Comskills Binder by Hannah Charkour Ayeh

HANNAH CHARKOUR AYEH
COHSS SECRETARY ‘23

COMSKILLS 157
Kwame Nkrumah University of
Science & Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
PARTS OF SPEECH
OBJECTIVES
By the end of the lesson, the student will be able to :
1. Identify the various parts of speech in the English language
2. Explain the form, positions and functions of the various
parts of speech in English sentences
3. Use these parts of speech to form correct sentences in
English
Nine main parts of speech are going to be
discussed in this lesson.
They are: Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs,

Prepositions, Pronouns, Conjunctions, Determiners
and Interjections.
They have been categorized into lexical items and

non-lexical items.
www.knust.edu.gh
• The lexical items are going to be discussed before the non-
lexical items.
• The lexical items are those that carry semantic content. This
means they have meaning in them even when they stand
alone.
• They are also called open class items, meaning that, they
accept new members.
• The lexical items are: Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives and

Adverbs.
www.knust.edu.gh
Each lexical item can be defined based on its form, its
positions in sentences and its functions.
By form, we mean the shape that it can take, how it is

built up and the changes that it can undergo.
By position, we mean the kind of words that it occurs

with in sentences.
By function, we mean its usage or its role in a sentence.
www.knust.edu.gh
NOUNS
Traditionally, nouns have been identified as words that
name people, places or things.
Identification of nouns according to form/structure
Nouns and some suffixes: Generally these suffixes are
associated with nouns and so words that end with these
suffixes are identified as nouns:
-er ..............teacher, preacher, player, writer
-ion..............nation, consultation, meditation
-or................doctor, pastor, mentor, actor
-ness.............Fitness, dryness, foolishness, etc.
-hood...........womanhood, childhood, neighbourhood, etc.
www.knust.edu.gh
• Nouns and number: Nouns can also be identified based on
how they are built up according to number. Number refers
to the distinction between singular and the plural.
• Most count nouns form their plural by adding ‘s’. E.g.

Book-books, pen-pens, dog-dogs, etc.
• Nouns which end in ‘y’ that follow a consonant form their

plural by dropping ‘y’ and adding ‘ies’. E.g. Lady-ladies,
country-countries, baby-babies, pantry-pantries, etc.
www.knust.edu.gh
• Nouns ending in ‘o’, ‘ss’, ‘sh’, ‘ch’, or ‘x’ form their plural
by the addition of ‘es’. E.g. Mango-mangoes, kiss-kisses,
brush-brushes, church-churches, box-boxes, etc. There are
however some exceptions such as photos, pianos, etc.
• Some non-count nouns retain their form whether singular

or plural. E.g. news, luggage, knowledge, etc.
• Nouns and possession: Nouns can also be identified based
on the inflection they take to indicate possession. A noun
which indicates possession shows that it is the owner of
thing(s) or person(s).
www.knust.edu.gh
• Singular nouns which end in ‘s’ or not indicate
possession with an apostrophe sign and an ‘s’. For
example: John’s bag, James’s bag, etc.
Plural nouns which end in ‘s’ indicate possession with

the addition of only an apostrophe sign. For example:
The players’ ball
Plural nouns which do not end in ‘s’ indicate possession

with the addition of an apostrophe sign and an ‘s’. For
example: The children’s ball
NB: Read on Types of Nouns and other ways by which

certain nouns form their plurals. (Afreh 2006) www.knust.edu.gh
Identification of nouns based on their positions in
sentences
• Nouns can be identified based on their positions in

sentences.
• In sentences, nouns come after determiners (a, an, the, his,

hers, etc.)
• Proper nouns do not take determiners unless in certain

instances where they are accompanied by dependent clauses.
E.g. She is the Ama I met yesterday.
www.knust.edu.gh
Identification of nouns based on their functions in
sentences
• There are four main functions of nouns in sentences. A noun
can function as a subject, object, complement or appositive.
A noun as a subject
• According to its position in a sentence, a noun functions as a
subject when it comes before the main verb of the sentence.
E.g. Kwame goes to school
S V
www.knust.edu.gh
• Based on the meaning it conveys, a noun functions as a
subject of a sentence when:
- It is the performer of an action.
E.g. Esi writes slowly.
- It is the possessor or recipient of an action.
E.g. Kwasi has a car.
- It designates places.
E.g. Rooms are always stuffy.
- It indicates time.
E.g. Yesterday was his birthday.
- It indicates events.
E.g. Parties are always lovely. www.knust.edu.gh
• Other items can also function as the subject of a sentence.
These are:
• Noun phrases: e.g. The woman in white is my mother.
• Noun clauses: e.g. The woman that came here is my
mother.
• Pronouns: e.g. She is my mother.
• Grammatically, the subject of a sentence agrees in number

