Državna Matura English flashcards

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

Skimming

Reading quickly for the main idea, using first sentences and headings. Used for gist, title and purpose questions in matura reading tasks, not for locating specific details.

Scanning

Moving the eyes quickly over a text to find a specific string such as a name, date or number. Used for detail questions that ask where or when something happened.

Distractor

A wrong option built to look attractive. In reading and listening it often repeats words from the text but attaches them to the wrong person, time or cause.

Anaphoric reference

A pronoun or phrase pointing back to something already mentioned, as in "this idea" or "the former". Resolving the referent is needed before judging what a sentence claims.

Inference question

An item asking for a conclusion the text supports without stating directly. The correct option needs no outside knowledge; a plausible but unsupported option is wrong.

Matching headings

A task pairing paragraphs with summary titles. A heading must cover the whole paragraph, so one matching only a single example or sentence is incorrect.

Writer's attitude

The author's stance towards the topic, shown by evaluative adjectives and adverbs such as fortunately, merely or supposedly, rather than by the subject matter itself.

Gap-fill word limit

A listening or reading instruction stating how many words fit each gap. Exceeding the limit, for example writing two words where one is allowed, scores zero.

Signpost phrase

An expression signalling that important information follows, such as "the thing is", "actually" or "what matters most". Answers in listening extracts usually follow these.

Self-correction in listening

A speaker revising what they just said, marked by "sorry", "no, wait" or "I mean". The corrected version is the answer; the first version is a distractor.

Speaker-matching task

A listening task pairing several speakers with statements. All speakers usually share one topic, so the attitude word in each statement, not the topic, decides the match.

Teens versus tens

A listening trap between numbers like fifteen and fifty. The -teen ending carries stress on the second syllable; -ty words stress the first, which changes the number heard.

Prediction from gap grammar

Deciding the answer type before listening: a gap after a preposition needs a noun or gerund, a gap before a noun needs an adjective, a gap after "to" needs a base verb.

Paraphrase in options

The correct multiple-choice option usually restates the recording in different words, while wrong options copy exact words from the recording to attract attention.

Word formation

Changing a root word to fit a gap by adding prefixes or suffixes. The part of speech required is decided by the gap's position in the sentence.

Noun suffixes

Endings forming nouns: -tion, -ment, -ness, -ity, -ance, -ship. Spelling often shifts, as in decide to decision and happy to happiness.

Negative prefixes

Prefixes making adjectives negative: un-, in-, im-, ir-, il-, dis-. The choice depends on the root, as in unable, invisible, impossible, irregular and illegal.

Passive formation

Form of the verb be plus past participle. The active object becomes the subject, and the agent is dropped when unknown or unimportant.

Reported speech backshift

When the reporting verb is past, tenses move one step back and time or place words change: now to then, tomorrow to the next day, here to there.

Conditional patterns

First conditional uses if plus present simple with will; second uses past simple with would; third uses past perfect with would have plus past participle.

Open cloze

A text with single-word gaps filled without options. Targets are articles, prepositions, pronouns, auxiliaries, comparatives and linking words.

Preposition collocations

Fixed verb or adjective plus preposition pairs tested in multiple choice: depend on, interested in, capable of, responsible for, succeed in, apologise for.

Gerund and infinitive verbs

Some verbs take -ing (enjoy, avoid, suggest, mind), others take to plus infinitive (decide, manage, afford, refuse). Stop, remember and try change meaning.

Modals of deduction

Must be expresses certainty, might or could be possibility, and cannot be impossibility. Must have plus past participle expresses certainty about the past.

Causative have

The pattern have or get something done, meaning arranging for a service rather than doing it yourself, as in "I had my car repaired".

Inversion after negatives

After negative adverbials at the start of a clause, the auxiliary precedes the subject: "Never have I seen", "Rarely does he complain", "Not only did she win".

Register in writing

The formality level required by the task: formal for essays and institutional letters, with no contractions; informal for messages to friends, where contractions are normal.

Formal letter closings

Dear Sir or Madam pairs with Yours faithfully when the name is unknown. Dear Mr Smith pairs with Yours sincerely when the name is known.

Topic sentence

The first sentence of a paragraph stating its main idea. It controls the paragraph and is followed by explanation, example or evidence.

Cohesion devices

Language tying a text together: reference (this, such), substitution (one, do so) and conjunctions (however, therefore). Assessed separately from grammatical accuracy.

Essay position

The writer's stated view on the question. It must appear in the introduction and be restated in the conclusion; listing arguments without it loses task-fulfilment marks.

Review structure

A short text that evaluates rather than describes: what was good, what was weak, and who would enjoy it, with a hook in the first line and a recommendation at the end.