Aga Khan University Examination Board English Compulsory (SSC IX-X) Syllabus

State the main difference between expository and argumentative writing.

Expository writing informs or explains objectively, while argumentative writing takes a position and tries to persuade the reader.

What three elements make a strong argument in argumentative writing?

A clear claim (thesis), supporting reasons/evidence, and a response to or refutation of opposing views.

What is a stanza in a poem?

A stanza is a group of lines in a poem set apart from other groups, similar to a paragraph in prose.

What is rhyme scheme?

The pattern of rhyming sounds at the ends of lines in a poem, usually labelled with letters such as abab or aabb.

Define a simile and give its signal words.

A simile compares two unlike things using 'like' or 'as', e.g. 'as brave as a lion'.

Define a metaphor.

A metaphor compares two unlike things by saying one is the other, without using 'like' or 'as', e.g. 'Time is a thief'.

What is personification?

Personification is giving human qualities or actions to non-human things or ideas, e.g. 'The wind whispered'.

What is the theme of a poem?

The central message, idea, or insight about life that the poem conveys.

Name the eight parts of speech in English.

Noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection.

What is a noun? Give the main types.

A noun names a person, place, thing, or idea. Types include common, proper, abstract, concrete, collective, and countable/uncountable.

What is the function of an adjective and of an adverb?

An adjective describes or modifies a noun or pronoun; an adverb modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb.

What is a preposition? Give two examples.

A preposition shows the relationship of a noun/pronoun to another word, often of place or time, e.g. 'in', 'on', 'under', 'before'.

What is a conjunction? Name the three main types.

A conjunction joins words, phrases, or clauses. The three types are coordinating, subordinating, and correlative conjunctions.

What is the difference between the simple present and present continuous tense?

Simple present states habits or general truths (e.g. 'She writes'); present continuous shows an action happening now (e.g. 'She is writing').

How is the present perfect tense formed and used?

It is formed with has/have + past participle (e.g. 'He has gone') and shows a past action with a present result or an unfinished time period.

What are the three forms of a regular verb? Give an example.

Base, past simple, and past participle. For 'walk': walk, walked, walked.

Give the three forms of the irregular verb 'go'.

go (base), went (past simple), gone (past participle).

How is the simple future tense formed?

With 'will' (or 'shall') + the base form of the verb, e.g. 'They will arrive tomorrow'.

What is the difference between an active and a passive verb form?

In the active voice the subject performs the action ('The cat caught the mouse'); in the passive the subject receives it ('The mouse was caught by the cat').

What is a subject and a predicate in a sentence?

The subject is who or what the sentence is about; the predicate is the part containing the verb that tells what the subject does or is.

What is a clause? How does it differ from a phrase?

A clause is a group of words containing a subject and a verb; a phrase is a group of words lacking a subject-verb pair.

What is the difference between an independent and a dependent clause?

An independent (main) clause can stand alone as a sentence; a dependent (subordinate) clause cannot and needs a main clause.

Name the four sentence structures by clause type.

Simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences.

What is a compound sentence and how are its clauses joined?

A compound sentence has two or more independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or), a semicolon, or a conjunctive adverb.

What is a complex sentence?

A complex sentence has one independent clause and at least one dependent clause, e.g. 'She smiled because she won'.

When are the four sentence types by function, and name them.

Declarative (states), interrogative (asks), imperative (commands), and exclamatory (expresses strong feeling).

What is the main use of the apostrophe in English?

To show possession (e.g. 'John's book') and to mark omitted letters in contractions (e.g. 'don't').

When should a comma be used before a coordinating conjunction?

When the conjunction joins two independent clauses, e.g. 'I was tired, but I kept working'.

What is a synonym and what is an antonym? Give an example of each.

A synonym is a word with a similar meaning (happy/glad); an antonym is a word with the opposite meaning (happy/sad).

Give a synonym and an antonym for the word 'brave'.

Synonym: courageous (or bold); Antonym: cowardly (or timid).