3 B1 — Intermediate

Overview of the Intermediate Stage (B1)

At B1, you move from “surviving” in Urdu to actually using it to describe, explain, and connect ideas. You already know basic structures like simple present and past, common verbs, and everyday vocabulary. Now you begin to:

• Talk about actions in progress and habits in more detail
• Link sentences to explain reasons, contrasts, and conditions
• Report what other people said
• Express opinions and react to others
• Handle common real‑world topics like travel, health, and media
• Read and understand short authentic texts

This chapter gives you an overview of what B1 Urdu looks like and the type of language you will start using. Each specific topic in the outline will have its own chapter, so here we focus on what “intermediate Urdu” means in practice and what you can expect.

Communicating at B1: What You Can Do

At this level you are expected to manage everyday situations in Urdu without always switching to English. For example, you should be able to:

• Explain what you are doing now and what you usually do
• Describe events in the past in simple sequences
• Talk about your plans and intentions
• Give simple reasons, contrasts, and conditions
• Express simple opinions, agreement, and disagreement
• Ask for explanations and clarifications
• Read and understand short news items, posts, or simple stories

Here are some realistic B1‑type examples. Do not worry if you do not understand every word yet, these show the “shape” of Urdu you are moving toward.

At B1, your key challenge is to link short sentences into longer, more meaningful messages.

Moving from Simple to More Complex Speech

At A2, you often speak in short, separate sentences:

• Main student hoon.
• Main islamabad mein rehta hoon.
• Mujhe cricket pasand hai.

At B1, you start connecting those ideas:

• Main islamabad mein rehta hoon aur university mein parhta hoon, is liye aksar busy rehta hoon, lekin mujhe phir bhi cricket khelna pasand hai.

You now use:

• Basic connectors like اور, لیکن, کیونکہ, اس لیے
• Relative pronouns like جو, جس
• Simple reported speech to say what others said or asked

You do not need very advanced grammar yet, but you need to use the grammar you already know to build longer stretches of speech.

Everyday Topics at B1

The B1 syllabus organizes your learning around practical topics. Here is what you will typically handle at this level.

Talking About Ongoing and Habitual Actions

You will refine your ability to talk about:

• What is happening right now
• What happens regularly
• What was happening at a certain time in the past (later in B1/B2)

Typical B1‑style examples:

• Main roz subah chai peeta hoon.
• Aaj kal main Urdu zyada bol raha hoon.
• Hum aksar shaam ko ghoomney jaate hain.

These ideas are central to “Verb Aspects and Continuous Tenses”, which you will study in detail later.

Building More Complex Sentences

You begin to show relationships between ideas:

• Reason: کیونکہ, اس لیے
• Contrast: لیکن
• Condition: اگر

Examples:

• Agar tum faarigh ho, to chalo bahar chalte hain.
• Main nahi aya, kyunke mujhe bukhaar tha.
• Film lambii thi, lekin dilchasp thi.

These tools help you tell stories, explain choices, and participate in simple arguments.

Describing People and Things More Precisely

You will learn how to:

• Use relative clauses with جو and جس
• Add descriptive detail in front or after a noun

Examples:

• Woh larka jo kal aya tha, mera dost hai.
• Yeh woh kitaab hai jo mujhe bohat pasand hai.
• Us aadmi se milo jis ne tumhari madad ki.

This ability makes your Urdu sound more natural and less like a series of disconnected sentences.

Reporting What Others Say

At B1 you begin to:

• Report statements
• Report questions in simple ways

Examples:

• Ammi ne kaha ke jaldi aa jaana.
• Usne mujh se poocha ke main kahan rehta hoon.
• Teacher ne bataya ke kal test hoga.

You will not handle complicated nested sentences yet, but you will gain the basics of indirect speech.

Expressing Opinions and Simple Arguments

You start to say what you think and react to others:

• Giving opinions: mere khayal mein, mujhe lagta hai
• Agreeing and disagreeing politely: main mutafiq hoon, main mutafiq nahi hoon

Examples:

• Mere khayal mein yeh behtar faisla hai.
• Mujhe lagta hai ke yeh city rehne ke liye achhi hai.
• Main tumse mutafiq hoon, lekin thoda farq sochta hoon.

This is the base for discussion, debate, and more complex expression in later levels.

Handling Practical Life: Travel, Health, Media

At B1, you expand your ability to manage real‑life tasks:

• Travel and Transportation: asking about times, booking, describing journeys
• Health and Emergencies: describing symptoms, understanding simple advice
• Media and Communication: talking about news, social media, TV, and basic formal vs informal language

Typical B1‑level situations:

• Asking about a bus or train: Yeh bus kahan jaati hai? Kab niklegi?
• At the doctor: Mujhe kal se bukhaar hai aur gala dukh raha hai.
• Talking about media: Main roz shaam ko khabrein dekhta hoon.

The goal is functional independence in common contexts.

