MATSEC IM Spanish flashcards

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

Listening played twice

In the MATSEC IM Spanish listening paper the recording is normally heard two times, so the first pass should establish the topic and speakers, and the second pass should confirm numbers, names and corrections.

Correction markers in audio

Words such as pero, en realidad, mejor dicho and perdón signal that the speaker is changing earlier information. The corrected version, not the first statement, is what the question usually tests.

Spanish decimal comma

Spanish writes decimals with a comma and thousands with a point: 3,50 € means three euros fifty, while 1.000 means one thousand. Misreading these is a common listening error.

Telling time singular hour

Only the hour of one o'clock takes the singular: es la una, es la una y media. All other hours take the plural: son las dos, son las cinco menos cuarto.

Listening task formats

Common formats are multiple-choice, true or false with justification, table or form completion, and short answers written in Spanish. Each format rewards different listening behaviour.

Formal address cue usted

Use of usted or ustedes, plus titles like señor or doctor, marks a formal relationship. This tells you whether the speakers are strangers, professionals or in a service situation.

Numbers and dates dictation

Dates follow the pattern el tres de mayo de dos mil veinticinco, with the day before the month and the year read in full. Listening items often require writing the date numerically.

Answering in Spanish

When a listening item requires a written answer in Spanish, the response must agree in gender and number and use the correct tense; a right idea in broken Spanish may lose the mark.

Oral exam components

The speaking test usually combines a short presentation or topic talk, description of a picture or prompt, and a general conversation with the examiner about familiar themes.

Speaking mark criteria

Marks are normally awarded for communication and fluency, range of vocabulary and structures, accuracy of grammar, and pronunciation and intonation, so all four need attention in practice.

Spanish hesitation fillers

Bueno, pues, a ver, es que and déjame pensar keep the flow going while you plan the next sentence. Silence costs fluency marks; a natural filler does not.

Opinion phrases for oral

En mi opinión, desde mi punto de vista, me parece que and lo que más me gusta es introduce personal views and push the candidate into a higher range band.

Describing a picture

Use en el primer plano, en el fondo, a la izquierda, a la derecha, arriba and abajo to organise the description spatially, then add what the people appear to be doing.

Subjunctive trigger phrases

Espero que, es importante que, cuando plus future reference and ojalá require the subjunctive. Including one accurate example demonstrates grammatical range in the oral.

Asking for repetition

Phrases such as ¿Puede repetir, por favor? and ¿Qué significa...? let you recover from a misunderstanding politely and in Spanish instead of falling silent.

Spanish vowel sounds

Spanish has five pure vowels, a e i o u, without the gliding of English. Keeping them short and clean is the single biggest gain in pronunciation clarity.

Reading text types

MATSEC IM Spanish reading passages include notices, advertisements, emails, blogs, articles, brochures, timetables and short literary extracts, each with its own layout conventions.

False friend actual

Actual means current or present-day, not 'actual'. The actual price is el precio real; en la actualidad means nowadays. Similar traps are realizar and asistir.

False friend largo

Largo means long, not large. Large is grande. Likewise largo plazo means long term, and a largo de means along or throughout.

Connector logic contrast

Sin embargo and no obstante introduce contrast, while por lo tanto and así que introduce result. Identifying the connector's function often decides the reading answer.

Gap-fill part of speech

Before choosing a word for a gap, decide whether a noun, verb, adjective or connector is needed, then check gender, number and tense agreement with the surrounding text.

Pronoun reference items

Questions about lo, le, les, su, este or aquel require finding the noun in an earlier sentence. Read backwards from the pronoun to the nearest matching noun.

Justifying true or false

A true or false item with justification usually needs a short quotation copied from the text, not a paraphrase, because the mark scheme looks for textual evidence.

Scanning for keywords

Locate the keyword from the question in the passage, then read the whole sentence containing it plus the next sentence, since answers rarely sit in the same clause.

Formal letter opening

Formal Spanish letters open with Estimado/a Sr./Sra. or Muy señor mío, state the purpose with Me dirijo a usted para, and close with Le saluda atentamente.

Informal email closings

Informal messages end with un abrazo, besos, hasta pronto or nos vemos pronto, and open with ¡Hola! ¿Qué tal? or ¿Cómo estás? using tú forms throughout.

Written accent meaning pairs

Accents distinguish words: el (the) versus él (he), si (if) versus sí (yes), mas (but) versus más (more), que (that) versus qué (what). Omitting them is an accuracy error.

Spanish question punctuation

Spanish opens questions with ¿ and exclamations with ¡, closing with ? and !. Missing the opening mark is a mechanical error that examiners routinely penalise.

Composition paragraph plan

A short composition works as introduction, two body paragraphs and conclusion, with at least one connector per paragraph such as además, sin embargo and por lo tanto.

Por versus para rule

Para marks destination, purpose, deadline or recipient; por marks cause, exchange, duration or means. Choosing correctly is a standard accuracy point in written tasks.

Word count discipline

Staying near the required length protects the content mark. Falling well short limits what can be credited, while writing far too much adds errors without extra marks.