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Table of Contents
THEME ONE: READING...................................................................................................................... 6
CHAPTER 1. READING..................................................................................................................... 6
TYPES AND TECHNIQUES OF READING ........................................................................................... 6
THEME TWO. WRITING ...................................................................................................................... 8
CHAPTER 2: LETTER WRITING ......................................................................................................... 8
TYPES OF LETTER ............................................................................................................................. 8
Differences between Formal and Informal Letter ........................................................................ 10
CHAPTER 3: ESSAY WRITING ......................................................................................................... 11
Narrative Essay.............................................................................................................................. 12
Descriptive/Analytical Essay ......................................................................................................... 12
Expository Essay ............................................................................................................................ 13
Argumentative/Persuasive Essay .................................................................................................. 13
CHAPTER 3. SUMMARY WRITING ................................................................................................. 14
THEME THREE: LISTENING AND SPEAKING. .......................................................................................... 15
CHAPTER 5. VOWELS .................................................................................................................... 15
CHAPTER 6. CONSONANT SOUNDS............................................................................................... 18
CONSONANT CLUSTERS (CC) ......................................................................................................... 19
CHAPTER 7. DIRECT AND REPORTED SPEECH .............................................................................. 21
RULES OF REPORTED SPEECH ....................................................................................................... 21
CHAPTER 8. STRESS ....................................................................................................................... 24
Common rules in lexical stress ...................................................................................................... 24
FUNCTIONS OF THE PROSODIC STRESS ........................................................................................ 25
CHAPTER 9. RHYTHM ................................................................................................................... 27
TYPES OF RHYTHM ........................................................................................................................ 27
CHAPTER 10. ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICES ............................................................................... 28
ACTIVE VOICES .............................................................................................................................. 28
PASSIVE VOICES............................................................................................................................. 28
CHAPTER 11. INTONATION ........................................................................................................ 30
THEME FOUR: GRAMMATICAL ACCURACY ........................................................................................... 31
CHAPTER 12. PUNCTUATIONS.................................................................................................... 31
Capital Letter................................................................................................................................. 31
Full Stop: ....................................................................................................................................... 31
Question Mark (?) ......................................................................................................................... 31
Quotation Mark (“ “) ..................................................................................................................... 31
Comma(,)....................................................................................................................................... 31
Exclamation mark(!) ...................................................................................................................... 31

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 Colon( :) ......................................................................................................................................... 31
Semi colon (;) ................................................................................................................................ 31
CHAPTER 13. SENTENCES ........................................................................................................... 32
TYPES OF SENTENCES .................................................................................................................... 32
PROPER SENTENCE CONSTRUCTION OF A SENTENCE .................................................................. 33
COMMON ERRORS IN CONSTRUCTION OF A SENTENCE .............................................................. 33
CHAPTER 14. PLURALISATION .................................................................................................... 34
CHAPTER 15. PART OF SPEECH –NOUN ..................................................................................... 36
NOUN ADJUNCT ............................................................................................................................ 36
NOUN NUMERALS ......................................................................................................................... 36
NOUN GENDER.............................................................................................................................. 36
TYPES OF NOUNS .......................................................................................................................... 38
FUCTIONS OF A NOUN .................................................................................................................. 39
CHAPTER 16. PART OF SPEECH –VERBS ..................................................................................... 40
FACTS ABOUT A VERB ................................................................................................................... 40
CLASSIFICATION OF VERBS............................................................................................................ 40
CHAPTER 17. PART OF SPEECH: ADJECTIVES ............................................................................. 44
ADJECTIVES FORMATION .............................................................................................................. 45
CHAPTER 18. PART OF SPEECH: PRONOUNS.............................................................................. 47
Types of Pronouns ........................................................................................................................ 47
SINGULAR TABLE OF A PRONOUN ................................................................................................ 50
PLURAL TABLE OF A PRONOUN .................................................................................................... 50
CHAPTER 19. PART OF SPEECH: ADVERBS ................................................................................. 51
Uses of an Adverb ......................................................................................................................... 52
CHAPTER 20. PART OF SPEECH: CONJUNCTIONS ....................................................................... 53
1. Coordinating Conjunctions/Coordinators: ............................................................................ 53
2. Correlative Conjunction: ....................................................................................................... 54
3. Subordinating conjunction:................................................................................................... 54
4. Conjunctive adverbs: ............................................................................................................ 55
CHAPTER 21. PART OF SPEECH: PREPOSITIONS ......................................................................... 56
Prepositional Rules ....................................................................................................................... 57
PREPOSITION OF TIME .................................................................................................................. 57
PREPOSITION OF PLACE ................................................................................................................ 58
Prepositions of locations: in, at, on and no preposition ............................................................... 58
Preposition of Movement: To and No Preposition ....................................................................... 59
Preposition of time using for and since ........................................................................................ 59

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 Preposition with Nouns, Adjectives and Verbs ............................................................................. 59
Prepositional Phrase ..................................................................................................................... 60
Unnecessary Prepositions ............................................................................................................. 60
CHAPTER 22. ADVERBIALS.......................................................................................................... 61
Differences between adverb and adverbial .................................................................................. 61
Types of Adverbials ....................................................................................................................... 61
Adverbial of Manner ..................................................................................................................... 62
CHAPTER 22. TENSES.................................................................................................................. 64
CHAPTER 23. CLAUSE ................................................................................................................. 68
TYPES OF SUBORDINATE CLAUSES ................................................................................................ 68
CHAPTER 24. PHRASES ............................................................................................................... 71
TYPES OF PHRASE .......................................................................................................................... 71
CHAPTER 25. FINITE AND NON FINITE VERBS ............................................................................ 73
Finite verb ..................................................................................................................................... 73
Non- finite verbs ........................................................................................................................... 73
CHAPTER 26. DETERMINERS ...................................................................................................... 74
Types of determiner...................................................................................................................... 74
THEME FIVE: LITERATURE ..................................................................................................................... 76
CHAPTER 27. LITERATURE .......................................................................................................... 76
Functions of Literature.................................................................................................................. 76
CHAPTER 28. FOLKTALES ............................................................................................................ 77
SOME POPULAR NIGERIAN FOLKTALES ........................................................................................ 77
AFRICAN FOLKTALES ..................................................................................................................... 77
NON AFRICAN FOLKTALE .............................................................................................................. 77
CHAPTER 29. MYTH AND LEGEND .............................................................................................. 79
MYTHS ........................................................................................................................................... 79
CHAPTER 30. POETRY ................................................................................................................. 80
ELEMENT OF POETRY .................................................................................................................... 80
CHAPTER 31. DRAMA ................................................................................................................. 81
Features of Drama ........................................................................................................................ 81
CHAPTEER 32. PROSE .................................................................................................................... 82
Types of prose ............................................................................................................................... 82
SHORT STORIES ............................................................................................................................. 82
NOVELETTE.................................................................................................................................... 82
Differences between a Short story and a Novelette..................................................................... 82
CHAPTER 33. FIGURES OF SPEECH ............................................................................................. 83

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 1. Irony: ..................................................................................................................................... 83
2. Hyperbole:............................................................................................................................. 83
3. Simile:.................................................................................................................................... 83
4. Metaphor: ............................................................................................................................. 83

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THEME ONE: READING

CHAPTER 1. READING

Reading is an integral and complex part of learning.it is task that encompasses other
activities such as recognition, comprehension. It is the process of decoding symbols,
sketches, maps and lot more. Reading can be done for literary or in formational
purpose.

In reading, the reader is expected to interact with the text to understand the writer’s
point of view.

TYPES AND TECHNIQUES OF READING

 Intensive Reading
 Extensive reading.
 Skimming
 Scanning

INTENSIVE READING

Intensive Reading can also be called Narrow Reading. It is a kind of reading that allows
reader to read in detail with specific learning aims and tasks. It means the reader
focuses on the language rather than the text.it is reading for details. Intensive reading
is majorly for informational purposes like studying for examination, answering
comprehension questions, to extract main and supporting ideas. The reader focuses
on the language rather than the text. It helps us in acquiring more vocabularies and
grammar, making inferences, looking at the order of information and the effects of the
message, identifying words that connect one idea to another. It is considered to be
slow since the reader has to read carefully through the lines of the text.

It is used when the objective of reading is to achieve full understanding of:

 Logical argument
 Rhetorical pattern of text
 To study difficult content materials.

EXTENSIVE READING

Extensive is also referred to as Wide or Free Reading. It is a kind of language learning

including foreign languages through large amounts of reading. As well as facilitating

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acquisition in learning of vocabularies. It is reading for literary purposes such as
reading for enjoyment, reading to develop general reading skills. This type of reading
helps reader to learn about other people way of life and acceptable way to behave in
the society. Its major objective is for summary writing and to help the reader to
understand that the meaning of a word can also be based on its usage in a text. It
encourages the reader to read smoothly and quickly without looking up the meaning
of words i.e. using a dictionary.

This also get you use to reading more complex texts with ease, reinforces the words
you already know and learn new words from context.

Skimming: It means reading for main ideas within a passage to get an overall
impression of the content of reading. It helps to know what the text is all about. This
is mostly done with magazines and newspaper so as to shortlist articles that one
considers for a deeper reading.

Scanning: It is a reading technique to be used when you want to find specific

information quickly. In scanning, the reader’s mind is not blank but have a question
s/he would like to answer and in a bid to find the answer, s/he considers other
information irrelevant thereby ignoring them.

CRITICAL READING

Critical reading is form of language analysis that does not view A text literarily , but
involves a deeper examination of the ideas, word/phrases in a text.it saddles the
reader with the ability to reinterpret and reconstruct for improved clarity,
identification of possible ambiguities and flaws in the author’s reasoning, linkage of
evidential points to corresponding arguments. It involves reading between the lines so
as to uncover implicit messages and bias. For example; reading to understand the
writer’s mood, to interpret the messages in the texts, e.g. poem, in diagrams maps and
sketches

Critical reading engages the readers mind and thinking there by making the reader
actively involved in the text. It also be done to criticize the work of a writer through
his diction, images, and figurative expressions, arrangement of the lines or ideas, or
the views expressed in the text. Critical reading is going two steps further having
recognizes what a text says. It is a detailed reading.

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THEME TWO. WRITING

CHAPTER 2: LETTER WRITING

A letter is a written/printed communication longer and more formal than a note. It is

an essential skill despite the prevalence of email and text messages, everyone has to
write letter at some point such letters include, letters of application, letters of
complaint, letters of permission and so on.

However, there are three letter format. They are;

1. Block format: This is typically used for business letters. The entire text is aligned
to the left margin of the page. Paragraphs are separated by a double line space.
2. Modified block format: this differs from block style in a way that the date, sign
off, and signature lines begin at the center of point of the page line. The
beginning of each paragraph is indented five spaces along with the subject line.
Paragraphs MAY be separated with a double line space.
3. Semi-block format: Semi block is similar to block but has more informal
appearance. All element are left aligned, except for the beginning of each
paragraph which is also indented five spaces. Paragraph are also separated by
a double line space.

TYPES OF LETTER

There are three types of letter but the third one is not commonly used. They are:

a. Formal letter
b. Informal letter
c. Semi-formal letter( not commonly used)

FORMAL LETTER

A formal letter is a type of letter written for official purposes such as seeking for a job,
permission, to make request or suggestion

Features of a Formal Letter

ADDRESS: Two addresses are required in a formal letter.one is the writer’s address
which is usually found in the top right-hand corner and the other which is the
receiver’s name and address is on the left- hand side.

DATE: The date usually comes directly after the writer’s address. Though the position
for the date is flexible. But is essential in letter writing.

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SALUTATION: This is the opening of the letter. It is written as Dear Ma/Sir followed by
a comma. As in Dear ma,

Note: a colon is preferred in a business letter while a comma in personal letters.

HEADING: It is also referred to as the topic and this is found in the Centre of the page.
It gives a clue to what the writer is writing about or the purpose of writing. E.g. Letter
of Application.

BODY OF THE LETTER: it is usually written in paragraphs and often begin with an
explanation of the reason for writing.

SUBSCRIPTION/LEAVE TAKING: The accepted form for a formal letter is yours

faithfully. Note: the letter, ‘y’ capitalize while the ‘f’ in faithfully is always in
lowercases.

