AP Spanish Flashcards

1. Essential Transition Words & Connectors

These help structure essays and conversations smoothly.

Introducing Ideas

• En primer lugar – In the first place

• Para empezar – To begin with

• Antes que nada – First of all

• Cabe mencionar que – It’s worth mentioning that

Adding Information

• Además – Moreover / Furthermore

• Aparte de eso – Aside from that

• No solo… sino también – Not only… but also

• De hecho – In fact

Contrasting Ideas

• Sin embargo – However

• Por otro lado – On the other hand

• Aunque – Even though

• A pesar de – Despite

Expressing Cause & Effect

• Por lo tanto – Therefore

• Como resultado – As a result

• Debido a – Due to

• En consecuencia – Consequently

Giving Examples

• Por ejemplo – For example

• Es decir – That is to say

• Dicho de otro modo – In other words

Concluding

• En resumen – In summary

• En fin – All in all

• Para concluir – To conclude

• Al fin y al cabo – After all

2. High-Impact Verbs for Essays & Conversations

Use these instead of basic verbs like hacer, decir, tener, ser, estar.

Academic & Persuasive Verbs

• Afirmar – To state

• Sostener – To argue / maintain

• Destacar – To highlight

• Recalcar – To emphasize

• Demostrar – To demonstrate

• Probar – To prove

• Refutar – To refute

Verbs for Expressing Opinion

• Opinar que – To be of the opinion that

• Parecer que – To seem that

• Es evidente que – It is evident that

Verbs for Actions & Reactions

• Exigir – To demand

• Rechazar – To reject

• Lograr – To achieve

• Sugerir – To suggest

• Aconsejar – To advise

• Amenazar – To threaten

3. High-Level Adjectives & Adverbs

Strong adjectives make your speech/writing more vivid.

Descriptive Adjectives

• Inigualable – Unmatched

• Sobresaliente – Outstanding

• Relevante – Relevant

• Contundente – Forceful / Convincing

• Fidedigno – Reliable

Adverbs for Emphasis

• Sumamente – Extremely

• Notablemente – Notably

• En gran medida – To a great extent

• Indudablemente – Undoubtedly

4. Idioms & Expressions

Using these will make you sound more natural and fluent.

Common Idioms

• Ser pan comido – To be a piece of cake

• Estar entre la espada y la pared – To be between a rock and a hard place

• No tener pelos en la lengua – To be very direct/blunt

• Más vale tarde que nunca – Better late than never

• Hacerse la vista gorda – To turn a blind eye

• Tirar la toalla – To throw in the towel / give up

• Estar en las nubes – To be daydreaming

• Echar leña al fuego – To add fuel to the fire

• Meter la pata – To put your foot in your mouth

Idiomatic Ways to Express Emotions

• Estar hasta las narices de… – To be fed up with…

• Ponerse las pilas – To get your act together

• No ver la hora de… – Can’t wait to…

• No cabe duda de que… – There’s no doubt that…

• A duras penas – Barely / With great difficulty

5. Cultural & Academic Vocabulary

Helpful for essays about literature, history, and current events.

Politics & Society

• Derechos humanos – Human rights

• Desigualdad social – Social inequality

• Cambio climático – Climate change

• Pobreza extrema – Extreme poverty

Arts & Literature

• Obra maestra – Masterpiece

• Corriente artística – Artistic movement

• Realismo mágico – Magical realism

• Trama – Plot

Economics & Business

• Oferta y demanda – Supply and demand

• Desarrollo sostenible – Sustainable development

• Globalización – Globalization

• Innovación tecnológica – Technological innovation

6. Useful Phrases for Speaking & Writing

These can be used in formal and informal settings.

Agreeing & Disagreeing

• Estoy de acuerdo con… – I agree with…

• No comparto esa opinión – I don’t share that opinion

• Es un tema polémico – It’s a controversial topic

Making Hypotheticals (Si Clauses)

• Si tuviera más tiempo, + conditional – If I had more time, I would…

• Si hubiera sabido, + past conditional – If I had known, I would have…

Expressing Doubt & Uncertainty

• No estoy seguro de que + subjunctive – I’m not sure that…

• Es poco probable que + subjunctive – It’s unlikely that…

Giving Your Opinion Politely

• Desde mi punto de vista… – From my point of view…

• Me parece que… – It seems to me that…

• Considero que… – I consider that…

7. Advanced Grammar Structures to Use in Essays

These will boost your score!

