Karnataka SSLC English SL (KSEAB) key terms

The central idea or message a poem or prose passage conveys, such as friendship, sacrifice, or the dignity of labour, usually stated in one sentence after reading the whole text.

The main point a passage makes, supported by most of its sentences; unlike a theme, it can usually be stated as a factual claim about the subject being discussed.

The attitude a writer or speaker takes towards the subject, revealed through word choice, such as ironic, nostalgic, admiring, or bitter, and inferred rather than directly stated.

The feeling a text creates in the reader, for example calm, tense, or cheerful, produced by setting, imagery, and rhythm rather than by the writer's stated opinion.

Descriptive language appealing to the senses, such as sight, sound, smell, or touch, that helps a reader picture a scene or feel an emotion more vividly.

A comparison between two unlike things using 'like' or 'as', as in 'her voice was like a bell'; the comparison is stated openly rather than implied.

A comparison in which one thing is spoken of as if it were another, without using 'like' or 'as', as in 'the classroom was a beehive of activity'.

Giving human qualities to a non-human thing, as when a poem says the wind whispers or the moon smiles, to make description vivid or to suggest a mood.

The repetition of the same initial consonant sound in nearby words, such as 'silent, slow, and still', used for rhythm, emphasis, or a musical effect in poetry.

The pattern in which end sounds of lines rhyme in a poem, usually labelled with letters such as abab or aabb, and often asked about in comprehension questions.

The beat or flow of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of verse or prose, which affects pace and can reinforce the meaning or emotion of a passage.

A group of lines forming a unit in a poem, separated from other groups by a blank line, roughly comparable to a paragraph in prose.

A line or phrase repeated at intervals in a poem or song, often at the end of stanzas, to build rhythm or emphasise a key idea.

A conclusion drawn from clues in a passage rather than from a directly stated sentence, such as working out a character's feeling from what they do or refuse to say.

The most important point of a paragraph or passage, usually found in a topic sentence and supported by the remaining details, examples, or reasons given.

A short account of a passage's key points written in your own words, leaving out examples and repetition while keeping the order and sense of the original.

Restating a sentence or short passage in different words while keeping the original meaning, often used to show understanding of a difficult line.

A word or phrase near an unfamiliar word that hints at its meaning, such as a definition, example, contrast, or cause-effect relationship in the surrounding sentence.

Reading quickly to locate a specific piece of information, such as a date, name, or figure, without reading every word in the passage.

Reading rapidly for the general sense of a passage, often by looking at first sentences of paragraphs and headings, before deciding what to read closely.

A word with a meaning close to another word in the same language, such as 'begin' and 'commence'; exact equivalence is rare, so context decides the best choice.

A word opposite in meaning to another, such as 'generous' and 'stingy'; prefix-based opposites like 'possible' and 'impossible' are common in vocabulary exercises.

A meaningful group of letters added to the front of a base word to change its meaning, as in 'un-' in 'unfair' or 're-' in 'rewrite'.

A group of letters added to the end of a base word to change its meaning or part of speech, as in '-ness' forming nouns or '-less' meaning 'without'.

Building new words from base forms using prefixes, suffixes, or compounding, such as turning 'care' into 'careless' or 'carefully', a frequent fill-in-the-blank item.

A pairing of words that native users naturally put together, such as 'make a decision' rather than 'do a decision', learned as whole phrases rather than by rule.

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

A group of words that works as a single unit in a sentence but lacks a subject and verb pair, such as 'in the morning' or 'a very long journey'.

A group of words containing a subject and a finite verb; it may stand alone as a sentence or be joined to another clause by a conjunction.

A word that joins words, phrases, or clauses, such as 'and', 'but', 'because', or 'although'; the choice depends on the relationship being shown.

A word showing the relationship of a noun or pronoun to another element, covering place, time, or direction, as in 'under the table' or 'since Monday'.

The determiner 'a', 'an', or 'the'; 'a' and 'an' are indefinite and depend on the following sound, while 'the' is definite and points to a specific item.

The verb form that locates an action in time, such as past, present, or future, and also shows whether the action is simple, continuous, or completed.

The rule that a verb must match its subject in number and person, so a singular subject takes a singular verb even when words come between them.

The form of a verb showing whether the subject acts or is acted upon; active voice is direct and preferred in reports, while passive voice shifts focus to the receiver.

Conveying what someone said without quoting directly, which usually requires shifting tense, pronouns, and time words, as in 'She said she was leaving then'.

A linking word or phrase such as 'however', 'therefore', or 'in addition' that signals how one sentence or paragraph relates to the previous one.

A group of sentences developing one point, usually opening with a topic sentence, supported by details, and closed with a linking or concluding sentence.

The sentence, often first in a paragraph, that announces the paragraph's controlling idea; the remaining sentences should explain, illustrate, or support it.

A letter written in polite, impersonal language to an official or institution, following a fixed layout of sender's address, date, receiver's address, salutation, body, and closing.

The greeting at the start of a letter, such as 'Dear Sir' or 'Dear Madam' in formal writing, or 'Dear Ravi' in informal writing, followed by a comma.

The formal closing line of a letter, such as 'Yours faithfully' when the recipient is unnamed or 'Yours sincerely' when the name is known, placed above the signature.

Producing a factual account of an event or survey with a heading, reporter's name, date, and clearly ordered details, written in the past tense and third person.

A short public announcement displayed on a board, giving what, when, where, and whom to contact in a few lines, usually in a boxed format with a heading.

Rendering a sentence or passage from one language into another so that the meaning, tone, and register are preserved, rather than word-for-word substitution.

The language needed for practical purposes such as filling forms, writing applications, giving directions, or reading timetables, judged by clarity and appropriateness rather than literary style.