Setswana: Puo, Tlhaloganyo le Kwalo
What you must understand
Setswana tests your command of the language across grammar, comprehension, vocabulary and writing. You must understand noun classes and their concords, because verbs, adjectives and pronouns must agree with the noun they describe. Learn the common tenses and their markers, the use of subject concords, and the difference between direct and reported speech. Know idioms and proverbs, since questions often ask for the meaning of an expression rather than its literal words. For comprehension, practise finding stated facts, inferring meaning and explaining the writer's purpose. For writing, structure a letter or story with a clear beginning, middle and end, and use appropriate greetings and closings for formal and informal letters.
Traps to watch for
Concord errors are the most common trap: a candidate chooses a verb that agrees with the wrong noun class. Questions on proverbs may offer a literal explanation that is wrong; choose the figurative meaning. In comprehension, do not copy a whole sentence when the question asks for a reason in your own words. In letter writing, mixing formal and informal greetings loses marks. Watch spelling of common words with doubled vowels or consonants, and check that your punctuation marks direct speech correctly.
Rule of thumb and worked example
For any sentence, find the noun first, decide its class, then check every agreeing word.
Example: If the noun is in a class taking the concord di-, the verb must carry the same concord, so dikgomo di a fula is correct, not dikgomo e a fula. The noun decides the concord, not the meaning of the sentence.
For proverbs, ask what lesson the saying teaches in real life, then match that lesson to the options given. For writing, plan three short paragraphs before you begin so your ideas do not repeat.