SACE Stage 2 Sinhala (continuers) key terms

The standard Sinhala greeting, literally wishing long life; used for both hello and goodbye in formal and informal settings, often accompanied by pressing palms together.

Good morning, a time-specific greeting used early in the day in formal or semi-formal exchanges such as school, workplace or first meeting with an elder.

Informal way of asking how are you or how is it; the verb ending changes with the person addressed, so learners must match it to the listener's status.

Respectful second-person pronouns for an older or senior male and female respectively; using them signals politeness where plain ඔයා would be too familiar.

Respect or honour; a core cultural value governing pronoun choice, verb endings, posture and speech style when addressing elders, teachers and monks.

Thank you; a short borrowing used in everyday speech, while the fuller verb form ස්තූති කරනවා appears in written and more formal contexts.

Please, used to soften a request or instruction; its placement before the verb marks polite requests in both speech and formal letters.

Excuse me or sorry; used to apologise, attract attention politely, or ask someone to repeat what was said in conversation.

A request or appeal; in interaction tasks candidates must phrase requests with appropriate politeness markers and clear reasons for the ask.

An invitation, especially to a ceremony, meal or event; invitations carry set formulas naming time, place and host, and require an acceptance or polite refusal.

A festival or celebration such as the Sinhala and Tamil New Year, Vesak or a wedding; describing one requires vocabulary for customs, food, dress and timing.

The Sinhala and Tamil New Year celebrated in mid-April; key features include auspicious times, kiribath, oil-anointing and exchange of betel leaves.

Milk rice, glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk and cut into diamonds; the ceremonial dish of New Year, birthdays and first meals of auspicious occasions.

The festival marking the Buddha's birth, enlightenment and passing; observed with lanterns, almsgiving and observances at temples across Sri Lanka.

A Buddhist holy day falling on each full moon, when devotees observe precepts at the temple; Poya days are public holidays in Sri Lanka.

Caste or lineage; still socially significant in some marriage and village contexts, and a frequent theme in Sinhala literature and discussion texts.

Tradition or custom, referring to inherited practices in religion, dress, food and ceremony that Sinhala texts often describe and evaluate.

Culture, encompassing language, religion, arts, food and social norms; a common topic for comprehension passages and for candidates' own written responses.

Vocabulary or word list; building topic-specific vocabulary is essential for both interpreting unseen texts and producing extended writing.

Meaning or sense; comprehension questions often ask for the meaning of a word or phrase in context, requiring attention to connotation and register.

Idea, opinion or gist; identifying the main idea and supporting points is a standard requirement when analysing Sinhala articles, stories and dialogues.

A summary; candidates condense a passage into its key points in their own words, showing understanding without copying the original phrasing.

Title or topic; identifying the best title for a passage tests whether a candidate has grasped its overall focus rather than a single detail.

Writer or author; questions may ask about the writer's purpose, attitude or intended audience, requiring inference from tone and content.

Description or detail; texts often mix general statement with specific description, and answers must distinguish the two when responding to questions.

An example; used in both comprehension answers and candidates' own writing to support an argument or clarify an abstract statement.

Reason or cause; written responses frequently require giving reasons for an opinion, linked to consequences with words such as නිසා and එබැවින්.

Result or consequence; argumentative writing pairs causes with results, and comprehension texts often describe effects of a trend or decision.

Expressing an opinion; requires phrases for agreeing, disagreeing and hedging, plus justification, in both discussion and essay tasks.

To agree; used with a dative subject, as in මම ඔබ සමඟ එකඟ වෙනවා, I agree with you. Its negative form expresses polite disagreement.

A debate or argument; discussion texts may present two sides, and candidates must summarise each position fairly before offering their own view.

A letter; formal and informal letters have distinct openings, closings and registers, and letter-writing is a common productive task.

A report; typically written in an impersonal style with headings, factual statements and a concluding recommendation, distinct from a personal letter.

A story or narrative; short stories are common comprehension texts, and narrative structure, character and setting are frequent analysis points.

A poem; analysing Sinhala verse involves imagery, rhythm, repetition and emotional effect, which candidates must describe in their own words.

Grammar; includes noun cases, verb conjugation, agreement and sentence patterns, tested both directly and through accuracy in produced texts.

A verb; Sinhala verbs inflect for tense, person and number, and the final verb of a sentence agrees with its subject, a frequent error point.

Grammatical case; Sinhala marks subjects, objects and possessors with case endings or postpositions, affecting word order and clarity in writing.

A dialogue or conversation; dialogue texts test turn-taking cues, speaker intent and the ability to respond appropriately in role-play tasks.