SIGNATURE AND NAME. This follows the subscription.

Tips on writing a formal letter

1. Be concise: keep the letter short, state the purpose of your letter in the first
paragraph.
2. Use the right tone: avoid the use of slangs, jargons, contractions such as I’m, can’t
(write in full).be polite and respectful.
3. Use proper format and presentation. Use good quality paper and a matching
envelope. Make sure the recipient is addressed and name spelt properly. Also,
don’t forget to sign the letter.
4. Present your ideas properly and chronologically.
5. Proofread your letter. Check the grammar and spellings carefully. And also the
punctuations.

INFORMAL LETTER

This is a type of letter written for unofficial purposes. They are written to our relations,
friends, colleagues etc.

FEATURES OF AN INFORMAL LETTER

ADDRESS: The sender’s address is the only address required.

DATE: The date is written under the address.

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SALUTATION: The name of the receiver or a name known to both of you
might be included to show familiarity. Also, the salutation can extend to the first
paragraph of the body of the letter.
BODY OF THE LETTER: The writer is permitted to discuss both trivial and not trivial
issues as he/she deemed fit. And the writer is permitted to select his/her diction as
long as the reader understands it.
SUBSCRIPTION: Informal letters take different forms of leave taking. E.g. Yours
sincerely, Your daughter/son/friend (as the case may be), Your love and lot more.

Differences between Formal and Informal Letter

FORMAL LETTER INFORMAL LETTER

It is written for official purposes It addresses unofficial issues

It requires both the writer and the
It requires only the writer’s address
receiver’s address
The writer’s signature is included Signature is not included
The salutation is usually long since they are
The salutation is brief i.e. Dear Ma/Sir
familiar with each other

Slangs, contractions can be used as long as

The language is strictly formal the reader will be able to decode the
message

It requires an heading It doesn’t require a heading

Your name must be written in full A name known to both can be used

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CHAPTER 3: ESSAY WRITING

An essay is a piece of writing that methodically analyses and elevates a topic or an

issue. Essay can also be defined as a written composition of moderate length exploring
a particular issue or subject matter or in summary, a written discourse. Essay involves
the writer presenting his/her ideas by brainstorming, a help to measure ones level of
proficiency in writing and usage of the language and also the vocabularies acquired. It
is written in paragraphs and made up of three part namely;

The introductory paragraph: It gives a preview of the chosen topic.

The body: It is the middle paragraphs of the essay. It spells out in detail your ideas and
points.

The conclusion: It tidies up the points and ideas explained in in the body.

Tips on writing a good essay

1. Use catchy word. Your diction must be carefully chosen so as to keen your
readers’ attention.
2. Avoid using passive voices. Words in active voices are considered to be more
powerful.
3. Avoid using the first person pronoun (I, me, my) except in personal narratives
4. Tie ideas and points together using linking phrase such as Moreover, on the
other hand, in addition etc.
5. Aim for variety. Get sentences and vocabulary of varying complexity, figurative
expressions and idioms.
6. PRACTISE! PRACTISE! PRACTISE! To become a skilled writer requires a lot of
practice. Therefore, take time to improve your skills.

There are four types of essay writing. They are;

1. Narrative essay
2. Descriptive or analytical essay
3. Expository essay
4. Argumentative or persuasive essay

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Narrative Essay

This is a type of essay that tells a story or recounts an event. There are two types’
namely short stories and book report. A narrative essay is usually done using the first
person or omniscient narrative technique and the third person narrative can also be
considered. It can also be inform of a dialogue.

Guidelines for writing

i. Don’t not leave out any part of the story such as the characters, the plot, setting
etc. Be detailed enough.
ii. If writing a book report, be informative and not retelling the entire book.
iii. Choose a point of view for your essay and stick to it.

Examples are;

1) First Day at College

2) The Memorable Day
3) The Moment of Success

Descriptive/Analytical Essay

As the name suggests, report an event such that the writer paints the scenario in the
mind of the reader. It allows for more artistic freedom since it aims at put in a picture
through to the readers.it interpret, examines an events, books, poems, play or other
work of art.

Tips for writing

i. Be well organized: make an outline of what you would like to write. Knowing
your conclusion before writing helps a lot.
ii. They usually written in present tense.
iii. Be objective, avoid using the first person pronoun too much.
iv. Do not use slangs or colloquies or any language of informal speeches.
v. Give the text a title of your own but it must be original.

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Expository Essay

This a type of essay that teaches, explains and inform. It involves investigating ideas,
evaluating the evidences, presenting the ideas and supporting the presentation with
an argument.

Tips for writing

i. Choose a topic and stick to it

ii. Give enough evidences to back up what you are saying; i.e. examples.
iii. The essay must concise. Avoid repetition and over-stating of points.

Examples include:
1) Effects of alcoholism on the Human body
2) Educational psychology
3) Technology and Modernity

Argumentative/Persuasive Essay

This type of essay is usually referred to as debate. This is exploring a topic and
convincing your readers that your view is the best and should be accepted. Here are
some important qualities for this essay.

i. Develop a definite point of view.

ii. Use sound reasoning.
iii. Use solid evidences.
iv. Research your topic so as to give a convincing evidences
v. Follow the rules of good paragraphing.
vi. Don’t bore your readers by repeating the same point.

Examples: Doctors are better than Teachers

Modern Medicine has caused more Harm than Good

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CHAPTER 3. SUMMARY WRITING

A summary is a compressed version of a voluminous text or reading. This is narrowing

down is a wide reading or text. Summary is not rewriting the original piece and should
not be long. The “Wh”- questions [who, what, where, & how] can guide us toward
writing a good summary.

How to write a good summary

1) Read and understand the text to be summarized

2) Identify the main points in the text or reading
3) Write a summary based on your understanding of the text
4) Always use reporting verbs like suggest, criticize etc.
5) Repeat the ideas of the source in different phrases and sentences.

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THEME THREE: LISTENING AND SPEAKING.

CHAPTER 5. VOWELS

A VOWEL IS a sound produce with little or no obstruction from the vocal tracts (the
mouth, lips teeth or the roof of the mouth). Vowels as letters are a, e, I, o, u but vowel
as a phoneme is different and we have twenty vowel sounds in English. There are
factors to be considered in naming a vowel. They are:
The shape of the lips: this can either be rounded or unrounded.
The position of the tongue: this can either be front, back or center
Height/ frequency: this is the height, the time taken to produce the sound and this can
be long or short.
Vowel chart

Vowel sounds are divided into three but the third one which is (trip thong) is no longer
active. They are:
Monophthong: Monophthong are pure vowels and are also a single sound. They are
twelve in number and are further divided into long and short.
Short vowels: these are sounds that are produced within a short period of time. They
are seven in number. /i/, /e/, /ɒ/, /ә/, /ʌ/, /ʊ/, /ᴂ/

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Long vowels: these are produced in a longer period. We have of five of them. They
are: /I:/,/ᴈ:/,/a:/,/ɔ:/,/u:/.
Diphthong: they two sounds produced as one. They are eight of them. They are: /ei/,
/ai/,/ɔi/,/ɚu/,/iɚ/,/eə/,/uɚ/
Also, some vowels appear weak especially in sentences.

Examples:
/i/: as in i: bit, sit, women, pill, still
As in ie: rabies, copies, and ladies
As in y: baby, copy, happy
/I: / as in ee: bee, meet, reed, breed, feet, fleet, peel, weep, sleep
As in ea: feast, meal, yeast, meat, eat, beat
As in ie: brief, chief, thief
/e/ as in u: bury, furry, fur
As in e: gent, well, rest, dress, egg, met, elephant, wet, slept
/e: / as in e: bed, weep,
as in ir: shirt, bird, skirt, gird, girt, circumstance, firth,
/ʊ/ as in ou: would, should, could
As in oo: good, book, cook, food, foot
/u:/ as in ou: soup, coup, boutique
As in oo: fool, cool, school, pool, goose, tool
/ʌ/ as in sun, love, son, cover, hug, nut, cut, puddle.
/ɒ/ as in hot, dog, bot, cot, pot, not, mop
/ᴂ/ as in man, stab, mat, ran, pan, tap, yam, van, map, tan, act
/ə/ this is considered as a weak sound. They are usually found in words ending in
“–er” and “e” as in teacher, mother, understand, brother, manor
/ɔ:/ as in port, salt, chalk, water, quarter, roar, soar, forth, flaunt, pour
/a:/ as in cart, art, car, hard, yard
/ai/ as in high, I, why, white, cry, sky, buy, height,

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/ei/ as in weight, wait, gate, gave, paper, baby, rake, cake, waist, cave, café
/iɚ/ as in hear, beer, pier, ear, peer
/eə/ as in care, hair, air, tear, bare,
/au/ as in shout, out, tout, bout, flout,
/uə/ as in tour, jury,
/ɔi/ as in oil, coil, coin, foil, soil,
/ɚu/ as in goat, coat, float, boat,

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CHAPTER 6. CONSONANT SOUNDS

Consonant sounds are sounds produced with partial or complete obstruction to the
air coming from the air stream. There are twenty-four consonant sounds. In producing
a consonant sound, there are two places of concentration. They are;
The manner of articulation: these refers to how the speech producing organs (lips,
teeth, tongue) come in contact when producing the sound.
Place of articulation: this is also referred to as the point of articulation. This is the point
of contact where an obstruction occurs in the vocal tract.
CONSONANT CHART

/p/- ball, boy, baby, brother, basket, bucket

/b/- pen, paper, peculiar, plasma. Puppy
/t/- tattoo, bat, cart, what, water, table
/d/-deeper, dog, door, delicious
/k/- the letter is also pronounced as this sound. as in- kettle, car, capital, keg, key,
/g/- girl, google, goal, gargle,
/f/ - fish, fry, fight, finished, figure, fingers, phone, phenomena, triumph
/v/- vulture, very, visible, vivid, vampire

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/ɵ/- this produced when the tip of the touches the upper teeth and also make contact
with the hard Pilate/ roof of the mouth. They are mostly found in words with “the”
worth, throw, forth, thing, think, thwart.
/ð/ -mother,
/s/ - snake, scissors, seize, says, sip
/z/- zoo, zoar, zip, zebra, Zain
/ʃ/- this is mostly sound in words with “s”, especially as the initial letter. As in shall,
should, sheep, shed, shoulder, shape.
/ʒ/ - measure, pleasure, pressure,
/h/- hut, hurt, hear, house, head, etc. note: they can be silent in some word. Such as
hour, heir,
/ʧ/- this is mostly found in word with “ch”. As in church, chain, cheap, chap,
/ʤ/- this is mostly found in word with the letter “j”, as in judge, jug, jilt, jealous, junk,
junction, and juncture
/m/ - mammal, mother, jam, macabre, mace, maize
/n/ - nurse, net, near, neat, nuclear, nibble, naval,
/ŋ/- sing, ink, junk, gunk, sunk,
/l/- lateral, little, letter, lecture, liver, leverage,
/r/- roller, rice, razor, raffle, rude, river, run,
/w/ - wick, week, weak, wax, weather
/y/- they are usually transcribe as “j.” as in yam, yeast, yesterday, year.

Note: the sound “y”/”w” can also appear as a vowel in some words.

Strong consonant are voiced while weak ones are voiceless.

CONSONANT CLUSTERS (CC)

This is a sequence of a group of consonant without any vowel coming between them.
That is, there is no interference from the vowel.it refers to a sequence of two or more
consonants. Clusters that come before is referred to as the “ONSET” followed by the

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“VOCALIC ELEMENT” (a vowel) and the clusters after the vocalic element is referred to
as the “coda.” The formula is: C0-3 V C0-4.
Consonant cluster sometimes occurs when one consonant in a sequence of adjacent
consonants is dropped. Examples:
Best boy – bes boy
First time - firs time
First serve - firs serve

Note: Consonant clusters deals with the pronunciation and not the spelling.
A consonant cluster cannot be void of a vocalic element.
Examples:
V – Or, her, our
CV- so, of, though, tree, cry,
CCV – Through, stir,
CCVC- flat, flesh, skid, swan, sledge, stop, twin, throw, still,
CCCVC- stress, splash, street, split,
CCVCC- plank, starch, strand, plant,
CCCVCCC - strengths
CCVCCCC- glimpsed

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CHAPTER 7. DIRECT AND REPORTED SPEECH

Direct speech simply means saying exactly what some has said. That is quoting
someone verbatim.it is also called “quoted speech” what the speaker says appears in
quotations. Example:
i. He said, “today’s topic is osmosis”
ii. She said, “ I won’t be around to grace the occasion”
Reported speech are also referred to as an indirect speech or indirect discourse. This
a means of expressing the content of statements questions ot other utterances
without quoting them explicitly as is done in direct speech.it is used to communicate
what someone else said, think or believe without using their exact words. A few
changes occur such as the pronoun and the verb is usually a tense backward where
necessary. Examples:
i. Linda said, “ I am coming” (direct)
ii. Linda said that she was coming.(indirect)
Reported speech is usually used to talk about the past, so we normally change to the
past/ participle of the verb used. Also reported speech doesn’t enclose of is said in
quotations but introduces the word “that”

RULES OF REPORTED SPEECH

1. Present tense changes to past tense and past tense to past participle.
Examples:
Anne said, “I bought the car yesterday”
Anne said that she bought the car a day before.

