A Level Urdu: Translation and Reading — Revision Notes

Condensed for the final weeks. For the full explanation, use the Translation and Reading study guide.

Translation principles

Translate meaning, not words. A word-for-word rendering usually produces something ungrammatical in the target language, and accuracy of meaning is what is assessed.

The core structural difference: Urdu is Subject–Object–Verb; English is Subject–Verb–Object. Urdu uses postpositions where English uses prepositions. So the sentence must be reassembled, not transposed.

Method for Urdu → English:

1. Read the whole passage first for sense.
2. Identify the verb — in Urdu it is at the end.
3. Identify subject and object, then rebuild in English order.
4. Check tense and register.
5. Reread the English alone — does it sound natural?

That last step catches most errors. If the English reads oddly, it is almost certainly too literal.

Worked example. An Urdu sentence whose literal English is “On him anger came”:

Literal   "On him anger came"     -- unnatural English
Too free  "He lost his temper"    -- idiomatic but loses register
Balanced  "He became angry"       -- accurate and natural

Check every version against three questions: is every element present, does it read as English a native speaker would write, and is the register (formal/informal) preserved from the source?

Idiom must be rendered by sense, not word for word. For example, آنکھوں کا تارا (literally “the star of the eyes”) means “the apple of one’s eye”; ہاتھ دھو بیٹھنا (literally “to sit having washed one’s hands”) means “to lose something for good”, not “to wash one’s hands of”; دال میں کچھ کالا ہونا (literally “there is something black in the lentils”) means “there is something fishy about it”. A literal rendering of any of these would be meaningless or misleading in English.

Method for English → Urdu: identify the verb first, move it to the end, convert prepositions to postpositions, then check gender agreement throughout.

Grammar that decides marks

Gender agreement — every noun is masculine or feminine, and adjectives and verbs must agree. A gender error propagates through the sentence, so it costs more than a single mark.

Tense range:

Tense	Marker
Present	-ta/-ti/-te + hai/hain
Simple past (perfective)	-a/-i/-e, bare — e.g. paṛhaa, “read”
Pluperfect	-a/-i/-e + tha/thi/the
Perfect	-a/-i/-e + hai/hain — e.g. paṛhaa hai, “has read”
Future	-ga/-gi/-ge
Continuous	rahaa/rahi/rahe + auxiliary
Completive	chukaa/chuki/chuke — “have already finished doing”

Two further accuracy points in extended writing: the ergative marker نے (ne) is required with transitive verbs in the perfective aspect (e.g. us ne kitaab paṛhi, “he/she read the book”), and izafat constructions (e.g. jashn-e-azaadi) belong to a more formal, Persianised register — using them correctly signals command of range, but forcing them where plain Urdu is expected reads as unnatural.

Register — Urdu distinguishes آپ (aap, formal), تم (tum, familiar) and تو (tu, intimate). Choosing the wrong one changes the tone of a whole passage. Formal written Urdu also draws more on Persian and Arabic vocabulary, informal on everyday usage — matching the register of the source is part of accurate translation.

Reading comprehension

• Identify what each question actually asks: what questions want located detail, why questions want inference, and questions about the writer’s attitude want evidence of tone — word choice, irony, emphasis.
• Read the questions before the passage, so you know what to look for.
• Answer in the language requested — losing marks for answering in the wrong language is avoidable and common.
• Use the mark allocation to gauge how many points are needed.
• For inference questions, quote or paraphrase the supporting evidence rather than asserting.
• Do not lift long stretches verbatim where the question asks for explanation in your own words.

Section C — the research question (40 of Paper 1’s 80 marks)

Before the exam, choose one research subject from one of the four themes and study all three aspects of it, basing your research on one country/area only — Pakistan for Themes 1, 3 and 4; Pakistan or one area of India where Urdu is an official language for Theme 2. In the exam you read one unseen Urdu text on the subject and answer a question in Urdu (approximately 320–370 words), using both your research findings and the unseen text. Marks split across three grids: knowledge and understanding of society and culture via research (AO4, 20 marks), understanding of and response to the unseen text (AO2, 10 marks), and accuracy and range of language (AO3, 10 marks). Referring to more than one country/area disadvantages you by wasting time on content that gains no marks: for Themes 1, 3 and 4 examiners mark content based on Pakistan only, and for Theme 2 they mark positively, awarding marks for the content on whichever country/area will gain the highest mark.

Common errors

• Word-for-word translation that ignores SOV/SVO differences.
• Gender disagreement between noun, adjective and verb.
• Using only one tense.
• Mixing aap and tum within one piece.
• Answering in the wrong language.
• Copying from the passage where paraphrase is required.
• Adding explanatory material that is not present in the source text.
• Leaving no time at the end to check the accuracy of the Urdu script.

Self-test

1. What is the fundamental word-order difference between Urdu and English?
2. What is the final check after translating into English?
3. Why does a gender error cost more than one mark?
4. Name the three levels of formality in Urdu address.
5. How many country/areas must a Section C response be based on, and what happens if a candidate refers to more than one?
6. Why is “He lost his temper” too free a translation of a sentence that literally reads “On him anger came”?
7. What is the ergative marker used with transitive perfective verbs, and give an example.

Related: Translation and Reading practice questions for full translation exercises with model answers.

Answers: 1. Urdu is Subject–Object–Verb with postpositions; English is Subject–Verb–Object with prepositions. 2. Read the English on its own — if it does not sound natural, the translation is too literal. 3. Adjectives and verb endings must agree with the noun’s gender, so one error causes further errors through the sentence. 4. Aap (formal), tum (familiar) and tu (intimate). 5. One only — Pakistan, or for Theme 2 one area of India where Urdu is an official language; referring to more than one wastes time: for Themes 1, 3 and 4 only the content on Pakistan is marked, and for Theme 2 examiners award marks for the content on whichever country/area will gain the highest mark. 6. It captures the meaning but loses the more neutral, measured register of the original, so a balanced version such as “He became angry” is preferred. 7. نے (ne), used with transitive verbs in the perfective aspect, e.g. us ne kitaab paṛhi (“he/she read the book”).