Grammar (Qawaid): Parsing and Correct Usage
Qawaid tests applied grammar: you must name a word's type, parse a sentence (tarkeeb), and correct usage. Learn definitions with Urdu examples, not English labels alone.
Core areas
- Ism: aam/khas, zaat/maani, jamid/mushtaq, wahid/jama, muzakkar/muannas.
- Fail: mazi, haal, mustaqbil; lazim/mutaaddi; gardaan.
- Harf: particles that show relation.
- Jumla: mubtada-khabar; faail-mafool-fail; tarkeeb-e-nahvi versus tarkeeb-e-sarfi.
- Sifat, zameer, mutazad, muraadif.
Parsing method
Identify faail (doer), mafool (object), and fail (verb); then tense, gender, number; then sentence type.
Worked example
'Ali ne kitaab likhi.' Faail: Ali; 'ne' marks a transitive perfect verb. Mafool: kitaab. Fail: likhi - mazi, wahid, muannas, because kitaab is muannas. Tarkeeb: faili jumla. Reasoning: you cannot write 'likha' simply because Ali is masculine; in Urdu transitive perfect the verb agrees with the object, not the doer. That is why 'kitaab likhi' is correct.
Traps that cost marks
Confusing faail with fail; ignoring 'ne'; wrong gender or number agreement; memorising terms without examples; forcing English grammatical categories onto Urdu; mislabelling a nominal sentence as verbal.