Border Patrol Agent Exam: Artificial Language Manual

This guide presents the official Preparation Manual for the U.S. Border Patrol Artificial Language Test, as provided by the Department of Homeland Security.
This guide will help you prepare for the test you have to take if you don't speak Spanish. Luckily, you don't have to memorize the information here; most of it will be available to you as you take the test.
The purpose of this guide is to prepare you for the Artificial Language Test (ALT). This test is part of the examination battery used in the selection of Border Patrol Agent ­trainees.

The ALT is intended to assess an applicant's ability to learn neo- Latin languages such as Spanish. Therefore, the test is based on an artificial language, the rules of which are based on some of the grammatical structures of neo-Latin languages. (The term neo-Latin languages, which is a synonym of the expression Romance languages, is used to refer to languages such as Spanish or French that are derived directly from ­Latin.)
 

All Border Patrol Agents are required to know the Spanish language, so it is important to assess language­-­learning abilities of all applicants to the Border Patrol. All applicants who successfully pass the entry­-­level examination battery for Border Patrol Agent are eligible to become agent trainees at the U.S. Border Patrol Academy. Applicants selected to become agent trainees will receive extensive training in many areas, including the Spanish ­language.

A validation study conducted by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management in 1991, and an attrition study conducted at the Border Patrol Academy in 1993, demonstrate that the ALT is an extremely effective predictor of success in learning Spanish at the academy. Accordingly, you are encouraged to study this manual with special care and ­attention. As you progress through the Artificial Language Manual practice questions and the exams, you will see variations in suffixes, vocabulary, and rules, as well as how these three critical components interact with one another. There will be slight variations for sets of rules. However, you will always be provided the relevant information you need to arrive at the correct answer. These deviations—some minor and some major—are intentional and, when combined, provide multiple variations of the ALT. You must not depend on memorization, but instead rely on your understanding of the rules, suffixes, and vocabulary words that are provided at the time you take the test.

The Preparation ­Manual
Purpose of the ­Manual
The purpose of the manual is to help you prepare well for the ALT. The ALT can be a challenging test, especially for applicants who have never studied a foreign language.
The present manual was designed to allow you every opportunity to study the grammatical rules of the artificial language prior to taking the ALT. In this way, you can spend concentrated time learning to use grammatical rules that you will need to apply not only in the test, but also in the process of learning Spanish if you are selected for a Border Patrol Agent trainee ­position.

Organization of the ­Manual
The manual contains four parts: vocabulary lists (or dictionary) for the artificial language; a set of grammatical rules; a glossary of grammatical terms (for applicants who do not remember the meaning of some of these terms); and directions and sample questions. The official manual also contains a full-length ALT and answer explanations.

The parts of the manual are organized in the following ­sequence.
 

First: The Vocabulary ­Lists
The lists of words need not be memorized because during the actual test they will be available to you for ­consultation.
 

Second: Grammatical Rules for the Artificial ­Language
These rules are the backbone of the artificial language because they are its connection to the structures of the Spanish language. There is no need to memorize the rules, though, because they will be available to you during the test. Also, you should note that some details of the rules will be different in the actual test. For example, if the feminine form of a noun takes the suffix -nef in the rules presented in this manual, in the actual test the feminine form of a noun may take a different ending. Other than these minor variations, the rules are identical in the sense that they deal with the same grammatical structures as the actual ­test.
 

Third: Glossary of Grammatical ­Terms
This glossary will provide a refresher mini­-­course in grammatical terms (such as verb, noun, adjective, and adverb) for applicants who have forgotten the meanings of these terms. The glossary will also be available for consultation during the actual test. In this manual, however, the meaning of the terms will be discussed in greater depth, and it is therefore advisable for you to study the discussion in this manual with special attention and ­concentration.
 

Fourth: Directions and Sample Questions
The official manual contains a full-length ALT and answer explanations.

Part One: The Vocabulary ­Lists
The words on the following two lists are the same; they are merely arranged differently, as they would be in a bilingual dictionary. In the first list, you can look up words in English to find their equivalent words in the artificial language. In the second list, you can look up words in the artificial language to find their equivalents in English. During the test, you will have the vocabulary lists with you for consultation at all times. You should note that some of the following words are not the same as those given in the actual test. Therefore, do not to try to memorize them before taking the actual ­test.