and person with the main verb of the sentence.
NB: Subject-verb-agreement will be treated in detail in
another lesson.
www.knust.edu.gh
Nouns as objects of sentences
• Based on their positions, nouns can function as objects of
sentences when they occur after action verbs.
E.g. Kofi eats rice.
• Based on the meaning they convey, nouns function as
objects of sentences when:
- They are the entities that are affected by the action of the
verb. E.g. The man beats his wife.
- They indicate location. E.g. Kofi climbed the mountain.
- They are results of the activity indicated by the verb.
E.g. Mummy prepares rice.
www.knust.edu.gh
• There are two main types of objects. These are the direct
and indirect objects.
• Both can be used in a sentence and when both are used, the
indirect object is preceded by a preposition in certain kinds
of sentences.
E.g. Kofi gave the book to Mary.
DO P IO
• In other instances, the indirect object comes before the

direct object.
E.g. Kofi gave Mary the book.
IO DO
www.knust.edu.gh
A noun as a complement
• Nouns as well as other items such as noun phrases, noun

clauses, adjectives or adjective phrases can function as
complements in sentences.
• These items are called subject complements when they
follow a copular or linking verb and describe the subject of a
clause.
E.g. My father is a farmer.
They are also called object complements when they directly

follow and modify the direct objects of sentences.
E.g. They consider their puppy their baby.
www.knust.edu.gh
A noun as an appositive
A noun, a pronoun, a noun phrase or a noun clause set

beside another noun or pronoun to rename, explain or
identify it is termed as an appositive.
E.g. Nana Akufo Addo, the President of Ghana, is a brave
man.
There are other instances where the appositive precedes

the word that it renames, explains or identifies.
E.g. The president of Ghana, Nana Akufo Addo, is a
brave man.
www.knust.edu.gh
VERBS
Traditionally, verbs have been identified as action words or
doing words.
Identification of verbs according to form/structure and
their functions
• Verbs can also be identified based on their form or the
structural changes they undergo usually to indicate tense.
Tense can be said to be the shape a verb takes to indicate
distinctions in time.
• There are instances where the verb does not undergo any
structural change and this is referred to as the verb in its
bare form. This form of the verb is used with the first
person singular or plural and the third person plural as
subjects of sentences.
E.g. The woman and her son / they eat.
www.knust.edu.gh
• Verbs also form their simple present tense with the
addition of –s, -es or –ies. This depends on the type of
verb and it is used with the third person singular subjects.
e.g. Esi / she carries the bag.
• The simple present tense is used to express present events,
habitual events, universal truths, actions simultaneous
with the present moment, future time and past time.
www.knust.edu.gh
• Regular verbs form their simple past tense with the addition
of –d or –ed depending on the type of verb.
• Irregular verbs form their simple past tense by going
through other structural changes. Eg. Come – came, sit –
sat, run – ran, etc.
• Verbs also add –ing, -d or –ed to together with a helping
indicate the aspect. this is used to show whether an action
that takes place at a particular time is progressive or
completed.
E.g. She is going to school.
she has gone to school.
www.knust.edu.gh
• Verbs are used to indicate future time. It does this with the
auxiliaries ‘will’ and ‘shall’ and the bare form of the verb.
E.g. She will go to school.
Identification of verbs based on their positions

• Verbs usually come after the subject of sentences and begin
the predicate of that sentence. (It happens only in active
sentences which will be treated in another lesson)
• In this instance, even if an item looks like a different word
class, it can still be considered a verb.
E.g. The chairman tabled the motion before the house.
www.knust.edu.gh
Identification of verbs based on their functions in
sentences
Verbs can express three main functions in sentences
and these are states, actions and processes
Verbs as expressing states
Some verbs in English express the states or
conditions of people or things. Such verbs include the
forms of the verb to be(is, are, was, were, etc.), seem,
taste, appear, look, etc.
Eg. He is a good man.
The woman looks beautiful.
www.knust.edu.gh
Verbs as expressing actions
Some verbs express actions and are therefore referred to
as action words. Examples are talk, eat, dance, jump, etc.
E.g. She sweeps the compound everyday.
Verbs as expressing processes