2. Present continuous in the direct becomes past continuous. Examples:

Vivian said, “I am reading”
Vivian said that she was reading.

3. Past continuous to past perfect continuous. Examples:

Nelson said, “I was playing golf”
Nelson said that he had been playing golf.

4. Present perfect becomes past perfect. Examples

He said, “I have sewed the cloth”
` He said that he had sewn the cloth.

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 5. Present perfect continuous becomes past perfect continuous. Example:
He said, “I have been begging her”
He said that he had been begging her.

6. Modal auxiliary changes.

will to would, may to might, shall to should, must to had to/must, can to could.

7. If the direct speech contains a universal truth, the tenses remain unchanged in
the reporting form.
Examples:
The teacher said, “Change is most constant thing on earth”
The teacher said that change is the most constant thing on earth.
She said to me, “Dogs are domestic animals”
She told me that dogs are domestic animal.
When reporting a statement that is generally true and acceptable, the quotation mark
will be removed and substituted with the conjunction “that”.
The reporting verb changes to say changes to tell and said changes to told. Examples:
she says, “I am glad to be here with you”
She tells her that she is glad to be there with them.
8. The adverb of nearness changes into distant adverbs. Examples:
Now/ then, her/ there, this/that, hereafter/thereafter, these/those, ago/
before, thus/so, today/that day, too night/that night, last night/ previous night,
tomorrow/ next day, yesterday/ day before / previous day, tomorrow/ next
day/ following day, next week/week after, last month/previous month/month
before, next month/ following month/ month before and
thither/hence/thence.

9. Also, pronoun changes since another person’s idea is being present.

Reported questions
Giving a question in the reported speech is not so different from a reported
sentence. The main difference is that once you tell to someone else, it isn’t a
question anymore. So the grammar changes to a more positive sentence.
Examples: where is he?
She asked me where he was.
Note: there is NO need for question mark since the structure of the sentence has
changed.
Where is the post office?

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 She asked me where the post office was.
Who was that clown?
They asked me who that clown had been.
Do you like watching films?
She asked me if I liked watching films.
Do you live here?
She asked me if I lived there.
Reported orders
This is reporting what you have been told directly. Examples:
Stand up!
She told me to stand up
Don’t bother!
She told her not to bother.
Don’t be silly!
She told her not to be silly.

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CHAPTER 8. STRESS

This is the emphasis given to a certain syllables in a word of in the sentence. It is noted
by loudness, vowel length, full articulation of vowel and rise in the pitch of the voice.
It is given more prominence to a syllable or word. There two are two main type of
stress placement. They are:
Lexical/Word Stress: this is the type of stress placed on syllables in a word. This word
can have more than one level of stress, such as primary stress (the stronger degree
stress) and the secondary stress (the weaker degree stress).
Prosodic/Sentence Stress: this is the type of stress placed words within sentences. It
is divided into phrasal stress (emphasis of certain words within phrases or clauses) and
a contractive stress is used to highlight an item, a word or a phrase and occasionally
just a part of the word that is given more importance.
Common rules in lexical stress
There are majorly two rules. They are:
i. One word has only one stress and also, a word cannot have two primary
stress. One word takes the primary/ main stress while the other takes
the secondary stress. E.g. so, of, err, her etc.

ii. We can only stress vowels and not consonants

Though, to every rules there is an exception. But they can be considered
as a yardstick.

iii. Stress placement is not fixed in English language. Here are some tips to
guide us.
a. Stress the first syllable of :
Most two syllable nouns- TA-ble, CLI-mate, CUR-tain, LON-don,
TEA-cher, MO-ther, AUN-ty, PAC-ket etc.
Most two syllables adjectives: WIS-er, GI-ant, DANGE-rous, RUS-
tik, MAS-sive, HURT-ful, LONE-ly etc.
b. Stress the last syllable of:
Most two syllable verbs: - re-CORD, re-CALL, Con-FIRM, con-CERT,
re-FER, re-GRESS, ex-TORT
Some words can either be noun or a verb depeding on the position of the stress. E.g
EX-port (n) ex-PORT (v) OB-ject (n) ob-JECT (v)
c. Stress on the penultimate syllable( second from the end

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 a) Words ending in ic: GRAPH-ic, CUB-ic, STAN-nic, a-chro-
MA-tic, autoMAtic, matheMAtic, acroNYmic, bu-CO-lic,
bureauCRAtic, etc.
b) Word ending in –sion: VI-sion, di-VER-sion,con-VER-sion,
se-CLU-sion, re-VI-sion, ad-MI-ssion, etc.
c) Word ending in –tion: ro-TA-tion,me-di- TA-tion, a-cco-
mo-DA-tion,lo-CA-tion,me-di-CA-tion,ex-ER-tion,in-VEN-
tion,
d. The stress can be placed on the ante-penultimate(third from the
end)
a) Words ending cy: oc-CU-pan-cy, fre-QUE-en-cy, im-PO-
ten-cy, im-PU-den-cy, re-SI-den-cy, mi-LI-tan-cy etc.
b) Words ending in –ty: a-coun-ta- BI- li-ty, ac-TI-vi-ty, BRE-vi-
ty, ce-LI-bri-ty, cen-TRI- ci-ty, com- MUN-ni-ty,com-PLE-xi-
ty rtc.
c) Words ending in –phy: ty-PHO-gra-phy, ca-LI- gra-phy bib-
LO-gra-phy etc
d) Word ending in –gy: car-di-O-lo-gy,es-ca-TO-lo-gy, a- NA-
lo-gy, ge-ne-O-lo-gy,gas-TRO-lo-gy, etc
e) Words ending in –al: CRI-ti-cal, em-PHA-ti-cal, bi-o-CHE-
mi-cal, con-CEP-tual, af-FEC- tion-al.
e. Compound words: the stress is on the first part.
a) For compound noun, the stress is on the first word.
examples: SCHOOLbus, FOOTball, SUNflower,
GRASShopper, EYEballs
b) For compound verbs, the stress is on the second part.
Examples: baby SIT, take AWAY, stir FRY, test DRIVE,
proofREAD, etc
c) For compound adjectives, the stress is on the first syllable
of the second part. Examples: bad-TEMpered, man-
EATing, English-SPEAKing, twenty-STOrey, record-
BREAKing, full-LENgth, etc.

FUNCTIONS OF THE PROSODIC STRESS

1) It is used pragmatically to emphasize particular words or ideas associated with
them. E.g.
I didn’t go out yesterday (“I” is emphasize to show that the speaker is talking about
himself and not someone else)
I bought a RED car. (Not a blue one but a red coloured car)

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Note: Prosodic stress usually function as an emphatic stress.

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CHAPTER 9. RHYTHM

This is the variation of strong and weak elements (such as the duration and accent)
of sounds notably in speech or music over time.it simply the regular repetition of a
particular sounds.
TYPES OF RHYTHM
1. Lamb: this is commonly used. It consists of two syllables. The first syllable is
not stressed while the second syllable is stressed. Example include stress
placement on verbs. Object, compare, advice etc

2. Trochee: this is a type of poetic foot which is usually used in English poetry. It
has syllable is strongly stressed while the second syllable is unstressed.
Example: It HAS LED.

3. Spondee: this is also a poetic foot.it has two syllables that is consecutively
stressed. E.g. By the shore of Gitche Gumme
Wind of the Western Sea
4. Dactyl: this is made up of three syllables.
Example: LOUD from its ROCKY caVERNS

5. Anapest: they also have three syllables; where the first two syllables are not
stressed while the last one is stressed.
Example: And his Cohorts were GLEAMING in PURPle and Gold.

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CHAPTER 10. ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICES

Active voice describes the sentence where the subject performs the action stated by
the verb. It has it structure as S+V+O/S+P+C While a passive voice describes a
sentence where the subject is acted upon by the verb.it changes its structure in a
way that the object or the verb is been emphasized and placed in the subject
position, OBJECT+VERB+DOER. Active and passive voice go together because they are
like saying yes or no. a passive voice is the exact opposite of the active voice.
Examples:
Wilson killed the goat (active)
The goat was killed by Wilson (passive.)

ACTIVE VOICES
The active voice is the normal voice. This is the voice that we use most of the time.
The subject is the performer of the action of the verb and the direct object is the
direct object is the goal or the recipient.
Example John washes the dishes
Juliet ironed the clothes
An adverbial can be included but that doesn’t change the pattern.
Examples: yesterday, I cleaned the room
Right now, she is sleeping on the couch
The adverbial can appear at the end of the sentence.
Example: she slept on the couch yesterday.
The room was cleaned last month.
PASSIVE VOICES
PASSIVE voices foregrounds the object than the subject. The thing receiving the
action is more important than the performer of the action or you don’t want to
mention the performer.
Facts about passive voices
1. They make use of passive verbs
2. The object is usually fronted
3. They use past or past participle
4. Using the auxiliary be and its variant.
5. Introduction of the preposition –by.

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 Examples: the flat tyre was repaired by Susan.
When you have a past verb, the passive must be in past participle form.
E.g. He took the letter
The letter was taken by him
Also, the adverbial does not change its position. Examples:
Last week, Maryam gave her some money
Last week, some money was given to her by Maryam.
My sister finished the novel in one day.
The novel was finished by my sister in one day
Who taught you how to ski?
By whom were you taught how to ski?
She generously donated money to the orphans.
Money was generously donated to the orphans by her.
Passive sentences with two objects
Re writing an active sentence with two object in passive voice means that one of the
object becomes the subject while the other one remains an object. The object to
transform into a subject i.e. to be fronted depends on what the writer put into
consideration. Examples:
I submitted a proposal to the company
A proposal was submitted to the company by me
A proposal was submitted by me to the company.

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CHAPTER 11. INTONATION

Intonation is the variation of spoken pitch to show the function of the speech.
Intonation can help the speaker to distinguish between a statement and a question
and also between different types of questions. There are three main patterns of
intonation in English. They are:
Falling intonation: this describes how the voice falls on the final stressed syllable of a
phrase or a group of words. A falling intonation is common in – wh question.
Example: who is your best friend?
When will you visit?
It can also be used when we want the message to be very clear, or we want to sound
determined.
Examples: I think we gave the best option
You are absolutely wrong
We are not quarrelling.
It can also be used when making a list.
Example: I need a pen, a paper and a ruler.
Rising intonation: the rising intonation indicates that the voice rises at the end of a
sentence or a phrase. It shows uncertainty, implying and some additional
commitment on the part of the speaker.it is used in polar questions (yes/no).
Examples: Ccan I use your phone?
Do you want more food?
Are you scared?
Fall- rise intonation: this refers to how the pitch of the voice falls and then rises at
the end of a sentence.it is used when we are not sure about what we are saying.
Examples: it is cloudy most of the time
She should be four years old.
It can also be used for politeness.
Examples: would you like another cup of coffee?
May I get some money please?

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THEME FOUR: GRAMMATICAL ACCURACY

CHAPTER 12. PUNCTUATIONS

Capital Letter
This is used to start a sentence
This is used for proper nouns such as names of people, places, months, subjects,
rivers, and days of the week.
It is used to write abbreviations.

Full Stop:
this is one of the punctuation marks used to end a sentence.
It is also used to show that the short form of a word.

Question Mark (?)

This is also used at the end of a sentence that seeks information.

