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- Exam skills: Paper 3 Reading and translation
Exam skills: Paper 3 Reading and translation
Reading Arabic is like detective work. Find the root, strip off the prefixes and suffixes, and the meaning appears.
The paper
Unpacking a word
Strip the add-ons: وَ (and), فَـ (so), بِـ (with, by), لِـ (for), كَـ (like), ال (the), سـ (will).
Then the endings: ـي (my), ـه (his), ـها (her), ـنا (our / we), ـون / ـين (plural), ـات (plural), ـان (two).
وبسيارتهم = و + بـ + سيارة + هم = and in their car.
Then the endings: ـي (my), ـه (his), ـها (her), ـنا (our / we), ـون / ـين (plural), ـات (plural), ـان (two).
وبسيارتهم = و + بـ + سيارة + هم = and in their car.
Translation tips
Translate every detail: tense, negatives (لم، لن، لا), and small words like كثيرًا (a lot), أحيانًا (sometimes), أيضًا (also).
Arabic often puts the verb first; English puts the subject first: سافرت أختي = My sister travelled.
Read your English back: it must sound natural.
Arabic often puts the verb first; English puts the subject first: سافرت أختي = My sister travelled.
Read your English back: it must sound natural.
Translate into English: لم يذهب أخي إلى المدرسة أمس لأنّه كان مريضًا.
- لم يذهب = didn't go (لم gives a past meaning).
- أخي = my brother; أمس = yesterday.
- لأنّه كان مريضًا = because he was ill.
Answer: My brother didn't go to school yesterday because he was ill.
Section A: questions in English (with literary extracts). Section B: questions in Arabic. Section C: translation into English (7 marks). Strip prefixes (و، ف، ب، ل، ال، سـ) and suffixes to find the root word.
The interactive lesson includes the diagrams for this topic.
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