Some verbs express processes. These are series of
changes, especially the ones that happen naturally or
unconsciously. Examples are grow and digest
E.g. Babies grow
NB: Read on other types of verbs
www.knust.edu.gh
ADJECTIVES
• Traditionally, they are identified as words that describe a
noun or a pronoun in a sentence.
Identification based on form
• Many adjectives can be identified by their suffixes. Some
adjective forming suffixes are:
-ic – romantic
-ful – faithful
-al – logical
-ous – famous
-ive – attractive
www.knust.edu.gh
Many adjectives use the suffix –er and –est to mark
comparative and superlative degrees respectively.
The comparative is used when two items are being

compared. E.g. Esi is bigger than Ama.
The superlative is used when three or more items are

being compared. E.g. Esi is the biggest of them all.
www.knust.edu.gh
Identification based on position to indicate function
• Based on position, adjectives can occur attributively. This
means that they can appear inside a noun phrase and modify
that noun phrase.
E.g. A hardworking player was on their team.
• Adjectives can also occur predicatively. This means they can

appear outside the noun phrase that they modify. Here, they
usually follow a linking verb.
E.g. He is hardworking.
www.knust.edu.gh
ADVERBS
• Traditionally, adverbs have been defined as words that
modify verbs, adjectives or other adverbs and answer the
questions how, where, why or when an action takes place.
Identification based on form
• Just like adjectives, some adverbs also use the suffixes –er
and –est to indicate comparative and superlative degrees
respectively.
E.g. He is faster than you.
He is the fastest of them all.
• Some adverbs are also identified with the suffix –ly.
www.knust.edu.gh
• In terms of their positions in sentences, adverbs have the
property of mobility and can therefore begin the sentence,
end the sentence or in some instances, come immediately
after the subject of the sentence as indicated in the examples
below.
E.g. Usually, we go on holidays.
We go on holidays usually.
We usually go on holidays.
However, when adverbs are not properly placed, they can
cause ambiguity. When it happens like that, it is advisable to
place the adverb next to the headword it is intended to
modify.
www.knust.edu.gh
Identification based on function
It must be indicated that adverb phrases can also

perform all these functions. Again, these functions
that adverbs perform are what lead to the types of
adverbs.
1. Adverbs are used to indicate time.

E.g. The alarm went off yesterday.
www.knust.edu.gh
2. They are used to indicate manner.
E.g. Present your case carefully.
3. They are used to indicate place
E.g. Here, the situation is different.
4. They are used to indicate frequency.
E.g. She comes here often.
5. They are used to indicate reason.
E.g. As it’s Friday, you can stay up another hour.
6. They are used to indicate degree.
E.g. She is not as poor as she could have been.
www.knust.edu.gh
• Now, let us turn our attention to the non-lexical items.
The non-lexical items do not carry semantic content. This

means that, they do not make meaning on their own. They
get their meaning mainly from the lexical words in context.
They are also called closed class items, meaning that they
do not accept new members.
The non-lexical items are: prepositions, pronouns,

conjunctions, determiners and interjections.
www.knust.edu.gh
Form of Closed word Classes
NB: It must be noted that the closed word classes do not

have a specific form. This means there are no specific
suffixes or affixes that can be used to identify them.
www.knust.edu.gh
Prepositions
Prepositions are words that link nouns, pronouns and phrases

to other words in a sentence.
A word or phrase that a preposition introduces is called the

object of the preposition.
For example in the sentence, “The book is leaning on the

table”, “the table” is the object of the preposition “on”.
www.knust.edu.gh
The Positions of Prepositions
Prepositions normally precede their objects.

Sometimes, the preposition is separated from its
complement as in:
The man whom we gave the book to – instead of
The man to whom we gave the book.
NB: The word complement is being used here in a

literal sense to refer to whatever completes or comes
after the preposition.
www.knust.edu.gh
Prepositional phrases tend to be built the same: a
preposition followed by a complement.
This is usually referred to as the object of the

preposition.
The complement may be a pronoun, noun phrase or a

gerund (a verb in its –ing form).
Some examples are:
I bought a bag for him (prep+pronoun).
The cat is under the table (prep+noun phrase).
www.knust.edu.gh
Functions of Some Prepositions
Prepositions fall into different types. These types have

different uses in phrases or clauses.
Some of the types and their uses are presented in the

following slides.
www.knust.edu.gh
Prepositions of Time: At, On, and In
We use at to designate specific times.