Quotation Mark (“ “)
This is also called inverted commas. It is used to mark out direct speech

Comma(,)
This shows a short pause in a sentence.
It is used mark out a list of items
It is also used to mark off nouns in apposition.

Exclamation mark(!)
This is used to show anger, surprise etc. it shows the speaker’s attitude.

Colon( :)
This used to precede a list of items, a quotation or an expansion.

Semi colon (;)

This is used to separates major sentence elements. A semicolon can be used
between two closely related independent clauses, provided they are not already
joined by a coordinating conjunction.

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CHAPTER 13. SENTENCES

A sentence is a grammatical complete series of words consisting of a subject and

predicate, and typically beginning with a capital letter and ending with a full stop.

A sentence consists of four units called elements of a sentence. These elements

constitute the sentence structure. They are: Subject, Predicate/ Predicator,
Complement and the Adverbial.

Examples:
1. Vivian bought those shoes last week.
2. Jesus wept
3. I put the cup on the table last night
4. Omoladun is a kind nurse
5. Kemi has broken the glass

TYPES OF SENTENCES
The type of sentence is determined by the number and type of clauses it contains.

1. Simple Sentences: this type of sentence conveys a single idea. It has only one
subject and one verb. Examples:
 She is my mother
 I am bored
 That is a fats monkey
 It irritates me
 Linda bought a pen
 The boy grew taller
 She found Judith sitting on a chair

2. Compound Sentence: a compound sentence is formed when two or more
independent clauses or sentences are joined together by a coordinating
conjunctions like and, but, for, nor, so. etc.
Examples:
 Linda went to the mall and bought a lot dozens of pen.
 My mother walked into the sitting room and found Judith sitting on a
chair.
 Kunle was in the classroom but the teacher could not see him
 Ada bought a new pair of shoes and some dresses but they were
undersized.
 My friend visited me yesterday and we played chess but he left
immediately, so we couldn’t play other games.
 I am skinny and you are obese
 I always tell you what I Know but you will never tell me what you know.

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 3. Complex Sentence: this consist of one independent or main clause and one or
more dependent or subordinate clauses. Examples:
 This is the woman who was caught stealing food items.
 The mother flogged him because she jumped over the fence
 This is the lady who answered me rudely.
 She cooked more food because we were not satisfied.
 Juliet came late to school because she had to run some errands for her
grandmother
 I will call you if am less busy.
 As she is a big bully, I stay away from her.
4. Compound-Complex Sentence: this is a sentence that consist at least two
independent clauses and at least one dependent clause. Examples:
 Your creditor came yesterday when you were not at home but I was able
to pay him.
 Although the car is old, it still runs well and we intend to sell it.
 Although patients came to the hospital when the health practitioners
were on strike but were still attended to.

PROPER SENTENCE CONSTRUCTION OF A SENTENCE

1) Time is usually placed at the end of a sentence.

Example: I was born in the year 1923
2) Time can also be placed at the beginning of a sentence.
Example: In 1960, Nigeria got her independence.
3) Place comes before time in all cases.
Example: I visited the Eiffel Tower in Paris in 2003.
4) An adverb can either be used at the beginning or end of a sentence.
Examples: Last year, she took the first position in her class.
She took the first position in her class last year.

COMMON ERRORS IN CONSTRUCTION OF A SENTENCE

a) Words and phrases should be put in their rightful places.
Example: The policeman is a very brave man who caught the thief (INCORRECT)
The policeman who caught the thief is a very man. (CORRECT)
b) Sentence fragment: a group of words used together does not form a complete
sentence.
Examples: Because she couldn’t afford the tuition fee (INCORRECT)
She didn’t go to school because she couldn’t afford the tuition
fee.
Since three ‘o’ clock. (INCORRECT)
I’ve been here since three ‘o’ clock in the noon.

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CHAPTER 14. PLURALISATION

This deals with singular and plural. Singular means one while plural means two or
more. There are certain principles that are generally applicable by giving us abroad
idea of how common words are pluralize.

These are:
1. For most nouns, add ‘s’ at the end of the word.
Singular Plural
Bag Bags
House houses
Pot pots
Tree trees
Student Students

2. For nouns that end with ‘s’, ‘x’, ‘z’, ‘ch’, or ‘sh’ add ‘es’ at the end of the word.
Singular Plural
Box Boxes
Boss Bosses
Leech Leeches
Dish Dishes
Buzz buzzes

3. For some words that ends with ‘o’, add ‘s’/ ‘es’
Singular Plural
Photo Photos
potato Potatoes
Mango Mangoes
Echo Echoes
Radio Radios
Logo Logos
Hero Heroes
Piano Pianos

4. For some words ending with ‘f’, replace the ‘f’ with a ‘v’ and add ‘es’ or add ‘s’
at the end of the word.
Singular Plural
Calf Calfs
Half Halves
Thief Thieves
Leaf Leaves
Roof Roofs

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 Chef Chefs
Reef Reefs

5. For some words ending with ‘ife’, replace the ‘f’ with a ‘v’ and add an ‘s’ at the
end of the word.
Singular Plural
Wife Wives
Knife Knives
Life Lives

6. For some common nouns ending with a consonant followed by ‘y’, replace the
‘y’ with an ‘I’ and add ‘es’ at the end of the word.
Singular Plural
Nappy Nappies
Poppy Poppies
Fly Flies
Penny Pennies
Sty Sties

7. Some nouns are the same in both forms

Singular Plural
Fish Fish
Deer Deer
Tuna Tuna
Trout Trout
Sheep Sheep

8. For some nouns, letters must be replaced or added, sometimes changing the
word completely.
Singular Plural
Foot Feet
Man Men
Person People
Child Children
Ox Oxen
Goose Geese
Radius Radii
Stadium Stadia
Fungus Fungi

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CHAPTER 15. PART OF SPEECH –NOUN

A noun is one of the part of speech we have in many languages including English. It is
a word that refers to a person, a thing, an animal, a place, an idea and lot more. It can
also be called a “name word” or a “naming system”.
A noun can function as an adjunct, numeral, gender or phrase.

NOUN ADJUNCT

This is a noun that modifies another noun and is optional such that if it is removed, the
effect will not be felt in the sentence either positively or negatively. It are also referred
to as attributive noun, noun modifier or compound nouns.
Examples are: soup bowl, Pepper soup, Table mat, Goat meat, Office chair, Doorbell,
Alarm clock, rainfall, bedroom, water tank etc.

NOUN NUMERALS

Numerals are determiners and tell how much or which one when they appear before
a noun. Numerals can either be cardinals (expresses quantity i.e. one, two…….) and
answers the question how many or ordinals (expresses sequence i.e. first, second……)
and tell us the level or position in a group. However, there’s a subclass of ordinals that
not directly numbers but related to it. They are referred to as general ordinals. They
include: last, latter, next, previous, and subsequent.
Examples:
i. We have two cars and five houses.(cardinal)
ii. Mrs. Durosinmi has twenty coaster buses on the road(cardinal)
iii. I was the first person to challenge her. (ordinals)
iv. Happy 60 th birthday! (ordinals)
v. She stopped visiting me subsequently(general ordinals)

NOUN GENDER

Noun gender tells us about the sex of the noun. The four genders are;
1. Masculine Gender: it refers to a male character. Examples are man, lion, king
and lot more.

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 2. Feminine Gender: it refers to the female character. Examples are; mother,
sister, queen, bitch and so on.
3. Common Gender: it refers to member of the same specie either irrespective
of their gender. Examples are: student, pilot, soldier, candidate etc.
4. Neuter Gender: it refers to a member of the same specie whose sex cannot
be determined. Objects and things belong to this category.

Masculine Feminine Common Neuter

Dog Bitch Animal Stone
Jew Jewess Person Computer
Poet Poetess Literature Box
Benefactor Benefactress Army Buildings
Negro Negress Birds Chocolate
Bull Cow Toddler Knife
Ox Cow Parent River
Duke Duchess President Curtain
Rooster Hen Lawmaker Street
Drone Bee Police Book
Wizard Witch Professor Fridge
Traitor Traitress Singer Star
Shepherd Shepherdess Choir Rectangle
Earl Countess Congregation cupcake
Emperor Empress Pupils Continent
Heir Heiress Family Trees
Murderer Murderess Siblings Flowers
Czar Czarina Painter Television
Author Authoress Doctors Money
Hero Heroine Caravan Tablecloth

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NOTE:
1. When a collective noun refers to living beings, it is still a neuter noun. For
example:
i. The police was invited to resolve the matter.
ii. The birds flew high into the sky.
2. Objects noted for their power, strength, or violence are treated as masculine
gender. E.G. death, poverty, summer, sun etc. For example:
i. Death is cruel, he is as certain as tomorrow.
ii. The storm was so powerful, he uprooted a lot of trees.
3. Objects noted for gentleness, beauty and grace are considered as feminine
gender. E.G. earth, continent, spring, charity, moon etc. For example:
i. Nigeria got her independence on the 1st of October, 1960.
ii. The earth has lost her beauty.

TYPES OF NOUNS

1) COUNTABLE NOUNS: They can be counted and also have a singular form and a
plural form. They mostly refer to things. Examples: table, chairs, houses, babies
etc.
2) UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS: They are nouns that cannot be counted. They are
thought as whole rather than parts and they are usually abstractions. Example:
money, furniture, information etc. Hence, they can be made countable by
adding quantifiers e.g. I need some money.
3) PROPER NOUN: this type of noun is specific and begin with a capital letter no
matter where it appears in a sentence. For instance, the name of a person,
place, animal or thing.
4) IMPROPER/COMMON NOUN: This a general noun.it is not referring to anything
in particular. This, unlike proper noun isn’t written in capital letter expect when
observing the general rule of staring a sentence. Examples:
i. I wanted to try a new restaurant (common), so I decided to visit Drumstix
(proper).
ii. All the students (common) left the class expect Lilian (proper).
iii. All birds fly but the eagles soar.

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FUCTIONS OF A NOUN
Nouns can perform several functions in a sentence.
1) It can function as a SUBJECT (the performer of an action). Examples:
i. Happiness is the air.
ii. Mrs. Vivian is a good cook.
iii. Eagles don’t scavenge.
2) It can function as a COMPLEMENT. Examples:
i. I received a call
ii. I like Orange juice
iii. He drives home
3) It can function as now APPOSITION. Examples:
i. Janet, the “late comer”, has left the school.
ii. Susan, the “baby-sitter”, is very nice.
4) It can also function as a PREDICATIVE. Examples:
i. He is a philanthropist
ii. She is my boss.
4. It can also function as an ADJECTIVE. Examples:
i. Could you please pass me the fruit basket?
ii. He is an Irish man.

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CHAPTER 16. PART OF SPEECH –VERBS

A verb is an action or doing word. It a word that indicate an event, or state. Verbs are
important in constructing sentences. Verbs allow to make a sentence with one word.

FACTS ABOUT A VERB

1. A verb do not give the idea of an action, but the idea of existence. For example,
verbs like; be, exist and seem all belong convey state.
2. Verb always has a subject. It tells us what a noun (subject) does or is. For
example, Anne stole the meat.
3. It describe a state or an action. for example,
James plays drum (action)
Sandra seems disturbed (state)
CLASSIFICATION OF VERBS
Verbs are divided into two broad classes:
a. Main/ lexical verbs: these are verbs that are “all sufficient” that is, they do
not rely on any other phrase/word to give a complete meaning.it can be
sub divided into:
i. Physical verbs: these are action verbs, they describe specific
physical action.
Examples: I hear the roaring of a Lion.
Let’s run the corner and back.
ii. Mental verbs: as the name implies, a mental verb describes a
cognitive (mind and intellectual) state. Such as; thinking,
planning, understanding and discovering.
EXAMPLE: I know the answer.
They all believed his story.
She recognized me from a distance.
iii. Transitive verb: a transitive verb is a type of verb that allows the
transit/passage of an action from the subject (doer) to an object.
Example: He gave her a gold wristwatch
I owe you the thanks
She phoned me earlier today.
iv. Intransitive verb: this the exact opposite of the transitive verb.
The action is not transferred but ends with the subject
(doer/performer) of the action.
Examples: The balloon exploded with a loud thud
She wept uncontrollably.
She dozed-off during the meeting.

