Valencian Community PAU Foreign Language II - English (Lengua Extranjera II: Inglés) key terms

The single most important point a whole text makes, which the writer wants the reader to take away after reading everything. It is broader than any one detail and is usually stated in the introduction, conclusion, or title.

The general sense of a text or passage, understood quickly without analysing every sentence. A gist question asks what the text is broadly about rather than testing one specific fact or figure.

A sentence, usually first in a paragraph, that announces the paragraph's central point. The remaining sentences develop, illustrate, or qualify it, so locating topic sentences speeds up identification of a text's structure and main ideas.

Reading a text very quickly to grasp its overall topic, organisation, and general meaning. Readers pass over details and focus on headings, first sentences, and repeated key words, typically before answering main-idea questions.

Moving the eyes rapidly through a text looking only for a particular piece of information, such as a date, name, or number, while ignoring everything else. It is the technique used for specific-detail questions.

A precise fact, figure, name, or statement contained explicitly in a text. Detail questions ask you to locate it and often to distinguish it from similar but incorrect options that distort the original wording.

A conclusion a reader draws from evidence in the text that is not stated directly. Inference questions require combining clues, tone, and logic to work out what the writer implies rather than what is written word for word.

A meaning suggested indirectly by a statement rather than expressed openly. Recognising implications means reading between the lines and noticing what the writer assumes, hints at, or deliberately leaves unsaid.

The way a word such as a pronoun or demonstrative points back or forward to another element in the text. Reference questions ask what a given word refers to, so tracking noun phrases across sentences is essential.

Expressing the same meaning using different words and sentence structure while keeping the original content intact. Correct answer options are usually paraphrases of the text, so recognising restatement is a core reading skill.

Condensing a text into its essential points, leaving out examples and repetition, and using your own words. A good summary keeps the original order of ideas and stays neutral about the writer's opinions.

A word with a meaning close to another word, though rarely identical in tone or collocation. Recognising synonyms and near-synonyms helps match paraphrased options to the wording of the original passage.

A word whose meaning is opposite to another, such as 'scarce' and 'abundant'. Antonyms are frequently used in distractors that reverse the meaning of the text, so noticing them prevents careless errors.

The habitual pairing of words that native speakers consider natural, such as 'make a decision' or 'heavy rain'. Choosing the conventional partner rather than a grammatical synonym is what collocation questions test.

Building words from a base by adding prefixes and suffixes, for example 'sustain' becoming 'sustainable' or 'sustainability'. Tasks often supply a root in brackets and require the correct derived form for the gap.

A meaningful element attached to the front of a word to change its meaning, such as 'un-', 'over-', or 'mis-'. Prefixes commonly create negatives or express degree, as in 'unlikely' and 'overestimate'.

An ending added to a word to change its grammatical class or shade of meaning, such as '-ness', '-less', or '-ify'. Choosing the right suffix depends on whether the gap needs a noun, adjective, verb, or adverb.

A word that looks similar in two languages but differs in meaning, such as English 'actually' versus Spanish 'actualmente'. Relying on the apparent similarity produces errors, so checking the real sense is essential.

The grammatical form that locates an action or state in time and shows whether it is finished, continuing, or repeated. Choosing correctly depends on time expressions and the surrounding context in the sentence.

The way a verb form presents an action as complete, ongoing, or repeated, independently of when it happens. English marks aspect mainly through perfect and continuous forms, as in 'has written' versus 'has been writing'.

A construction in which the object of the action becomes the grammatical subject, formed with 'be' plus a past participle, as in 'The report was published'. It is used when the doer is unknown, obvious, or unimportant.

The structure 'have something done', meaning that someone else performs a service for you, as in 'She had her car repaired'. It is often tested alongside the passive because both rearrange who performs the action.

A helping verb such as 'can', 'must', 'should', or 'might' that expresses ability, obligation, permission, or possibility. Modals are followed by a bare infinitive and change the speaker's attitude rather than the time alone.

The meaning expressed by modal verbs and related expressions concerning possibility, necessity, obligation, or willingness. Distinguishing strong from weak modality, as in 'must' versus 'may', is central to accurate comprehension and production.

A sentence expressing a condition and its result, such as 'If it rains, we will stay'. Different patterns signal real, hypothetical, or unreal situations, and mixing them changes the meaning significantly.

A clause introduced by 'who', 'which', 'that', or 'whose' that describes a preceding noun. Defining clauses identify the noun, while non-defining clauses, set off by commas, add extra information.

The way someone's words are conveyed without direct quotation, involving changes to pronouns, tenses, and time references, as in 'He said he would come later'. Accuracy depends on backshifting and adjusting deictic words.

The network of links that holds a text together, created by pronouns, conjunctions, repetition, and lexical chains. Cohesion makes a passage read as a unified whole rather than a list of unrelated sentences.

The logical organisation of ideas so that each point follows sensibly from the previous one and supports the overall purpose. A coherent text is easy to follow even if the individual sentences are simple.

A word or phrase such as 'however', 'therefore', or 'in addition' that signals the relationship between ideas. Choosing the correct connector depends on whether the link is contrast, cause, result, or addition.

The level of formality and the kind of language appropriate to a particular situation, audience, and purpose. Formal writing avoids contractions and slang, while informal writing may use them freely.

The attitude a writer conveys towards the subject, such as critical, ironic, enthusiastic, or neutral. Tone is revealed through word choice and can be identified even when the writer never states an opinion directly.

Language that softens a claim, making it less absolute, through words like 'tend to', 'may', or 'it seems'. Academic writing uses hedging to show caution and to avoid overgeneralising from limited evidence.

The subject a text deals with, expressed as a short noun phrase such as 'urban transport' or 'remote working'. Identifying the topic is the first step before deciding what the writer actually says about it.

A group of sentences developing one point, usually opening with a topic sentence and closing with a link to the next idea. Paragraph divisions reveal how the writer has organised the argument.

The arrangement of a written task into an introduction stating the position, body paragraphs each developing one argument, and a conclusion restating the position. Clear structure is rewarded in production tasks.

Conveying the content of a text or conversation to another person in a different form or language, selecting what matters for that audience. It requires summarising, reformulating, and adapting register rather than translating word for word.

The intended readers of a text, whose knowledge, expectations, and relationship to the writer shape vocabulary, tone, and amount of explanation. Adapting to audience is a criterion in production and mediation tasks.