E.g. The will leave at 4:00am tomorrow.
We use on to designate days and dates.

E.g. My father is coming on Monday.
We use in for non-specific times during the day, month,

season, or year.
E.g. He started the job in 1982.
www.knust.edu.gh
Prepositions of Place: At, On, and In
We use at for specific addresses.

E.g. The ceremony will be held at Bomso L/A Primary.
We use on to designate names of streets, avenues, etc.

E.g. Her house is on Ridge Road.
We use in for the names of land-areas (towns, countries,

states, and continents).
E.g. She lives in Kumasi.
www.knust.edu.gh
Prepositions of Movement: to and No Preposition
We use to in order to express movement towards a place.

E.g. They were walking to school together.
Toward and towards are also helpful prepositions to

express movement.
www.knust.edu.gh
Pronouns
Pronouns are anaphoric elements used to replace nouns.
E.g. The lady opened the refrigerator.
She opened it. (The pronoun she replaces ‘the lady’, and
the pronoun it replaces ‘the refrigerator’)
Position of Pronouns
Pronouns can occur as subjects or as objects.
Example of a pronoun as a subject:
She is happy
Example of a pronoun as an object

Kofi gave the book to me.
www.knust.edu.gh
Functions of Pronouns
They are used to identify nouns, they show possession,
they designate places, etc. It must be noted that there are
many other functions of pronouns which are all linked
to the types of pronouns. The types of pronouns have
therefore been discussed below.
Types of Pronouns
Pronouns have been grouped into several types. These
are: personal pronouns, demonstrative pronouns,
relative pronouns, interrogative pronoun, indefinite
pronouns , reflexive pronouns and intensive pronouns.
www.knust.edu.gh
Personal Pronouns
Personal pronouns refer to specific people or things and
change their forms to indicate person, number, gender,
and case.
Person
English indicates three types of persons – first
person ,second person and third person.
“I” and “We” are the first person pronouns in English.

“I” is the singular first person pronoun and “They” is
the plural first person pronoun.
E. g. I am happy.
www.knust.edu.gh
“You” is the second person pronoun in English. It can
either be used as singular or plural.
E.g. You are my friend.
“He”, “She”, “It” and “They” are the third person

pronouns in English.
“He”, “She” and “It” are the singular third person
pronouns in English whilst “They” is the plural third
person pronoun in English.
E.g. She is a lecturer.

They were writing.
www.knust.edu.gh
Demonstrative Pronouns
A demonstrative pronoun points to, and identifies a

noun or a pronoun.
The demonstrative pronouns are this, that, these and
those.
Examples are:
This tastes good.
That phone is mine.
Those are my friends.
These cakes are delicious.
www.knust.edu.gh
Interrogative Pronouns
The interrogative pronouns introduce questions.

The interrogative pronouns are the wh-words. These are:
what, which, who, whom, when and whose.
Whereas “who” and “whom” are used to refer to people,

“which” and “what” are used to refer to things or to
animals.
www.knust.edu.gh
Examples of interrogative pronouns used in sentences:
What did he say to you?

Who asked the question?
What is that?
Who will buy me a pen?
Which do you prefer?
Reading Assignment
Read on relative pronouns, indefinite pronouns,

reflexive pronouns and intensive pronouns.
www.knust.edu.gh
Determiners
Determiners “are those little words that precede and

modify nouns.” (Afreh 2006: 149).
Examples are: the, a, that, a bit of, etc.
Position
Determiners precede nouns and noun phrases.

As a result of the position they take in a noun phrase,
determiners are said to mark nouns. That is, determiners
are always followed by nouns.
www.knust.edu.gh
Functions of Determiners
1. They specify nouns

E.g. The cat is mine.
2. They show possession.

E.g. That was her.
3. They show quantity.