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Note: many intransitive verb are followed by an adjective, adverb, preposition or verb
complete (gerunds or infinitive).
Also, a verb could be transitive or intransitive based on their meanings.
v. Phrasal verbs: this is the combination of words and such word
usually have a verb as its head word. Such words can be followed
by a preposition, an adverb or a verb also and referred to as a
single entity. And also, it always generate its own meaning
different from the dictionary meaning.

Examples: we will soon put on the generator

She has some challenges working out her sums
Ella broke away from her family some months ago.
Other examples include: take off, put up with, left out, stand up, ask out, called off,
add up, act on, back out, back up, break into, calm down, carry on, catch up with, etc.
A phrasal verb deals with collocation ie word that go together as seen in the examples
above.
vi. Irregular verbs: they are also referred to as “strong verbs”. These
verbs do not form their simple past or their past participle using
“d”or “ed” but rather retain their initial spellings or change their
form. Examples: retained their spellings

PRESENT SIMPLE PAST PAST PARTICIPLE

Hit Hit hit
Hurt hurt hurt
Cut Cut cut
Burst burst burst
Put Put put
Quit quit quit
Set Set set
Shed shed shed
Shut shut shut
Cost cost cost

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 Examples: Change their spellings
PRESENT SIMPLE PAST PAST PARTICIPLE
Get Got Got/gotten
Forget Forgot Forgotten
Go Went Gone
Do Did Done
Sew Sewed sewn
Hear Heard Heard
Leap Leapt/leaped Leapt/leapt
Learn Learnt/learned Learnt/learnt
Light Lit Lit
Mow Mowed Mown/mowed

Note: there is a clear difference between an American English and British English both
in spelling and pronunciation. E.g. learnt is written in British English while learned is
used in American English.
vii. Gerunds: they are referred to as a verb complements. They are
referred to as “verbal nouns”. They are formed with a verb but
act as a noun.it is usually in the –ing form. A gerund can act as the
subject, object or complement the difference between a gerund
and a continuous verb is that gerunds act as a noun (a thing,) and
not an action as in the case of a continuous verb. Examples:
Going through the text, I discovered a lot of errors
Singing is what she likes to do.
Sandra avoid using chemicals on the vegetables.
viii. Stative verbs: these are verbs that express a state .they usually
relate to thoughts, emotions, relationships, senses, state of being
and measurements. They mostly not used with the –ing in
progressive (continuous tenses). However, the meaning of a
sentence shows whether the verb is in the stative form or not.
Examples: I hear a loud thud from the neighbours’ house (stative)
I’m hearing some strange voices. (Imagination)
I understand you

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 b. Auxiliary/helping verbs: these are verbs that do not give a complete
meaning until it is attached to the main verb. They include function words
and are used to add functional or grammatical content to the information
expressed by the main verb.
Auxiliary verb are sub divided into two;
I. Primary auxiliary: these verb take part in the formation of various
grammatical construction but carry out little meaning
themselves. Primary auxiliary are three according to their
function.
DO/DID/DONE
HAVE/HAS/HAD
BE: AM, IS/WAS, ARE/WERE, BE/BEING/BEEN`

II. Modal Auxiliary: these are verbs used to indicate modality such
as likelihood, permission, probability, obligation, suggestion. They
are:
CAN/COULD, MAY/MIGHT, SHALL/SHOULD, MUST,
WILL/WOULD, OUGHT TO.

Examples: she did all she could.

They have being around since

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CHAPTER 17. PART OF SPEECH: ADJECTIVES

An adjective is a word that qualifies a noun or a pronoun. Adjectives give us more

details about a noun or a verb. They are descriptive in nature because they either
describe a noun or a pronoun vividly. It is use to enlarge, quantify its meaning. There
are different types of adjectives.
They are:
1. Qualifying adjectives: this is a word that qualifies a noun or a pronoun.
It gives more information and description and can also be referred to as
descriptive adjective. They include: fat, short, cold, rich, strong, colour,
good, long, etc. examples are:
i. The wind came so strong to the extent that it unroofed many
houses.
ii. I am hungry.
iii. She is sweet.

2. Demonstrative adjectives: these are adjectival phrases or word that

indicate the proximity of the person or thing been referred to. They
determine the location of the noun and considering the elements in the
sentence. They are summarily seen as pointers and mostly followed by
a noun. They are two pairs in both singular and plural form.
This/these: - this shows that the item of reference is near to the
speaker
That/those: - this shows that the item of reference is far away frojm the
speaker.

Example are;
i. Those puppies belong to her
ii. That puppy belongs to her.
iii. This is my house.
iv. These cars are mine.
v. Such babies cry a lot.

3. Quantitative adjectives: these are adjectives that express quantity. It

tells us how many, how much, or the degree to which something
occurred. They also help uncountable nouns to become countable.
They include: little, few, many, more, very, every, some, etc. examples
are:
i. I need some money.
ii. There are few houses around there.

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 4. Possessive adjectives: they are used to show belonginess.it establishes
a possessive relationship of items with the noun. They include: my,
your, his, her, its, our, and their. Examples:
i. This is my chair
ii. This is our car.

5. Interrogative adjectives: they identify the noun in the interrogative

sentences. They include; who? Which? Whose and other wh- questions
markers? They are usually followed by a noun. Example:
i. Which pencil are talking about?
ii. Whose handwriting is this?

6. Numerical adjectives: they complement the noun, express quantity or

number of things. Such as: five, ten, second, third etc.
General rules of an adjective
1) To identify the genre of an adjective, the noun attached must be
considered. Example: Jane is beautiful while tom is handsome.
2) It does not have a plural form except the quantitative and
demonstrative that have their plural form.
3) It is usually written before the noun. Example: the beautiful girl
4) When an adjective depend on the verb, it is usually written
before it. Example: she looks gorgeous in her new attire.
5) When two or more adjectives are combined in a sentence, it
usually follows an order which is the type (opinion, size, shape
state, age, colour, origin, material, noun) followed by the
example.

Examples: A blue lace gown

An awful new cotton
An enormous broken old American car.
ADJECTIVES FORMATION

An adjective can be formed by adding suffixes to a verb or a noun.

From a verb to an adjective: -able comfortable, arguable, achievable
-ful forgetful, watchful, helpful
- ient obedient,
-ive attractive, talkative

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From a noun to an adjective: -al accidental, judgmental, sentimental
-ous courageous, dangerous
-y windy, cloudy, muddy
From adjectives to adjectives: comic- comical, correct-corrective, elder-elderly, red-
reddish, sick –sickly.

Note: not all words ending in –ly are adverbs. They can also be adjectives. Example:
costly, cowardly, deadly, lovely, oily, orderly etc.

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CHAPTER 18. PART OF SPEECH: PRONOUNS

A pronouns is a word or phrase that may be substituted for a noun or a noun phrase.
Pronouns are used instead of a noun since a pronoun can perform all the functions of
a noun. Pronouns are used to avoid repetition of a noun. Pronouns are closed ended
items i.e. they are few, and can’t be created (it doesn’t allow creativity) and are fixed.

Types of Pronouns
1) Personal Pronouns: they replace a noun in the subject position. They are
subject of a sentence. E.g. I, YOU, WE, SHE, HE, THEY, IT (it refers to an animal
or a thing). I is always written in capital letter irrespective of where it appears
in the sentence. I lost my pen.

2) Objective Pronoun: they are replace a noun in the object position, they serves
as the object of the sentence. They include: ME, HER, HIM, YOU, IT, US, and
THEM. Example: he said I should give this to you.

3) Possessive Pronouns: they are noun substitute that demonstrate ownership.

They include: MINE, YOURS, ITS, HERS, OURS and THEIRS. Example: the book
belongs to me. It is mine.

4) Possessive Adjectives: they are referred to as adjectives because they are

usually followed by a noun. They shows the possession of an object they are;
MY, YOUR, HIS, HER, ITS, OUR, THEIR.
Examples:
i. This is my car
ii. The goat is feeding its baby.
iii. She lost some money.

5) Reflexive Pronouns: they are used when the action lies with the performer.ie
it is referring back to the subject of the sentence or clause. they either end in
–self (singular) or –selves (plural).
They include: MYSELF, HERSELF, HIMSELF, OURSELVES, THEMSELVES and
ITSELF.

Examples:
i. This is my car. It belongs to me. It is mine. I bought it myself.
ii. This is our house. It belongs to us, it is ours. We built it ourselves.

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 iii. This is it baby. The baby belongs to it. The baby is its. It gave birth to the
baby itself.

6) Demonstrative Pronouns: they are used to signalize nor point to something.

They can be referred to as “Pointers”. They are four in number and divided into
singular and plural. they are;
This: It is singular and shows it shows that an item is near. E .g this is my ball
These: It is plural and also shows that an item is near. E.g. these are my balls.
That: It is singular and shows that an item is far. E. g that is my ball.
Those: It is singular and shows that an item is far. E.g. those are my balls.
They could be found in the beginning, middle or at the end of a sentence.
Examples:
i. This is my book
I like this book
Whose book is this?
ii. Those women need food
She served those women
Which constituency women are those?
iii. These are my siblings
I love these clothes
Whose clothes are these?
iv. That is my pen
v. I need that pen
vi. Whose pen is that?
Using them in sentence are mostly done through questions as shown in the
examples above.
7) Indefinite Pronouns: as the name implies, it is not specific. They are used to
talk about people or thing with no one in particular. The most common are;
anybody, no one, someone, everyone, anyone, everything, nothing, nobody,
anyone, e.tc. Example:
i. Everybody wants to be listened to.
ii. Nobody attended the party among us.
iii. Everybody should come with their book.
Note: when referring to things, we use the pronouns ending in -thing. Such as
anything, everything….. When referring to people, we use the pronoun ending in –
body or –one. Such as everybody, nobody, anyone etc.

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Indefinite pronoun usually take a singular verb. E.g.
i. Everybody is expected to be around for the party.
ii. Has anyone seen her before?
Uses Differences
Everything, everybody, everyone Plural
Somebody, someone, something singular
Anything, anybody, anyone, nothing, They are used in negative sentences
nobody and also singular questions

8) Relative Pronoun: they are used to refer to a noun*(a place, a thing) that has
already be mentioned. They connect the phrase or clause to the noun. These
pronouns are: that, whom, whose, which, who.
When we refer to a person, we use that, who, whom and whose. Example:
i. This is the woman whose son was arrested.
ii. She is the one that I met here last week.
iii. The man who married her is lucky
iv. Tina is the woman with whom I work with.
When we want to refer to a thing, we use that and which. Examples:
i. This is the table that I told is expensive
ii. They couldn’t decide which song to play
iii. I love the book that he gave me.
iv. The new job which she just started is time consuming.

9) Reciprocal Pronouns: they are pronouns that shows that two or more people
have carried out an action and are receiving the consequences. It indicators
include each other and one another.
Each other is used for an action carried out between “two people” while one
another is used for an action carried out between “three or more people”.
Examples:
i. We know each other.
ii. They never liked each other.
iii. Three boys quarreled and struck one another.
iv. The villages started attacking one another.
v. The three concepts are knitted into one another.
Note: when using any of this in between a sentence, the apostrophe is
placed before the “S” and also treated as singular. One another is also
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 treated as singular. Therefore, the possessive apostrophe is also placed
before the “s”. Examples:
1. They admire one another’s houses.
2. Do you like each other’s dresses?
3. They admire one another’s bravery.
4. They gave each other a parting gift.

SINGULAR TABLE OF A PRONOUN

Person subjective objective possessive

1st person I Me My/mine
2nd person You You You
Yours
3rd person He Him His
She Her Her/hers
It It Its

PLURAL TABLE OF A PRONOUN

Person Subjective Objective Possessive

1st person We Us Our/ours
2nd person You You Your/yours
3rd person They Them Their/theirs

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CHAPTER 19. PART OF SPEECH: ADVERBS

An adverb is the part of speech that modifies a verb, an adjective an adverb.it

expresses how a person does something. It modifies the action and not the performer.
There are different types of adverb. They are;
1. Adverb of Manner: they are used to express the “way” which an action
occurred. Most of tis adverb end in –ly. Such as slowly, quietly, happily, noisily,
loudly, gently, e.tc. Examples:
i. She smiled happily
ii. The car was quickly fixed
iii. He walked to school slowly.

