Examen de conducir: pasado + coloquial (España)

Micro-article on exam-day Spanish: past tense + colloquial phrases; 2-question check.

Dannis

2 min reading time

Driving and driving classes Language Tenses Vocabulary

Keywords:

me saqué el carné aprobé suspendí ir de examen clases prácticas clases teóricas

Examen de conducir: Spanish as it's really spoken on the big day. Today: past tense + colloquial expressions (slang, Spain).

Before the exam:
- Voy de examen (I’m going to take the test / I have my exam)
- Clases teóricas y clases prácticas (theory and practice)
- El lunes tengo examen. (On Monday I have my test.)

Past for completed actions: use the pretérito indefinido: hice, llegué, aprobé/suspendí. It’s for single, finished events in the past.

Short example:
Ayer tuve el práctico. Llegué nervioso, hice el circuito y aprobé. ¡Me saqué el carné! (I got my driver’s licence)

If I failed, you can say: "Metí la pata" (softer: "I messed up") or, more vulgar, "la cagué" ("I really screwed it up"). These are very commonly used colloquial expressions in Spain.

If I passed: "Ha salido niquelado" (=perfect). Also "¡Mola!" (I like it / that’s cool). These are colloquial expressions.

Vocabulary:
autoescuela; ir de examen; clases teóricas / clases prácticas; el práctico / el teórico; pista de examen. (Notes: the theoretical and practical parts of the exam)

Comprehension check:

Completa: Ayer ____ el examen teórico.

aprobé

aprobaba

he aprobado

With "ayer" we talk about a finished, completed past action → we choose the pretérito indefinido: "aprobé". The imperfect "aprobaba" is for background/habit; "he aprobado" is usually used for a time period connected to the present (in Spain: "hoy he...").

Hint: specific, completed events in the past → indefinido.

¿Qué opción es más coloquial para decir que salió perfecto?

Ha salido niquelado

Ha salido suficiente

Ha salido formal

"Ha salido niquelado" is colloquial in Spain for "perfect". The others are not used with that meaning in this context.

Think of a Spanish colloquial phrase for "perfect".