WBBSE Madhyamik Urdu (First Language) key terms

The prose section of the prescribed Madhyamik Urdu textbook, containing lessons in story, essay and sketch form whose themes, characters and messages candidates must be able to explain and evaluate.

The poetry section of the syllabus: prescribed poems whose central idea, imagery, poetic devices and the poet's message candidates must explain in their own words.

The main idea or moral message of a prose lesson, usually stated in two or three sentences covering what the writer wants the reader to understand or do.

Explanation of a quoted line or passage: restating it simply, unpacking its meaning, and commenting on its style or effect, usually in the candidate's own words.

The central idea of a poem, expressed as a short paragraph naming the theme, the poet's attitude and the lesson or appeal the poem carries.

The metre of an Urdu poem: the fixed pattern of short and long syllables that gives each line its rhythm and allows recitation in a steady beat.

The same word or phrase repeated at the end of every verse after the rhyming word, giving a ghazal or poem its recurring refrain sound.

The rhyming word that comes immediately before the radeef in a verse; matching qafiya across lines creates the rhyme scheme of the poem.

Simile: an explicit comparison of two things using words such as 'jaise', 'tarah' or 'manind', as when a beloved's face is compared to the moon.

Metaphor: borrowing a word from one thing and applying it to another without any comparison word, so that the resemblance is implied rather than stated.

Hyperbole or exaggeration used deliberately for effect, as in saying someone wept so much that a river formed; common in Urdu poetry and oratory.

A wordplay device in which two words that look or sound alike but differ in meaning are placed close together, creating wit and rhythm.

The supplementary prose text prescribed alongside the main textbook; questions test plot, characters, sequence of events and the moral of the longer narrative.

A character in a lesson or story; candidates should be able to describe the person's qualities, actions and role in the plot with evidence from the text.

An incident or event in a narrative; questions on the rapid reader often ask candidates to narrate an event in correct order and explain its consequences.

Noun: a word naming a person, place, thing or idea, such as 'larka', 'Lahore' or 'muhabbat'; the base category for many grammar questions.

Verb: the word that shows an action or state, such as 'likhna', 'jana' or 'hona'; candidates must identify it and match it with its subject.

Types of verb taught at this level: transitive (mutaddi) needing an object, intransitive (lazim) not needing one, and auxiliary verbs used to build tenses.

Adjective: a word describing a noun, such as 'acha', 'bara' or 'surkh'; it agrees with the noun it qualifies in gender and number.

Pronoun: a word standing in place of a noun, such as 'woh', 'main' or 'tum'; candidates must choose the correct pronoun for person, gender and number.

Tense: the time reference of a verb. Urdu marks past (mazi), present (haal) and future (mustaqbil), and grammar items ask candidates to convert sentences between them.

Synonyms: two or more words with closely similar meanings, such as 'khushi' and 'muskurahat'; a common vocabulary item in grammar and comprehension sections.

Antonym: a word opposite in meaning to another, such as 'din' and 'raat' or 'sach' and 'jhoot'; frequently tested as a one-word grammar item.

An idiom: a fixed phrase whose meaning cannot be worked out from its individual words, such as 'aankh ka tara' meaning a very dear person.

A proverb: a short, well-known saying that carries popular wisdom, often used to close an essay or illustrate a point in composition.

Singular and plural forms of nouns and their effect on verb and adjective agreement; grammar questions ask candidates to change number and adjust the sentence.

Past and present tense forms used when rewriting a sentence in another time frame; accuracy in the auxiliary verb and participle is what examiners check.

Composition: the writing section, covering essays, letters, reports and applied pieces, marked for relevant content, orderly structure, correct language and neat presentation.

Letter writing: formal and informal letters with correct salutation, body paragraphs and closing; the format and tone appropriate to the addressee both carry marks.

A factual write-up of an event for a newspaper or authority, answering what, when, where, who and why, with a headline and a neutral, third-person tone.

An essay on a given topic, organised into an introduction, two or three developed paragraphs and a conclusion, with relevant examples rather than vague generalities.

Comprehension: reading an unseen Urdu passage and answering questions on its content, sequence, implied meaning and vocabulary, using the candidate's own wording.

The title or heading of a passage or composition; in comprehension it is often asked separately, and a good title is brief and captures the passage's main point.

The opening sentence or lead of a passage or report, which should state the main subject and draw the reader into the text.

A short quotation taken from a lesson or poem and reproduced in an answer to support a point; it must be accurate and clearly linked to the argument.

Critical comment on a text: noting the writer's purpose, choice of words, tone and effectiveness, beyond merely summarising what the passage says.

A short narrative or tale, often with a moral; candidates should be able to retell it concisely, name its characters and state the lesson it teaches.