Odisha BSE Madhyama English key terms

A word that names a person, place, thing, or idea, such as 'teacher', 'Bhubaneswar', 'book', or 'honesty'. It can be the subject or object of a sentence.

A word used in place of a noun so that the noun need not be repeated, for example 'he', 'she', 'it', 'they', or 'myself'. The noun it replaces is called its antecedent.

A describing word that gives more information about a noun or pronoun, telling us its quality, size, colour, or number, as in 'a tall boy' or 'three mangoes'.

A word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb, usually telling how, when, where, or how often something happens, such as 'quickly', 'yesterday', or 'very'.

A word that expresses an action, an event, or a state of being, such as 'run', 'happen', or 'seem'. Every complete sentence must contain at least one finite verb.

The part of a sentence that names the person or thing performing the action or being described. In 'The children played outside', the subject is 'The children'.

The part of a sentence that says something about the subject, containing the verb and any objects or complements. In 'The dog barked loudly', 'barked loudly' is the predicate.

The noun or pronoun that receives the action of a transitive verb. In 'She wrote a letter', 'a letter' is the direct object of 'wrote'.

A verb that needs an object to complete its meaning, such as 'build' in 'They build houses'. Without the object the sentence feels incomplete.

A verb that makes complete sense without an object, such as 'sleep', 'arrive', or 'laugh'. It cannot take a direct object after it.

The form of a verb that shows the time of an action or state, whether present, past, or future. English has simple, continuous, perfect, and perfect continuous forms in each time frame.

A helping verb used with a main verb to form tenses, questions, or negatives, such as 'be', 'have', and 'do', or the modals 'can' and 'will'.

A special helping verb such as 'can', 'may', 'must', 'should', or 'would' that expresses ability, permission, obligation, or possibility. It is followed by the base form of the verb.

The sentence pattern in which the subject performs the action, as in 'The farmer grows rice'. It is usually clearer and more direct than the passive pattern.

The sentence pattern in which the subject receives the action, formed with a form of 'be' plus the past participle, as in 'Rice is grown by the farmer'.

A word placed before a noun to show whether it refers to something specific or general. English has the definite article 'the' and the indefinite articles 'a' and 'an'.

A word that shows the relationship between a noun or pronoun and another word in the sentence, usually indicating place, time, or direction, such as 'in', 'on', 'under', or 'between'.

A joining word that links words, phrases, or clauses, such as 'and', 'but', 'or', 'because', and 'although'. It helps to combine ideas into one sentence.

A group of words that contains a subject and a finite verb. It may stand alone as a main clause or depend on another clause, as in 'when the rain stopped'.

A group of related words that does not contain both a subject and a finite verb, such as 'in the morning' or 'a very long journey'. It works as a single unit in a sentence.

The exact words spoken by a person, placed inside quotation marks, as in She said, 'I am tired.' The original speaker's words are reported without change.

Reported speech in which a person's words are retold without quotation marks, with changes to pronouns and tense, as in She said that she was tired.

The verb form used with 'have' to make perfect tenses and with 'be' to make the passive, such as 'written', 'gone', or 'eaten'. It is often called the third form of a verb.

A verb form ending in '-ing' that works as a noun, as in 'Swimming is good exercise' or 'I enjoy reading'. It can be the subject or object of a sentence.

The base form of a verb, usually preceded by 'to', as in 'to sing' or 'to run'. It can act as a noun, adjective, or adverb in a sentence.

A verb form used as an adjective, either present ('-ing', as in 'a crying baby') or past (as in 'a broken window'). It describes a noun while keeping some verb force.

A word that has the same or nearly the same meaning as another word, such as 'begin' and 'start' or 'happy' and 'glad'. Synonyms help you vary your vocabulary in writing.

A word that expresses the opposite meaning of another word, such as 'hot' and 'cold', 'brave' and 'cowardly', or 'ancient' and 'modern'. Antonyms are useful in vocabulary questions.

One of two or more words that sound the same but differ in spelling and meaning, such as 'write' and 'right', or 'sea' and 'see'. Correct spelling depends on the intended meaning.

A letter group added to the beginning of a word to change its meaning, as in 'unhappy', 'rewrite', or 'impossible'. Knowing prefixes helps you guess the meaning of new words.

A letter group added to the end of a word to change its meaning or part of speech, as in 'kindness', 'beautiful', or 'quickly'. It often changes a word from one word class to another.

A fixed expression whose meaning cannot be understood from the individual words, such as 'to let the cat out of the bag', meaning to reveal a secret.

A verb combined with an adverb or preposition to create a new meaning, such as 'give up' (surrender), 'look after' (take care of), or 'put off' (postpone).

A short, well-known saying that expresses a general truth or piece of advice, such as 'A stitch in time saves nine' or 'Honesty is the best policy'.

The ability to read a passage, understand its meaning, and answer questions about its main idea, details, and implied message. It is tested through unseen prose passages.

The central point or message that a paragraph or passage is about. It is often stated in a topic sentence and supported by smaller details throughout the text.

A conclusion reached by reading between the lines, using clues in the text and your own reasoning rather than a directly stated fact. It is a common comprehension question type.

To express the meaning of a sentence or passage in your own words while keeping the original sense. It shows understanding and avoids copying the source exactly.

A short account of the main points of a passage, written in your own words and leaving out unnecessary details. It should be brief, clear, and faithful to the original.