LearnModule 15 · Lesson 17 of 30Proficient User · CEFR C2 mastery — the capstoneUnit 4 · El dominio del registro

El registro que delata

Module 15 of the free Spanish course (CEFR C2 mastery — the capstone), lesson 17 of 30: Register leaks through small words before it shows in big ones. On this page: 9 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's QR.

The words

Spanish	English	Say it
o sea	I mean (informal filler)	oh SEH-ah
pues	well, so (filler)	pwehs
en fin	anyway (a shortcut)	ehn FEEN
por lo tanto	therefore	pohr loh TAHN-toh
la palabrita	the small word	lah pah-lah-BREE-tah
delatar	to give away	deh-lah-TAR
bajar el nivel	to drop the level	bah-HAR ehl nee-BEHL
sin darse cuenta	without noticing	seen DAR-seh KWEHN-tah
el equivalente formal	the formal equivalent	ehl eh-kee-bah-LEHN-teh fohr-MAHL

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

Register leaks through small words before it shows in big ones. O sea anywhere formal, pues as a filler, en fin as a shortcut — each one drops a text a level without the writer noticing.

Y también · And also

The formal equivalents exist and cost nothing: por lo tanto, en realidad, por consiguiente. Change four words and a paragraph changes level.

Ojo · Watch out

o sea, pues and en fin drop a text a level without your noticing; their formal twins cost nothing: por lo tanto, en realidad, por consiguiente. delatar here means to give away, not to inform on a person.

Do it now — on paper

Say all 9 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the Spanish spelling alone — begin with o sea.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the Spanish.
Write two sentences of your own that get the watch-out line right, then the two practice pages of workbook lesson 17 in Module 15 are the written half of this page.

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.

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