Kuwait University Arabic Aptitude Test flashcards

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

Iʿrāb

The Arabic system of case and mood marking by vowel endings. It distinguishes nominative, accusative, and genitive for nouns and indicative, subjunctive, and jussive for verbs.

Fāʿil

The grammatical subject of a verbal sentence. It is always in the nominative case and follows the verb, even when the verb is passive or the agent is a pronoun.

Mafʿūl bihi

The direct object of a transitive verb. It is typically accusative, though it can be a pronoun suffix attached to the verb or an entire clause.

Iḍāfa

The Arabic construct state linking two nouns. The first noun takes no definite article, and the second stands in the genitive case.

Mamnūʿ min al-ṣarf

A diptote noun that cannot take tanwīn and takes a fatha in the genitive. Typical patterns include afʿal, mafāʿil, and names ending in -ān.

Jamʿ taksīr

A broken plural formed by changing the internal vowel pattern of a singular noun. Examples include kitāb → kutub and qalam → aqlām.

Form X verb

The derived verb pattern istafʿala, usually expressing a request or an estimate. Example: istakhraja means to extract, and istaqbala means to receive.

Hamzat al-waṣl

A connecting hamza that is pronounced only at the start of an utterance. It drops in connected speech, as in al-kitāb, and appears in the definite article and certain verb forms.

Tāʾ marbūṭa

The final letter ة that ends many feminine nouns and adjectives. It is pronounced as h in pause and as t when followed by a suffix or another word.

Alif maqṣūra

The final letter ى that represents a long ā sound at the end of a word. It is distinct from the dotted yāʾ and never takes a following vowel.

Kāna and its sisters

A group of verbs that govern a nominal sentence. They put the subject in the nominative and the predicate in the accusative, and express past or continuing states.

Inna and its sisters

Particles that introduce emphasis or negation. They place the subject in the accusative and the predicate in the nominative, reversing kāna's pattern.

Istiʿāra

A rhetorical metaphor that transfers a word from its literal meaning to a figurative one. Unlike a simile, it omits the comparison particle.

Tashbīh

A rhetorical simile that explicitly compares two things using a particle such as ka or mithl. It states both the vehicle and the tenor.

Kināya

A rhetorical device that hints at a meaning through an associated expression. It allows the literal reading while implying a second, intended sense.

Defective verb (nāqiṣ)

A verb whose root ends in a weak letter (wāw or yāʾ). Its final radical changes or drops in certain past, present, and jussive forms.

Hollow verb (ajwaf)

A verb whose middle radical is weak. In the past tense the weak letter may become an alif, and in the present it may drop entirely.

Subject-verb agreement

The rule that a verb matches its subject in number and person. Indefinite pronouns like everyone and each take singular verbs despite their plural sense.

Past perfect tense

The form had plus a past participle. It marks an action completed before another past action or before a stated past time.

Present perfect tense

The form have or has plus a past participle. It links a past action to the present, often with since, for, already, or yet.

Third conditional

A sentence pattern using if plus past perfect in the condition and would have plus past participle in the result. It describes an unreal past situation.

Second conditional

A sentence pattern using if plus simple past and would plus base verb. It describes an unlikely or imaginary present or future situation.

Modal must

A modal expressing strong obligation or logical certainty. Its negative, mustn't, expresses prohibition rather than absence of obligation.

Modal should

A modal expressing recommendation, expectation, or mild obligation. It is weaker than must and often gives advice.

Affect versus effect

Affect is usually a verb meaning to influence, while effect is usually a noun meaning a result. Effect as a verb means to bring about.

Imply versus infer

A speaker implies a meaning by hinting at it. A listener infers a meaning by drawing a conclusion from the evidence given.

Principal versus principle

Principal as an adjective means main, and as a noun means a school head or a sum of money. Principle is a noun meaning a fundamental rule or belief.

Oxford comma

The comma placed before the conjunction in a list of three or more items. It prevents ambiguity in the final pair of items.

Semicolon use

A punctuation mark joining two independent clauses without a conjunction. It also separates items in a list that already contain commas.

Colon use

A punctuation mark introducing an explanation, list, or quotation after a complete clause. It should not follow a sentence fragment.

Reading inference

A conclusion drawn from evidence in a passage rather than stated directly. A valid inference must be supported by the text, not by outside knowledge.