Spanish B HL — IB Exam Notes: Advanced Grammar & Comprehension

A collection of vocabulary flashcards and grammar concepts from Spanish B HL notes, specifically designed for Portuguese speakers preparing for IB Paper 1 and 2.

Direct Object Pronouns (DOPs)

Pronouns that replace the thing directly receiving the action of a sentence: me, te, lo/la, nos, os, los/las.

Leísmo

The practice of using 'le/les' for masculine direct object pronouns referring to people, commonly accepted in Spain and by the IB.

Indirect Object Pronouns (IOPs)

Pronouns indicating to whom or for whom an action is done: me, te, le, nos, os, les.

The 'Se' Phonetic Rule

The rule where the indirect object pronouns 'le' or 'les' change to 'se' when they appear immediately before the direct object pronouns 'lo', 'la', 'los', or 'las'.

RID Rule

The double pronoun order used in Spanish, standing for Reflexive → Indirect → Direct.

Preterite (Indefinido)

The tense used for completed, one-time actions, specific times (ayer, en 2010), and the narrative backbone of a story.

Imperfect (Imperfecto)

The tense used for ongoing, habitual, or repeated past actions, background descriptions, and feelings.

Synthetic Future Tense

The formal future tense formed by adding the endings $-e, -as, -a, -emos, -eis, -an$ directly to the infinitive or an irregular stem.

Conditional Tense

The tense used to express 'would do' or hypothetical situations, using the same stems as the future with endings $-ia, -ias, -ia, -iamos, -iais, -ian$.

Regular Present Subjunctive Formation

A three-step process: take the 'yo' form of the present indicative, drop the -o, and add opposite vowel endings ($-e$ for -AR; $-a$ for -ER/-IR).

DISHES Mnemonic

A tool to remember categories of subjunctive triggers: Duda, Impersonal expressions, Sentimientos, Hipotético/Ojalá, Expressions of will, and Subordinate conjunctions.

Imperfect Subjunctive Formation

Formed by taking the 3rd person plural (ellos) preterite, dropping -RON, and adding $-ra, -ras, -ra, -ramos, -rais, -ran$.

Type 2 Si Clause (Hypothetical)

A conditional structure using 'Si' + Imperfect Subjunctive followed by the Conditional tense (e.g., Si tuviera dinero, viajaria).

Type 3 Si Clause (Contrary to Past Fact)

A conditional structure using 'Si' + Pluperfect Subjunctive followed by the Conditional Perfect tense (e.g., Si hubiera sabido, habria ido).

Ser

A verb used for identity, origin, profession, essential characteristics, time, material, and the passive voice.

Estar

A verb used for location, temporary conditions, mental/physical states, progressives, results of actions, and marital status.

Embarazada

A false friend meaning pregnant (not embarrassed).

Exquisito/a

A false friend meaning exquisite or delicious (not weird/strange).

Suceso

A false friend meaning an event or incident (not success).

Largo/a

A false friend meaning long (not wide/broad).

Madrugada

A high-frequency word referring to the early morning hours, roughly between 2am and 5am.

Lograr

A verb meaning to manage to or to succeed in doing something.

Huelga

A term for a workers' strike.

A raíz de

A formal phrase meaning 'as a result of' or 'following'.

Sin embargo

A connective meaning 'however' or 'nevertheless'.

Sostenible / Sostenibilidad

Environment-specific vocabulary meaning sustainable / sustainability.

Acoso escolar

Society and Health vocabulary meaning school bullying.

Brecha digital

Technology and Media vocabulary meaning the digital divide.

Bulos

A term for fake news or false rumors.