Madrid PAU English flashcards

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

Main idea question

Asks what the whole text is about. The correct option covers every paragraph; options true of only one paragraph are detail distractors, not the main idea.

Detail question

Asks for a fact explicitly stated in the text. Locate the keyword, then read the full sentence and its neighbour before choosing, because distractors paraphrase nearby lines.

Inference question

Asks what the text implies without stating it. The answer must be logically forced by the wording; if it needs outside knowledge or a guess, the option is wrong.

Pronoun reference question

Asks what it, this, they or such points to. The referent is the nearest preceding noun phrase that matches in number and makes sense in context.

True/False with justification

You mark the statement and then quote or paraphrase the exact line proving it. A correct mark without textual evidence earns no credit for the justification.

Vocabulary in context

You choose the meaning of a word as used in the text. Substitute each option into the sentence and keep the one preserving the original meaning and register.

Negation and concession traps

Markers such as hardly, few, unless, despite and fail to invert the expected meaning. Underline them before answering, since they often make an apparently true option false.

Present perfect vs past simple

Present perfect links a past action to now and rejects definite past times (for, since, just, already, yet). Past simple needs a finished time such as yesterday or in 2019.

Second conditional form

If + past simple in the condition, would + bare infinitive in the result: If I had more time, I would travel. Never use would or will inside the if-clause.

Third conditional form

If + had + past participle, would have + past participle: If she had studied, she would have passed. It describes an unreal past situation and its unreal result.

Reported speech backshift

Tenses move back one step: present to past, past to past perfect, will to would, can to could. Pronouns and time words also shift: now to then, today to that day.

Passive voice formation

Be + past participle, with the tense carried by be: is written, was written, has been written. The agent appears after by and is omitted when unknown.

Defining vs non-defining relative

Defining clauses identify the noun, take no commas and allow that. Non-defining clauses add extra information, take commas and never use that.

Verb plus gerund

Verbs such as enjoy, avoid, suggest, mind and look forward to take -ing: I enjoy reading. After a preposition the verb is always gerundive.

Verb plus infinitive

Verbs such as decide, manage, refuse, afford and hope take to + infinitive: She refused to answer. Some verbs like persuade take object + to-infinitive.

Negative prefixes

Un-, in- (im-, il-, ir-), dis- and non- form opposites: unfair, impossible, illegal, irregular, dishonest. The prefix depends on the stem, not on a general rule.

Dependent prepositions

Prepositions fixed by the word: depend on, interested in, good at, responsible for, consist of, in spite of + noun or -ing. Learn them as whole chunks.

False friends

Words that look Spanish but differ: actually means in fact, assist means help, library is a bookshop-like place for borrowing, sensible means reasonable, economic differs from economical.

PAU word limit

Compositions must stay within the stated range, commonly 120-150 words. Going far over or under the limit is penalised, so plan paragraph lengths before writing.

Opinion essay structure

Introduction with topic and thesis, two body paragraphs each giving one reason with example, then a conclusion restating the position. No new arguments appear in the conclusion.

Guided composition rule

The prompt lists points that must all appear, in order. Omitting one point caps the content mark however good the grammar is.

Formal register markers

No contractions or slang; use impersonal frames (it is often argued that) and formal linkers (furthermore, nevertheless, consequently). Keep the same register from start to finish.

Thesis statement

One sentence in the introduction stating your position on the topic. It must be clear and must not change or contradict the conclusion.

Topic sentence

The first sentence of a body paragraph, naming the single idea the paragraph develops. Every following sentence must support it or the coherence mark drops.

Memorised openers penalty

Pre-learned chunks such as 'since the dawn of time' are penalised when they do not fit the prompt. Examiners reward text adapted to the specific task.

Cohesion versus coherence

Cohesion is surface linking through connectors, pronouns and repetition. Coherence is the logical order of ideas so the whole text reads as one argument.

Contrast connectors

However, nevertheless, whereas, although + clause, despite and in spite of + noun or -ing, on the other hand. Choose the form that matches the grammar that follows.

Connector punctuation

Sentence adverbs however, therefore and moreover take a comma after them and a full stop or semicolon before. Subordinators such as although and because need no comma when they follow the main clause.

Given-new principle

Begin each sentence with information already known from the previous one and place new information at the end. This keeps the topic chain unbroken and the text coherent.

Comma splice

Two independent clauses joined only by a comma. Fix it with a full stop, a semicolon, or a conjunction such as but or because.

It's versus its

It's is the contraction of it is or it has. Its is the possessive determiner. Plural nouns take no apostrophe: the 1990s, three cars.

Consonant doubling rule

Single-syllable consonant-vowel-consonant verbs double before -ing or -ed: stop, stopped, planning. Multi-syllable verbs double only when the last syllable is stressed: prefer, preferred, but visit, visited.