Spanish I
Spanish I assesses elementary vocabulary, ser/estar, gender and number agreement, present and preterite forms, gustar-type verbs, and short reading comprehension. The exam often tests one grammar contrast in a familiar sentence rather than advanced vocabulary.
Core patterns
- Nouns and adjectives agree in gender and number: el libro nuevo, las casas blancas. Articles: el/la/los/las; un/una/unos/unas.
- ser marks identity, origin, profession, and inherent traits; estar marks location, temporary states, and result conditions.
- Regular present: -ar (hablo), -er (como), -ir (vivo). Preterite regular endings are stressed on the final syllable: hablé, comí, viví.
- gustar agrees with the thing liked, not the person: Me gusta el café; Me gustan los libros.
- Reflexive verbs use me/te/se/nos/os/se: me levanto.
Worked example
“A mí me gustan las novelas.” The subject of gustar is las novelas (plural), so the verb is gustan. A mí and me both signal the experiencer but do not change the verb. If the item were singular, it would be Me gusta la novela.
Traps
- Do not say “Yo gusto”; gustar does not work like English “like.”
- Ser vs estar: La sopa es buena (quality) vs La sopa está buena (taste/condition).
- Personal a appears before a specific human direct object: Veo a María.
- Preterite vs imperfect is usually signaled by time expressions; do not translate every English past as preterite.
- Watch accents that change meaning or tense: hablo/habló, si/sí.