NZ Scholarship Spanish flashcards
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- Subjunctive after «ojalá»
- «Ojalá» expresses a wish and always takes the subjunctive: «Ojalá llueva» (I hope it rains), «Ojalá hubiera estudiado» (I wish I had studied). Never use the indicative after it.
- Indicative vs subjunctive with «aunque»
- «Aunque + indicative» states a known fact: «Aunque es caro, lo compro». «Aunque + subjunctive» presents a hypothesis or concession: «Aunque sea caro, no lo compraré». The mood changes the truth claim.
- Impersonal «se»
- «Se» plus a third-person verb expresses a general agent without naming it: «Se habla español aquí», «Se prohíbe fumar». The verb agrees with the noun if there is one: «Se venden entradas».
- Passive «se» with agreement
- In «se venden pisos» the verb agrees with the plural subject «pisos». With a singular subject: «Se vende piso». This construction avoids the agent and is common in advertising and notices.
- Accidental «se»
- «Se me olvidó el libro» frames an event as involuntary, with the person as indirect object. The verb agrees with the thing, not the person: «Se le rompieron las gafas».
- Pretérito vs imperfecto
- The pretérito indefinido narrates completed events («Ayer fui al cine»); the imperfecto describes background, habits or ongoing states («Cuando era niño, iba al cine»).
- Imperfecto for politeness
- The imperfecto softens requests and opinions, distancing the speaker: «Quería preguntarle una cosa» or «Me parecía que…». The present would sound more direct or abrupt.
- Reported speech tense shift
- When the reporting verb is past, present becomes imperfect, pretérito becomes pluscuamperfecto, and future becomes conditional: «Dijo que vendría» from «Vendré».
- Reported speech deictic shift
- Time and place words shift in reported speech: «hoy» becomes «ese día», «mañana» becomes «al día siguiente», «aquí» becomes «allí», and «este» becomes «aquel».
- Pro-drop subject pronouns
- Spanish verb endings carry person, so subject pronouns are usually omitted. An overt pronoun («yo», «ella») adds emphasis or contrast: «Yo no lo hice, lo hizo él».
- «Por» vs «para»
- «Para» marks purpose, destination, deadline or recipient («para estudiar», «para Madrid», «para el viernes»). «Por» marks cause, exchange, duration or route («por eso», «por diez euros», «por la mañana»).
- Contrastive connectors
- «Sin embargo», «no obstante» and «en cambio» mark contrast; «por consiguiente» and «por lo tanto» mark consequence; «además» adds; «es decir» reformulates.
- «Ser» vs «estar» with adjectives
- «Ser + adjective» states an inherent or defining quality («Es alegre»). «Estar + adjective» states a state or result, often temporary («Está alegre hoy»). Some adjectives change meaning: «listo».
- «Se» in reflexive vs reciprocal
- Reflexive «se» refers back to the same subject («Se lava» = he washes himself). Reciprocal «se» needs a plural subject («Se escriben» = they write to each other).
- Register: «usted» vs «tú»
- «Usted» with third-person verbs marks formality and distance; «tú» marks familiarity. Mixing them within one text breaks register consistency, a common accuracy error.
- Diminutives and register
- Suffixes «-ito/-ita/-illo» add affective or attenuating meaning («ahorita», «un ratito») and are frequent in informal and Latin American speech; overuse in formal writing sounds inappropriate.
- Carta al director structure
- A letter to the editor opens by naming the issue, develops one or two justified arguments, and closes with a request or call to action. It uses formal register and direct address to the reader.
- Reseña evaluation criteria
- A review summarises the work briefly, then evaluates it against explicit criteria (plot, style, originality), supporting each judgement with evidence, and ends with a recommendation to a defined audience.
- Informe register
- An informe is impersonal and objective: third person or «se» constructions, headings, data and conclusions. It avoids «yo creo» and emotional adjectives, unlike an opinion column.
- Cohesion through anaphora
- Anaphoric reference repeats an idea with «éste», «aquél», «dicho», «tal» or a synonym, avoiding repetition while linking sentences. Clear antecedents are required for coherence.
- Thesis and argumentation
- A critical response states a clear thesis, supports it with reasons and evidence, anticipates a counterargument («si bien es cierto que…»), and closes by reaffirming the position.
- «Que» vs «cual» relative pronouns
- «Que» is the default relative pronoun for both people and things. «El cual/la cual» is used after prepositions and in formal writing; «cuyo» marks possession and agrees with the noun that follows.
- «Lo» neuter article
- «Lo + adjective/adverb» creates an abstract noun: «lo importante» (what matters), «lo mejor» (the best part). «Lo que» means «what» or «that which» in a clause.
- Conditional sentences type 1
- Real conditions use «si + present indicative» with present, future or imperative: «Si estudias, aprobarás». The future is never used directly after «si».
- Conditional sentences type 2
- Hypothetical conditions use «si + imperfecto de subjuntivo» with the conditional: «Si tuviera tiempo, viajaría». This expresses an unlikely or contrary-to-fact present situation.
- Conditional sentences type 3
- Unreal past conditions use «si + pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo» with the conditional perfect: «Si hubiera sabido, habría venido». It expresses regret about the past.
- «Porque» vs «por qué»
- «Porque» is a conjunction meaning «because». «Por qué» introduces a question («¿Por qué?»). «Porqué» is a noun (motive) and «por que» combines a preposition with a relative.
- Lexical collocation in Spanish
- Natural Spanish pairs fixed words: «tomar una decisión», «prestar atención», «hacer hincapié». Direct translation from English often produces unnatural collocations that examiners penalise.
- False friends to monitor
- «Actual» means current, not actual; «realizar» means to carry out, not to realise; «largo» means long, not large; «embarazada» means pregnant, not embarrassed.
- «Hay» vs «está/están»
- «Hay» presents new or unspecified entities («Hay un banco aquí»). «Estar» locates known or definite entities («El banco está aquí»). The choice depends on definiteness, not on location alone.
- Commands and pronoun attachment
- Affirmative commands attach pronouns: «Dímelo», «Hazlo». Negative commands place pronouns before: «No me lo digas». The negative «tú» command uses the subjunctive form («no hables»).
- Assessing task relevance
- A high-scoring response addresses every element of the prompt (audience, purpose, format, length). Omitting one element, such as the required register or word count, caps the achievable mark.