Word ­List
Arranged Alphabetically by the English ­Word


Arranged Alphabetically by the Artificial Language Word


Part Two: Grammatical Rules for the Artificial ­Language
The grammatical rules given in this part of the manual are exactly the same as those used in the ALT, except that the prefixes (word beginnings) and suffixes (word endings) used in the test differ from those used in this ­manual.
During the test, you will have access to the rules at all times. Consequently, it is important that you understand these rules, but it is not necessary that you memorize them. In fact, memorizing them will hinder rather than help you, because the beginnings and endings of words are different in the version of the artificial language that appears in the actual ­test.
You should note that Part Three of this manual contains a glossary of grammatical terms to assist you if you are not thoroughly familiar with their ­meanings.

Rule 1
To form the feminine singular of a noun, a pronoun, an adjective, or an article, add the suffix -nef to the masculine singular form. Only nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and articles take feminine endings in the artificial language. When gender is not specified, the masculine form is used.
Examples:
If a male eagle is a verlek, then a female eagle is a ­verleknef.
If an ambitious man is a tosle man, an ambitious woman is a toslenef ­woman.
 

Rule ­2
To form the plural of nouns, pronouns, and adjectives, add the suffix -oz to the correct singular ­form.
If one male eagle is a verlek, then several male eagles are ­verlekoz.
If an ambitious woman is a toslenef woman, several ambitious women are toslenefoz women.

Rule ­3
Adjectives modifying nouns and pronouns with feminine and/or plural endings must have endings that agree with the words they ­modify. In addition, an article (a, an, and the) preceding a noun must also agree with the noun in gender and number.
If an active male eagle is a sojle verlek, an active female eagle is a sojlenef verleknef and several active female eagles are sojlenefoz verleknefoz.
If this male eagle is volle verlek, these female eagles are vollenefoz verleknefoz.
If the male eagle is wir verlek, the female eagle is wirnef verleknef and the female eagles are wirnefoz verleknefoz.
If a male eagle is bex verlek, several male eagles are bexoz verlekoz.
 

Rule ­4
The stem of a verb is obtained by omitting the suffix -ker from the infinitive form of the ­verb.
Example:
The stem of the verb tirker is tir.

Rule ­5
All subjects and their verbs must agree in number; that is, singular subjects require singular verbs and plural subjects require plural verbs. (See Rules 6 and ­7.)

Rule ­6
To form the present tense of a verb, add the suffix -em to the stem for the singular form or the suffix -im to the stem for the ­plural.
If to bark is nalker, then nalem is the present tense for the singular (the dog barks) and nalim is the present tense for the plural (the dogs bark).
 

Rule ­7
To form the past tense of a verb, first add the suffix -zot to the stem, and then add the suffix -em if the verb is singular or the suffix -im if it is ­plural.
If to bark is nalker, then nalzotem is the past tense for the singular (the dog barked) and nalzotim is the past tense for the plural (the dogs ­barked).

Rule ­8
To form the past participle of a verb, add to the stem of the verb the suffix -to. It can be used to form compound tenses with the verb to have, as a predicate with the verb to be, or as an adjective. In the last two cases, it takes masculine, feminine, singular, and plural forms in agreement with the noun to which it refers.

Example of use in a compound tense with the verb to have
If to bark is nalker and to have is tulker, then tulem nalto is the present perfect for the singular (the dog has barked) and tulim nalto is the present perfect for the plural (the dogs have barked). Similarly, tulzotem nalto is the past perfect for the singular (the dog had barked) and tulzotim nalto is the past perfect for the plural (the dogs had barked).
 

Example of use as a predicate with the verb to be
If to adopt is rapker and to be is synker, then a boy was adopted is a ekaplek synzotem rapto and many girls were adopted is ekapleknefoz synzotim raptonefoz.
 

Example of use as an adjective
If to delight is kasker, then a delighted boy is a kasto ekaplek and many delighted girls are kastonefoz ekapleknefoz.

Rule ­9
To form a noun from a verb, add the suffix -lek to the stem of the ­verb.
If longker is to write, then a writer is a longlek.

Rule ­10
To form an adjective from a noun, substitute the suffix -le for the suffix -lek.
If pellek is beauty, then a beautiful male eagle is a pelle verlek, and a beautiful female eagle is a pellenef verleknef. (Note the feminine ending ­ -nef.)

Rule 11
To form an adverb from an adjective, add the suffix -ki to the masculine form of the adjective. (Note that adverbs do not change their form to agree in number or gender with the words they ­modify.)
If pelle is beautiful, then beautifully is ­pelleki.
 