How many books are they?
www.knust.edu.gh
Conjunctions
Conjunctions are words that are used to join

similar grammatical units like words and words, clauses
and clauses or phrases and phrases.
Some examples of conjunctions are but, or, while,

before, or, yet, and, so .
www.knust.edu.gh
Functions
1. Conjunctions are used to join words, phrases and
clauses.
Examples of such conjunctions are but, and, or, so, yet
and, for
Examples:
The boy and the girl.( phrase and noun )
The girl is good but the boy is naughty. (clause and
clause)
2. Conjunctions show contrast between two

grammatical units.
Examples of such conjunctions are but and yet
www.knust.edu.gh
3. Conjunctions are used to indicate subordination in
clauses.
Examples of such conjunctions include because, while,
if and since.
www.knust.edu.gh
Interjections
Interjections are words used to express strong emotions

or excitement.
An interjection can be just one word or a group of words.
Because they express strong emotions, they are identified

in sentences with exclamations.
Examples of interjections include ouch!, hey!, shhh!
Position
Like adverbs, interjections are very mobile.
Their positions in sentences can change.
www.knust.edu.gh
Functions
They are used to demand or request something, usually

in a forceful manner.
They are used to express emotions like disgust.
They are used in greetings

tings. E.g. Hello!
They mark hesitation. E.g. Errm!
They express surprise. E.g. Wow!

www.knust.edu.gh
•The actual part of speech of a word is realised when
that word is in context. Therefore, for example, for a
word to be identified as a verb in a sentence, it has to
take the form that a verb should take, it has to take the
position that a verb should take. It has to also function
as a verb. This explains why we can have a sentence
like:
They chair the occasion.
www.knust.edu.gh
Assignment
Identify the parts of speech of “up” in the following

sentences
1. He looked up and saw the stars.
2. The time is up.
3. The list is full of some ups and downs.
4. He has just been upped to the position of a president.
www.knust.edu.gh
DEFINITION
• A sentence is a group of words that contains a

finite verb and makes complete sense or
expresses a complete thought.
• A declarative sentence makes a statement.
• An interrogative sentence asks a question.
• An exclamatory sentence expresses a strong or
sudden feeling.
www.knust.edu.gh
THE SENTENCE
DEFINITION
• A sentence is a group of words that contains a

finite verb and makes complete sense or
expresses a complete thought.
• A declarative sentence makes a statement.
• An interrogative sentence asks a question.
• An exclamatory sentence expresses a strong or
sudden feeling.
www.knust.edu.gh
PATTERN 1
• Subject + Verb
• Time flies.
• The lion roared.
• The sun shines.
• The old woman talks (to herself).
• The new Toyota saloon car crashed.
• My watch has stopped.
www.knust.edu.gh
PATTERN 2
• Subject + Verb + Complement

• Janet is a trader.
• He is rich.
• That is what I want.
• The milk tastes sour.
• He tries hard.
• I am in a hurry.
www.knust.edu.gh
PATTERN 3
• Subject + Verb + Direct Object

• The man kicked the dog.
• He stole my book.
• The stray bullet hit the baby.
• They kicked the ball.
• The (big, black) dog (I bought recently) bit the
man.
www.knust.edu.gh
PATTERN 4
• Subject + Verb + Indirect Object + Direct

Object
• They sold me some bad apples.
• Kofi gave Ama some money.
• He did me a very good turn.
• Richard left his family two houses.
• Issah wrote his father a letter.
• The teacher showed his class a picture.
www.knust.edu.gh
PATTERN 5
• Subject + Verb + Direct Object + Object

Complement
• They made Mr. Mahamah president of Ghana.
• He called his cat Sally.
• Grandfather has made Nsiah his heir.
• The coach made Salisu captain of Susubiribi.
• The Vice Chancellor appointed Dr. Opoku dean.
www.knust.edu.gh
SENTENCE TYPES
• A simple sentence contains only one independent

clause. Ama went to school. (The Pattern is SVO.)
• A Compound Sentence contains more than one

independent clause but no subordinate clauses. The
cars could not climb the hill but the trucks made it
easily.
www.knust.edu.gh
SENTENCE TYPES
• A Complex Sentence is a sentence with one independent

clause and at least one subordinate clause. As soon as I
finished my homework, I fell asleep.
• A Compound Complex sentence contains more than one

independent clause and at least one subordinate clause.
When I finally returned to school, I studied very hard for I
had missed many classes.
www.knust.edu.gh
• Many men simply do not subscribe to Gerda Lerner's "radical notion”
that women are, in fact, human beings. We need to look no further for
evidence of this than the incident in Steubenville, Ohio, in 2012 in
which a teenage girl was sexually assaulted, was dehumanized, and
then blamed and vilified by some in her community and beyond,
while others appeared to lament that the futures of her football-hero
assailants were ruined by their rape conviction.
www.knust.edu.gh
SENTENCE TYPES
• Pollution, by definition, is something introduced

