📖LearnModule 12 · Lesson 20 of 30Proficient User · CEFR C1, completedUnit 4 · La prensa y las instituciones
Leer entre líneas
Module 12 of the free Spanish course (CEFR C1, completed), lesson 20 of 30: A careful writer signals a position without stating it. On this page: 10 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line, the conjugation table and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's QR.
The words
Spanish
English
Say it
pretender
to claim (doubtfully)
preh-tehn-DEHR
un tal señor Pérez
a certain Mr. Pérez
oon tahl seh-NYOHR PEH-rehs
presuntamente
allegedly
preh-soon-tah-MEHN-teh
la insinuación
the implication
lah een-see-nwah-SYOHN
insinuar
to imply
een-see-NWAR
fingir
to pretend
feen-HEER
la traducción
the translation
lah trah-dook-SYOHN
sospechar
to suspect
sohs-peh-CHAR
discreto
discreet
dees-KREH-toh
usted insinúa que miento
you are implying that I am lying
oos-TEHD een-see-NOO-ah keh MYEHN-toh
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
La regla · The rule
A careful writer signals a position without stating it. Pretender means to claim (and to doubt the claim) — never to pretend, which is fingir. Presuntamente in a news report means allegedly. Un tal señor Pérez is not a compliment.
Y también · And also
Collect these as you read. They are the vocabulary of implication, and they are what a translation flattens first. Insinuar is to hint; sospechar is to suspect; and al parecer, from Module 1, still flags what the writer will not vouch for.
Ojo · Watch out
pretender means to claim — and to doubt the claim — never to pretend (fingir). un tal señor Pérez is a discreet way of casting doubt on Mr. Pérez. insinuar keeps its accent in the stressed forms: insinúo, insinúa.
insinuar, presente — the table
yo insinúo · tú insinúas · él/ella/usted insinúa · nosotros insinuamos · ustedes insinúan · ellos/ellas insinúan
Do it now — on paper
Say all 10 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the Spanish spelling alone — begin with pretender.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the Spanish.
Write out insinuar, presente in full from memory, every person, and check each form against the table above.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The Spanish Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Keep these words
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.