Rule 12
To form the possessive of a noun or pronoun, add the suffix -ae to the noun or ­pronoun after any plural or feminine suffixes.
If a boglek is a dog, then a dog's collar is a boglekae ­collar.
If he is yev, then his book is yevae ­book.
If she is yevnef, then her book is yevnefae book.

Rule 13
To make a word negative, add the prefix fer- to the correct affirmative ­form.
If an active male eagle is a sojle verlek, an inactive male eagle is a fersojle verlek.
If the dog barks is boglek nalem, then the dog does not bark is boglek ­fernalem.

Glossary of Grammatical ­Terms
A glossary will be available to you during the actual test, but it is recommended that you study this glossary before taking the test. This glossary contains basic grammatical concepts that apply to English, Spanish, and the artificial language. This glossary contains fairly extensive and comprehensive explanations of each grammatical concept. The explanations in the actual test are not comprehensive. Consequently, it is particularly important that you study these explanations very carefully.

Article
An article is a word that precedes a noun and determines whether it is a definite or indefinite noun: for instance, the book, an object. In Spanish and many other languages—but not English—nouns are either masculine or feminine. In addition, articles have a gender and a number that indicates if they are singular or plural. The article must agree with the noun of the sentence. The language rules on the exam may require you to modify articles to agree with the nouns and pronouns in gender and number. Read the rules carefully to determine if you need to do so.

Adjective
An adjective is a word used to modify a noun or pronoun (for example, intelligent women). Generally, an adjective serves to answer questions such as which, what kind of, how many. For example, (1) 'this book' would be the adjectival answer to the question 'which book?' (2) 'a beautiful book' would be the adjectival answer to the question 'what kind of book?' and (3) 'several days' would be the adjectival answer to the question 'how many days?'

In English, adjectives have only one form, regardless of the type of noun they modify. More specifically, whether a noun is feminine or masculine, singular or plural, the adjective used to modify it remains the same; for example, the adjective strong is exactly the same when it refers to one man, one woman, many women, or many men. By contrast, in both Spanish and the artificial language, the ending of the adjective is different if the adjective is modifying a singular masculine noun, a singular feminine noun, a plural feminine noun, or a plural masculine noun.

Adverb
An adverb is a word used to modify a verb. For example, the sentence 'It was produced' could be modified to express where it was produced by saying 'It was produced locally.'

Generally, an adverb is used to answer the questions where (as in the example above), when (for example, 'he comes frequently'), or how (for example, 'she thinks logically').

Adverbs sometimes are used to modify an adjective or another adverb. An example of an adverb ­modifying an adjective is the sentence 'She has a really beautiful mind,' in which the adverb really modifies the adjective beautiful to intensify its meaning. An example of an adverb modifying another adverb is the sentence 'She thinks very logically,' in which the adverb very modifies the adverb logically, again to intensify its ­meaning.

In the artificial language (and hence in the ALT), the only adverbs used are those that modify verbs. In the Spanish language, as well as in the English language, adverbs are used to modify verbs, adjectives, and other ­adverbs.

Gender

As a grammatical concept, gender refers to the classification of words according to whether they are masculine, feminine, or ­neuter. A. previously stated, Spanish takes masculine or feminine endings for nouns, adjectives, and articles. The neuter form is used sometimes to express abstraction in a more emphatic manner. The neuter form is NOT used in the artificial language. Consequently, it is very important for you to remember that in the artificial language all nouns, adjectives, and articles take either a masculine or a feminine ending according to whether the sentence refers to a male or a female.

Also, all nouns and adjectives in the artificial language were conceived (for the sake of simplicity) to be masculine. Thus, unless the feminine gender is specified in the sentence, the masculine gender is used always.

Infinitive
Infinitive is the name given to the general, abstract form of a verb: for example, to look, to think, to remember, to walk. Once the action expressed by a verb is attached to a specific subject (a person, an animal, or a thing), then we say the verb is conjugated, or linked to that subject: she thinks, the dog runs, or the table ­broke.

In contrast to the way that an infinitive in English is preceded by the word to (as in to think), in the artificial language all infinitives have the same ending. In the version of the artificial language used in this manual, this ending (or suffix) is -ker; in the actual test, the ending will be ­different.

Noun
A noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or abstraction: Lindsay, Chicago, tree, wisdom. A noun can refer to an individual (as in Lindsay, an individual person, or Chicago, an individual place) or to a set (as in stones, trees, cities).

Prefix
A prefix always occurs at the beginning of a word. It can be a single letter or a sequence of letters: amoral, illegal, dysfunctional.

