📖LearnModule 12 · Lesson 21 of 30Proficient User · CEFR C1, completedUnit 5 · El vocabulario abstracto
Los pares de registro
Module 12 of the free Spanish course (CEFR C1, completed), lesson 21 of 30: C1 vocabulary is mostly pairs: the everyday word and its formal twin. 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
empezar
to start
ehm-peh-SAR
iniciar
to commence
ee-nee-SYAR
concluir
to conclude
kohn-KLWEER
otorgar
to grant formally
oh-tohr-GAR
adquirir
to acquire
ahd-kee-REER
el par
the pair
ehl PAR
el gemelo formal
the formal twin
ehl heh-MEH-loh fohr-MAHL
el caballero
the gentleman (formal)
ehl kah-bah-YEH-roh
sonar falso
to ring false
soh-NAR FAHL-soh
ella adquiere experiencia
she is gaining experience
EH-yah ahd-KYEH-reh ehks-peh-RYEHN-syah
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
C1 vocabulary is mostly pairs: the everyday word and its formal twin. Empezar / iniciar. Terminar / concluir. Dar / otorgar. Mostrar / evidenciar. Señor / caballero.
Y también · And also
The formal one is not better — it is for a different room. Iniciar las negociaciones is a headline; iniciar un sándwich is a joke, and a Spanish reader hears both.
Ojo · Watch out
iniciar, concluir, otorgar are the formal twins of empezar, terminar, dar — for a different room, not a better one. iniciar un sándwich is a joke a Spanish reader hears. adquirir changes its stem: adquiero, adquieres.
adquirir, presente — the table
yo adquiero · tú adquieres · él/ella/usted adquiere · nosotros adquirimos · ustedes adquieren · ellos/ellas adquieren
Do it now — on paper
Say all 10 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the Spanish spelling alone — begin with empezar.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the Spanish.
Write out adquirir, 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.