MATSEC AM Spanish cheat sheet

MATSEC AM Spanish listening passages are played twice; the first hearing is for global meaning (topic, speakers, register), the second for specific detail and numbers.

Register markers to detect: tú/vosotros versus usted/ustedes, lexical choices (curro vs trabajo), and discourse markers (pues, o sea, es que) signal colloquial speech.

Numbers, times, prices and dates are the most common detail items: Spanish uses comma for decimals (3,50 €) and full stop for thousands (1.000), and time is given with Son las + hour except Son las una / Es la una.

Distinguish por and para aurally: por = cause, exchange, duration, movement through; para = purpose, destination, deadline, recipient.

Common distractors are corrected mid-passage: listen for rectifications introduced by no, perdón, mejor dicho, es decir, or bueno, actually-style repairs.

Peninsular Spanish distinguishes c/z (θ) from s; Latin American varieties merge them (seseo), and yeísmo merges ll and y - do not treat these as comprehension failures.

Imperfect versus preterite in narration: imperfect sets scene and habit (antes iba), preterite reports completed events (ayer fui) - the tense shift marks the key event in a story.

Negation and double negatives are grammatical in Spanish: No viene nadie / No veo nada; hear them as single negatives, not as affirmations.

MATSEC oral components typically pair a prepared or semi-prepared presentation with an interaction with the examiner; both are assessed on fluency, accuracy, range and pronunciation.

Subjunctive triggers to build into opinions: es importante que + subjunctive, no creo que + subjunctive, aunque + indicative (fact) versus subjunctive (hypothetical).

Use discourse connectors to raise range: por un lado / por otro lado, sin embargo, además, en cambio, por lo tanto, a pesar de.

Ser versus estar in self-description: ser for identity, origin, profession and inherent traits; estar for states, location and ongoing progressive forms (estoy estudiando).

Personal a is obligatory before human direct objects: Vi a mi hermana; omit it for things and after tener in the existential sense (Tengo dos hermanos).

Pronunciation targets: five pure vowels (a e i o u) with no diphthongisation, rolled rr versus tapped r, and syllable-timed stress marked by written accents.

Repair strategies that still score: rephrase with es decir, use a circumlocution (la cosa que sirve para…) rather than switching to English or falling silent.

Formal register for the examiner: usted forms, conditional politeness (¿Podría repetir la pregunta?), and avoidance of tú unless invited.

MATSEC reading tasks combine a literary or journalistic passage with true/false, matching, gap-fill and short-answer items; answers must be supported by the text, not by general knowledge.

Cognate traps: actual = current (not actual), realizar = to carry out, largo = long, éxito = success, sensible = sensitive, asistir a = to attend.

Scan for referents: él, ella, este, aquel, el cual and cuyo point back or forward - identify the noun before answering pronoun questions.

Subjunctive in reading signals stance, doubt, wish or unreal condition: busco a alguien que hable inglés implies the person may not exist.

Se impersonal and pasiva refleja (Se venden pisos, Se dice que) are common in press texts; translate as passive or generic 'one/they' rather than a literal reflexive.

Time and tense markers anchor comprehension: hace + time + que + present (duration up to now), desde hace, llevo + time + gerund, and acabar de + infinitive (just did).

Gap-fill items test collocation and preposition: depender de, consistir en, pensar en, soñar con, enamorarse de, insistir en.

Accent placement changes meaning: el/él, mi/mí, mas/más, solo/sólo (adverb, now usually unaccented), que/qué - read the accent before choosing.

MATSEC writing tasks require a specified text type (letter, email, article, essay, review) and a word count; register and format conventions are part of the mark scheme.

Formal letter frame: Estimado/a Sr./Sra. + apellido, opening (Me dirijo a usted para…), body, closing (En espera de su respuesta, le saluda atentamente) plus signature.

Informal email frame: Hola + first name, ¿Qué tal?, body with tú forms, closing Un abrazo / Besos / Hasta pronto.

Accent rules for accuracy: words ending in vowel, -n or -s stress the penultimate syllable; words ending in other consonants stress the last; any exception carries a written accent.

Sequence of tenses: main verb in present → present subjunctive (Espero que vengas); main verb in past/conditional → imperfect subjunctive (Esperaba que vinieras).

Para + infinitive expresses purpose (Estudio para aprobar); por + infinitive/noun expresses cause or exchange (Gracias por venir).

Avoid anglicisms and calques: *realizar una pregunta → hacer una pregunta; *tener sentido → tener sentido is acceptable but *soy de acuerdo → estoy de acuerdo.

Cohesion checklist for the mark scheme: paragraphing, connectors from at least three semantic groups (addition, contrast, cause, consequence, exemplification), and consistent tense.