2. Adverbs of Time: these adverbs expresses “when” something is done or

happened. Such as: always, last week, seldomly, soon, rarely, normally, etc.
examples are:
i. He rarely goes to school by bus
ii. She arrived here yesterday.
iii. She always passes by.

3. Adverbs of Places: they are used to express “where” an action took place or
happened. They are usually placed after the object of the sentence. some of it
pointers include: here, there, under, above, behind, inside etc. examples:
i. She left it inside the room
ii. She sat beside the woman
iii. He’s waiting outside the house.
iv. Her school is nearby.

4. Adverb of Degree: this shows the extent/level something happened. Some of

its phrases include: really, so, almost, too, very, much etc. Examples:
i. I love my mum so much
ii. They had a big fight
iii. It’s really cool to have you here.
iv. I can run very fast

5. Adverb of Frequency: they are used to express the number of time something
happened or that an action took place. Some of it phrases include: again,
always, never, occasionally, often etc. examples:
i. It is raining again
ii. I often go to bed early
iii. I do that occasionally

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Uses of an Adverb

1) It modifies a verb. Examples :

a) She looks sickly.
b) Josh has been studying continually for the exam
c) She is gorgeously dressed
d) She shouted angrily
e) They waited eagerly to hear another story from her

2) It modifies an adjective. Examples:

a. It was an extremely interesting concert
b. She is absolutely a talkative
c. She is extra-ordinarily tall
d. She is constantly angry.
e. The thief is very smart

3) It modifies other adverb. Examples:

a. The weather is really bad
b. She cooks so well
c. She lost too much money.
d. The man walks incredibly clumsily.

4) It modifies an entire sentence. Examples:

a. Ideally, the tourist should make a choice to see the museum or not.
b. Certainly, the man must be familiar with my boss.

5) It modifies quantities. Examples:

a) They just sitting outside the apartment
b) There are quite a lot of people in the hall.

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CHAPTER 20. PART OF SPEECH: CONJUNCTIONS

Conjunction is one of the English part of speech that connects words, phrase, clause
or sentence. They are highly functional and important in the construction of sentences.
There are three forms of conjunction. There are;
1. Coordinating Conjunctions/Coordinators:
They join two or more items together such as words, main clauses, or
sentences. They help us in constructing simple, compound, or complex
sentence. They are: “an,” “nor,” “but,” “or” “yet” and “so.” (FANBOYS). They
come between the words or clauses they join. Also, a coordinating conjunctions
joins independent clause, it is always correct to place a comma before the
conjunction. Examples:
i. I would like to care for people in life, so I am studying Nursing in
the university.
ii. She is too young to be exposed to hazard conditions and you
know that but didn’t caution her.
When a coordinator is used with the last list, a comma is optional. For example:
i. Purple, pink, blue, lilac and red are shades that I like OR
ii. Purple, pink, blue, lilac, and red are shades that I like.
Coordinators are usually seen as a loose connector other than other
conjunctions.
For: they presents a rationale, the reason for doing something. Just like saying
she did B because of A.
Examples:
i. They don’t believe in circumcision for they are Jews.
ii. She doesn’t go to church on Sunday for she’s a Muslim.
And: it present a non- contrasting item. That is, in addition .examples:
i. She is my mother and my friend.
ii. We were given a pair of socks and a pair of school each.
Nor: it present a non- contrastive negative idea. Example:
i. We do not give out nor receive from people.
ii. She cannot bath herself nor dress herself up.
Or: it present an alternative item or idea. Example:
i. You can drop the key or take it along.
ii. You can either do it or leave it
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 Yet: it present a contrast idea or exception. This is like saying despite the fact.
Example:
i. She has access to internet facilities, yet she didn’t apply for the job.
ii. He was trained for a long period of time, yet he can’t perform well.
So: it present a consequence of an action. Example:
i. She was too weak to push, so we had to organize a caesarian
session for her.
ii. I work diligently with my boss, so I got promoted.
Facts about coordinating conjunctions
1) They go in between the words, phrases, or subordinate
clauses or items joined. E.g.
i. I hate teddy bears but I like playing games.
2) It joins equals to one another. E.g.
ii. Most children like cookies and milk.

2. Correlative Conjunction:
These conjunctions work in pairs to join group of words of equal weight in a
sentence. Some pointers include: either… or, neither… nor, not only, but also,
both and, whether or, just as…so, the.. the, as much.. as, soon..as, no
sooner..than, rather..than.

Examples:
i. She should have told me not to come, rather than wasting my
time.
ii. Whether Lilian likes it or not, I will contest for the post.
iii. Try as much as possible to stay off problems.
iv. He is not oly friendly but jovial.
v. She is as beautiful as a dove.
3. Subordinating conjunction:
This joins two or more subordinate/independent clause to a main clause.
Pointers include: after, although, because, before, until, till, though, since, than,
etc. it is always followed by a clause and many subordinating conjunctions can
be other part of speech, such as complementizers can also can also be
considered to be a special type of subordinating conjunction.
Examples:
i. Although we couldn’t see the man, we were assured he will help
us.

54 | P a g e
 ii. I will visit you whether it rains or not
iii. Jill came tumbling after jack as fallen.
iv. She woman came gorgeously dressed, because she didn’t know
her husband is dead.
Note: when the dependent clause is placed first in a sentence, use the comma
between the clauses and when the independent clause is placed before the
main or independent clause, there’s no need to separate them with a comma.
Examples:
i. Although we ran out cash, we were not stranded.
ii. We were not stranded although we ran out of cash
4. Conjunctive adverbs:
These adverbs join independent clauses together. Frequently used conjunctive
adverbs include: after all, in addition, next, also, incidentally, nonetheless, as a
result, indeed, on the contrary, consequently, finally, for example, thus,
nevertheless, moreover, hence, than etc. examples:
i. It was a cold day; nevertheless, we were served an ice cream.
Note: a semi-colon is placed before the conjunctive verb and comma after the
conjunctive adverb.

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CHAPTER 21. PART OF SPEECH: PREPOSITIONS

Preposition is also a part of speech in English language. They are words that indicate
location and usually it shows this in the physical world. They can also be referred to as
“LOCATORS” It describes the relationship between other words in a sentence.
Preposition belongs to the closed ended items in English.it shows relationship such as
direction, place, time, cause, manner, and amount.
Examples:
i. In the spring, I always vow to plant tomatoes.
ii. During summer, I detest going out.
iii. I saw a ball under the table.

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Prepositional Rules

1. A preposition usually goes with a noun or a pronoun. It is located before the

noun and after the verb.
Examples:
i. The ball is on the table.
ii. There is a man inside the hall.
iii. We should leave here by afternoon

2. If a preposition is followed by a verb, then the verb should be a gerund. That is,
in the –ing form.
Example:
i. She is used to smoking.
ii. I ate before coming’

3. Prepositions are grouped into three:

a. Preposition of place, direction and position.
b. Preposition of time
c. Preposition for other relationship.
d.
PREPOSITION OF TIME

These are prepositional words/phrases that talk about time.

We use at to designate specific time.
Examples:
i. The bus is due at 12: 15 pm
ii. At 3: pm, at 5: am etc.
We use on to designate days and date.
Examples:
i. on Tuesday, on Wednesday, on Friday
ii. On 15th of October, on the 30th of June, on November 1 etc.
We use in to designate nonspecific times during a day, a month, a season, or a year.
Examples:
i. In 1993, in the morning, in the afternoon
ii. In march, in April,
iii. In summer, in the spring

57 | P a g e
On Monday, in an hour, in January, in 1993, at Christmas, at autumn etc.
Note: when we use next, last, every, this we do not use “at,” “in,” or “on”

PREPOSITION OF PLACE
We use at for specific addresses.
Examples:
i. at No.22, November street, at House 4, Itsekiri way etc
We use on to designate names of street and avenues.
Examples:
ii. The house is on Bwari street, on February street etc
iii. Ring avenue, Aminu Kano avenue etc
We use in for names of land – areas (towns, countries, states, continents, counties)
Examples:
i. In Oklahoma, In Abuja, in Lagos,
ii. In Asia, in North America, in Africa
iii. In Enugu, in Rivers,
iv. In china, in Ireland, in japan.

Prepositions of locations: in, at, on and no preposition

In At On No preposition
The bed Home Floor Downstairs
The bedroom Work The ceiling Upstairs
The car The office The horse Downtown
The class School Plane Inside
The library outside

i. I met her at the bus- stop, at the entrance, at the crossroad etc.
ii. In Port Harcourt, in the bedroom, in church, in the office, etc.
iii. On- on the table, on the rug, on the bed etc.
iv. It also uses words like during, until, between, from, while in etc. such as, by
Tuesday, etc.

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Preposition of Movement: To and No Preposition

We use to in other to express movement towards a place. Examples:

i. She will be going to the market this morning.
ii. We were jogging to the field.
Toward and towards are also used to express movement. Example:
i. We are heading toward your street

Preposition of time using for and since

we use for when we measure time ( seconds, minutes, hours ,days, months, years)
examples:
ii. We have lived there for twenty years.
iii. She was told to hold her breath for five minutes.
iv. The two kingdoms have been quarreling for decades.
v. I have been living there since last year.

Preposition with Nouns, Adjectives and Verbs

Preposition sometimes collocates with other words and this usually occur in three
categories.
Noun preposition Adjective preposition Verb preposition
Love of Proud of Apologise for
Desire for Sorry for Give up
Grasp of Tired of Grow up
Interest in Sure of Prepare for
Hope for Afraid of Study for
Understanding of Married to Trust in
Respect for Made of Work out
Belief in Jealous of Worry about
Reason for Angry at Find out
Concern for Aware of Belong to

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Prepositional Phrase

Prepositional phrase are usually introduced by a preposition. It structure is;

Preposition + Optional Modifier(S) + Noun, Pronoun or Gerunds. Examples: At the
market, by sleeping, by eating, etc.
Also, some prepositions function as subordinate conjunctions. These include: after,
as, before, since and until. Examples:
i. He came in after Jane and Jude bided goodnight.
ii. Since we are through watching the movie, it is high time we left.
iii. You won’t eat anymore until your hiccups stop.
If you have a noun (with or without modifier) following of these prepositions, then all
you have is a prepositional phrase. Examples:
i. As a good parent, you are required to live an exemplary life.
ii. We should visit her before dinner
iii. I won’t release you until midnight.

Unnecessary Prepositions

i. I met up with the new principal of the school (wrong)

I met the new principal of the school (right)
ii. The phone slipped off of her hand (wrong)
The phone slipped off her hand (right)
iii. Put the lamp in the back of the couch (wrong)
Put the lamp behind the couch (right)
iv. I am at your back ( wrong)
I am behind you (right)
Note: more can be discovered through reading of books and the using the dictionary.

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CHAPTER 22. ADVERBIALS

Adverbial is a word or a group of word that modifies or tell us something about the
sentence or the verb. That is, an adverbial is an information giver. They can also be
used as an adjective but they are mostly seen as a prepositional phrase.

Differences between adverb and adverbial

1. An adverbial is a sentence element or its equivalent. It is a part of a sentence
that performs a specific function while an adverb is a word or a part of a word
or apart of speech.
2. Adverbials are syntactic unit while an adverb is a functional unit.
Adverbial give us additional information about e.g. the time, the place or manner of
the action as described in the other part of the sentence. Examples:
1. They have been living in this part of this country for over twenty years.
2. I have been living with her since I was born.
Adverbials may be single word or phrase. Adverbs can be found in adverbial and not
vice versa. Adverbials are viewed as a broader term than an adverb and encompasses
an adverb. Adverbials belong to the predicate and hence, can be placed next to the
verb or after the object (at the end).it can also be found at the beginning of a sentence.

Types of Adverbials

Adverbial complement (complement): this is an adverbial that is required to complete

the meaning of the verb and is obligatory. If removed, it will render the sentence
ungrammatical. It usually goes along with verbs of caused motion such as a place.
Examples:
i. dropped the letter (on the table)
ii. We are staying (in a hotel)
iii. Pass the ones (on the table)
If the phrases in the bracket is remove, the hearer might not really understand the
speaker’s intention.