A prefix is the opposite of a suffix (which always occurs at the end of a word), but both serve to change the basic word in some way. For example, polite is the basic word (in this case an adjective) to express the concept of behavior that conforms to accepted social norms; adding the prefix im- and creating the word impolite transforms the word polite into its contradictory ­concept.

You should note that in the artificial language, a prefix is used to create a ­negative concept (see Rule 13). This rule mimics both Spanish and English, in which negation is ­usually expressed by using a negative ­prefix.

Pronoun
A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun: she instead of Lindsay, they instead of the guards, it instead of the stone, herself instead of the ­judge.

In English, as well as in other languages, including Spanish, there is a difference between a pronoun that stands for the subject of an action (as in 'She threw the stone,' meaning that Lindsay threw the stone), and a pronoun that stands for the object of an action (as in 'The stone was thrown at her,' meaning that the stone was thrown at Lindsay). B. contrast, in the artificial language, there is no grammatical difference between he and him, both being yev. You should remember, however, that in the artificial language, pronouns take feminine endings when the subject or object of the action is feminine. Accordingly, in the version of the artificial language given in this manual, both she (subject) and her (object) would be yevnef (i.e., yev plus the feminine suffix -nef).


Suffix
A suffix always occurs at the end of a word. It can be a single letter or a sequence of letters—for example, creamy, readable, nicely. Unlike prefixes, suffixes often change the part of speech (i.e., the type of word). For example, in the case of creamy, the suffix -y changes the noun cream into the adjective creamy, and in the case of nicely, the suffix -ly changes the adjective nice into the adverb nicely.

In addition, suffixes are used to conjugate verbs (for example, to change the present tense into the past tense: you walk, you walked) and to create the plural form of nouns (for example, boy, boys). In Spanish, suffixes are used for the same purposes, but they are used for other purposes too, such as creating plural forms for adjectives and changing the gender of a word.

In the artificial language, suffixes are used (1) to change the part of speech (for example, Rule 11 uses a suffix to change an adjective into an adverb), (2) to conjugate verbs (for example, Rules 6 and 7 use suffixes to express the present and past tenses), and (3) to create the plural forms of nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and articles (Rules 2 and 3). In addition, the artificial language mimics Spanish in using a suffix to express gender.

You should study all the rules on suffixes in the artificial language, and you should practice using these rules, but you should NOT memorize them because (1) you will have them available to you at all times during the actual test, and (2) in the actual test, some of the suffixes and prefixes are different from the ones used in this practice test.


Verb
A verb is used to express either an action or a state of being. For example, 'he prepared dinner' expresses the action of making the dinner, while 'he is a citizen' expresses the state or condition of being a ­citizen.

You should note that a state of being can be permanent or transitory. For example, 'the agent's horse is a bay mare' expresses a permanent condition for the horse (its being a bay mare), while 'George is at lunch' expresses a transitory condition for George (that of being at lunch at the present ­moment).

The Spanish language, unlike English, has two different verbs to express permanent and transitory conditions. The artificial language is akin to English, rather than to Spanish, in its use of a single verb to express any state of ­being.

When a verb is linked to a subject (i.e., conjugated), it changes from the abstract infinitive form to a specific form such as a present tense or a past tense. The artificial language primarily uses only two tenses: the simple past tense and the simple present tense in the indicative mood (see Rules 6 and 7). (Verbs in the indicative mood express a real action or condition, whereas verbs in the subjunctive mood express hypothetical actions or conditions. The subjunctive mood does not exist in the artificial language, but it is very important in Spanish.)

You may find that the past participle is used in the test (see Rule 8). In that case, the present perfect tense (they have crossed) and the past perfect tense (they had crossed) will be used in the artificial language. B. sure to apply the rules as directed in the test material. If no rule governing the past participle is listed in the actual test material, then the past participle is treated as a simple past tense.

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Artificial Language Supplemental Guide
To answer the Artificial Language questions on Fatskills, refer to the Vocabulary Lists and Grammatical Rules sections in this supplemental guide.
Note: Some of the words given in the following vocabulary lists are not the same as those that will be given in the actual Border Patrol Exam.

Therefore, do not memorize them before taking the actual test. The grammatical rules are the same as those used in the actual test, except that some of the prefixes (word beginnings) and suffixes (word endings) used in the real test differ from those used in this supplemental guide. You may also need to refer to the glossary of grammatical terms (see above) as you take the practice exams.

