pronoun reference resolution

Tracing 'it', 'they', 'this', or 'the former' back to the nearest compatible noun phrase, matching number and gender. The nearest noun is not always the referent, so check semantic fit.

Vocabulary in context

Items asking for the meaning of a word as used in the passage. Substitute each option into the original sentence and keep the one preserving both meaning and register, not the most common dictionary sense.

Negative factual question

An item asking which option is NOT stated. Verify three options against the text and eliminate them; the remaining option is the answer even if it seems plausible from general knowledge.

Quantity traps

Options that alter a figure's unit, base, or type: absolute versus proportion, total versus increase, approximate versus exact. Re-read the sentence containing the number before choosing.

Present perfect with since and for

'Since' plus a starting point and 'for' plus a duration both select the present perfect: 'She has lived here since 2019 / for six years'. The action continues into the present.

Third conditional form

If + past perfect, would have + past participle: 'If they had left earlier, they would have caught the train'. It describes an unreal past condition and its unreal past result.

Mixed conditional pattern

A past condition with a present result: 'If I had studied medicine, I would be a doctor now.' The if-clause takes past perfect; the main clause takes would plus infinitive.

Reported speech backshift

After a past reporting verb, shift tense one step back (present to past, past to past perfect) and adjust time and place words: now becomes then, today becomes that day, here becomes there.

Passive tense preservation

When converting to passive, keep the original tense: 'They are repairing it' becomes 'It is being repaired'; 'They have repaired it' becomes 'It has been repaired'. The object becomes subject.

Noun suffix formation

Common noun-forming suffixes include -ness (happiness), -ment (agreement), -tion (decision), -ity (ability), -ance (performance). Check the resulting word exists and fits the sentence's grammar slot.

Negative prefixes

Prefixes un-, in-, im-, il-, ir-, dis-, and mis- negate adjectives and verbs: unable, incorrect, impossible, illegal, irregular, disagree, misunderstand. The choice depends on the root's first letters.

Used to versus be used to

'Used to + infinitive' expresses a past habit no longer true. 'Be used to + -ing' means accustomed to something. 'Get used to + -ing' describes the process of becoming accustomed.

Defining versus non-defining relatives

Defining clauses carry essential information, take no commas, and allow 'that'. Non-defining clauses add extra information, take commas, and reject 'that': 'My brother, who lives in Paris, …'.

Modals of past deduction

'Must have + participle' states past certainty; 'might have' or 'could have' states past possibility; 'can't have' states past impossibility; 'needn't have + participle' marks an unnecessary past action that was done.

Uncountable nouns to remember

News, information, advice, furniture, luggage, equipment, and research are uncountable: they take singular verbs and no plural -s. Use 'a piece of' to count them individually.

Number of versus a number of

'The number of' plus plural noun takes a singular verb because the subject is 'number'. 'A number of' plus plural noun takes a plural verb, meaning 'several'.

Essay paragraph architecture

Introduction stating topic and position, two body paragraphs each with one controlling idea plus evidence, and a conclusion restating the position without introducing new arguments. Each paragraph opens with a topic sentence.

Cohesion connectors by function

Addition: furthermore, in addition. Contrast: however, whereas, despite. Cause: therefore, as a result. Example: for instance, such as. Sequence: firstly, subsequently, finally. Choose by logical relation, not variety.

Formal register markers

Formal writing avoids contractions, exclamation marks, direct address, and vague phrasal verbs where a Latinate verb exists. It uses full forms, impersonal constructions, and hedged claims such as 'it could be argued'.

Comma splice error

Joining two independent clauses with only a comma. Correct it with a full stop, a semicolon, or a coordinating conjunction. Examiners treat comma splices as a punctuation accuracy error.

Range through varied structures

Demonstrate grammatical range by including a conditional, a passive, a relative clause, and an impersonal construction in a short text. Range scores reward variety used accurately, not complexity for its own sake.