These exercises are designed to accompany the Gramática para la composición, segunda edición, textbook. The interactive exercises focus on individual practice and skill development with forms and rules. We chose to make them self-correcting because the answers are fairly predictable. Learners complete them outside of class and after reading each lesson’s Presentación as part of the preparation for the next class. Following this order will strengthen learners’ commands of basic forms and rules so that they can use them more effectively in class work and writing assignments.

Special note to students: For a comprehensive check of what you have learned so far in the course, try to do each exercise up to the current lesson’s assignments without looking at the book. If you do need to consult a dictionary or the book’s Presentación again, feel free to do so because these Prácticas electrónicas are for your benefit. Reuse them as often as necessary for review, and see your instructor about any points that continue giving you trouble.

Technical Requirements

The Prácticas electrónicas will not work without Shockwave Player installed. Shockwave Player is available as a free download. Click here to download Shockwave Player.

  • PC (recommended.) This site is optimized for Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 or higher with Shockwave Player installed.
  • Mac with PowerPC processor: Safari with Shockwave Player installed.
  • Mac with Intel processor (not recommended): As of June 2007, Shockwave Player is not yet available for Macs with Intel processors. You may be able to use these exercises by downloading and installing Shockwave on the machine while it is in Rosetta emulation mode (see this Adobe website TechNote for more information.)

Navigation

From the opening screen, click on the link "Índice por lecciones" at the bottom of the screen to navigate to the individual lessons. Click on the lesson and go to the indicated screen. To find exercises where a specific concept is addressed, use the "Índice alfabético" to find the concept. When in the lesson, click the arrows to navigate from screen to screen.

  • Type each answer, paying close attention to punctuation, proper spacing, and written accents, since these details affect the computer's recognition of correct responses. If you miss an accent mark, the computer will mark the answer as incorrect.
  • Click the "Confirmar" button to find out if you answered correctly, either after you have answered each question or, if you prefer, after you have finished each exercise.
  • As you answer each question, the counter below the "Confirmar" button will increase by 1 when your answer is correct. When your answer is not correct, you will be prompted to try again.
  • If you choose to answer several questions before clicking "Confirmar" and several of your answers are incorrect, you will receive a message prompting you to correct the first incorrect answer. The questions after the first incorrect answer will not be graded until the incorrect answer is corrected or erased. For example, let us assume that you completed answers 1 to 10, and answers 6, 8, and 10 are incorrect: You will see 5 as "logrados" (points achieved); you will also see "Intente otra vez. # 6." Once you correct number 6, you will see 7 as "logrados" and "Intente otra vez. # 8." Once you correct number 8, you will see 9 as "logrados;" and once you correct number 10, you will see 10 as "logrados."
  • Answer fields left blank are not counted toward your final score. There is no penalty for not answering a question but you will also not receive points for the question. If you choose not to answer a question, simply use the Backspace key on the computer to erase your answer, allowing you to proceed on to other questions in the same exercise. If, in the above scenario, you wanted to skip the questions you got wrong, you can simply delete what you have typed in to receive a total of 7 points for the exercise. Then, proceed to other exercises in the lesson.

Tips:

  • Do not add any extra spaces anywhere. The answer may be marked as incorrect if there are extra spaces.
  • Follow the examples as closely as possible, and be ready to extrapolate and use your problem-solving skills.
  • The "Borrar todas las respuestas" button on each screen allows you to clean all the answer fields for a fresh start.
  • Remember! The button "Ver respuestas de esta pantalla" allows you to see the answer(s) for all exercises on the current screen.