Adjuncts: they, unlike adverbial complement is an optional part of the sentence,

clause, or phrase that if when removed, the impact will not be felt. Neither will it
distort the meaning of the sentence nor render it ungrammatical. Examples:

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 i. Yesterday, Harry met his friend at the park
Removing the adjunct yesterday or at the park doesn’t not change the meaning of the
sentence. Neither did it render it ungrammatical nor change the information that is
passed across.
Adjunct are supplementary part of a sentence. It modifies or enhance the idea given
in the first part of the sentence.an adjunct can be a single word, phrase, or a clause.
Examples:
1) I will travel tomorrow
2) I will travel in the morning
3) I will travel after I have had breakfast.
4) He walked out quietly.
5) He really helped me with my homework.

Conjuncts: this is an adverbial that add information to the sentence that is not
considered part of the prepositional content but connects the sentence with the
previous part of the sentence. Conjuncts can be referred to as “adverbial connectors.”
Examples:
1) It was raining. Therefore, I couldn’t make it to the program
2) Take two of these and call me in the morning.
3) He has no money and he has no means of getting any.
4) It was hot. However, we stayed inside.

Disjuncts: this is a type of that expresses information that is considered irrelevant to

the sentence.it is considered to be the speaker or writer’s attitude towards the
sentence, or a descriptive statement of content of the sentence. It include an adverb
of manner or the degree of truthfulness. Examples:
1) Sincerely, I think what we need now is co-branding.
2) Frankly speaking, you shouldn’t have agreed on such a meagre price.
3) Fortunately for her, her uncle sent her some money.
4) They earnestly contend for the faith. Or they contend for the faith earnestly.
Other pointers of a disjuncts include: hopefully, most/more importantly,
unfortunately, interestingly, luckily, clearly etc.
Adverbial of Manner

Adverbials of manner are usually found after the verb or the object. They don’t stand
between the V and the O. examples:

62 | P a g e
 1. I did it very well
2. She dressed for the party in a great rush.
However, there is an exception when the object is long. V+PREP. +O.
E.G. the young lad looked suspiciously at everyone who gave out gifts
willingly.
When the verb is with the object, the adverb could be placed before the verb
E.g. she gently walked out of the room
Adverbs that are concern with characters and intelligence such as foolishly, stupidly,
bravely, kindly, generously, ignorantly, rudely, e.tc. can occupy two positions but the
changes.
E. g He answered the woman rudely (he answered in a rude manner)
He rudely answered the woman (it was rude of him to answer that way)
Well shows an adverb of manner of degree.
E.g. She speaks Spanish well.
Badly: - it is an adverb of manner and also an adverb of degree and can precede the
verb.
E.g. I need money badly
I badly need some money.

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CHAPTER 22. TENSES

Tenses are time markers of a verb. There are different types of tenses.
They are:
1. Simple Present Tense: this is used to refer to an action that is regular, real or
normal. Regular in present time like period, time, habit or things that are
generally true. Key word include; everyday/month/year, night. The structure is
“DO/DOES”.

Generally true statement like:

i. The world is spherical
ii. Dogs are domestic animals
iii. Change is the most constant thing.
iv. We go there often
v. She watches the baby sleep.

2. Present Continuous Tense: this is used to talk about an on-going action or that
activities that will take place in the near future. The structure is indicated by the
“SUBJECT+VERB TO BE+VERB –ING”.
Examples:
i. She is washing the dishes.
ii. They are sleeping.
iii. We are reading our books.

3. Present Perfect Tense: this t talks about an action that happened in the past
but still related with the present. It indicate that an action just happened or
happened recently.it phrases include; just, already, never etc. the structure is
indicated by “SUBJECT+HAVE/HAS+ PAST PARTICIPLE”.
Examples:
i. She has two pencils and an eraser.
ii. They have stayed here for five months.
iii. She has discovered a bigger cave.

4. Present Perfect Continuous: this refers to an action beginning in the past till
the present time.it also refers to an action that has been going on for a period
of time.in this case, we use prepositions like since and for. e.g. for twenty hours,
since last year. The structure is “SUBJECT+HAVE/HAS +BEEN+ ING”. Examples:
i. Ade has been working since morning.
ii. The babies have been crying all day.
iii. I have been dozing since.

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 5. Simple Past Tense: this talks about an action that happened at a specific time
in the past and has ended. The structure is “SUBJECT+PAST VERB”. Examples:
i. Karen studied hard for the exams.
ii. She liked volley ball when she was a child.
iii. Did you listen to the news today?

Note: once did is used in a sentence or interrogation, it must be followed by a simple

present tense has shown in the example above.
6. Past Continuous Tense: this is used to describe that happened in the past and
that the action was progressive in the past. The structure is
“SUBJECT+WAS/WERE+ VERB –ING”. Examples:
i. She was eating when I came in.
ii. Kelvin was having a shower when the phone rang.
iii. We were cooking when he arrived.

7. Past Perfect Tense: this describes an action that happened in the past and is no
more in progress as at the time of reporting. It structure is “SUBJECT+HAD+PAST
PARTICIPLE”.
Example:
i. She had read the book before doing the summary.
ii. He had started working when he met Mary.
iii. She had not visited the palace before.

8. Simple Future Tense: this is use to make predictions about the future, give
orders, make request and to express spontaneous decisions.it makes use of
phrases such as; tomorrow, this weekend, next Friday and lot more. It structure
is “SUBJECT + WILL + VERB followed by the rest of the sentence.
Example:
i. I will pay your school fees tomorrow
ii. We will visit her some other time.
iii. I will not come to grace the occasion.

9. Future Progressive Tense: this is use to describe a situation that will happen in
the future and has been planned.it can also be used to refer to a situation that
will happen repeatedly in the future or during a period of time. It structure is
“SUBJECT+WILL BE+ VERB WITH –ING”
Example:
i. She will be visiting the palace on Tuesday.
ii. Lilian will be working with us for some months.

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 iii. I won’t be working there anymore.

10. Future Perfect Simple Tense: this is use to refer to an action that will have
happened at a specific time in the future and also a situation that will have
happened before another in the future. It structure is SUBJECT+WILL+ HAVE+
VERB in past participle.” Example:
i. I will have left this street by next month.
ii. You will have gotten a job by January.
iii. We will have visited South Africa twice next year.
iv. The meeting will have ended by then.
v.
11. Future Perfect Progressive Tense: this is used to talk about something that will
continue till another situation in the future. It structure is
“SUBJECT+WILL HAVE BEEN+VERB –ING”.
Example:
i. I will have been studying for twelve hours by tomorrow morning.
ii. She will have been driving for ten years by august.
iii. She will have been leaving with us for five months by December

This table summarizes the structure of each tenses.

S.P PR.C. P.P PE.C S.PA PA.C P.P.C. S.F. F.P F.P.S F.P.P.
.

Enj Is Has Has Enjo Was Had Wil Will Will Will
oy enjoy enjo been yed enjoy enjoyed l be have have
ing yed enjoy ing enj enjoy enjo been
ing oy ing yed enjoying
Do Is Has Has Did Was Had Wil Will Will Will
doing done been doing done l do be have have
doing doing done been
doing
Dri Is Has Has Dran Was Had Wil Will Will Will
nk drink dran been k drink drunk/d l be have have
ing k drink ing rank dri drink drun been
ing nk ing k drinking

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 Ma Is Has Has Mark Was Had Wil Will Will Will
rk mark mark been ed mark marked l be have have
ing ed mark ing ma mark mark been
ing rk ing ed marking
Cle Is Has Has clea Was Had Wil Will Will Will
an clean clean been ned clean cleaned l be have have
ing ed clean ing cle clean clean beencle
ing an ing ed aning
Ru Is Has Has Ran Was Had ran Wil Will Will Will
n runni ran been runni l be have have
ng runni ng run runni ran been
ng ng running
Beg Is Has Has begg Was Had Wil Will Will Will
beggi begg been ed beggi begged l be have have
ng ed beggi ng be beggi begg been
ng g ng ed begging
Is Has Has went Was Had Wil Will Will Will
going gone been going gone l go be have have
Go
going going gone been
going
Re Is Has Has read Was Had Wil Will Will Will
ad readi read been readi read l be have have
er readi ng rea readi read been
ng d ng reading
Wri Is Has Has Wrot Was Had Wil Will Will Will
te writi writt been e writi written l be have have
ng en writi ng wri writi writt been
ng te ng en writing

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CHAPTER 23. CLAUSE

A clause is a group of two or more words which include a subject and any necessary
predicate. That is a group of word with a finite verb forming part of the sentence.
The major difference between the phrase and the clause is the finite and non- finite
forms of the verb.

There are two types of clauses – main/independent and subordinate clauses.

a) The main Clause: this is a clause that can stand on its own to make a
complete sense or sentence.

Examples:
i. I am going home tomorrow
ii. The evangelist came and ministered.

b) Subordinate Clause: it does not express a complete thought; it needs

the main clause to make a complete sense.
Examples:
i. Unless he graduates with a first class division, he cannot further
his study abroad.
ii. She wasn’t attended to till she finally gave up the ghost.
iii. The woman whose son was missing has reported to the police.

TYPES OF SUBORDINATE CLAUSES

There are three types of subordinate clauses, namely: noun clause, relative clause and
adverbial clause.

Noun Clause

A noun clause performs the same grammatical function as nouns and noun phrases.

These functions are:

i. Subject of the Verb

Examples:
How she manages to scaled through the accident beats our imagination.
Why she has refused to apply for a sick leave is best known to her.

ii. Subject Complement

Examples:
The good thing about her is that she is intelligent.

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 The best option is to resign and look for a better job

iii. Object of the Verb

Examples:
The authority awarded what is termed punctuality award.
The old lady eventually accepted that she was guilty
The poor boy explained why he was arrested by the police

iv. In Apposition to a Noun: this is when the now and the noun phrase refers to
the same thing.

Examples:
The news that I won the singing competition spread across the village.

Relative Clause
Most relative clause are introduced by relative pronouns like ‘who’, ‘which’,
‘whose’, ‘that’, ‘when’, etc

The function of a relative clause is to qualify the noun or pronoun that precedes
in a sentence.

Examples:
I released the project to somebody who appears to be more intelligent in the
office.
The woman whose phone was stolen has reported to the police
The dress which my mother bought for me suites my shape.

However, some relative clause are used without being introduced by the usual
relative pronouns.

Examples:
The surgery performed by the doctor was successful
The book I bought for my son’s birthday is one of the Exam focus series.
The woman shocked to the marrow with fear shouted for help.

Adverbial Clause

Adverbial clause modifies the verb in the main clause. They are indicators of:
I. Time ( when, after, as soon as, since, while, before etc)
II. Place ( where, wherever etc)
III. Condition ( unless, if, until, provided)
IV. Manner (if, as, etc)
V. Reason ( so, so that, in order that, because)

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 VI. Concession (though, yet, although)
VII. Result ( that)
Functions of adverbial clause is to modify the verb. Examples:
The manager had left the meeting before I got to the office
Although he was told the implication of skipping meals, she continued
skipping meals.
Ruth failed her examinations woefully because she did not study hard

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CHAPTER 24. PHRASES

A phrase is a group of words with a non-finite verb and does not make sense but
form a part of a sentence.( non - finite verb is a verb that does not indicate a
particular time; a verb ending in –ing but has no auxiliary to make it attain present
or past continuous)
Examples:
i. Treading a lonely path at night is very risky
ii. The people preaching on the streets are Christian.
To + verb = non – finite verb.
Examples:
To eat late at night is not good for the health
She love to read novels.
Also, when a verb in –ed/ -en form act as an adjective (it qualifies the noun)

TYPES OF PHRASE
There are three types of phrases namely: noun phrase, adjectival phrase and
adverbial phrase.

Noun Phrase:

It has the head word as a noun or pronoun. A noun phrase can be replaced by a
pronoun.

Examples:
 I saw the village headmaster.
 The old kind man
 The woman sleeping in the room
 The broken bottle
 To sleep without light
 The woman in purple

Functions of a Noun Phrase

Subject of a Verb: when the noun phrase occupies the first position in the
sentence, it functions as the subject of the verb.
Examples:
 Skiing on the snow is not something I enjoy
 The beautiful girl comes here everyday
 To keep feeding on junks is not healthy.

Subject Complement: when the noun phrase is the same person or thing.
Examples:

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  My mother is a Nurse
 The mystery is that the boy can write at his age.

