KAZTEST Kazakh Language Proficiency flashcards

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

Vowel harmony rule

Within a native Kazakh word, suffixes copy the front/back quality of the last vowel: back vowels а, о, ұ, ы take -лар, -ды; front vowels ә, е, ө, ү, і take -лер, -ді.

Plural suffix selection

Add -лар/-лер after vowels and most voiced consonants, -дар/-дер after ж, з, л, м, н, ң, and -тар/-тер after voiceless consonants: қалалар, үйлер, кітаптар.

Genitive case ending

The ілік case marks possession with -ның/-нің after vowels and voiced consonants, -дың/-дің after voiced, and -тың/-тің after voiceless: мұғалімнің кітабы.

Dative case ending

The барыс case marks direction or recipient: -ға/-ге after vowels and voiced consonants, -қа/-ке after voiceless, and -на/-не after possessives: мектепке, үйге, балама.

Locative case ending

The жатыс case marks place or time with -да/-де after vowels and voiced consonants, -та/-те after voiceless, and -нда/-нде after possessives: қалада, кітапта, үйінде.

Ablative case ending

The шығыс case marks origin, cause, or comparison: -дан/-ден after vowels and voiced, -тан/-тен after voiceless, -нан/-нен after possessives: мектептен, үйден.

Definite past tense

The -ды/-ді/-ты/-ті past states a witnessed, completed action and takes personal endings: бардым (I went), келдіңіз (you came), оқыды.

Resultative past tense

The -ған/-ген/-қан/-кен form presents an action as a result or as reported, not directly witnessed: барғанмын (I have been), ол келген.

Auxiliary -ып жатыр

This construction marks an action in progress at the moment of speaking, equivalent to the present continuous: ол кітап оқып жатыр (he is reading a book).

Imperative first plural

The -айық/-ейік/-йық/-йік ending proposes a joint action: барайық (let us go), көрейік (let us see), оқиық (let us read).

Formal address pronoun

Kazakh distinguishes informal сен from polite/formal сіз; formal writing and unknown addressees require сіз, and the pronoun is capitalized in letters (Сіз).

Contrast connectors

Бірақ, алайда, дегенмен, and ал introduce contrast between clauses; the writer's real position usually appears after these markers, not before them.

Cause connectors

Себебі, өйткені, and сондықтан link reason and result; себебі and өйткені introduce the cause, while сондықтан introduces the consequence.

Essay thesis phrase

Менің ойымша, … or Менің пайымдауымша, … opens an opinion statement; the thesis must be a claim the following paragraphs can support, not a general fact.

Formal letter closing

Kazakh formal letters close with Құрметпен, followed by the name, or Рахмет/Алғыс for a request letter; the opening is Сәлеметсіз бе? or Құрметті … .

Direct speech punctuation

Direct speech is enclosed in « » guillemets, and the quoting verb follows with деп plus a comma: «Бүгін келемін», – деді ол.

Calque avoidance

Replace word-for-word translations from Russian with native or established Kazakh equivalents: ықпал ету (influence), жүзеге асыру (implement), назар аудару (pay attention).

Cohesion in writing

Cohesion means linking sentences with pronouns, conjunctions, and lexical repetition so each sentence connects to the previous one; unlinked short sentences lose coherence marks.

Main idea versus detail

A main-idea option must summarise the whole passage; a detail option is true but covers one sentence or paragraph and is therefore a distractor for main-idea items.

Scanning strategy

Scanning means moving the eyes quickly over the text for a specific target such as a number, date, or name, ignoring surrounding meaning until the target is found.

Skimming strategy

Skimming means reading the first and last sentences of each paragraph quickly to capture the topic, structure, and author's position before answering detail questions.

Absolute option trap

Options containing барлығы, ешқашан, толығымен, or тек қана claim totality; academic texts rarely support totality, so such options are usually wrong.

Pronoun reference item

For ол, бұл, олар, or аталған, find the nearest preceding noun that agrees in number and meaning; the pronoun usually refers to that noun phrase, not to the whole sentence.

Negation markers

Емес negates a nominal predicate, жоқ expresses absence, and ешбір/ешқашан negate strongly; missing one of these reverses the meaning of an option.

Listening prediction pause

Before the audio starts, read the options and predict the topic, speaker relationship, and likely key words; this primes recognition of the answer when it is heard.

Listening contrast signal

Бірақ, алайда, дегенмен, and ал signal that the speaker is correcting or reversing an earlier statement; the answer often follows these words, not precedes them.

Numbers as distractors

Listening texts often mention two similar figures; the correct one is attached to a condition such as бағасы, жасы, уақыты, or күні, so match the number to its label.

Speaker intention items

Decide the function of the utterance (informing, requesting, advising, inviting, complaining) from its final sentence and intonation, not from the opening greeting.

Speaking repair phrases

Дәлірек айтқанда, қайталап айтсам, and ойымды жинақтап айтсам let a speaker restate an idea smoothly instead of pausing, preserving fluency scores.

Monologue structure

A strong short monologue moves from position to reason to personal example to generalisation to closing sentence; each step is one or two sentences and is signposted by a connector.

Distinctive Kazakh consonants

Қ and ғ are uvular consonants distinct from к and г, and ң is a velar nasal; confusing them changes the word, so they need separate articulation practice.