examen 2

ORAL EXAM FORMAT

• Professor chooses 1 of 3 lessons

• Conversation lasts 3–5 minutes

• Professor asks follow-up questions

• Notes are allowed

• NO ENGLISH during the exam

• Goal: answer naturally and keep the conversation going

LESSON 1 — DAILY ROUTINE

Main Question

Describe tu rutina diaria típica.
→ Describe your typical daily routine.

You may be asked:

• ¿Cómo es generalmente? → What is it generally like?

• ¿Cómo fue tu rutina diaria la semana pasada? → How was your daily routine last week?

• ¿Cómo quieres que sea en el futuro? → How do you want it to be in the future?

Reflexive Verbs

Reflexive verbs describe actions you do to yourself.

Reflexive Pronouns

Common Daily-Routine Verbs

• levantarse → to get up

• despertarse → to wake up

• ducharse → to shower

• bañarse → to bathe

• lavarse → to wash oneself

• cepillarse los dientes → to brush one's teeth

• vestirse → to get dressed

• acostarse → to go to bed

• dormirse → to fall asleep

• maquillarse → to put on makeup

Examples

• Me levanto a las siete. → I get up at seven.

• Me cepillo los dientes. → I brush my teeth.

• Me visto antes de estudiar. → I get dressed before studying.

Indefinite & Negative Words

Indefinite Words

• alguien → someone

• algo → something

• alguno/a → some / any

• siempre → always

• también → also / too

Examples

• Alguien está en la casa. → Someone is in the house.

• Quiero comer algo. → I want to eat something.

Negative Words

• nadie → nobody / no one

• nada → nothing

• ningún/ninguno/a → no / none / not any

• nunca → never

• tampoco → neither / either

Examples

• No veo a nadie. → I don't see anyone.

• No quiero comer nada. → I don't want to eat anything.

• Nunca me levanto temprano. → I never get up early.

• No me gusta tampoco. → I don't like it either.

IMPORTANT

Spanish commonly uses double negatives: No + negative word.

Example:

• No veo a nadie.
  
  

  • Literally: "I don't see nobody."

  • Actual meaning: "I don't see anybody."

Preterite of SER and IR

The preterite is used for completed past actions.

• SER = to be

• IR = to go

They have the exact same preterite forms.

How do you know which meaning?

Look at the context.

• Fui estudiante. → I was a student. (SER)

• Fui a la universidad. → I went to the university. (IR)

GUSTAR

gustar works differently from English "to like." Instead of saying "I like something," Spanish structures it as: Something is pleasing to me.

Structure

A + person + indirect object pronoun + gusta/gustan + thing

Pronouns

• me → to me

• te → to you

• le → to him/her/you formal

• nos → to us

• les → to them/you all

Examples

• Me gusta el café. → I like coffee.

• Me gustan los libros. → I like books.

• A mí me gusta estudiar. → I like studying.

• A ella le gusta la música. → She likes music.

Gusta vs. Gustan

• gusta → one singular thing OR an infinitive
  
  

  • Me gusta el café.

  • Me gusta estudiar.

• gustan → multiple / plural things
  
  

  • Me gustan los libros.

LESSON 2 — FOOD & DIET

Main Question

¿Cómo es tu dieta normalmente?
→ What is your diet normally like?

You may be asked:

• ¿Qué tipo de comida te gusta más? → What type of food do you like the most?

• ¿Cuál te gusta menos? → Which do you like the least?

• ¿Por qué? → Why?

• ¿Qué quieres comer en el futuro? → What do you want to eat in the future?

Preterite Stem-Changing Verbs

Some -ir verbs change their stem in the preterite. The change happens only in:

• él/ella/usted

• ellos/ellas/ustedes

Common changes: e → i, o → u

Examples

• pedir (to ask for/order): pidió (he/she ordered), pidieron (they ordered)

• servir (to serve): sirvió (he/she served), sirvieron (they served)

• dormir (to sleep): durmió (he/she slept), durmieron (they slept)

• preferir (to prefer): prefirió (he/she preferred), prefirieron (they preferred)

Important

The stem change does NOT happen in the nosotros form (e.g., dormimos → we slept).

Double-Object Pronouns

A sentence can contain both an indirect object pronoun and a direct object pronoun.

Indirect Object Pronouns

• me → to me

• te → to you

• le → to him/her/you formal

• nos → to us

• les → to them/you all

Direct Object Pronouns

• lo → it/him

• la → it/her

• los → them (masc.)

• las → them (fem.)

Order

Indirect + Direct + Verb

Examples:

• Me lo dio. → He/she gave it to me.

• Te la compré. → I bought it for you.

IMPORTANT: LE/LES → SE

When le/les comes before lo/la/los/las, change le/les to se.

• ❌ Le lo doy.

• ✅ Se lo doy. → I give it to him/her.

Comparisons

More than

más + adjective + que

• El pollo es más saludable que la pizza. → Chicken is healthier than pizza.

Less than

menos + adjective + que

• La pizza es menos saludable que el pollo. → Pizza is less healthy than chicken.

As…as

tan + adjective + como

• El arroz es tan bueno como la pasta. → Rice is as good as pasta.

Noun Comparison

• más + noun + que
  
  

  • Como más frutas que verduras. → I eat more fruit than vegetables.

• menos + noun + que
  
  

  • Como menos carne que antes. → I eat less meat than before.