Object of the Verb: when the noun phrase comes after a verb in the sentence.

Examples:
 I gave the prize to the best students
 She received a presidential handshake for excellence.

Complement of a Preposition
Examples:
 Prof. charley, the vice- chancellor of this university is dead.
 Nigeria, the oil giant of Africa, attained independence in 1960

Adjectival Phrase
It performs the function of qualifying the noun that precedes it in a sentence.
Examples:
 The man in purple is my husband
 The man standing at the gate is my father.

Adverbial Phrase
An adverbial phrase modifies the verb in the main clause. It indicate time, manner,
reason, condition, purpose, frequency etc
Examples: I put the food on the table
He carries on as the boss
We will travel to Lagos after the interview.

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CHAPTER 25. FINITE AND NON FINITE VERBS

Finite verb
A finite verb indicate a definite tense of an action.

Examples are:
 He comes here once in a blue moon
 They were in the room last last
 I am reading a book by Wole Soyinka.

Non- finite verbs

A non – finite verb does not have any agreement with the subject in the sentence.

Examples:
 I enjoy dancing.
 He loves showing off his wealth.
a. When a verb is used to function as an adjective in the sentence, it is a non –
finite verb.

Examples:
He told me to refund the stolen money
I preferred the boiled yam

b. When a verb is preceded by to, it is a non – finite verb

Example:
To read without light is not easy
To cut one’s hand is painful

c. When the verb is in the –ing form.

Examples:
Giving is a virtue
Driving recklessly is bad

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CHAPTER 26. DETERMINERS

Determiners are words which come at the beginning of a noun phrase/noun. They tell
us if a noun phrase is specific or general, close or distant element, to an element
belonging to a specified person or thing, to a particular number or quantity.
Examples: The lady teaches well
Some books were given to her
Both cars are in a bad condition
Types of determiner
1. Articles: articles are divided into definite and indefinite. There is one definite
article “the” and two indefinite article “a” and “an”.
The definite article “the” is used for a specific thing
e.g:
 This is the man (the means that that man has been mentioned earlier)
 Shut the door please.
 This is the house.
2. Indefinite article (a/an): these refers to a general item. The article “a” is used
before a consonant while the article “an” is used before a vowel sound.
Example:
 I need an umbrella
 This is a table
However, pronounciation and transcription help us to understand and use
these two articles effectively. For instance: an hour, an honour etc.

3. Demonstrative: they are four in number. This, that, those and these. This is
used to refer to an object that is near and addresses a singular entity while
these is the plural form. That is used to refer to a distant object addresses a
singular item while those is the plural form. Example:
 This is my ball
 These are my balls
 That is my ball
 Those are my balls.

4. Possessive: determiner can also take the form of a possessive adjectives. They
modify the now following it in order to show possession. They include: my,
your, his, her, our, its and their. Examples:
 This is my book
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  Is this your pencil?
 That is his idea
 Is this our new house?

5. Quantifiers: quantifiers are followed by nouns which they modify. They are
commonly used before uncountable nouns to make them countable. They
include: some, many, more, each, both, every, all, enough, half, little, whole,
less etc. examples:
 There are many ways to catch a thief
 I need some water to drink
 I was expecting many people at the party but very few turned up.
 You necessarily need to have much knowledge about everything
but
 Little knowledge about everything isn’t a waste.

6. Numerals: numbers are cardinal (one, two, three, e.tc.) and ordinals (first,
second, fifth e.tc) cardinal numbers are adjectives that indicate quantity while
ordinal numbers indicate the rank or orders. Examples:
 There are three men in the hall already
 He took the first position among the athlete.

7. Distributive: these include: all, both, half, each, every, either and neither are
known as distributive. Examples:
Half of the class were beaten for failure to do assignment.
Each of the boys was given an apple.
All my life was spent in the United Kingdom.

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THEME FIVE: LITERATURE

CHAPTER 27. LITERATURE

Literature are written works (such as poems, plays and novels) that are considered to
be very good and to have a lasting importance. It can also be viewed as the study of
life through which events and situation can be viewed that adjustment might be made.
It describes spoken and written materials and also refers to the creative, imaginative
including poetry, drama, fiction, non- fiction, journalism and in some instances songs.

Functions of Literature
1. As a satire: a literary piece helps to correct the social ills in the society.
2. As an instrument of civilization: literature help us to develop ourselves and to
learn about other people’s way of life.
3. Entertainment: literary piece can referred to as “soul lifters” and also allow
relaxation.
4. Vocabulary building: literature help us to acquire more vocabularies in our word
bank.
5. It heightens our awareness in certain aspects of life.
6. Documentary purpose: literature helps to document important events so it can
be passed down from one generation to another.

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CHAPTER 28. FOLKTALES

Folktales are stories passed down through generations mainly by telling. This is a part
of the oral tradition of people or place. Folktales are usually told to teach morals,
correct social ills, fosters unity admonishes etc. folktales were developed by people
who weave a story around a particular situation so that it won’t be forgotten and can
be re-told.

SOME POPULAR NIGERIAN FOLKTALES

1. THE GRASSHOPPER AND THE TOAD
2. THE TORTOISE AND THE BIRDS
3. THE TORTOISE AND THE LIZARD
4. HOW TORTOISE BECAME BALD
5. THE TORTOISE AND THE ELEPHANT.
NOTE: Most Nigerian folktales uses animal characters. As seen in the examples
above.

AFRICAN FOLKTALES

These are stories from African that are passed down from one generation to another
through the words of mouth. African folktales depicts a culture where diverse animals
abound. These animals and birds are often accorded human attributes, the setting in
many of this stories exposes the reader/speaker to land form and climate in Africa.
Reference are often made to different seasons such as famine in the land.

FEATURES OF AN AFRICAN FOLKTALE

1) Use of nature
2) Animal characters
3) It reflect African culture only.

NON AFRICAN FOLKTALE

This simply refers to folktale peculiar to other continents

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Features of non-African folktale

1. It reflect the culture of that continent or part of the word

2. Inanimate characters such as friaries are used.

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CHAPTER 29. MYTH AND LEGEND

A legend is a semi-true story that often has an unknown origin describing plausible but
extra ordinary past events. A legend usually has important meaning or symbolism. It
includes an element of truth, based on historic facts but with mystical qualities.
Legends usually involve heroic characters or fantastic places and the spiritual beliefs
of a culture in which they originate.

MYTHS

This is a traditional story which embodies a belief regarding some fact or phenomenon
of experience, and in which often the forces of nature and of the soil are personified.
Such as regarding a god, a hero, creation, the people etc.
Examples are: myth of the creation, the Great Flood, Vampires, Paradise Lost, Atlantis
myth, the cause of Thunder, the cause of Rain,

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CHAPTER 30. POETRY

A poetry is a genre of literature comprising poems. It is a genre that makes use of

aesthetic qualities rather than a semantic content. A writer of a poem is a poet.
ELEMENT OF POETRY
1. Figurative language: this is the use of a word or phrase that departs from the
straight forward or literal language.
2. Theme: this refers to the central idea or message the poet is trying to pass
across.
3. Imageries: the writer create mental pictures in the mind of the readers
through the use of languages
4. Diction: the language of a poem ranges from simple to complex.
5. Mood and tone: this is the mental or emotional state of the poet
6. Rhyme and Rhythm
7. Poetic license: a poet is given the privilege to use language the way he please
and use any style of his choice.
Types of Poem
1) Ballad: this is a narrative poem adapted for recitation or singing. They are
written in short stanzas.
2) Limerick: this is a humorous poem of five lines
3) Elegy: a mournful or plaintive poem, a funeral song; a poem of lamentation
especially to the dead.
4) Ode: this is a short poetical composition proper to be set to music or song.
5) Epic: this is an extended narrative poem in elevated or dignified language,
celebrating the feat of a deity or a hero.
6) Epigram: this is a short witty or pithy poem
7) Pastoral Poems: this is an ancient type of poem that narrative the lives of
shepherds or shepherdesses in their rural settlement. It theme varies from
corruption of city life to politics.
Note:
a. A poem of two- lines is called a couplet
b. A poem of four- lines is called a quatrain
c. A poem of six-lines is called a sestext
d. A poem of eight lines is an octave
e. A poem of fourteen lines is a sonnet
f.

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CHAPTER 31. DRAMA

This is a genre of literature that is represented in performance. It is written in act and

scenes a writer of drama is a playwright.
There are three main types of dramatic genre:
Tragedy:
When a drama ends on a sad note
Comedy:
When a drama ends on a happy note
Tragi-comedy:
When a drama combines both features.
Melodrama
This is a musical drama, the dramatist/character do not only tell their action in
dialogue and acting but also sing songs and dance.
Farce:
This is a type of drama that feature a style of humour.

Features of Drama
1. Characters: they are the people in the play that took part in a drama characters
could be flat, round, archetypal as the playwright deems it fit.
2. Protagonist: the main character, usually one who set the action in motion.
3. Antagonist: this is also a main character that opposes the protagonist’s role
4. Foil: a foil character is a character whose traits contrast with those of the other
characters.” A failed character”
5. Dialogue: this refers to the words uttered by characters.
6. Plot/setting: this is the setting of the action. This can be the time, place or
space.
7. Aside: this is when a character speaks to himself/herself. Others characters
cannot hear him but the audience can
8. Soliloquy: this when a character thinks aloud.
9. Costume/ props: costumes are what a character puts on while props are the
objects used by the character.
10. Conflict: this a clash or disagreement. It is often violence between two opposing
characters
11. Climax: this is a structural part of a plot and is at times referred to as a crisis. (A
heightened tension). It is decisive moment or a turning point in a story.
12. Resolution: this is a device employed to resolve the issue we have in the climax.

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CHAPTEER 32. PROSE

A prose is a genre of literature that applies a natural flow of speech, and ordinary
grammatical structure rather than rhythmic structure.

Types of prose
1. Non fictional prose: this is a literary work that is based on facts. That is, it is
considered to be true, thou may have little fictional elements in some cases.
Examples are biographies.
2. Fictional: a literary work that is based on imagination or theoretical. Examples
are novels
3. Heroic prose: this is a literary work that may be written down or recited and
employ many of the features or expressions in oral tradition. Examples: legends
and tales
4. Prose poetry: this is a literary work that exhibit poetic qualities using emotional
effects and heightened imagery but are written in prose instead of verse.

SHORT STORIES
This is a piece of prose fiction which can be read in one sitting. It is shorter than a
novelette and are usually published individually in magazines and then collected and
published into anthologies.
A short story does not usually consist of a major conflicts, characters, or subplots. It
also discusses a single event, a single episode or a tale of one particular character.
The narrative style may be first or third person technique as the author chooses.

NOVELETTE
A novelette can be define as a fictional a narrative that is usually longer than a short
story but shorter than a novel. It was originally written address romantic or
sentimental issues.

Differences between a Short story and a Novelette

1. Short story is brief while novelette is a bit longer than a short story.
2. The word count also varies.
3. They address different issues. Novelette addresses romantic and sentimental
characters while short stories are used to describe a single event or an episode.

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CHAPTER 33. FIGURES OF SPEECH

Figures of speech simply refers to a word or phrase that departs from straight forward,
literal language. Example are:
1. Irony:
This saying the exact opposite of what we have in mind. Irony actually mean
something different from what we are saying is what is written. It literarily
means the speaker is what the speaker is saying differs from what he meant.
Examples: bravo! Bravo! Bravo! After failing an exam
The boy always come to school early. (Late)

2. Hyperbole:
Hyperbole are also refer to as exaggeration. This is describing a situation more
than they appear. It is usually done to depict the gravity of the situation or to
give a clearer version of what we are saying.
Examples: my grandmother is as old as the hills
This suit weighs a ton
She is as heavy as an elephant.

3. Simile:
This is a literary device that uses like or as to connect ideas.
Examples: she is as brave as a lion
Your love is like a red rose
He is as funny as a monkey.
The water well was as dry as a bone.

4. Metaphor:
This is a figure of speech which makes an implicit hidden comparison between
two things that are unrelated but share some common characteristics. This is
connecting two ideas without the use of like or as”
Examples: her voice is music to his hears (makes him happy)
She is a kerosene. (it is believe that kerosene doesn’t sleep)
She is a parrot (she talks too much)

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