The English and Bengali Language Papers: Letter, Précis, Composition, Translation — Practice

Question 1

How many vowels and consonants does the Bengali alphabet have?

Accepted Answer

11 vowels and 39 consonants, 50 letters in all.

Question 2

How many karaka (case relations) are traditionally listed in Bengali grammar?

Accepted Answer

Six: karta, karma, karana, sampradana, apadana and adhikarana.

Question 3

Name the three kinds of sandhi in Bengali.

Accepted Answer

Svarasandhi (vowel), vyanjanasandhi (consonant) and visargasandhi.

Question 4

State five rules for writing a précis.

Accepted Answer

Read twice and find the central idea; drop examples and repetition; write in your own words in the third person and indirect speech; cut to about one-third; and give a title if asked, with no opinion.

Question 5

What should the body of a news report contain?

Accepted Answer

A heading and place and date line, then what happened, where, when, who was involved, why and what follows, in facts and in the past tense.

Question 6

Why is word-by-word translation a poor method and what should you do instead?

Accepted Answer

The two languages differ in word order and idiom, so a literal version reads unnaturally and may change meaning. Read the whole sentence, find the meaning, then rewrite it in natural form in the target language, matching tense, number and person.

Question 7

Plan an essay on safe drinking water in West Bengal.

Accepted Answer

Open with the arsenic problem in groundwater. Give three body points: causes, effects on health and livelihoods, and responses such as piped water, testing and treatment plants. Add one example per point and close with a practical step, such as community monitoring of safe sources.

Question 8

Name any four of the six main types of samasa in Bengali.

Accepted Answer

Dvandva, tatpurusha, karmadharaya and bahuvrihi (the others are dvigu and avyayibhava).

Practice — The English and Bengali Language Papers: Letter, Précis, Composition, Translation

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