Language Learning Center
California State University San Marcos
Tel: 760.750.8058
Fax: 760.750.3313
333 S. Twin Oaks Valley Road
llc@csusm.edu
San Marcos, CA 92096-0001
www.csusm.edu/llc
Spanish Only: PLACEMENT Exam Review Topics
IMPORTANT NOTE
The below handout is for Spanish, so languages like German and French apply somewhat directly.
For languages like Arabic, Japanese, and Mandarin, grammar may go beyond what you need to know.
To place into Spanish 102 at CSUSM, you need to know:
Vocabulary:
 Greetings and meeting people…page 2 in Plazas, 4th Edition (available in the LLC for review)
 Numbers 0-1,000,000…pages 12,72,134
 In the classroom…20
 The colors…21
 The university campus, academic courses and foreign languages…30,38
 The time and days of the week…38
 The family, physical features and personality…50,60
 Nationalities…66
 Leisure time activities and sports…84
 Places in and around town…94
 Months and seasons…102
 Home, furniture and appliances…114
 Household chores…126
 The human body, health care, illnesses, symptoms, and medical treatments…160
Structure:
 Subject pronouns and present tense of the verb ser/estar ( to be)… pages 10, 58 in Plazas, 4th
Edition (available in the LLC for review
 The verb form hay (there is, there are)…12
 Question words…14
 Definite and indefinite articles, gender and quantity agreement…26
 Present tense of regular –ar verbs…34
 Possession with de(l) and possessive adjectives…56
 Agreement with descriptive adjectives…60
 Present tense of –er and –ir verbs…68
 Common uses of the verb tener (to have)…70
 Gustar +infinitive and gustar +nouns…90
 Ir and Ir a…96
 Verbs with irregular yo forms…98
 Saber and Conoser (to know)…100
 Affirmative tu commands…128
 Estar and the present progressive…130
The California State University
Bakersfield | Channel Islands | Chico | Dominguez Hills | East Bay | Fresno | Fullerton | Humboldt | Long Beach | Los Angeles | Maritime Academy
Monterey Bay | Northridge | Pomona | Sacramento | San Bernardino | San Diego | San Francisco | San Jose | San Luis Obispo | San Marcos | Sonoma | Stanislaus
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Present tense of stem changing verbs e/ie, o/ue, u/ue, e/ i…120
Reflexive pronouns and present tense of reflexive verbs
Acabar de + infinitive…156
Demonstrate adjectives and pronouns…168
To place into Spanish 201 here at CSUSM, you need to know:
Vocabulary:
 Food, beverage and table utensils, dining out… pages 180,192 in Plazas, 4th Edition (available in
the LLC for review)
 Weights and measurements…196
 Clothing and fashion…214,228
 Parties and celebrations…250
 The beach and the countryside…264
 Airline travel and hotel…298
 Personal relationships…320
 Receptions and banquets…334
Structure
 Comparatives and superlatives… page 186 in Plazas, 4th Edition (available in the LLC for review)
 Regular verbs and verbs with spelling changes in the preterite…198
 Verbs with stem changes in the preterite…202
 Stressed possessive adjectives and pronouns…220
 Irregular verbs in the preterite…222
 Direct /Indirect object pronouns…232,290
 The imperfect tense…236
 Interrogative words…256
 The preterite vs. The imperfect…258
 Affirmative and negative expressions…268
 Hace+period of time+que…272
 Double object pronouns…294
 Prepositions and adverbs of location and relevant expressions…302
 Formal commands and negative tu command…306
 Present perfect tense…326
 Reciprocal constructions with se, nos, os…330
 Adverbs and adverbial expressions of time and sequencing of events…338
 Relative pronouns…342
CONTINUED…..
To place into Spanish 202 here at CSUSM, you need to know:
Vocabulary:
 Professional and trades… page 354 in Plazas, 4th Edition (available in the LLC for review)
 The office, work and the job hunt…366
 Personal finances…372
 Rural and urban geography…390
 Conservation and exploitation…402
 Television program and movies…420
 The arts…432
 Politics and voting, political issues and the media…450,462
 Technological advancements, the computer…484,496
Structure:
 Por vs. para…page 360 in Plazas, 4th Edition (available in the LLC for review)
 The subjunctive mood…370
 The present subjunctive with statements of volition…374
 Subjunctive following verbs of emotion, impersonal expressions and ojala…396
 Subjunctive with verbs or expressions of doubt and uncertainty and adjective clauses…406
 Subjunctive with purpose and time clauses…426
 No-fault se construction…436
 The future tense…456
 The conditional tense…466
 The present perfect subjunctive…470
 Past (imperfect) subjunctive…490
 If clauses…500
LANGUAGE SAMPLES
1. http://www.actfl.org/publications/guidelines-and-manuals/actfl-proficiency-guidelines-2012
2. Choose your language from the list at left. If your language is not available, listen to English.
3. Click on “Speaking” or “Writing”.
4. Students wanting to place into 102 or 201 should be in high NOVICE. Students wanting to place
into 202 should be in INTERMEDIATE.
5. Click the button “View Samples”. (There are usually 3-4.)
EXAM FORMAT
1. It tests writing only, with most instructions in English. There is no oral or listening component.
2. Each section is slightly more advanced, so at some point you will not understand the instructions.
That is FINE for placement. Do not try to fill in a section that asks for things beyond your skills.
3. If you don’t know the word for something, try to write around it in Spanish, avoiding English.
Recommended Language Study Materials
TEXTBOOKS
Get hold of some college-level textbooks that cover the first three semester of a college/university
language course. At the Language Learning Center (Kellogg Library 1107), we have textbooks available
for Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Mandarin, Arabic and American Sign Language.
For other languages, you may wish to contact and visit a local institution that offer the language that
you are looking to test in. They may have materials on hand that are available to use.
INTERNET & ONLINE RESOURCES
There are many places online where you can use free language learning material to review and brush up
on your language skills.
The Language Learning Center maintains a list of various websites that offer such material. You can
find it by going to csusm.edu/llc. Click on Student Resources -> Language Websites in the side menu.
The University of TEXAS at Austin also maintains a list of resources for language learning materials.
You can find that list by going to: coerll.utexas.edu/coerll/materials