Quieres una cita en el ayuntamiento. ¿Qué dices por teléfono?
Based on: DELE A2: Expresión funcional (peticiones corteses)
DELE A2 · Trámites
DELE A2 Practice Questions: Trámites y Sociedad (Admin Spanish) (2026)
Trámites y sociedad is the topic that mirrors real life for anyone applying for Spanish nationality: booking appointments ("Quería pedir una cita, por favor"), knowing that a foreigner needs el NIE to work in Spain, going to the ayuntamiento for el empadronamiento, filling in forms ("Por favor, rellene este formulario con sus datos") and opening a formal letter with "Estimado señor:". The grammar it carries is the polite register (quería + infinitive, the usted imperative) and the past-tense contrast between entregué and he recibido.
Practice
Free practice questions
Para trabajar en España, un extranjero necesita un número de identificación. ¿Cuál es?
Based on: DELE A2: Léxico de trámites y sociedad
En una carta formal, ¿cómo empiezas normalmente?
Based on: DELE A2: Registro formal (correspondencia)
Rellena: "¿Puede repetir, por favor? No lo he ___."
Based on: DELE A2: Gramática (pretérito perfecto)
Vas a Correos. ¿Qué haces allí?
Based on: DELE A2: Léxico de servicios públicos
Rellena: "Para renovar el pasaporte, hay que ___ una cita previa."
Based on: DELE A2: Expresión funcional (trámites)
Rellena: "Voy al banco a ___ una cuenta nueva."
Based on: DELE A2: Léxico de trámites (banco)
Rellena: "Para votar o cobrar, necesito mi ___ de identidad."
Based on: DELE A2: Léxico de trámites y sociedad
Rellena: "Por favor, ___ este formulario con sus datos."
Based on: DELE A2: Gramática (imperativo formal)
Llamas por teléfono a una oficina. ¿Cómo empiezas?
Based on: DELE A2: Expresión funcional (hablar por teléfono)
Appointments, offices and the words of Spanish bureaucracy
This topic reads like a checklist of life in Spain, which is precisely why the exam and our bank lean on it. A foreigner who wants to work needs an identification number, el NIE; to vote or collect money you need your documento de identidad; renewing a passport means first booking una cita previa; and el empadronamiento, registering as a resident, happens at el ayuntamiento. The offices come with their own cast and verbs: at Correos you send una carta o un paquete, el cartero brings you una carta certificada, el funcionario attends you at la ventanilla, and the employment office is la oficina de empleo. Documents generate their own vocabulary chain: you need un certificado del médico to justify absence from work, una fotocopia of a contract, and you must firmar (sign) a document before handing it in. Deadlines and payments round it out: "El plazo para pagar el impuesto termina el día 20" teaches el plazo, the deadline, and fines can be paid por internet. None of this is decoration: the reading test's everyday texts and the listening test's recorded messages are exactly the sort of official notices and phone menus this vocabulary unlocks, and for nationality applicants these are the words of the application process itself.
The polite register and the three past-and-request tenses
Trámites is where Spanish politeness grammar earns its keep. On the phone to an office you open with "Buenos días, quería información", and you book with "Quería pedir una cita, por favor": that quería is the imperfect used as a softener, the A2 way of saying "I would like". Officials speak to you in the usted imperative, and the exam tests that you recognise and produce it: "Por favor, rellene este formulario con sus datos", "Escriba su nombre y apellidos en mayúsculas". Formal letters have fixed openings, "Estimado señor:" for a man, and continue in full sentences: "Estimada señora: le escribo esta carta para pedir información". When you do not follow, the polite repairs are ready-made: "¿Puede repetir, por favor? No lo he entendido" and "¿Podría hablar más despacio, por favor?". Behind these formulas sits the past-tense system the exam recycles: the indefinido for a completed, dated action, "Ayer entregué la solicitud en la oficina de empleo"; the perfect for a period still open, "Todavía no he recibido la respuesta de la oficina", where todavía no is the giveaway; and the polite imperfect quería for requests happening right now. Object pronouns thread through it all: "El funcionario me atendió muy bien en la ventanilla".
| Form | Signal in the sentence | Example from the bank |
|---|---|---|
| Indefinido (entregué) | A finished action with a past time marker like ayer | "Ayer entregué la solicitud en la oficina de empleo." |
| Perfect (he recibido) | An open period, often with todavía no or hoy | "Todavía no he recibido la respuesta de la oficina." |
| Polite imperfect (quería) | A courteous request being made right now | "Quería pedir una cita, por favor." |
| Usted imperative (rellene) | An official instructing you on a form | "Por favor, rellene este formulario con sus datos." |
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What does the trámites topic cover on the DELE A2?
The Spanish of official life: the NIE, the documento de identidad, la cita previa, el empadronamiento at the ayuntamiento, Correos, banks, forms and formal letters, deadlines (el plazo), and the polite grammar that goes with them: quería + infinitive, the usted imperative and set phrases for asking someone to repeat or slow down.
What is the NIE and why is it in a language exam?
The NIE (Número de Identidad de Extranjero) is the identification number a foreign national needs to work in Spain. It appears in our bank because the DELE A2 wraps language around real everyday situations, and for the exam's core audience, people building a life in Spain, the NIE is as everyday as it gets.
How do I make a polite request in Spanish at A2?
Use quería + infinitive: "Quería pedir una cita, por favor", "Buenos días, quería información". The imperfect quería softens the request, like English "I wanted to ask". For asking a person to adjust, use puede or podría: "¿Podría hablar más despacio, por favor?".
How do formal letters start in Spanish?
With Estimado plus the title and a colon: "Estimado señor:" for a man, "Estimada señora:" for a woman, then a full opening sentence such as "le escribo esta carta para pedir información". This register is directly useful for the DELE A2 writing test, where one task is a reply message that may need a formal tone.
What is the difference between entregué and he recibido?
Entregué is the indefinido, for a completed action anchored in the past, usually with a marker like ayer: "Ayer entregué la solicitud". He recibido is the perfect, for a period still connected to now, flagged by words like todavía no or hoy: "Todavía no he recibido la respuesta". Find the time marker and the tense follows.
Why does trámites vocabulary matter for the Spanish nationality process?
Because applying for nacionalidad española by residence runs through exactly these situations: appointments, identity documents, forms and official letters. The DELE A2 you sit for the application is itself booked and administered through this world, so the vocabulary pays off before, during and after the exam. Remember the language requirement is the DELE at A2 or higher plus the CCSE test.