RBSE Praveshika English key terms

A short reading text the candidate has not studied before, followed by questions that test understanding of its main idea, details, and implied meaning.

The central point a passage makes about its topic, usually stated in one sentence near the beginning or end of the text.

A conclusion drawn from clues in the text rather than from a statement the writer makes directly, such as guessing a character's mood from their actions.

A word or phrase near an unfamiliar word that helps the reader work out its meaning, such as a synonym, an example, or a contrast in the same sentence.

The sentence in a paragraph that announces its main point and controls what the rest of the paragraph will discuss.

The form of a verb that shows when an action happens, whether present, past, or future, and whether it is simple, continuous, perfect, or perfect continuous.

A verb form made with has or have plus the past participle, used for actions finished recently or at an unstated time, and for states continuing to now.

The rule that the tense of a subordinate clause usually follows the tense of the main verb, so a past main verb normally brings a past verb into the reported clause.

The word 'the', used before a noun the listener or reader can identify, either because it was mentioned before or because it is unique in the situation.

The words 'a' and 'an', used before a singular countable noun mentioned for the first time or representing any one member of a class.

The absence of a or the before a noun, as with plural and uncountable nouns used in a general sense, for example 'Books are useful'.

A short word such as in, on, at, by, or with that links a noun or pronoun to another word and shows place, time, direction, or manner.

A group of words beginning with a preposition and ending with its object, such as 'under the table', which works as a single unit in a sentence.

The sentence pattern in which the subject performs the action, as in 'The teacher marked the papers', giving a direct and clear style.

The sentence pattern in which the subject receives the action, formed with a form of be plus the past participle, as in 'The papers were marked'.

In a passive sentence, the doer of the action, usually introduced by 'by' and often left out when it is unknown or unimportant.

The exact words a speaker used, placed inside quotation marks with their original pronouns and tense, as in 'She said, "I am tired"'.

A way of telling what someone said without quoting the exact words, changing pronouns and tense as needed, as in 'She said that she was tired'.

The verb such as say, tell, ask, or advise that introduces reported speech and decides whether the following clause is a statement, question, or command.

A helping verb such as can, may, must, should, or would that adds ideas of ability, permission, obligation, or possibility to a main verb.

The meaning carried by modals such as must, have to, and should, showing that an action is necessary, required, or strongly advisable.

The meaning carried by modals such as may, might, and could, showing that something is perhaps true or may happen but is not certain.

A word that has nearly the same meaning as another word in a particular context, such as 'begin' and 'start'.

A word that means the opposite of another word, such as 'generous' and 'mean', often formed with prefixes like un-, dis-, or in-.

A letter group added to the front of a word to change its meaning, as un- in 'unhappy' or re- in 'rewrite'.

A letter group added to the end of a word to change its meaning or word class, as -ness in 'kindness' or -less in 'careless'.

A single word that replaces a long phrase, such as 'orphan' for 'a child whose parents are dead' or 'biography' for 'the life story of a person'.

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

A letter written to an official, editor, or institution in a polite, impersonal style, following fixed parts such as sender's address, date, salutation, body, and closing.

A formal written request, often for a job or a leave of absence, arranged in the standard letter layout and stating the purpose clearly in the opening lines.

The greeting at the start of a letter, such as 'Dear Sir' or 'Dear Madam', chosen to match how formal the letter is and whether the reader's name is known.

A group of related sentences developing one idea, normally opening with a topic sentence and moving in a clear order to a closing sentence.

A factual account of an event or situation, written in an impersonal tone, often in the passive voice, and organised with a heading, facts, and a conclusion.

Rendering a sentence from Hindi or another language into correct English, keeping the meaning, tense, and word order natural in the target language.

Written text in ordinary sentence form rather than verse, such as the stories and essays in the prescribed textbook, studied for theme and character.

Writing arranged in lines and stanzas, often with rhythm and rhyme, studied in the textbook for its imagery, central idea, and poetic devices.

The central message or idea a story, essay, or poem explores, such as courage, kindness, or the value of education, stated in a full sentence.

The third form of a verb, such as 'written' or 'gone', used with have to make perfect tenses and with be to make the passive voice.