Arabic (Third Language) - Script, Core Grammar and Exam Task Types
What this domain tests
Arabic is offered under the SSC curriculum as a compulsory or optional third-language subject, and the paper rewards control of script, vowel marks and elementary grammar rather than literary analysis. Expect task types such as reading a short passage and answering in Arabic, filling blanks with correct word forms, matching words with meanings, completing short dialogues, and writing a paragraph or informal letter of five to eight sentences on a familiar topic (my school, my family, my hobby).
Core rules to master
- Script and hamza: write right to left; separate ت/ث/ن/ب by dot count and position, and ج/ح/خ by the dot inside. Hamza carriers carry meaning: أ (a/u), إ (i), آ (long ʾā), ؤ, ئ.
- Definite article and sun letters: ال assimilates in pronunciation only to a sun letter - الشمس = ash-shams, but القمر = al-qamar. The spelling never changes.
- Gender and agreement: tāʾ marbūṭa (ة) usually marks feminine. Adjectives follow the noun in gender, number and definiteness: ولدٌ كبيرٌ, بنتٌ كبيرةٌ, البنتُ الكبيرةُ.
- Idāfa: the possessed noun takes neither ال nor tanwīn - كتابُ الولدِ ("the boy's book"), never الكتابُ الولد.
- Verbs: past-tense suffixes carry person and gender - كتبَ, كتبَتْ, كتبُوا, كتبْنَ - and the subject–verb gender match is expected.
- Numbers 3–10 reverse gender: ثلاثةُ كتبٍ with a masculine noun, ثلاثُ بناتٍ with a feminine one.
- Question words: مَن، ما، أين، متى، كيف، كم - learn each with one model answer.
Worked example
Complete: هذه بنتٌ ___ (كبير / كبيرة). Reasoning: بنت is feminine singular, so the adjective must be feminine singular, giving كبيرة. Had the sentence read هؤلاء بناتٌ, the feminine plural non-human pattern would give بناتٌ كبيراتٌ.
Marks-losing traps
- Writing ة as ه, which changes the word (مدرسة vs مدرسه).
- Adding ال or tanwīn to the first term of an idāfa.
- Transferring Marathi or English word order literally, producing verb-final or adjective-first Arabic.
- Ignoring vowel endings in fill-in items where the case ending is precisely what is being marked.
- Copying a comprehension answer verbatim without shifting pronouns to fit the question.