MATSEC IM Maltese cheat sheet

Grapheme-to-sound values tested in reading aloud and dictation: ċ = [tʃ] (ċikkulata), ġ = [dʒ] (ġelat), x = [ʃ] (xemx), ż = [z] (żmien), z = [ts] (ziju), ħ = [ħ] (ħobż), q = [ʔ] (qalb). G and k are plain [g] and [k].

Għ and h are silent consonants: għall, għax, għada and huma carry no consonantal sound, though għ normally lengthens or lowers the adjacent vowel. In listening, such words are identified from the surrounding sentence, not from a consonant.

The article l- assimilates to a following coronal consonant in speech and writing: ix-xemx, id-dar, in-nar, ir-ras, is-sena, it-triq, iż-żmien, iċ-ċittà, iz-zokkor. Before other consonants and before vowels it stays l-: il-kelb, il-ġnien, l-ajru, l-iskola.

Default word stress is penultimate (kelma, kitba, Malti); a heavy final syllable pulls stress to the end (ħabib, università). Misplaced stress is one of the features examiners notice most in the oral.

The speaking task is interactive: the candidate presents or describes a prompt, then answers follow-up questions and sustains a conversation. Marks cover communicative effectiveness, fluency, pronunciation, range, accuracy and paraphrase strategies.

Listening items are usually multiple-choice, true/false, matching or note completion. Correct options paraphrase what was said, while distractors recycle the exact wording of the recording.

Register is assessed: int addresses one person informally, intom serves as plural and as polite singular. Titles Sur, Sinjura and Sinjorina precede the surname; set formulas include Jekk jogħġbok, Skużani and Grazzi ħafna.

Time and date expressions: is-siegħa (hour), in-nofs (half past), u kwart (quarter past), neqqes kwart (quarter to), as in it-tlieta u nofs (3:30). Dates use l-ewwel plus ta', as in l-ewwel ta' Jannar.

Maltese has no indefinite article: kelb = 'a dog', il-kelb = 'the dog'. The definite article also marks generic and abstract reference, as in Il-ħajja qasira ('Life is short').

Perfect (perfett) suffixes mark completed action: -t, -t, zero, -et, -na, -tu, -u, giving ktibt, ktibt, kiteb, kitbet, ktibna, ktibtu, kitbu. Strong verbs may also shift the root vowel, as kiteb/kitbu shows.

Imperfect (imperfett) prefixes n-, t-, j- combine with suffixes: nikteb, tikteb, jikteb, tikteb, niktbu, tiktebu, jiktbu. The bare imperfect is present or habitual; with se it is future, with ħa imminent future, and with ma … -x negated.

Negation is bipartite for verbs (ma ktibtx, ma jmurx) but single-word for nouns, adjectives and pronouns (mhux, mhijiex). Negative polarity items such as qatt ('never') and xejn ('nothing') co-occur with the negative.

Pronouns: independent jien, int, huwa, hija, aħna, intom, huma; enclitic objects -ni, -ek/-ok, -u, -ha, -na, -kom, -hom (rajtni, rajtuh, rajthom); possessives ktiebi … ktiebhom, with -t- inserted in feminines (kelma → kelmti).

Relative clauses take invariable li and retain a resumptive pronoun: ir-raġel li rajt-u, il-kotba li xtrajt-hom. Li also introduces complement clauses after verbs of saying and thinking.

Comparison: kbir → ikbar → l-ikbar; tajjeb → aħjar → l-aħjar; żgħir → iżgħar. Longer adjectives use aktar + adjective, usually followed by minn: aktar interessanti minn.

Derived verb forms use prefixes and infixes on the root: kisser (II, intensive/causative), tkisser (V, passive/reflexive), tkellem (VI), nkiteb (VII, passive), stieden (X). Loan verbs inflect fully: ipparkja, jipparkja, ipparkjat.

Number agreement: 3–10 take a singular noun (tliet kotba, ħames snin); pairs use the dual -ejn (jumejn, sentejn, ġimagħtejn); after 11–19 the noun is singular with the article (ħdax-il sena).

Comprehension tasks typically pair an unseen passage with true/false plus justification, meaning or synonym matching, gap-fill, short answers and a summary item. Answers are credited for content, not for copied wording.

Composition options usually cover narrative or descriptive writing, an argumentative essay, an article or report, and formal or informal correspondence, at roughly 200–250 words each.

Marking weighs task achievement and relevance, organisation (introduction, paragraphing, conclusion), range of vocabulary and structures, and accuracy of grammar, spelling and punctuation, with register matched to text type.

Cohesive devices: għalhekk (therefore), madankollu (however), barra minn hekk (moreover), fl-ewwel lok (firstly), min-naħa l-oħra (on the other hand), fil-qosor (in short), bħala konklużjoni (in conclusion).

Formal correspondence opens Għażiż Sur [kunjom], Sinjura [kunjom] or Sinjorina [kunjom], uses a subject line in emails, and closes Dejjem tiegħek plus the name, with no contractions, slang or informal int.

Informal correspondence uses Għażiż/Għażiża plus first name and closes with Dejjem tiegħek or Saħħa; colloquial linkers are allowed, but paragraphing and spelling rules still apply.

Summary writing keeps only main ideas, restates them in the candidate's own words in the third person, drops examples and opinions, and stays inside the stated word limit.

Vocabulary traps: attwalment means 'currently, at present', not 'actually', which is fil-fatt or tabilħaqq. Italian and English loans take Maltese affixes and patterns: ipparkja, iċċekkja, kompetizzjoni.

Direct speech is introduced by qal/qalet with quotation marks (“ ” or « »); the conjunction li is always written as a separate word and never apostrophised, and ċ, ġ, għ, ħ and ż must be written consistently throughout.

The literature component examines prescribed Maltese poems, prose (novel or novella) and drama. Questions target theme, character, setting, narrative technique and the effect of stylistic devices, and require evidence quoted or closely paraphrased from the text.

Dun Karm Psaila (1871–1961), a priest and Malta's national poet, wrote the lyrics of L-Innu Malti and the long meditative poem Il-Jien u Lil hinn Minnu; he anchors early twentieth-century Maltese poetry.

L-Innu Malti has lyrics by Dun Karm Psaila and music by Robert Samut, and was officially adopted as the national anthem in 1964, the year of Malta's independence.

Language history: a Semitic base with heavy Sicilian/Italian and English borrowing. Maltese replaced Italian in the courts and schools in 1934 and is official alongside English under the 1964 Constitution.

Institutions: the Għaqda tal-Kittieba tal-Malti (1921, later Akkademja tal-Malti) issued the 1924 orthographic rules Tagħrif fuq il-Kitba Maltija; the Kunsill Nazzjonali tal-Ilsien Malti, set up in 2005, now regulates terminology and usage.

Maltese became an official language of the European Union on 1 May 2004 and is the only Semitic language among the EU's official languages.

Analysis terminology: tixbiha (simile), metafora, personifikazzjoni, onomatopea, qafija (rhyme), ritmu, strofa, vers, tema, karattru, ġrajja (plot), narratur.

Folk and popular culture: l-għana (sung, often improvised quatrains such as il-parlant and tas-sitta), the village festa with its band club and procession, and għanja tal-poplu songs are standard cultural reference points.

Twentieth-century prose and drama: Ġużè Ellul Mercer's Leli ta' Ħaż-Żgħir (village realism), Francis Ebejer's stage plays, and Trevor Żahra's fiction for young readers.