U.S. Border Patrol Entrance Exam (BPA) Spanish Language Proficiency and Aptitude (ALSP/SLAB) Flashcards

24 sample cards from the Spanish Language Proficiency and Aptitude (ALSP/SLAB) deck

Sampled from the end of the deck, so these are different cards from the ones shown on the syllabus page.

1. What do the Spanish prepositions 'a', 'de', 'en', and 'con' mean?

   a = to/at, de = of/from, en = in/on/at, con = with.

2. What is the contraction rule for 'a' + 'el' and 'de' + 'el' in Spanish?

   a + el = al (to the); de + el = del (of/from the). These are the only two mandatory contractions in Spanish.

3. What is the typical basic word order of a Spanish sentence?

   Subject-Verb-Object (SVO), e.g., 'El agente revisa el documento' (The agent checks the document), though Spanish allows flexibility for emphasis.

4. Where do most descriptive adjectives go relative to the noun in Spanish, unlike English?

   After the noun, e.g., 'el carro rojo' (literally 'the car red') for 'the red car.'

5. How are most yes/no questions formed in spoken Spanish?

   By using rising intonation on a statement and inverting subject/verb, e.g., '¿Tiene usted documentos?' (Do you have documents?).

6. What does the field command 'Alto' or '¡Pare!' mean?

   'Stop!' — a basic command used to halt a person.

7. What does '¡Manos arriba!' mean as a field command?

   'Hands up!' — directing a person to raise their hands.

8. Translate the field instruction 'No se mueva.'

   'Don't move.' (formal command to a single person).

9. What does '¿De dónde es usted?' ask?

   'Where are you from?' — used to ask a person's country or place of origin.

10. Translate the field question '¿Cómo se llama?'

    'What is your name?' (literally 'What are you called?').

11. What does '¿Tiene documentos?' mean and why is it field-relevant?

    'Do you have documents?' — used to ask for identification or immigration papers during an encounter.

12. How do you say 'Show me your hands' as a Spanish command?

    'Muéstreme las manos' (formal command).

13. Count from one to five in Spanish.

    uno (1), dos (2), tres (3), cuatro (4), cinco (5).

14. Count from six to ten in Spanish.

    seis (6), siete (7), ocho (8), nueve (9), diez (10).

15. What are the Spanish words for 20, 30, 50, and 100?

    veinte (20), treinta (30), cincuenta (50), cien (100).

16. How is a date typically formatted and spoken in Spanish (day/month order)?

    Day before month, e.g., 'el 5 de marzo de 2026' (the 5th of March, 2026); the day uses cardinal numbers except 'primero' for the 1st.

17. How do you ask someone's date of birth in Spanish?

    '¿Cuál es su fecha de nacimiento?' — 'What is your date of birth?'

18. How do you ask 'How old are you?' in Spanish, and what verb is used?

    '¿Cuántos años tiene?' — Spanish uses the verb 'tener' (to have) for age, literally 'How many years do you have?'

19. What is the standard set of personal-information questions an agent might ask in Spanish?

    Name (¿Cómo se llama?), origin (¿De dónde es?), age (¿Cuántos años tiene?), and date of birth (¿Cuál es su fecha de nacimiento?).

20. In a reading-comprehension passage, what should you do first to answer questions efficiently?

    Read the question(s) first, then scan the short passage for the specific information (who, what, where, when) needed to answer.

21. In Spanish reading comprehension, what do the question words quién, qué, dónde, cuándo, and por qué mean?

    quién = who, qué = what, dónde = where, cuándo = when, por qué = why.

22. When you encounter an unknown word in a Spanish reading passage, what strategy mirrors the ALT decoding skill?

    Use context clues and recognizable roots/cognates to infer meaning rather than stopping, the same pattern-recognition and decoding approach used on the artificial language test.

23. Compare the goal of the ALT versus the Spanish Proficiency Test in one sentence each.

    ALT: predicts the ability to LEARN Spanish later (aptitude). Spanish Proficiency Test: confirms Spanish skill the applicant ALREADY has (proficiency).

24. Why is pattern recognition the single most important strategy across both the ALT and Spanish grammar items?

    Because both rely on consistent, rule-based systems—endings for gender/number/tense and invented affixes—so spotting and reapplying the pattern lets you answer items you've never seen before.

What this deck covers

Spanish Language Proficiency and Aptitude (ALSP/SLAB) flashcards FAQ