CLEP Spanish Language (Levels 1 and 2) Exam

The CLEP: Spanish Language examination was developed by the College Board as a way for individuals to demonstrate undergraduate-level knowledge and skills in this area. Almost three thousand American colleges give credit to students who pass a CLEP exam; for this reason, many college-bound students take a CLEP exam in order to skip over introductory courses.

The content of the exam is broken down as follows: listening comprehension through short oral exchanges (15% of the exam); listening comprehension through longer spoken selections (25%); reading discrete sentences for vocabulary structure (16%); reading short passages for vocabulary structure (20%); and reading longer passages and authentic stimulus materials (24%). The Spanish Language exam consists of 120 multiple-choice questions and must be completed within 90 minutes.

After the exam is complete, an unofficial score report will be made available. This score report will include the total score on a scale of 20 to 80; the American Council on Education recommends that students get credit if they score 50 or above on the Level 1 exam, and 63 or above on the Level 2 exam. The total score is the raw score (number of correct answers) adjusted according to the difficulty of the exam version. The College Board does not distinguish between unanswered questions and questions answered incorrectly, so test-takers are encouraged to respond to every question. Some of the questions on the exam are pre-test questions, which are used to develop future versions of the exam and do not contribute to the raw score. It is impossible for test-takers to determine which questions are pre-test questions. The CLEP exams are administered in both computer and paper formats at over a thousand locations throughout the world. To register for an exam, visit the College Board website.

Practice Questions

1. Translate: El oso era pequeñísimo.

A: The eye was weak.
B: The bear was very small.
C: The eye was very weak.
D: The eye was very small.
E: The bear was very weak.

2. Select the appropriate imperfect form of the verb ver to complete the sentence: Mucha gente _____ los fuegos artificiales.

A: veíamos
B: veían
C: veíanamos
D: veía
E: veías

3. Translate: Ella no era una mala ballerina.

A: She was a bad ballerina.
B: She would be a bad ballerina.
C: She will be a bad ballerina.
D: She is a bad ballerina.
E: She was not a bad ballerina.

4. Translate: Jugábamos futbol mientras esperábamos a Juan.

A: We should play soccer while we wait for Juan.
B: We might be playing soccer while we wait for Juan.
C: We will be playing soccer while we wait for Juan.
D: We were playing soccer while we were waiting for Juan.
E: We are playing soccer while we wait for Juan.

5. In Spanish, the ___ mood is used after verbs that express doubt.

A: indicative
B: subjunctive
C: vocative
D: imperative
E: interrogative

6. Translate: Maria andaba por el parquet jugando.

A: Maria was walking down the park playing.
B: Maria was playing throughout the park.
C: Maria will walk down to the playground.
D: Maria should be walking down to the playground.
E: Maria was walking down to the playground equipment.

7. Translate: Sé dar direcciones en ingles.

A: I give directions in English.
B: I can give directions in English.
C: I know English directions.
D: I know how to give directions in English.
E: I know the names of the directions in English.

8. Translate: Fui al supermercado y compré unos plátanos.

A: I will go to the supermarket and buy some bananas.
B: I would go to the supermarket and buy a few bananas.
C: I went to the supermarket and bought some bananas.
D: I should go to the supermarket and buy some bananas.
E: I might go the supermarket and buy some bananas.

9. Translate: Todos ésos son animales nuestros.

A: Look at all those animals.
B: All of those things are animals.
C: All of those are our animals.
D: All animals are ours.
E: Animals are all ours.

10. What is the second person plural imperfect form of ir?

A: ibais
B: iris
C: ibis
D: ibas
E: ibiris

Answer Key

1. B. The ending -isimo indicates an extreme condition.
2. D. The imperfect tense is used to describe events that happened in the past.
3. E. It is acceptable to use the adjective mala either before or after the noun it modifies.
4. D. Since these actions are taking place simultaneously, they can both be described in the imperfect tense.
5. B. The subjunctive mood is also used to describe things that could happen or might have happened.
6. A. The imperfect progressive tense is often used to describe something that was happening at a specific time in the past, in particular while something else was going on.
7. D. To indicate the presence of a certain skill or knowledge, use a form of saber followed by an infinitive verb.
8. C. In this kind of simple sentence, it is acceptable to leave all verbs in the preterite case.
9. C. Long-form possessive adjectives like nuestros should agree with the nouns they modify.
10. A. Ir is one of the three irregular imperfect tense verbs, along with ser and ver.