Assam ASSEB HSLC Elective Arabic key terms

An Arabic noun or name: any word that denotes a person, place, thing, or abstract idea without being tied to a tense. It may take case endings and the definite article.

An Arabic verb, a word that denotes an action or state tied to one of three tenses: past, present, or imperative. It carries person, gender, and number endings.

A particle in Arabic grammar: a word that has no independent meaning until joined to a noun or verb, such as prepositions, conjunctions, and interrogative particles. It takes no case ending.

The system of case and mood endings on Arabic words, showing their grammatical function through ḍamma, fatḥa, kasra, or sukūn, sometimes with nūn or omission replacing them.

The nominative state in Arabic, normally marked by a ḍamma or, in dual and sound masculine plural forms, by alif or wāw. It marks subjects, predicates, and the like.

The accusative state in Arabic, normally marked by a fatḥa, or by alif, yāʾ, or kasra in certain plural and dual forms. It marks objects, adverbs, and similar functions.

The genitive state in Arabic, normally marked by a kasra, or by yāʾ or fatḥa in certain declension types. It follows prepositions and marks the second term of possessive constructions.

The topic noun that opens a nominal sentence in Arabic, standing in the nominative case before its predicate. It is usually definite and is what the sentence is about.

The predicate of an Arabic nominal sentence, telling us something about the subject. It normally follows the subject in the nominative, agreeing with it in gender and number.

The doer or subject of an Arabic verb, always in the nominative case. It follows the verb and determines the verb's gender and number agreement.

The direct object in Arabic, the noun receiving the action of a transitive verb. It stands in the accusative case after the verb and its subject.

The Arabic possessive construction in which two nouns are joined: the first takes no definite article or case marker of its own, and the second stands in the genitive.

The first noun in an Arabic possessive construction, the possessed or head noun. It never takes the definite article directly and takes its case from its role in the sentence.

The second noun in an Arabic possessive construction, the possessor or complement. It is always genitive and may be definite or indefinite, determining the definiteness of the whole phrase.

The root of an Arabic word, usually three consonants carrying the core meaning. Patterns of vowels and added letters are fitted onto this root to build related nouns and verbs.

The morphological pattern or template into which an Arabic root is placed, written with the letters fāʾ, ʿayn, lām. It shows vowel length, doubling, and added consonants.

The morphological scale used to describe Arabic word patterns, with ف ع ل standing for the three root letters. Added letters are written as they appear in the word being analysed.

Arabic morphology, the branch of grammar that studies word formation, root patterns, inflection, and changes such as pluralisation and derivation, as distinct from sentence structure.

Arabic syntax, the branch of grammar dealing with sentence structure, word order, and case endings determined by grammatical function within a sentence.

The Arabic past tense verb, describing an action already completed. It is built on a fixed pattern and changes only for person, gender, and number, not for mood.

The Arabic present or imperfect verb, expressing an action in progress or future. It takes prefixes marking person and can be in the indicative, subjunctive, or jussive mood.

The Arabic imperative verb form, used to give a direct command to a second-person addressee. It is built on a fixed pattern and is always addressed to someone present.

An Arabic nominal sentence that begins with a noun and consists of a subject and predicate, often with no explicit verb. It may be expanded by particles such as inna or kāna.

An Arabic verbal sentence that begins with a verb and is normally followed by its doer and any object. The verb generally agrees with its subject in gender but not always in number.

An Arabic preposition such as fī, min, ʿalā, or ilā that governs the following noun in the genitive case. It links a noun phrase to a verb or another noun.

The Arabic dual form, used for exactly two of something. It is made by adding āni in the nominative or ayni in the accusative and genitive to the singular stem.

The Arabic plural, of three or more. It may be a sound masculine or feminine plural formed by suffix, or a broken plural formed by internal vowel change.

An Arabic broken plural, formed not by adding a suffix but by reshaping the singular's internal vowels and pattern. The resulting form must be learned with each noun.

The singular form of an Arabic noun, referring to one item, as opposed to dual or plural. In grammar it also names a word that is not part of a possessive or similar compound.

The system of writing short vowels and other diacritics above and below Arabic letters so the pronunciation is clear. It is essential for distinguishing forms in elementary texts.

A short vowel sign in Arabic script: fatḥa for a, kasra for i, ḍamma for u, and sukūn for no vowel. Doubling the sign with shadda lengthens the consonant.

The glottal-stop letter of Arabic, written alone or carried on alif, wāw, or yāʾ depending on position and neighbouring vowels. Its correct placement is a common spelling test point.

The first letter of the Arabic alphabet, a vertical stroke that serves as a long ā vowel or as a seat for hamza. It never joins to the following letter.

The written form or orthography of an Arabic word, including which letters are written, joined, or omitted. Correct rasm is tested in spelling and calligraphy exercises.

Arabic handwriting or calligraphy, the art of forming letters with correct proportion and joining. Styles such as naskh and ruqʿa are used for clear, legible writing.

A synonym in Arabic, a word with a meaning close or identical to another. Synonym questions ask candidates to choose the nearest equivalent in a given context.

An antonym in Arabic, a word with the opposite meaning to another, such as long and short. Antonym questions test precise vocabulary knowledge.

Arabic for expression or composition: the writing task in which a candidate produces connected prose on a set topic or writes a letter in correct, idiomatic Arabic.

Arabic composition writing, the production of an original passage on a given subject. It is assessed on structure, vocabulary range, grammatical accuracy, and correct spelling.

An Arabic letter, either personal or formal, with a salutation, body, and closing. Formal letters follow set openers and closers that candidates are expected to reproduce correctly.

A line or verse of classical Arabic poetry, normally made of two halves, the first and second hemistich. Poem questions often ask for the meaning of a whole bayt.

An Arabic poem, traditionally a monorhyme ode of many lines on themes such as praise, love, or wisdom. Prescribed poems in the syllabus are usually short extracts.

One half of an Arabic poetic line, either the opening hemistich or the closing one. The two halves usually share rhyme or a parallel rhythm.

Simile in Arabic rhetoric, the explicit comparison of two things using a particle such as ka, kaʾanna, or mithl. It has four elements: the compared, the standard, the ground, and the particle.

Metaphor in Arabic rhetoric, where a word is transferred from its literal sense to another because of a resemblance. Unlike simile, the comparison particle is dropped.

An indirect expression in Arabic rhetoric that hints at a meaning without naming it, often using a related quality. It is neither a plain statement nor a full metaphor.

An Arabic text or passage, especially a prescribed prose extract set for comprehension. Candidates must read it, explain its words, and answer questions on its content.

Explanation or commentary on an Arabic text, giving the sense of difficult words and clarifying the passage's overall meaning and lesson.

The meaning or sense of an Arabic word, phrase, or passage. Meaning questions ask candidates to choose the correct sense in context rather than the dictionary's first gloss.

Comprehension, the ability to understand an unseen Arabic passage and answer questions on its main idea, details, and inferences. It is tested with unseen prose extracts.

Translation, the rendering of a text from one language into another, here Arabic into English or Assamese and the reverse. Accuracy and natural target-language style are both required.

Error correction, a grammar exercise in which a faulty Arabic sentence is identified and rewritten correctly. The error may be in case ending, agreement, gender, or word order.

A small circle written above an Arabic consonant to show that it carries no vowel. It is essential for correct pronunciation of closed syllables and in writing the jussive.

A doubling sign shaped like a small w above an Arabic consonant, showing that the letter is pronounced twice. It often marks the second radical of a doubled verb.