Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Spanish

The Spanish Political System

What is a constitution?

The constitution is the fundamental law that controls the Spanish government.

What are the powers of the state?

The powers of the state are divided into three branches:

• Legislative Branch: Makes the laws.
• Executive Branch: Enforces the laws.
• Judicial Branch: Interprets laws and judges those who violate them.

What is the political system of Spain?

Spain has a monarch (a king or queen) who is the head of state. The monarch's role is mainly ceremonial, but they also represent the country internationally.

The Cold War and Global Conflicts

What was the Cold War and when did it end?

The Cold War was an ideological confrontation from 1945 until the dissolution of the USSR. The United States led the Western...

English Word Components and Expressions

Prefixes and Their Meanings

Understanding prefixes helps in determining the meaning of many words. Here are examples grouped by their common prefixes:

• ANTI-: war, learning, coeducational, exist, cooperation
• MIS-: behave, print, understand
• OUT-: perform, play, run
• OVER-: charge, confident, work
• RE-: write, do
• UNDER-: achieve, cook, estimate
• DIS-: approve, honesty, loyalty
• IL-: legal, legible
• IM-: mature, polite, possible
• IN-: compatible
• IR-: rational, responsible
• UN-: comfortable, usual

Nouns Related to Personal Qualities

A list of important personal attributes:

ABILITY, AMBITION, CAUTION, DETERMINATION, ENCOURAGEMENT, ENJOYMENT, HAPPINESS, IMAGINATION, INSPIRATION, PATIENCE, PERFORMANCE, REALITY, TOUGHNESS, VIOLENCE,

Modal Verbs for Speculation

When you are sure something is true:

• Ex: He must be rich. He drives a Ferrari.
• He hasn't come to class. He must have fallen asleep.
• He must be sleeping.

When you are not sure something is true (50-50):

• Ex: He hasn't come to class. He might/may/could be ill.
• He hasn't passed the exam. He may/might not have studied very much (do not use 'could' in negatives).

When you are sure something is not true:

• Ex: He can't be Spanish. He only speaks English.
• He got a 0 in the exam. He can't/couldn't have studied very much.

'Should' for Expectations:

• Ex: The classes aren't complicated this year. The exam SHOULD BE quite easy.

Inversion

• Not only is my brother lazy, but he's also very selfish.
• Not until you can behave like an adult will we treat

English Grammar Essentials: Tenses, Verbs & Vocabulary

Essential English Vocabulary: Body Parts

• Chest: pit
• Heart: cor
• Hip: maluc
• Kidney: ronyó
• Liver: fetge
• Lungs: pulmons
• Muscle: múscul
• Nail: ungla
• Neck: coll
• Nerves: nervis
• Shin: canyella
• Skin: pell
• Stomach: estómac
• Thigh: cuixa
• Throat: gola
• Tongue: llengua

Understanding the Present Perfect Tense

The Present Perfect tense is used to talk about actions that started in the past and continue into the present. It is often accompanied by expressions like since (desde "1999") and for (hace, desde "hace dos semanas").

Using "Ago" for Past Events

The word "ago" signifies a period of time in the past.

• Example: Richard finished university three years ago. (Richard terminó la universidad hace tres años.)

"Already"

Common English Irregular Verbs

This table provides a reference for frequently used irregular verbs in English, including their base form, past simple, and past participle.

Dominando Verbos Frasales Esenciales

Los verbos frasales son combinaciones de un verbo y una preposición o adverbio, que juntos adquieren un significado diferente al de sus palabras individuales. Aquí tienes una lista de verbos frasales comunes con su significado en español:

• Break up: Romper con alguien
• Fall out: Caerse (o discutir con alguien)
• Get on with: Llevarse bien con alguien
• Get over: Recuperarse de un bache o superar algo
• Get together: Reunirse
• Make up: Maquillarse (o reconciliarse)
• Stand up: Levantarse
• Take after: Parecerse (mentalmente o en personalidad)
• Dress up: Disfrazarse o vestirse elegantemente
• Pay for: Pagar por algo
• Put on: Ponerse (ropa, etc.)
• Take off: Quitarse (ropa, etc.)
• Try on: Probarse (ropa)
• Break into: Entrar a la fuerza
• Log

Present Simple

Usage: Habits and facts (e.g., I eat, I dance).

• Affirmative: I eat, she sleeps.
• Negative: I don't, she doesn't sleep.
• Frequency Adverbs (before the verb): Always, usually, never, sometimes, often, hardly ever, seldom, rarely.
• Time Expressions: Every day/week/month, in the evening/morning/afternoon, at night, on Mondays, once/twice a year/month.

Present Continuous

Usage: Actions happening now (e.g., I am... -ing).

• Affirmative: I am watching.
• Negative: She is not watching.
• Time Expressions (Start): Now, at the moment, at present, just now, right now.
• Time Expressions (End): Tonight, tomorrow, next week/day, in two days, on Sunday, the day after tomorrow.

Past Simple

Usage: Completed actions (e.g., I walked, I was, I was).

• Affirmative: I ate,

Subjunctive

Subjunctive

El subjuntivo se usa para dar mayor énfasis en una oración.

¿Y cómo es eso?

Por ejemplo, en español se dice: "Es importante que nosotros comamos sano".

Mientras que en inglés se dice: "It is important that we eat healthily".

Subjunctive Sentence Structure

El orden que se utiliza en este tipo de oraciones es el siguiente:

It is + adjective + that + subject + verb (base form) + complement (It's)

Common Adjectives Used with the Subjunctive

Los verbos/adjetivos que mayormente se usan en este tipo de oraciones son:

• Best
• Crucial
• Desirable
• Essential
• Imperative
• Important
• Recommended
• Urgent
• Vital

Examples with the Subjunctive

It's crucial that you pay attention to the teacher.

Es crucial que prestes atención al profesor.

It's essential that

Essential English Vocabulary

Topic 1: Clothing & Accessories

Bracelet, cardigan, earrings, flip-flops, hair band, high heels, leggings, make-up, necklace, ring, sandals, sunglasses, tracksuit bottoms, tracksuit top, trainers, watch.

Topic 2: Places & Adjectives

Block of flats, bridge, building, car park, cottage, factory, farm, field, hill, housing estate, lake, motorway, pavement, river, village, wood.

Funny - hilarious / sad - miserable / hungry - starving / bad - awful / interesting - fascinating / frightening - terrifying / small - tiny / surprised - astonished / ugly - hideous.

Topic 3: Everyday Items

Bedroom, waiting room, credit card, Christmas card, desktop, laptop, headache, headphones, sun cream, sunglasses, wedding dress, wedding...

Reported Speech: Direct vs. Indirect Style

Direct Style (enclosed in quotation marks) vs. Indirect Style (reported by us at a later time).

Verb Tense Changes in Reported Speech

• Direct: “I write a letter” (Present Simple)
  Indirect: He said he wrote a letter (Past Simple)
• Direct: “I am writing a letter” (Present Continuous)
  Indirect: She said she was writing a letter (Past Continuous)
• Direct: “I have written a letter” (Present Perfect)
  Indirect: He said he had written a letter (Past Perfect)
• Direct: “I wrote a letter” (Past Simple)
  Indirect: She said she had written a letter (Past Perfect)
• Direct: “I was writing a letter” (Past Continuous)
  Indirect: He said he had been writing a letter (Past Perfect Continuous)
• Direct: “I’ll write