Maharashtra SSC Persian (MSBSHSE) key terms

A word that expresses an action or state occurring at a point in time, such as "رفت" (he went) or "می‌نویسد" (he writes). Persian verbs carry person and number endings that agree with the subject.

The dictionary or infinitive form of a verb, usually ending in "ـدن" (e.g., "خواندن" - to read). The past stem is obtained by removing "ـن", and the present stem is found from the infinitive or by usage.

The past stem of a verb, formed by dropping the final "ـن" from the infinitive, as "رفت" from "رفتن". Simple past, past continuous, and past perfect are built on this stem plus personal endings.

The present stem of a verb, used to build present and future forms, e.g., "رو" in "می‌روم" (I go) or "نویس" in "می‌نویسم". It is not always predictable from the infinitive and must be learned with each verb.

The simple past tense, made from the past stem plus personal endings: "رفتم" (I went), "رفتند" (they went). It reports a completed action and is one of the most frequent tenses in SSC Persian passages.

The present perfect, formed with the past participle plus forms of "است": "رفته‌ام" (I have gone). It links a past event to the present moment and often appears in reported speech and news-style sentences.

The present tense, usually marked by the prefix "می‌ـ", as in "می‌خوانم" (I read). It describes habitual or ongoing action; without "می" the same stem gives the subjunctive form.

The subjunctive mood, formed from the present stem with the prefix "بـ" and personal endings, as "بروم" (that I go). It follows expressions of wish, doubt, purpose, or necessity such as "می‌خواهم" or "باید".

The personal ending attached to a verb that shows its subject: "ـم" (I), "ـی" (you), "ـد" (he/she), "ـیم" (we), "ـید" (you pl.), "ـند" (they). Correct agreement between verb and subject depends on these endings.

A noun or name word denoting a person, place, thing, or idea, such as "کتاب" (book) or "تهران". Persian nouns do not mark gender and take plural suffixes "ـها" or "ـان".

The plural form of a noun or adjective. Persian uses the general suffix "ـها" (کتاب‌ها) and the animate suffix "ـان" (مردان - men), plus broken plurals borrowed from Arabic such as "کتب" for "کتاب".

The singular form of a word, referring to one person or thing, as opposed to plural. In grammar exercises a candidate may be asked to give the plural of a singular noun or to identify a singular verb.

The unstressed vowel "ـِ" linking two words in a possessive or descriptive phrase, as in "کتابِ علی" (Ali's book) or "شهرِ بزرگ" (a big city). It is written but not usually pronounced as a separate letter.

A word describing a noun, placed before it with ezāfe: "کتابِ خوب" (a good book). Persian adjectives do not change for gender or number, and they follow the noun they describe.

The past participle, made from the past stem plus "ـه": "نوشته" (written), "رفته" (gone). It functions as an adjective and as the main part of the present perfect and passive constructions.

A pronoun replacing a noun: "من" (I), "تو" (you), "او" (he/she), "ما" (we), "شما" (you pl.), "آنها" (they). Persian also has clitic pronouns like "ـَم" and "ـَش" attached to words.

A preposition linking a noun to the rest of the sentence, such as "در" (in), "به" (to), "از" (from), "با" (with), "برای" (for). Prepositions are followed by a noun or pronoun without ezāfe.

An adverb modifying a verb, adjective, or another adverb, such as "خیلی" (very), "همیشه" (always), "دیروز" (yesterday), "آرام" (quietly). Adverbs are invariable and often appear before the word they modify.

A sentence: a complete thought with a subject and a verb, ending in a full stop, question mark, or exclamation mark. Persian sentences typically place the verb at the end, as "علی کتاب خواند" (Ali read the book).

The subject of a sentence, the doer of the action, usually marked by "ـَ" in early grammar examples or simply by position before the object. The verb agrees with it in person and number.

The direct object of a verb, the thing acted upon, often marked by the suffix "را", as in "کتاب را خواندم" (I read the book). The marker "را" appears when the object is definite or specific.

A postposition marking a definite direct object: "نامه را نوشتم" (I wrote the letter). It follows the object noun or pronoun and never begins a phrase; learners often confuse it with a preposition.

The grammatical role a word plays in a sentence, such as subject, object, or modifier. In parsing exercises a candidate identifies the role of each word rather than only its part of speech.

Translation, an exercise requiring the candidate to render a Persian passage into Marathi or English, or the reverse, while preserving meaning and grammar. Accuracy of tense and word order is usually graded.

The meaning or sense of a word, phrase, or passage. Meaning questions ask the candidate to explain a Persian word or line in simple language, often from a prescribed lesson.

A word or vocabulary item. In SSC Persian, vocabulary questions test recognition of common Persian words, their meanings, and their correct use in sentences.

A synonym: a word with the same or nearly the same meaning as another, such as "بزرگ" and "کلان" (big). Synonym questions ask the candidate to match or supply a word of similar meaning.

An antonym: a word with the opposite meaning to another, such as "روز" (day) and "شب" (night), or "خوب" (good) and "بد" (bad). Antonym exercises test vocabulary pairs from the prescribed lessons.

Spelling or dictation. Candidates write Persian words correctly, paying attention to letters that sound alike in pronunciation, such as "س", "ص", "ث" for the sound s, and "ز", "ذ", "ض", "ظ" for z.

A written character or letter of the Persian alphabet. Persian uses the Arabic script with four extra letters: "پ", "چ", "ژ", "گ", and letters change shape depending on whether they join the following letter.

Letters of the alphabet, or particles in grammar. Persian has 32 letters, written right to left; several letters share a sound, and short vowels are usually not written but shown by marks in elementary texts.

Poetry, a major part of the SSC Persian syllabus. Prescribed verses are studied for meaning, vocabulary, and simple appreciation of imagery, rhyme, and the poet's message.

A couplet: two rhyming half-lines forming one unit of a Persian poem. Classical Persian poetry is counted in couplets, and a ghazal may contain several of them.

Rhyme: the matching final sounds at the end of verse lines. In a couplet the two half-lines rhyme, and in a ghazal the same rhyme recurs at the end of each couplet's first line and every following second line.

A word or short phrase repeated after the rhyme at the end of each verse line, as in a ghazal where the same word follows every rhyme. It adds rhythm and unity to the poem.

A poet, the author of a verse text. Candidates should recognize the names of major Persian poets whose works appear in the syllabus, such as Sa'di, Hafez, and Rumi, and the themes associated with them.

A story or narrative, often a prose lesson in the SSC textbook. Story questions test comprehension of events, characters, and moral, and may ask for a short summary or explanation of a line.

A short moral tale, often in simple classical prose, used in Persian textbooks to teach ethics and vocabulary. Candidates explain its lesson and the meaning of difficult words in it.