RBSE Praveshika English flashcards

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

Skimming

Reading quickly for the main idea by focusing on the first and last sentences of each paragraph and on headings, rather than on every detail.

Scanning

Reading quickly for a specific piece of information such as a name, date, or number, ignoring surrounding text until the keyword is found.

Inference question

A question whose answer is not stated directly but must be concluded from clues in the passage; the correct option is always supported by the text.

Not-given option

An answer choice used when the passage says nothing about the statement, so it can be neither confirmed nor denied from the text.

Present perfect

Has or have plus the past participle, used for a past action whose time is not stated or which still affects the present, with since, for, just, already, yet.

Past perfect

Had plus the past participle, marking the earlier of two past actions, while the later action takes the simple past tense.

Article by sound

A or an is chosen by the first sound, not the first letter, so we write a university, a European, an hour, an honest man, an MLA.

Passive voice formation

The object becomes the subject, the verb becomes a form of be plus the past participle, and the doer is placed after 'by' if mentioned.

Reported speech tense shift

When the reporting verb is past, present becomes past, past becomes past perfect, and will becomes would; pronouns and time words also change.

Reported yes/no question

A question reported with if or whether, in statement word order and without a question mark, for example: She asked if I was ready.

Modal verbs

Helping verbs such as can, may, must, should, could and would, always followed by the base verb, expressing ability, permission, obligation, advice or polite request.

Preposition of time

In is used for months, years and long periods; on for days and dates; at for clock times, as in at 5 p.m., on Monday, in June.

Bibliophile

One-word substitution for a person who loves and collects books; the suffix -phile means lover of, as in audiophile or Francophile.

Inevitable

One-word substitution for something that cannot be avoided or prevented; the prefix in- here means not, as in invisible or incomplete.

Once in a blue moon

An idiom meaning very rarely or almost never, used to describe an event that happens only on exceptional occasions.

To beat about the bush

An idiom meaning to avoid coming to the main point and to talk around the subject instead of speaking directly.

Let the cat out of the bag

An idiom meaning to reveal a secret carelessly or by mistake, usually before the proper time for it to be known.

Homophone trap: principal/principle

Principal means the head of an institution or the main thing; principle means a rule or belief, so the two must not be interchanged in writing.

Collective nouns

Group words such as a herd of cattle, a flock of sheep, a fleet of ships, a swarm of bees and a bunch of grapes.

Formal letter order

Sender's address, date, receiver's designation and address, subject line, salutation, body, Yours faithfully, and signature, in that sequence.

Application for leave

A formal request stating the reason for absence, the exact dates required, and a polite request for the leave to be sanctioned.

Topic sentence

The opening sentence of a paragraph that announces its controlling idea, which every later sentence in the paragraph must support.

Report writing essentials

A report answers what, where, when, who and why, states the outcome, and is written in the third person and past tense without personal opinion.

Yours faithfully vs affectionately

Yours faithfully closes a formal letter beginning Dear Sir or Madam; Yours lovingly or affectionately closes a personal letter to family or friends.

Cohesive devices

Linking words such as firstly, moreover, however, therefore and finally that connect sentences and show the relation between ideas.

Reference to context

A poetry answer that names the speaker, describes the situation in which the lines are spoken, and then explains the quoted lines.

Poetic devices

Techniques such as simile, metaphor, personification, alliteration and rhyme, each of which must be named and illustrated from the prescribed poem.

Character with evidence

A prose answer that states a trait and supports it with a specific action or line from the lesson rather than a general opinion.

Central idea of a poem

The message the poet conveys, stated in one sentence and supported by one quoted line from the prescribed text.

Tense mapping in translation

Hindi forms map to English thus: raha hai to is plus -ing; chuka hai to has plus past participle; raha tha to was plus -ing; ta tha to simple past.

Functional request phrases

Polite formulas such as Could you please, May I, I would be grateful if, and Kindly grant me, used in everyday spoken and written English.

Notice versus message

A notice is impersonal, in the third person, for a group; a message is addressed to one person and written in the first person.