• Subjunctive for opinions & doubts:

  • No creo que sea necesario… – I don’t think it’s necessary…

  • Es importante que tomemos medidas… – It’s important that we take action…

• Passive voice for academic tone:

  • El problema fue causado por… – The problem was caused by…

  • Se ha demostrado que… – It has been proven that…

• Impersonal expressions to sound formal:

  • Es fundamental reconocer que… – It is fundamental to recognize that…

  • No se puede negar que… – It cannot be denied that…

1. Subjunctive Mood Overview

📌 Flashcard 1: What is the subjunctive?
Answer: The subjunctive is a verb mood used to express doubt, uncertainty, emotions, hypothetical situations, desires, and impersonal expressions.

📌 Flashcard 2: When do we use the subjunctive?
Answer: Use it after:

• Wishes (Quiero que vengas.)

• Emotions (Me alegra que estés aquí.)

• Impersonal expressions (Es importante que estudies.)

• Requests/recommendations (Te sugiero que leas.)

• Doubt/Denial (Dudo que sea verdad.)

• Ojalá (Ojalá que apruebe el examen.)

2. Present Subjunctive

📌 Flashcard 3: How do you conjugate verbs in the present subjunctive?
Answer: Start with the yo form of the present tense, drop the -o, and add:

Example: Hablar → hable, hables, hable, hablemos, habléis, hablen
Example: Tener → tenga, tengas, tenga, tengamos, tengáis, tengan

📌 Flashcard 4: What are some irregular verbs in the present subjunctive?
Answer:

• DISHES (common irregulars)

  • Dar → dé, des, dé, demos, deis, den

  • Ir → vaya, vayas, vaya, vayamos, vayáis, vayan

  • Ser → sea, seas, sea, seamos, seáis, sean

  • Haber → haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan

  • Estar → esté, estés, esté, estemos, estéis, estén

  • Saber → sepa, sepas, sepa, sepamos, sepáis, sepan

3. Imperfect Subjunctive

📌 Flashcard 5: How do you form the imperfect subjunctive?
Answer:

1. Start with the third-person plural (ellos/ellas) form of the preterite.

2. Drop the -ron ending.

3. Add these endings:

Example: Hablar → hablara, hablaras, hablara, habláramos, hablarais, hablaran
Example: Tener → tuviera, tuvieras, tuviera, tuviéramos, tuvierais, tuvieran

📌 Flashcard 6: When do we use the imperfect subjunctive?
Answer: Use it in past WEIRDO situations and hypothetical clauses.

• Quería que tú vinieras. (I wanted you to come.)

• Si tuviera más dinero, viajaría. (If I had more money, I would travel.)

4. Conditional Tense

📌 Flashcard 7: What is the conditional tense?
Answer: The conditional is used to express what would happen under certain conditions.

📌 Flashcard 8: How do you conjugate verbs in the conditional?
Answer: Take the infinitive and add these endings:

Example: Hablar → hablaría, hablarías, hablaría, hablaríamos, hablaríais, hablarían
Example: Tener → tendría, tendrías, tendría, tendríamos, tendríais, tendrían

📌 Flashcard 9: What are the irregular verbs in the conditional?
Answer: They have the same irregular stems as the future tense:

• Tener → Tendr- (tendría, tendrías…)

• Poner → Pondr- (pondría, pondrías…)

• Hacer → Har- (haría, harías…)

• Decir → Dir- (diría, dirías…)

• Salir → Saldr- (saldría, saldrías…)

• Venir → Vendr- (vendría, vendrías…)

• Poder → Podr- (podría, podrías…)

• Querer → Querr- (querría, querrías…)

• Saber → Sabr- (sabría, sabrías…)

📌 Flashcard 10: When do we use the conditional?
Answer:

• Hypotheticals: Si pudiera, viajaría a España. (If I could, I would travel to Spain.)

• Polite requests: ¿Podrías ayudarme? (Could you help me?)

• Speculation in the past: ¿Dónde estaría Juan ayer? (I wonder where Juan was yesterday.)

5. Past Perfect (Pluscuamperfecto) Subjunctive

📌 Flashcard 11: What is the past perfect subjunctive?
Answer: Used for hypothetical situations in the past (especially in "si" clauses).

📌 Flashcard 12: How do you conjugate it?
Answer: Use haber in the imperfect subjunctive + past participle.

Example: Si hubiera estudiado, habría sacado una A. (If I had studied, I would have gotten an A.)

6. If Clauses (Si Clauses) & Hypotheticals

📌 Flashcard 13: What are the common "si" clause structures?
Answer:

1. Si + present → future

   • Si estudias, sacarás buena nota. (If you study, you’ll get a good grade.)

2. Si + imperfect subjunctive → conditional

   • Si tuviera dinero, viajaría. (If I had money, I would travel.)

3. Si + past perfect subjunctive → conditional perfect

   • Si hubiera estudiado, habría aprobado. (If I had studied, I would have passed.)