Spa 2201
Guide for Final Exam

1.      Accents and Punctuation: Do you remember how to divide a word into its basic syllables? Where does the natural accent fall in Spanish?  Why are the "sticky" vowels so important?  (Review)

2.      Survival Sentences: What are the most important oral survival questions/phrases you have learned at this point in your Spanish studies? 

3.      Question words: How many questions words have we learned? What is the question word for "do" in Spanish?  Can you create a question with each word?  When do you use "qué" versus "cuál"?  Can you create a question with "yo" as the subject?  Which verb conjugation accompanies "quién" or "quiénes"?

4.      Direct Object Pronouns: What are “transitive verbs” and how do they limit when you can use a “direct object pronoun”? When and why do we use “direct object pronouns”? What are the “direct object pronouns” in Spanish and where do we place them? Which questions can we use so as not to mistake which object in a sentence is the direct object?

5.      Indirect Object Pronouns: What is an indirect object pronoun? When do we use it? What question do we ask to identify it? Which indirect object pronouns and direct object pronouns are the same? Which ones are different? What should you know about the indirect object pronouns “le” and “les” and verbs like “gustar”?

6.      Double Object Pronouns (237): What questions help you determine which object is the DO versus the IO?  In what order to the DOP and IOP appear in a double object pronoun sentence?  When can you hook the pronouns to the end of a verb?  When do you use “se” as opposed to “le” or “les”?

7.      Demonstrative Adjectives/Pronouns: Did you review the use of demonstrative adjectives? What is their relationship to the indicators of space (aquí, ahí, allá)? Did you remember that demonstratives can function as adjectives and therefore must agree in number and gender with the noun they describe? What is the difference between “ese” and “eso”? How can a demonstrative adjective be turned into a demonstrative pronoun? Where do you place the demonstrative pronoun's accent?

8.      Indefinite and Negative Expressions (225): How many indefinite and negative words are there? Do you know how to construct indefinite and negative sentences? Is there anything you should know about negative sentences? With which ones of these do you need to use the double-negative?

9.      Verbs

a.       Can you conjugate all your verbs and use them in context?  Have you practiced generating a question/answer sequence for each verb?   Can you fill-in the blanks in a cloze paragraph?  What are your best strategies for completing this type of exercise?  

b.      Have you been reviewing your AR, ER, and IR verbs? 

c.       How many irregular verbs should you know (ser, estar, ir, tener, dar, decir, etc.)? 

d.      Do you know how to conjugate as well as determine when to use "ser" and "estar"? 

e.       How many compound verb structures can you create (for example, “tener ganas de”, “tener que”, “ir a”, “poder”, “deber”, and “necesitar”? 

f.       Do you remember how to conjugate stem-changing verbs?  When do verbs stem change? Have you studied the initial list of stem-changing verbs as well as the second one? 

g.      How do you form the present progressive tense? When does a native Speaker use it? How does his/her use of the verb differ with our linguistic patterns in English? Which two types of verbs create irregular present participle? Did you forget that the present progressive is a compound verb structure, must always be accompanied by the verb “estar”, and establishes the same pronoun placement relationships as other compound verb structures? Can the present participle be used with other verbs than “estar”? When it is used this way, what does it express?  How do you correctly express “I’m travelling to Madrid in a week?” in Spanish?

h.      Why is the "gustar" verb so special? What are indirect object pronouns and how do you use them with the "gustar" verb? What other verbs function like “gustar”? Can you conjugate these verbs in the present and preterit tenses?

i.        When do you use “ser” versus “estar” (1)?

j.        What are the forms of “dar” and “decir” in the present and preterit tenses?  Can you use DOPs and IOPs with both of these verbs?

k.      Have you studied the cooking verbs (199)?  How many of these verbs are stem-changing?  Can you conjugate these verbs in the present and preterit tenses?

l.        Can you conjugate regular preterit verbs? Which regular preterit verbs have spelling changes due to sounds like c or z? What completely irregular preterit verbs have we studied? What happens to stem changing verbs in the preterit? According to the professor’s system of conjugating (the zig-zag method), how many semi-irregular preterit verbs are there? How many base-changing verbs should you know? What are their base changes? How do you conjugate irregular verbs like SER, IR, and DAR? How does the meaning of verbs like “poder”, “saber, “conocer”, and “tener” change when they are conjugated in the preterit tense? Can you create a question/answer sequence in the preterit tense in which you also utilize the direct or indirect object pronouns?

m.    How do we conjugate verbs in the imperfect tense? What three verbs are irregular in the imperfect tense?  Do you recall when to use the imperfect (“description”, “habit”, “repetitive description”, and “ongoing but uncompleted action”)? Can you describe both in the present and past tense a few of your pastimes? What did you do/used to do? Where did you go/used to go?

n.      When do you use the preterit tense versus the imperfect tense?  What system of rules have we developed to answer this question?  How important is context in determining which past tense to use?

10.  Vocabulary:

    1. Have you been studying the food vocabulary? Could you describe a day's worth of food (breakfast, lunch, dinner, etc.)?  Can you use this vocabulary in conversation (ordering food at a restaurant) or in paragraphs related to daily life (preparing food at home)?
    2. How many kitchen appliances and cooking equipment can you identify? 
    3. Can you describe your pastimes (219)?
    4. How many different “reactions” have you learned?  For example: “¡Qué rico!”, “¡Qué asco!”, “A propósito”, “Me da igual”, etc.
    5. Sports, Players and Equipment (231)
    6. Social Activities and Pastimes  (224, 227)
    7. Weather (247)
    8. Clothing (251)
    9. Ordinal Numbers