Using and Understanding Idioms

You are introduced to very common idiomatic expressions that are:

• High frequency
• Easy to use in everyday conversation
• Closely tied to culture

Some simple examples:

• Koi baat nahi. (It is okay, no problem.)
• Chalain, theek hai. (Alright, okay.)
• Time par aana zaroori hai. (Coming on time is important.)

Later chapters will give you a list of specific idioms and cultural notes.

Reading Short Authentic Texts

You now begin to:

• Read short news articles
• Read simple stories or anecdotes
• Extract main ideas, not every detail

You may see short texts about:

• A recent event
• A personal story or experience
• A simple opinion piece

You will practice identifying:

• Who, what, where, when, why
• The main opinion or conclusion
• Important supporting details

Typical B1 Mistakes and How to Approach Them

At B1, mistakes are expected. What changes is that you begin to:

• Notice patterns in your own mistakes
• Attempt to self‑correct
• Ask focused questions

Common problem areas include:

You do not need perfection. What matters is being understood and gradually making your sentences more accurate and more connected.

Learning Strategy at B1

To progress through B1, you should:

• Speak regularly: Have short conversations, even if you make mistakes.
• Listen to simple Urdu: Short clips, TV dialogues, YouTube content, at slightly slower speed if possible.
• Read short texts: Children’s stories, simple news, graded readers.
• Write short paragraphs: About your day, a trip, your opinion on a simple topic.
• Notice patterns: When you see or hear a structure repeatedly, try to use it yourself.

You are not just adding vocabulary, you are learning how Urdu “glues” ideas together.

Example B1‑Level Paragraphs

Below are short sample texts that show typical B1 language. Try to notice linking words, tenses, and how ideas are connected.

Daily Routine and Habit

Roman:

Aam taur par main subah saare saat baje uthta hoon. Pehle main chai peeta hoon aur thoda sa akhbaar parhta hoon. Us ke baad main office jata hoon. Office mein main Urdu aur English dono zubanen istemal karta hoon, lekin mujhe Urdu zyada pasand hai, kyunke yeh zyada apni lagti hai. Shaam ko jab main wapas aata hoon to thakaa hua hota hoon, lekin main phir bhi aadha ghanta Urdu parhne ki koshish karta hoon.

Script:

عام طور پر میں صبح ساڑھے سات بجے اٹھتا ہوں۔ پہلے میں چائے پیتا ہوں اور تھوڑا سا اخبار پڑھتا ہوں۔ اُس کے بعد میں آفس جاتا ہوں۔ آفس میں میں اردو اور انگلش دونوں زبانیں استعمال کرتا ہوں، لیکن مجھے اردو زیادہ پسند ہے، کیونکہ یہ زیادہ اپنی لگتی ہے۔ شام کو جب میں واپس آتا ہوں تو تھکا ہوا ہوتا ہوں، لیکن میں پھر بھی آدھا گھنٹہ اردو پڑھنے کی کوشش کرتا ہوں۔

Simple Travel Experience

Roman:

Pichle haftay main apne doston ke saath murree gaya. Hum subah jaldi nikle, kyunke hum bheer se bachna chahte thay. Raste mein bohat khoobsurat manzar thay. Jab hum murree pohanche to mausam thanda tha aur halka sa baarish ho rahi thi. Hum ne pehle chai pi, phir thodi dair ghoomte rahe. Shaam ko hum wapas aa gaye, lekin sab log thakne ke bawajood khush thay, kyunke safar bohat acha tha.

Script:

پچھلے ہفتے میں اپنے دوستوں کے ساتھ مری گیا۔ ہم صبح جلدی نکلے، کیونکہ ہم بھیڑ سے بچنا چاہتے تھے۔ راستے میں بہت خوبصورت منظر تھے۔ جب ہم مری پہنچے تو موسم ٹھنڈا تھا اور ہلکی سی بارش ہو رہی تھی۔ ہم نے پہلے چائے پی، پھر تھوڑی دیر گھومتے رہے۔ شام کو ہم واپس آ گئے، لیکن سب لوگ تھکنے کے باوجود خوش تھے، کیونکہ سفر بہت اچھا تھا۔

These are the type of paragraphs you will soon be able to produce confidently.

Key New Competences at B1

To summarize, at B1 you are learning to:

• Describe ongoing, habitual, and past actions more flexibly
• Build complex sentences with conjunctions
• Use relative clauses for description
• Use indirect speech for reporting
• Express opinions, agree, and disagree
• Discuss travel, health, and media at a basic level
• Understand and use some idioms and cultural expressions
• Read and react to short texts like news items and stories

Each of these competences corresponds to a chapter in the B1 section. You will approach them one by one, with focused explanations and practice.

Vocabulary List for This Chapter

This chapter is about orientation, so vocabulary focuses on useful meta‑language and common B1‑level words that describe learning and communication.

You will meet many of these words again throughout the B1 course as you work with real texts and longer conversations.