Superlatives

Superlative = the most / the least

The most

el/la/los/las + más + adjective

• La pizza es la comida más deliciosa. → Pizza is the most delicious food.

• El café es la bebida más popular. → Coffee is the most popular drink.

The least

el/la/los/las + menos + adjective

• Es la comida menos saludable. → It is the least healthy food.

LESSON 3 — CELEBRATIONS & PARTIES

Main Question

¿Cuáles fiestas te gustan más en general?
→ Which celebrations/parties do you like the most in general?

Possible follow-ups:

• ¿Las bodas? → Weddings?

• ¿Los cumpleaños? → Birthdays?

• ¿Por qué? → Why?

• Cuenta acerca de cuál fiesta te gustó más en tu vida hasta ahora. → Tell me about which celebration you have liked the most in your life so far.

• ¿Cómo fue? → How was it?

• ¿Qué pasó? → What happened?

Irregular Preterites

These verbs do NOT use the normal preterite endings.

TENER — to have

• Tuve una fiesta. → I had a party.

VENIR — to come

• Mi familia vino a la fiesta. → My family came to the party.

DECIR — to say/tell

• Mi amigo dijo algo divertido. → My friend said something funny.

Verbs That Change Meaning in the Preterite

CONOCER

• Present: conocer → to know / be acquainted with

• Preterite: conocí → I met

  • Conocí a mi amigo en una fiesta. → I met my friend at a party.

SABER

• Present: saber → to know (facts/information)

• Preterite: supe → found out / learned

  • Supe la noticia ayer. → I found out the news yesterday.

QUERER

• Present: querer → to want / love

• Preterite: quise → tried / wanted to; no quise → refused

  • Quise ir a la fiesta. → I wanted/tried to go to the party.

  • No quise ir. → I refused to go.

PODER

• Present: poder → can / be able to

• Preterite: pude → managed to / succeeded; no pude → failed to / couldn't

  • Pude ir a la fiesta. → I managed to go to the party.

  • No pude ir. → I couldn't go.

¿QUÉ? vs. ¿CUÁL?

¿Qué?

Usually what?

• ¿Qué es esto? → What is this?

• ¿Qué quieres comer? → What do you want to eat?

¿Cuál?

Usually which one / which?

• ¿Cuál te gusta más? → Which one do you like more?

• ¿Cuál es tu comida favorita? → What/which is your favorite food?

Easy way to remember

• ¿Qué? = What

• ¿Cuál? = Which / which one

Pronouns After Prepositions

After prepositions like para (for), de (of/from), con (with), sin (without), use special prepositional pronouns.

Examples

• para mí → for me

• para ti → for you

• conmigo → with me (con + mí = conmigo)

• contigo → with you (con + ti = contigo)

• sin mí → without me

• para ella → for her

A MÍ ME GUSTA / A ELLA LE GUSTA

Use A + person to emphasize or clarify who likes something.

• A mí me gusta la pizza. → I like pizza.

• A ti te gusta el café. → You like coffee.

• A ella le gusta la música. → She likes music.

• A nosotros nos gustan las fiestas. → We like parties.

• A ellos les gustan los cumpleaños. → They like birthdays.

Pattern

A + person + indirect object pronoun + gusta/gustan

QUICK ORAL EXAM FORMULAS

Talking about the Present

• Normalmente… → Normally…

• Generalmente… → Generally…

• Todos los días… → Every day…

• Me gusta… → I like…

• No me gusta… → I don't like…

Talking About the Past

• La semana pasada… → Last week…

• El año pasado… → Last year…

• Ayer… → Yesterday…

• Fue… → It was…

• Fui… → I went / I was…

• Tuve… → I had…

• Hice… → I did/made…

• Dije… → I said…

• Vine… → I came…

Talking About the Future

• En el futuro… → In the future…

• Quiero… → I want…

• Voy a… → I am going to…

• Me gustaría… → I would like…

• Quiero que sea… → I want it to be…

CONVERSATION FILLERS

Use these if you need a second to think:

• Bueno… → Well…

• Pues… → Well…

• Creo que… → I think that…

• En mi opinión… → In my opinion…

• Porque… → Because…

• También… → Also…

• Pero… → But…

• Por ejemplo… → For example…

• A veces… → Sometimes…

• Normalmente… → Normally…

• Depende… → It depends…

MOST IMPORTANT THINGS TO MEMORIZE

Lesson 1

1. Reflexive pronouns

2. Daily routine vocabulary

3. Negative words

4. fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueron

5. me gusta / me gustan

Lesson 2

1. Food vocabulary

2. Preterite stem changes: e → i, o → u

3. Double-object pronoun order (Indirect + Direct + Verb; le/les → se)

4. más…que / menos…que / tan…como

5. el más / el menos

Lesson 3

1. Irregular preterites

2. tuve, vine, dije

3. Preterite meaning changes: conocí, supe, quise, pude

4. ¿Qué? vs. ¿Cuál?

5. para mí / para ti / conmigo / contigo

6. A mí me gusta / A ella le gusta

GOLDEN RULE FOR THE ORAL EXAM

Don't try to make every sentence overly complicated.

Simple + correct + continued conversation > complicated + mistakes.

If you don't understand a question:

• ¿Puede repetir la pregunta, por favor? → Can you repeat the question, please?

• ¿Puede hablar más despacio, por favor? → Can you speak more slowly, please?

• No entiendo. → I don't understand.

These are much better than switching to English.