Vocabulary Lists for the Artificial Language
Arranged Alphabetically by the English Word








Grammatical Rules for the Artificial Language
The grammatical rules given here are the same as those used in the Border Patrol Exam, except that the prefixes (word beginnings) and suffixes (word endings) used in the exam differ from those used ­here.
During the exam, you will have access to the rules at all times. Consequently, it is important that you understand these rules, but it is not necessary that you memorize them. In fact, memorizing them will hinder rather than help you, because the beginnings and endings of words are different in the version of the artificial language that appears in this manual than the one that appears in the actual ­test.
You should note that Part Three of the official Artificial Language Manual contains a glossary of grammatical terms to assist you if you are not thoroughly familiar with the meanings of these grammatical ­terms. You can review these now by referring back to Chapter 7.
To form the feminine singular of a noun, a pronoun, an adjective, or an article, add the suffix -zof to the masculine singular form. Only nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and articles take feminine endings in the artificial language. When gender is not specified, the masculine form is used.
If a male eagle is a verlek, then a female eagle is a verlekzof.
If an ambitious man is a tosle man, an ambitious woman is a toslezof ­woman.
To form the plural of nouns, pronouns, and adjectives, add the suffix -ax to the correct singular ­form.
If one male eagle is a verlek, then several male eagles are verlekax.
If an ambitious woman is a toslezof woman, several ambitious women are toslezofax ­women.
If an active male eagle is a sojle verlek, then an active female eagle is a sojlezof verlekzof and several active female eagles are sojlezofax verlekzofax.
If this male eagle is volle verlek, these female eagles are vollezofax verlekzofax.
If the male eagle is ric verlek, the female eagle is riczof verlekzof and the female eagles are riczofax verlekzofax.
If a male eagle is bex verlek, several male eagles are bexax verlekax.
The stem of the verb is obtained by omitting the suffix -bar from the infinitive form of the verb.
The stem of the verb tirbar is tir.
All subjects and their verbs must agree in number; that is, singular subjects require singular verbs and plural subjects require plural verbs. (See Rules 6 and 7.)
To form the present tense of a verb, add the suffix -ot to the stem for the singular form or the suffix -et to the stem for the ­plural.
If to bark is nalbar, then nalot is the present tense for the singular (the dog barks) and nalet is the present tense for the plural (the dogs bark).
To form the past tense of a verb, first add the suffix -rem to the stem, and then add the suffix -ot if the verb is ­singular or the suffix -et if it is ­plural.
If to bark is nalbar, then nalremot is the past tense for the singular (the dog barked), and nalremet is the past tense for the plural (the dogs barked).
To form the past participle of a verb, add to the stem of the verb the suffix -to. It can be used to form compound tenses with the verb to have, as a predicate with the verb to be, or as an adjective. In the last two cases, it takes masculine, feminine, singular, and plural forms in agreement with the noun to which it refers.
If to bark is nalbar and to have is tulbar, then tulot nalto is the present perfect for the singular (the dog has barked) and tulet nalto is the present perfect for the plural (the dogs have barked). Similarly, tulremot nalto is the past perfect for the singular (the dog had barked) and tulremet nalto is the past perfect for the plural (the dogs had barked).
If to adopt is rapbar and to be is synbar, then a boy was adopted is a ekaplek synremot rapto and many girls were adopted is ekaplekzofax synremet raptozofax.
If to delight is kasbar, then a delighted boy is a kasto ekaplek and many delighted girls are kastozofax ekaplekzofax.
If longbar is to write, then a writer is a longlek.
If pellek is beauty, then a beautiful male eagle is a pelle verlek, and a beautiful female eagle is a pellezof verlekzof. (Note the feminine ending -zof.)

Rule 11
To form an adverb from an adjective, add the suffix -de to the masculine form of the adjective. (Note that adverbs do not change their form to agree in number or gender with the word they ­modify.)
If pelle is beautiful, then beautifully is pellede.

Rule 12
To form the possessive of a noun or pronoun, add the suffix -oe to the noun or ­pronoun after any plural or feminine suffixes.
If a boglek is a dog, then a dog's collar is a boglekoe collar.
If he is yev, then his book is yevoe ­book.
If she is yevzof, then her book is yevzofoe book.

Rule 13
To make a word negative, add the prefix poh- to the correct affirmative ­form.
If an active male eagle is a sojle verlek, then an inactive male eagle is a pohsojle verlek.
If the dog barks is boglek nalot, then the dog does not bark is boglek pohnalot.