UPMSP Intermediate Marathi key terms

Marathi prose writing in any form, including short stories, essays, novels and biographical sketches. In this exam it covers prescribed prose lessons studied for theme, character and style.

A structured prose composition that develops one central idea through introduction, body paragraphs and conclusion. Candidates must identify its thesis, argument flow and tone in prescribed and unseen passages.

The craft of writing a short story with plot, setting, characters and a resolving climax. In composition questions, examiners look for a clear sequence of events and a meaningful ending.

Character portrayal: the way an author builds a person through actions, speech, appearance and others' reactions. Answers often ask candidates to sketch a character from a prescribed prose lesson.

A biographical sketch or pen-portrait presenting a real person's life, qualities and achievements in readable prose. It differs from a story because events are factual rather than invented.

Autobiography: a first-person account of the writer's own life. Recognising the first-person voice and its emotional honesty helps candidates interpret autobiographical prose lessons accurately.

The central theme or message an author intends to convey in a piece of writing. Theme questions require candidates to state this idea and support it with evidence from the text.

A concise summary that keeps the main points of a passage and drops minor detail. Summary writing tests whether a candidate has grasped the central idea and can express it in their own words.

Marathi poetry, including the prescribed poems and their forms. Study covers metre, rhyme, imagery and emotional tone as well as the poet's message and background.

A fixed metrical pattern in Marathi poetry defined by syllable count and the arrangement of light and heavy syllables. Identifying the metre is a common question on prescribed poems.

A group of three syllables classified by their light (laghu) and heavy (guru) pattern, used to build Sanskrit-derived metres. Knowing the eight standard ganas helps candidates scan a verse correctly.

The metrical unit of duration in a syllable: a short vowel counts as one matra and a long vowel as two. Matra counting decides the rhythm of free and folk-based Marathi verse.

A sound device in which the same word or sound group repeats with a different meaning. Poets use it for musical effect, and candidates are often asked to locate examples in a poem.

Alliteration: deliberate repetition of the same consonant sound in nearby words to create rhythm. It is one of the most frequently tested figures of sound in Marathi poetry questions.

A simile that compares two unlike things using words such as 'सारखा', 'प्रमाणे' or 'इव'. Recognising the comparison marker is the quickest way to identify it in a poem.

A metaphor that identifies one thing directly with another, without a comparison word. The upameya and the upamana merge into a single image, which makes it stronger but less explicit than a simile.

A figure of speech or poetic ornament that heightens meaning and beauty, divided into figures of sound and figures of sense. Questions ask candidates to name an alankar and justify it from the lines.

The meaning and emotional sense of a verse, explained in simple prose. Writing a bhavarth requires paraphrasing the lines faithfully while preserving the poet's feeling and imagery.

The aesthetic emotion evoked in a reader by a literary work, such as करुण (compassion) or वीर (heroism). Naming the dominant rasa is a standard appreciation question on prescribed poems.

Grammar: the rules governing word formation, inflection and sentence structure in Marathi. The exam tests sandhi, samas, parts of speech, sentence types and error correction.

The joining of two adjacent sounds at a word boundary, often producing a combined form such as विद्या + अर्थी = विद्यार्थी. Candidates must split a given word into its original components.

A compound word formed by combining two or more words, classified by the relation between them, as in तत्पुरुष, द्वंद्व and बहुव्रीही. Questions ask candidates to expand a compound or name its type.

A grammatical case ending that shows a noun's relation to other words in a sentence, such as कर्ता (nominative) or कर्म (accusative). Correct case usage is tested in fill-in and correction items.

Sentence types in Marathi: assertive, interrogative, imperative, exclamatory and conditional. Candidates are asked to transform one type into another without changing the meaning.

Punctuation marks such as full stop, comma, question mark and quotation marks that clarify meaning and pauses. Punctuation accuracy is scored in grammar and composition answers.

Marathi proverbs that carry a fixed figurative meaning and are used to comment on a situation. Questions ask for the meaning of a proverb or for completing a given one.

An idiom: a fixed phrase whose meaning cannot be guessed from its individual words, such as 'डोळे झाकणे'. Candidates must supply the meaning and use the idiom in a sentence.

Vocabulary range, including synonyms, antonyms and word forms. Strong word stock improves both comprehension answers and composition, and is directly tested in synonym and antonym items.

A synonym: a word with a meaning close to another, such as 'सूर्य' and 'रवी'. Synonym questions reward knowledge of both native and Sanskrit-derived Marathi vocabulary.

An antonym: a word with the opposite meaning, such as 'उंच' and 'बुटका'. Answering these items requires care because a word may have several opposites depending on context.

An unseen prose passage followed by comprehension questions on main idea, inference, vocabulary and tone. Candidates must answer from the passage itself, not from memorised lessons.

An unseen poem or stanza for which candidates explain meaning, identify figures of speech and state the central sentiment. Practice in scanning unfamiliar verse improves speed and accuracy.

The creative or productive section of the writing paper, where candidates compose letters, essays, reports or stories. It rewards planning, correct format and clean, varied Marathi usage.

Letter writing, both informal (personal) and formal (application or official). Marks depend on correct layout, salutation, body, closing and appropriate register.

General writing skill: organising ideas into coherent paragraphs with correct grammar, spelling and punctuation. It underlies every composition task and is assessed across the writing section.

Critical appreciation of a literary work, covering theme, form, language, imagery and the writer's intent. A good answer balances description with a reasoned judgement of the work's quality.

The seed idea or central incident from which a story grows. Identifying it helps candidates summarise a plot and explain how each event contributes to the final outcome.