BSEB Matric Arabic (Optional) flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Topic sentence in Arabic prose

The opening nominal sentence that names what the paragraph is about. It usually precedes the supporting verbal sentences, so identifying it gives the passage's main idea quickly.

Connective فَ versus ثُمَّ

فَ marks immediate sequence or a direct result, while ثُمَّ marks sequence with a delay or gap. In comprehension questions, فَ signals consequence and ثُمَّ signals later action.

Circumstantial accusative (الحال)

A singular accusative word describing the state of the subject or object during the action, as in جَاءَ الطَّالِبُ مُسْرِعًا, meaning the student came in a hurrying state.

Relative pronoun function

الَّذِي, الَّتِي, الَّذِينَ and their duals introduce a clause describing the preceding definite noun. Translate the clause as an adjective phrase attached to that noun.

The five nouns

أَبُوكَ, أَخُوكَ, حَمُوكَ, فُوكَ, ذُو take long vowels instead of short case endings: و in the nominative, ا in the accusative, ي in the genitive.

Non-human plural agreement

Non-human broken plurals take feminine singular agreement on verbs and adjectives, as in جَاءَتِ الْكُتُبُ الْجَدِيدَةُ. Human plurals take normal plural agreement.

Jussive of hollow verbs

Hollow verbs drop their medial long vowel in the jussive: قَالَ becomes لَمْ يَقُلْ, بَاعَ becomes لَمْ يَبِعْ, and يَكُونُ becomes لَمْ يَكُنْ.

Form X pattern اِسْتَفْعَلَ

Form X usually expresses seeking or requesting the meaning of the root: اِسْتَخْرَجَ to seek extraction, اِسْتَغْفَرَ to seek forgiveness, اِسْتَعْمَلَ to put to use.

Masdar patterns Forms II–X

Forms II–X have predictable masdar patterns: تَفْعِيل, مُفَاعَلَة, إِفْعَال, تَفَعُّل, تَفَاعُل, اِنْفِعَال, اِفْتِعَال, اِسْتِفْعَال. Form I masdar is irregular and must be memorised.

VSO to SOV shift

Arabic places the verb first, Hindi and Urdu place it last. Translation moves the subject before the object and puts the verb at the end of the clause.

Idafa reversal in translation

In إضافة the first noun is possessed and takes no article or tanwin. Translation reverses the order: كِتَابُ الطَّالِبِ becomes 'the student's book' or छात्र की किताब.

Arabic preposition equivalents

فِي means में, مِنْ means से, إِلَى means तक or की ओर, عَلَى means पर, بِ means से or के द्वारा, and لِ means के लिए in Hindi and Urdu.

Dual pronoun rendering

Arabic هُمَا and أَنْتُمَا have no single Hindi or Urdu form. Render them explicitly as वे दोनों or तुम दोनों so the dual number is not lost.

Three parts of شرح

A prose explanation states the literal meaning of the line, its place and function in the lesson, and the moral or central idea it supports.

Trait-plus-incident answer

Character questions are answered by naming the trait, such as الصدق or الكرم, and then citing the specific incident from the lesson that proves it.

Speaker identification first

Before explaining a quoted line, identify who says it and to whom. Misattributing the speaker is a common cause of lost marks in explanation items.

Contextual vocabulary meaning

Vocabulary-in-context items require the sense the word carries in that sentence, which may differ from its first dictionary meaning. Check the surrounding words before answering.

تشبيه and استعارة

تشبيه compares two things explicitly with a particle such as كَ or مِثْل. استعارة borrows a word from one domain to another without the particle.

طباق and جناس

طباق is antithesis, pairing opposites such as الليل والنهار. جناس is paronomasia, pairing words similar in sound but different in meaning.

Rhyme letter (قافية)

The قافية is the final consonant of the line together with the vowel preceding it. Rhyme questions ask for that letter and the repeated ending pattern.

Emotion plus device

Appreciation items require naming the dominant emotion, such as فخر, رثاء, حكمة or وصف, and the poetic device that produces that effect.

Formal letter opening

A formal Arabic letter opens with the basmala or a greeting, then the title and name of the addressee, such as حضرة المدير, before the body.

Essay three-part skeleton

An Arabic essay is built as مقدمة stating the thesis, عرض giving two or three supported points, and خاتمة restating the conclusion.

Formal letter closing

Formal letters end with a polite formula such as والسلام or مع أطيب التحيات, followed by the sender's signature and the date.

Coherence connectors

Essays and letters use ordinal and additive connectors: أَوَّلًا, ثَانِيًا, بِالْإِضَافَةِ إِلَى ذَلِكَ, لِذَلِكَ, فِي الْخِتَامِ, to link paragraphs clearly.

Root family vocabulary

Words are learned in root families: from كَتَبَ come كَاتِب, مَكْتُوب, كِتَاب, مَكْتَب and كِتَابَة. One root supplies many exam words.

Opposite pairs to memorise

Frequent antonym pairs include كَثِير/قَلِيل, صَدِيق/عَدُوّ, نَجَاح/رَسُوب, سَهْل/صَعْب and قَدِيم/جَدِيد.

Number polarity rule

Numbers three to ten take the opposite gender of the counted noun: ثَلَاثَةُ كُتُبٍ with a masculine numeral and masculine noun, but ثَلَاثُ بَنَاتٍ with a feminine numeral.

Naskh and Ruq'a

Naskh is the clear book hand used for printing and formal writing. Ruq'a is a compact, fast hand used for everyday handwriting.

Hamza on the line

Final hamza is written on the line after a long vowel or a sukun, as in شَيْء and سَمَاء. It sits on a letter when the preceding vowel is short.

Sun and moon letters

Sun letters assimilate the ل of the article, giving الشَّمْس. Moon letters keep it pronounced, giving الْقَمَر. The written form keeps the ل either way.

Tā marbuta before suffixes

The tā marbuta is written ة at the end of a word but becomes an open ت when a suffix follows: مَدْرَسَة becomes مَدْرَسَتِي.