Spanish Vocabulary and Semantics
The exam tests lexical knowledge beyond single-word translation: false cognates, idiomatic expressions, register, regional variation, and collocation. Items may ask you to choose the word that fits a formal letter, a newspaper headline, or a casual conversation.
Cognates and False Friends
Many Spanish-English cognates share Latin roots but differ in meaning or usage. "Actual" means current, not actual; "embarazada" means pregnant, not embarrassed; "largo" means long, not large; "éxito" means success, not exit; "sensible" means sensitive, not sensible. Some cognates differ in grammatical behavior: "realizar" means to carry out, not to realize in the sense of becoming aware.
Register and Regional Variation
Spanish has formal and informal address: tú (informal singular), usted (formal singular), vosotros (informal plural, Spain), ustedes (formal plural or general plural in Latin America). Lexical choices vary: carro (much of Latin America) vs. coche (Spain) for car; computadora vs. ordenador; jugo vs. zumo. Idioms are noncompositional: "estar en las nubes" (to be daydreaming), "tomar el pelo" (to tease), "meter la pata" (to make a mistake). Collocations are conventional word pairings: "hacer la cama" (to make the bed), "tomar una decisión" (to make a decision, not "hacer una decisión").
Word Formation
Prefixes (re-, des-, in-, pre-) and suffixes (-ción, -dad, -mente, -ito/-ita) change meaning or category. Diminutives can express smallness, affection, or politeness (ahorita, cafecito).
Worked Example
Choose the best word: "El artista recibió un ___ internacional por su obra." Options: a) éxito, b) salida, c) entrada. The correct choice is éxito. "Salida" means exit and "entrada" means entrance; neither fits the idea of international recognition. "Éxito" is a false friend with English "exit" but means success.
Traps
Do not translate idioms word for word; do not assume a cognate carries the English meaning; remember that regional words may be unfamiliar but context often reveals meaning.