QCAA Modern Greek (SEE) key terms

The skill of listening to spoken Modern Greek, such as a conversation, announcement or interview, and extracting the main idea, specific details and the speaker's attitude.

The central point or overall message of a spoken or written text, which a candidate must state briefly before dealing with supporting details.

Specific pieces of information in a text, such as names, times, prices or reasons, that support the main idea and are often tested in comprehension questions.

The reason a speaker is talking, for example to persuade, inform, complain or invite, which shapes the tone and the language choices used.

The mood or attitude conveyed by a speaker or writer, such as friendly, ironic, formal or worried, which listeners infer from word choice and intonation.

A precise fact a listener or reader must locate in a text, such as a date, address or number, often found by scanning rather than reading every word.

A quick reading technique in which the eyes move over a text looking only for a particular item, such as a name or figure, without reading everything.

Reading rapidly to grasp the general sense of a passage, ignoring unknown words, before returning to study the parts that matter for the task.

A judgement a candidate draws from evidence in a text rather than from a statement made directly, for example inferring how someone feels.

A meaning suggested indirectly rather than stated openly, which a skilled reader recognises from context, tone or cultural references.

Supporting an answer or opinion with evidence quoted or paraphrased from the text, a requirement in extended responses in reading and listening tasks.

Restating the meaning of a text in different words, showing understanding without copying the original phrasing, often required when summarising.

A short account of the main points of a text, written in the candidate's own words and usually much shorter than the original.

A text in which the writer states and defends a personal view on an issue, using reasons, examples and often a direct appeal to the reader.

A reason or point offered to support a position in an argument, which should be explained and illustrated rather than merely listed.

An opposing argument that a writer acknowledges and then answers, a feature of balanced persuasive writing that strengthens the overall case.

The way a piece of writing is organised, including introduction, body paragraphs and conclusion, and the order in which ideas are presented.

The quality that makes sentences in a text link smoothly together, achieved through connectors, pronouns and consistent reference to the same ideas.

A word or phrase such as 'ωστόσο', 'επειδή' or 'επιπλέον' that joins ideas and signals contrast, cause, addition or sequence in speech and writing.

The degree of formality in language, ranging from casual speech with friends to formal writing, which must suit the audience and purpose.

A verb construction in which the subject performs the action, as in 'Ο Νίκος έγραψε το γράμμα', often preferred for clarity and directness.

A verb construction in which the subject receives the action, as in 'Το γράμμα γράφτηκε από τον Νίκο', common in formal and impersonal Greek writing.

The word that expresses an action, event or state in a sentence and carries information about person, number, tense, voice and mood in Greek.

The grammatical category that locates an action in time, such as present, past or future, with Greek distinguishing aspect as well as time.

The Greek grammatical aspect that shows whether an action is viewed as ongoing or repeated, or as a single completed whole.

The grammatical mood of a verb, such as indicative for statements, subjunctive after 'να' for wishes and plans, or imperative for commands.

The mood used after particles such as 'να' and 'θα', expressing intention, possibility or wish, as in 'Θέλω να πάω' or 'Θα έρθω'.

A grammatical case of nouns, articles and adjectives, such as nominative for subjects, genitive for possession and accusative for objects.

The grammatical category of nouns and adjectives as masculine, feminine or neuter, which determines article and adjective agreement in Greek.

Agreement between words in a phrase, for example an adjective matching its noun in gender, number and case, or a verb matching its subject in person and number.

A naming word for a person, thing, place or idea, which in Greek carries gender and changes form according to case and number.

A describing word that gives more information about a noun and must agree with it in gender, number and case.

A word that stands in place of a noun, such as 'αυτός', 'εγώ' or 'κάποιος', used to avoid repetition and to refer back in a text.

A small word placed before a noun phrase to show relationships such as place, time or direction, for example 'σε', 'από' or 'με'.

A word formed from another word by adding a prefix or suffix, such as 'διάβασμα' from 'διαβάζω', a common way Greek builds vocabulary.

A word made by combining two or more existing words, such as 'θαλασσοταραχή', whose meaning can often be worked out from its parts.

The range of words a candidate knows and can use appropriately, including topic vocabulary, collocations and idiomatic expressions for each theme studied.

A fixed expression whose meaning cannot be worked out from its individual words, such as 'μου έφυγε το καφάσι', and which marks natural fluency.

A word with a meaning close to another word, useful for paraphrasing and for avoiding repetition in extended writing tasks.

A word with the opposite meaning to another, such as 'εύκολος' and 'δύσκολος', helpful for expressing contrast in comparison tasks.