Maharashtra HSC Spanish (MSBSHSE) key terms

The skill of reading a Spanish passage and extracting its main idea, specific details, and implied meaning. Exam tasks ask you to answer questions, complete sentences, or choose true/false based on a short text.

The central point a passage makes, usually stated or implied in the opening or closing sentences. Identifying it is the first step before answering detail questions on a reading passage.

A conclusion you draw from clues in the text rather than from an explicit statement. Reading questions often ask what a character probably feels or what will happen next.

Any written passage used as the basis for questions, such as a notice, letter, dialogue, or article. In this exam, texts are usually short and drawn from everyday situations.

A block of sentences grouped around one topic, separated by indentation or a line break. Locating the topic sentence of each paragraph helps you map the structure of a reading passage.

The composition section where you write a short piece in Spanish, such as a letter, email, notice, or description. Marks depend on task completion, organization, grammar, and vocabulary range.

A letter written to someone you address politely, opening with Estimado/a señor/a and closing with Atentamente. It avoids contractions and slang and follows a fixed layout of greeting, body, and sign-off.

An email, a common composition task. It needs an informative subject line, an appropriate greeting, a clear purpose in the first line, and a polite closing formula.

Linking words such as sin embargo, además, por lo tanto, and en primer lugar. They signal contrast, addition, or consequence and raise your composition marks by making ideas flow logically.

The quality of a piece of writing in which ideas follow a clear, logical order and each sentence supports the purpose of the text. It is assessed separately from grammatical accuracy.

A rough first version of a composition, written before the final copy. Making a brief plan or draft helps you check verb tenses, agreement, and spelling within the time allowed.

The final check of your written work for agreement, tense consistency, spelling, accents, and punctuation. Reserve a few minutes for it; careless errors cost marks that content cannot recover.

The opening formula of a letter or email, such as Hola, Querido amigo, or Estimado señor. The choice depends on how formal the relationship with the recipient is.

The closing formula of a letter or email, such as Un saludo, Atentamente, or Hasta pronto. Match it to the greeting: formal openings take formal closings.

The Spanish simple past tense used for completed actions at a definite time, e.g. ayer fui, comí, vivió. Regular endings are -é/-aste/-ó for -ar verbs and -í/-iste/-ió for -er and -ir verbs.

The past tense describing ongoing, habitual, or background situations, e.g. cuando era niño, vivía en Pune. Endings are -aba for -ar verbs and -ía for -er and -ir verbs; three verbs are irregular: ser, ir, ver.

Time expressions that signal which past tense to use: ayer and el año pasado point to the indefinido, while siempre and todos los días point to the imperfecto. Recognizing them guides tense choice in cloze tasks.

A verb mood expressing wishes, doubt, emotion, or hypothetical situations, often after que, ojalá, or cuando referring to the future. Present forms derive from the yo form of the present indicative.

The command form of a verb, used for instructions and advice: habla, come, escribe, and negative no hables, no comas. Irregular forms include haz, pon, ten, ven, di, sal, and sé.

The two Spanish verbs for 'to be'. Ser describes identity, origin, and inherent traits; estar describes location, temporary states, and conditions. Choosing correctly is tested in nearly every grammar section.

Two prepositions often confused. Por covers cause, exchange, duration, and movement through; para covers purpose, destination, deadline, and recipient. Learn them in fixed phrases rather than by translation.

Words replacing nouns: subject forms yo, tú, él; object forms me, te, lo, la, le, nos; and possessives mío, tuyo. Object pronoun placement before the verb or after an infinitive is frequently tested.

Agreement between words in gender and number, for example la casa blanca, los libros nuevos. Adjectives normally agree with the noun they describe, and verbs agree with their subject.

Describing words that agree with nouns in gender and number, such as alto/alta/altos/altas. Most add -a for feminine and -s for plural; a few, like feliz or grande, stay the same in gender.

Small linking words such as a, de, en, con, sin, sobre, and entre. They often change meaning with verbs, as in pensar en versus pensar de, and are tested in gap-fill exercises.

Correct spelling, including accents, the tilde on ñ, and distinctions such as b/v and c/s/z. Accent placement follows fixed stress rules and can change a word's meaning, e.g. el and él.

The rules for writing accent marks: words ending in a vowel, n, or s are stressed on the second-to-last syllable unless marked; others on the last. Accents also distinguish homographs like si and sí.

Rendering a passage from Spanish into English or Marathi, or the reverse, while preserving meaning, tone, and register. Accuracy of meaning matters more than word-for-word correspondence.

A Spanish word that looks like an English word but means something different, such as actual (current, not actual), embarazada (pregnant), and librería (bookshop). Misreading them causes translation errors.

Finding the closest natural expression in the target language rather than a literal rendering. Idioms such as echar una mano need an equivalent phrase, not a word-for-word translation.

A fixed phrase whose meaning cannot be deduced from its individual words, such as estar en las nubes or tomar el pelo. Recognizing common idioms helps in both reading and translation tasks.

The body of words you recognize and can use. For this exam, build topic sets such as family, school, travel, food, and festivals, plus common word families and synonyms.

Words with similar meanings, such as contento and feliz, or rápido and veloz. Vocabulary exercises often ask you to replace a word in a sentence with an equivalent without changing the meaning.

Words with opposite meanings, such as alto and bajo, or siempre and nunca. They are tested in matching and gap-fill exercises and help you infer meaning from context in reading passages.

Writing in Spanish from Spain and Latin America, including poetry, short stories, and drama extracts. Exam questions ask about theme, character, setting, and the author's message rather than literary history alone.

A literary text written in verse. Questions may ask you to identify the theme, the speaker's feelings, or the effect of repetition and imagery, often in a short extract.

The sequence of events in a story or play. Summarizing the plot briefly in your own words is a common exam task and shows you have understood the narrative.

A character in a literary text. Questions ask about their traits, motives, and relationships, and answers should be supported with evidence from the passage.

The writer of a literary text. You may be asked to name the author of a prescribed work, or to relate the writer's background to the themes of the extract.

Understanding spoken Spanish from a short recording or a teacher-read passage. Tasks include answering questions, completing gaps, or noting details such as times, prices, and directions.

A spoken exchange between two or more people, often used in listening tasks. Listen for the question word first, then for the key information in the reply.

An informal spoken exchange on everyday topics such as shopping, travel, or school. Useful phrases include ¿Cuánto cuesta?, ¿Dónde está?, and ¿Puedes repetir, por favor?

How Spanish sounds are articulated, including the rolled r, the soft b/v, and the sound of j and ge/gi. Clear pronunciation supports oral tasks and helps you recognize words in listening passages.

The rise and fall of the voice in speech. Spanish questions often rise at the end, while statements fall; misplaced intonation can turn a statement into a question or sound rude.

The system of rules governing Spanish word forms and sentence structure: articles, verb tenses, pronouns, agreement, and word order. Grammar accuracy is assessed across writing and translation sections.