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Preposing and apocope

In Spanish, the adjective can be placed before or shortened (reduced).

Gramática: Anteposición y apócope

B1 Spanish Anteposition and apocope

Level: B1

Module 6: Vivir en el extranjero (Living abroad)

Lesson 41: Choque cultural (Culture shock)

Teaching guidelines +/- 15 minutes

Audio and video

  1. "Buen", "mal" and "gran" are used before a noun.
  2. "Mejor", "peor", "mayor" and "menor" can be placed before or after a noun.
ApócopeEjemplo
BuenBuen cambio, buen comparar. (Good change, good compare.)
MalMal cambio, mal comparar. (Bad change, bad comparison.)
GranGran cambio, gran adaptación, gran comparar. (Great change, great adaptation, great comparison.)
  
Anteposición
Ejemplo
Mejor, peor, mayor y menor

Su peor cambio ha sido adaptarse. (His worst change has been adapting.)

Rusia es el país con la mayor extensión de territorio del mundo. (Russia is the country with the largest land area in the world.)

Exercise 1: Preposing and apocope

Instruction: Fill in the correct word.

Show translation Show answers

menor, mejor, gran, mal, mayor

1.
La ... manera de aprender es cometiendo errores.
(The best way to learn is by making mistakes.)
2.
El cambio climático es un ... problema mundial.
(Climate change is a major global problem.)
3.
La ... diversidad cultural enriquece nuestro mundo.
(The great cultural diversity enriches our world.)
4.
La ... parte de los valores se encuentran en las tradiciones.
(Most of the values are found in traditions.)
5.
La adaptación a los cambios es un ... valor.
(Adaptation to changes is a great asset.)
6.
La ... parte de las personas quiere una vida feliz.
(Most people want a happy life.)
7.
El ... uso de la tecnología puede tener consecuencias negativas.
(The misuse of technology can have negative consequences.)
8.
La ... edad para votar es un tema de debate.
(The minimum age to vote is a topic of debate.)

Exercise 2: Translate and use in a sentence

Instruction: Pick a word, translated and use the word in a sentence or dialogue.

1

buen

good

2

menor

minimum

3

mal

bad

4

mejor

best

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