I must have had a really terrific elementary school teacher who taught me to read test instructions very, very carefully. I do wish that I could remember which teacher it was, in order to thank him or her. Many, many points have been saved by this practice (and many heartaches and headaches avoided).
I bring this up because I just finished grading EXAM 1. The instructions across the exam said, "answer in a complete sentence." Still, students responded with just a number (24, for example) instead of a sentence ("The number is 24). And I have to take points off...and I really don't like taking points off.
Sometimes people think, mistakenly, that a sentence needs to be wordy or lengthy.
In fact, a sentence, in Spanish, can be only ONE word in length and still "qualify" as a sentence as long as that word is a conjugated verb.
Consider:
Baila.
He dances.
Canta.
She sings.
Trabajan.
They work.
I hope to be that teacher. You might not remember my name a year from now. I want you to remember to check to see that when the instructions read "answer in a complete sentence" on a Spanish exam, that you've written at least one conjugated verb.
C'mon now, say it with me. How long, minimally, is a complete sentence in Spanish?
"At least one conjugated verb."
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