Repaso para el examen Exam Revision

Carlos y Priya estudian juntos el domingo para el examen del jueves. Repasan vocabulario de todos los temas: saludos, familia, comida, ciudad, tiempo, ropa y colores. Carlos cree que sabe bien el vocabulario.

It is Sunday afternoon and Carlos and Priya are studying together at the living room table. The Spanish exam is on Thursday and they want to revise everything well. Priya opens her notebook. "Let us start with vocabulary. Tell me a word from each topic." Carlos nods. "Greetings: buenos dias, hola, hasta luego. Family: el padre, la madre, los abuelos, los hermanos. Food: el desayuno, el almuerzo, la cena. City: la calle, el mercado, la biblioteca. Weather: hace frio, llueve, hace sol. Clothes: la camiseta, el pantalon, los zapatos. Colours: rojo, azul, verde, amarillo. I think I know it quite well."

Priya repasa las trampas gramaticales. SER vs ESTAR: estoy cansado, no soy cansado. POR vs PARA: estudio para el examen. Verbos reflexivos: me llamo, me levanto. Genero de sustantivos: el mapa, la mano. Carlos toma nota de todo.

Priya smiles. "The vocabulary is fine, but grammar mistakes are the most dangerous. Let us revise the classic traps." Carlos takes notes. First: SER and ESTAR. 'Soy cansado' is wrong; you must say 'estoy cansado' because it is a temporary state. Second: POR and PARA. 'Estudio por el examen' sounds odd; the correct form is 'estudio para el examen' because it is an objective. Third: reflexive verbs. 'Me llamo Carlos, me levanto a las siete, me ducho por la manana.' Fourth: the gender of nouns. 'El mapa' is masculine even though it ends in -a, and 'la mano' is feminine. Carlos writes everything down carefully.

Priya da un texto para practicar la lectura. Es sobre Miguel, un chico de Barcelona que va de vacaciones a Cadiz. Le encanta el mar y hace surf. Priya hace preguntas de comprension sobre el texto.

After the grammar revision, Priya takes out a sheet of paper. "Now we practise reading comprehension. Read this text aloud." Carlos reads: "Miguel is a fifteen-year-old Spanish boy who lives in Barcelona. Every summer his family goes on holiday to the coast. This year they are going to go to Cadiz. Miguel is very excited because he loves the sea. In the mornings he goes surfing and in the afternoons he walks around the old quarter of the city with his parents. He really likes the architecture and history of Andalusia." "Good", says Priya. "Now answer: where does Miguel live? Where does he go on holiday? What does he do in the mornings?"

La profesora da consejos para escribir bien. Hay que usar conectores: ademas, sin embargo, por eso, primero, luego, finalmente. Las frases deben ser cortas y claras. Hay que revisar los acentos. Los adjetivos deben concordar con el sustantivo.

Carlos and Priya's teacher, Mrs Garcia, has given them some written tips that they read together. "For written expression, always remember these rules: one, use connectors to make the text flow. The most useful connectors are: ademas (in addition), sin embargo (however), por eso (therefore), primero (first), luego (then), finalmente (finally). Two, write short and clear sentences, no more than twenty words per sentence. Three, always check the written accents: esta, tu, el. Four, make sure adjectives agree with the noun in gender and number." Carlos and Priya note down the tips attentively.

Priya hace preguntas de examen y Carlos responde. Habla de su familia, su rutina diaria y sus planes futuros. Priya dice que Carlos va a sacar buena nota. Han repasado todo el curso juntos.

To finish the revision, Carlos and Priya practise with real exam questions. Priya asks and Carlos answers as if he were in the exam. "Describe a member of your family." Carlos: "My mother is called Sunita, she is forty-three, she is a teacher and very intelligent and hardworking." "Talk about your daily routine." Carlos: "I get up at half past six, I shower, have breakfast and go to school by bus. I study in the afternoon and have dinner with my family." "Describe your plans for the future." Carlos: "I am going to study engineering because I like maths. I also want to learn German." Priya applauds. "Perfect! You are going to get a very good mark."