UPMSP High School Arabic flashcards

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

فاعل case ending

The doer of a transitive verb is always مرفوع, taking ـُ or ـٌ (or dual/plural equivalents). Identify it before choosing the object's ending.

إنّ and sisters effect

إنّ، أنّ، كأنّ، لكنّ، ليت، لعلّ make the following اسم منصوب and the خبر مرفوع. Example: إنّ العلمَ نورٌ.

كان and sisters effect

كان، أصبح، صار، ظل، ليس leave the اسم مرفوع but make the خبر منصوب. Example: كان الجوُّ جميلاً.

Form X meaning

استفعل typically means seeking or requesting the root action: استخرج to extract, استغفر to seek forgiveness, استقبل to receive or face.

Broken plural أفعال

Pattern أفعال forms plurals of many three-letter nouns: قلم → أقلام, بيت → أبيات, باب → أبواب. It is ممنوع من الصرف in most cases.

همزة وصل vs قطع

وصل is written and pronounced only sentence-initially: ال، ابن، اسم، استفعل. قطع is always pronounced: أحمد، إسلام، أكرم، إنسان.

Number agreement 3 to 10

Numbers 3–10 take a broken plural in the genitive: ثلاثةُ كتبٍ, سبعُ سنواتٍ. The counted noun is مضاف إليه.

Number agreement 11 and above

From 11 upward the counted noun is singular and منصوب: أحدَ عشرَ كتاباً, عشرون طالباً. Word order puts units before tens.

Passage main idea question

Questions like ما الفكرة الرئيسية؟ ask for the passage's subject, usually stated in its opening sentence. Avoid options that repeat a single striking detail.

Reference pronoun question

من المقصود بـ'هو'؟ asks for the referent. Match gender and number, then choose the nearest preceding noun that fits the meaning.

Contrast connector لكن

لكن and غير أنّ introduce a reversal; the answer to a question about the writer's final view often sits after this connector, not before it.

Reading numbers in Arabic

Arabic writes units before tens and reads left to right within the number: خمسة وعشرون = 25, مائة وثلاثة = 103. Copy tested figures exactly.

Arabic VSO order

Standard Arabic normally puts verb first, then subject, then object. Hindi is SOV and English SVO, so translation requires reordering, not word-for-word transfer.

على قدم وساق

An idiom meaning 'at full speed' or 'with great vigour'. It translates as a unit; a literal rendering of 'foot and leg' is wrong.

Translating ال

The definite article ال often becomes English 'the' but disappears in Hindi, where definiteness is shown by context or by postpositions like ने and को.

Dual in translation

Arabic dual forms (كتابان، طالبتان) must be rendered with an explicit 'two': 'two books' or 'दो किताबें'. Dropping the number is an error.

Arabic passive pattern

The passive past has ضمة on the first letter and كسرة before the final radical: كُتِبَ، وُلِدَ، فُتِحَ. Hindi uses जाना-passives for the same sense.

Formal Arabic letter opening

Begin with التاريخ and the addressee, then تحية طيبة وبعد, then الموضوع. Close with وتفضلوا بقبول فائق الاحترام and the signature.

Application opening formula

أتشرف بأن أتقدم إلى سيادتكم بطلب... introduces a formal request. End with والسلام or المخلص, then the name.

Essay three-part structure

مقدمة states the topic in 2–3 sentences; صلب الموضوع gives 2–3 arguments with examples; خاتمة concludes or appeals. Connectors like أولاً and في الختام link parts.

Essay topic bank

Recurring topics: العلم نور، الوطن، الصداقة، بر الوالدين، النظافة، التلوث، التعليم في الهند، الرياضة. Each needs 3–4 distinct supporting points.

شرح البيت method

Explain a verse in three layers: literal meaning (المعنى), the idea or emotion (الفكرة), then the device and its effect (الأسلوب).

تشبيه vs استعارة

تشبيه compares explicitly with كـ، كأنّ، مثل. استعارة drops the comparison particle and borrows the image directly, as in أسدٌ يخطب.

طباق device

طباق is antithesis: pairing opposites such as الحرية/القيد or الوطن/الغربة. Naming it earns appreciation marks in patriotic verse.

قافية definition

The rhyme is the repeated final consonant with its vowel across verse endings, from the last consonant of the بيت to the end of the line.

Wisdom verse explanation

شعر الحكمة states a universal rule. Explanation should restate the rule plainly and then unpack one supporting image from the line.

Lesson theme questions

ما الهدف من الدرس؟ asks for the moral purpose, not the plot. Answer with values such as الصدق، الوطنية، خدمة الإنسان، التعاون.

Character description answers

Questions on صفات الشخصية expect adjective lists: كريم، صادق، شجاع، متواضع، مخلص، ذكي. Support each with one act from the lesson.

الدرس المستفاد question

The question asks for the lesson's moral. Choose the general maxim, such as الصدق نجاة, over a specific incident narrated in the text.

Root-based vocabulary

Words sharing a root share a core meaning: ك-ت-ب yields كتاب، كاتب، مكتوب، مكتبة، مكتب. Use the pattern to infer unseen words.

Preposition changes meaning

The same verb takes different senses with different prepositions: نظر إلى looked at, نظر في examined; رغب في desired, رغب عن turned away.

Feminine nouns without ة

Some nouns are feminine without a ة marker: شمس، يد، نار، أرض، عين. Others are masculine despite appearance: قمر، بيت، كتاب.