Spanish A-Level
Spanish A-Level glossary
38 key terms for Spanish A-Level, A to Z, each linked to the topic pages that use it.
A
- Adjective Agreement
- The grammatical rule that adjectives must match the noun they describe in both gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural).Pearson Edexcel
- Adverb
- A word that modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb.Pearson Edexcel
- Agreement
- The rule that determiners and adjectives must match the noun they describe in gender (m/f) and number (sg/pl).Pearson Edexcel
- Apocopation
- The dropping of the final letter or syllable of a word.Pearson Edexcel
C
- Cleft Sentence (Oración escindida)
- A sentence structure used to focus on or emphasize a specific part of a sentence, typically starting with 'Lo que...'Pearson Edexcel
- Cognate
- A word that looks similar and has the same meaning in both Spanish and English (e.g., el hotel, el problema).Pearson Edexcel
- Conjugation
- Changing the verb ending to match the subject (who is doing the action) and the tense (when it happens).Pearson Edexcel
- Connectives
- Words that link sentences and ideas together (e.g., sin embargo, además, por lo tanto).Pearson Edexcel
- Convivir
- To live together (often referring to couples living together without being married).Pearson Edexcel
D
- Determiner
- A word placed in front of a noun to specify quantity or clarify what the noun refers to.Pearson Edexcel
- Double Negation
- The grammatical rule in Spanish requiring two negative words in a sentence if the main negative word (like nunca, nada) follows the verb.Pearson Edexcel
E
- El Condicional
- The conditional tense, used to express what 'would' happen.Pearson Edexcel
- El paro / El desempleo
- Unemployment.Pearson Edexcel
- El Pluscuamperfecto
- The pluperfect tense; describes an action that had occurred before another past action (e.g., 'I had eaten').Pearson Edexcel
- El Subjuntivo
- A grammatical mood used to express desires, doubts, the unknown, the abstract, and emotions.Pearson Edexcel
- El turismo masivo
- Mass tourism; large numbers of tourists visiting the same destination, often causing overcrowding.Pearson Edexcel
F
- False Friends (Falsos Amigos)
- Words in Spanish that look or sound similar to English words but have a completely different meaning.Pearson Edexcel
G
- Gender
- The classification of nouns as either masculine or feminine in Spanish.Pearson Edexcel
I
- Imperfect Tense
- A past tense used for descriptions, habits, or 'used to' in the past (e.g., 'antes, las familias eran grandes').Pearson Edexcel
- Indirect Speech (Estilo indirecto)
- Reporting what someone else said without quoting them directly, requiring a shift in tense and pronouns.Pearson Edexcel
- Infinitive
- The unconjugated form of a verb, ending in -ar, -er, or -ir (e.g., hablar).Pearson Edexcel
- Intensifier
- A word used to give force or emphasis to an adjective or adverb (e.g., muy, bastante).Pearson Edexcel
- Invariable
- A word that never changes its spelling or ending, regardless of gender or number.Pearson Edexcel
J
- Justification
- Providing a reason or explanation for an opinion using connectives like 'porque', 'puesto que', or 'dado que'.Pearson Edexcel
L
- La brecha salarial
- The gender pay gap; the difference in earnings between men and women for doing the same work.Pearson Edexcel
- La Pareja de Hecho
- A legal civil partnership or a cohabiting couple who live together without being married.Pearson Edexcel
- La Tasa de Natalidad
- The birth rate; the number of live births per thousand of population per year.Pearson Edexcel
N
- Ni... ni...
- A correlative conjunction meaning 'neither...Pearson Edexcel
- Number
- The classification of words as either singular (one) or plural (more than one).Pearson Edexcel
P
- Personal 'a'
- The preposition 'a' that must precede a direct object when that object is a specific person or people.Pearson Edexcel
- Preterite Tense
- A past tense used for completed actions at a specific point in the past.Pearson Edexcel
Q
- Quantifier
- A word used before a noun to express quantity or amount (e.g., mucho, poco).Pearson Edexcel
R
- Reflexive Verbs
- Verbs where the subject performs the action on themselves, requiring a reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se).Pearson Edexcel
S
- Sino
- A conjunction meaning 'but rather' or 'on the contrary'.Pearson Edexcel
- Superlative
- The form of an adjective indicating the highest or lowest degree of a quality (the best, the most, the least).Pearson Edexcel
T
- Tampoco
- An adverb meaning 'neither' or 'not either'.Pearson Edexcel
- Todavía no
- An adverbial phrase meaning 'not yet'.Pearson Edexcel
Y
- Ya no
- An adverbial phrase meaning 'no longer' or 'not anymore'.Pearson Edexcel
Where these terms come from
Each definition is one we publish on a Spanish A-Level topic page or study guide. Open a term to see how each exam board words it and which topic it belongs to. For the full course, go to Spanish revision or the glossary for every subject.
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