into the environment that harmfully disrupts it.
While nature sometimes produces its own damaging
contaminants – wildfires send up billows of smoke
and ash, volcanoes belch noxious gases – humans
are responsible for the lion’s share of the pollution
plaguing the planet today.
www.knust.edu.gh
• Wherever we go, we seem to have a knack for leaving our
rubbish and waste behind. Visit even the most remote
outpost on the planet and you will witness this first hand.
Shredded tyres and plastic bottles punctuate the vast
expanse of the Gobi desert; plastic bags ride the currents
in the middle of the Pacific; spent oxygen canisters and
raw sewage mar the snows of Mount Everest.
www.knust.edu.gh
SENTENCE ERRORS
• Sentence Fragment: A sentence fragment is a clause or

phrase that does not form a complete sentence but is
punctuated as though it does.
• Fragments are often used in informal correspondence or

fiction, particularly in dialogue. In formal writing, however,
they should be rewritten as complete sentences.
• The party was a great success. The best one ever.
www.knust.edu.gh
EXERCISE
• Applauded the performer.

• When the truck crashed on the expressway.
• Finishing the project.
• The backseat of your car.
• When Carl returned from college.
• Because he needed to tell her how he felt.
www.knust.edu.gh
SENTENCE ERRORS
• Run-on Sentences: A run-on sentence consists

of two or more sentences separated by no mark
of punctuation.
• Ama made a kitchen-stool in the woodshop for
her mother’s birthday she also made a
bookshelf for her father.
• Jim and I started a bicycle repair shop in his
father’s garage it lasted for only two weeks.
• The zoo keeper fed the hungry lions there were
ten of them.
www.knust.edu.gh
EXERCISE
• Applauded the performer.

• When the truck crashed on the expressway.
• Finishing the project.
• The backseat of your car.
• When Carl returned from college.
• Because he needed to tell her how he felt.
www.knust.edu.gh
COMMUNICATION SKILLS I
(ENGL 157)
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
ERRORS IN SENTENCES
AMBIGUITY
MISRELATED/DANGLING MODIFICATION
AMBIGUITY
• Ambiguity is a language situation where a
sentence or a part of it has more than one
meaning or can reasonably be given more
than one interpretation.
• Eg. I met Mr. Anane at the court.

• The possible interpretations to this
sentence emanate from the possible uses
of “Court”.
www.knust.edu.gh
AMBIGUITY cont’d
Possible uses of “court”
• A place where legal cases are addressed.
• A space for games (volley, tennis etc.)
• The official residence of an overlord
• Or even, any space in a house
• From the sentence, it can be said that

the speaker/writer met Mr. Anane at
any of these places.
www.knust.edu.gh
AMBIGUITY cont’d
Please note: Intended Vs. Unintended Ambiguity
• Intended Ambiguity: This is where a
speaker/writer deliberately uses ambiguity for
specific purpose/effect. Eg. In literature, politics,
music etc.
• Consider this, “The law is not an empty barrel
but the House of Lords (HoLs)”.
• Meaning 1: The law is not an empty barrel but
the law is the HoLs.
• Meaning 2: The law is not an empty barrel, but
the HoLs is an empty barrel.
www.knust.edu.gh
AMBIGUITY cont’d
• The speaker can refer to M1 to avoid the charge
of Contempt of Parliament though he/she may
have intended to abuse the HoLs with M2.
• Unintended Ambiguity: This is where a
speaker/writer is not aware that what he/she said
or wrote is ambiguous.
• Our concern, on the subject of ambiguity,
principally lies on the ambiguous statement which
is not intended because it is a feature of bad
writing/speech and must be avoided for effective
communication.
www.knust.edu.gh
TYPES OF AMBIGUITY
• Ambiguity may be considered lexical, categorical,
conceptual and structural (Afreh 2006).
• Lexical Ambiguity: This is where a word can be
assigned more than one meaning.
• Eg. I met Mr. Anane at the court. (as explained on
slide 3)
• Categorical Ambiguity: This occurs when a word is
used to function differently in different context.
• Eg1. Go round the table (adverb)
• Eg.2. I have a round table (adjective)
• Eg.3. I forfeited the final round of the competition
(noun).
www.knust.edu.gh
TYPES OF AMBIGUITY cont’d
• Conceptual Ambiguity: This occurs when a
word is used to refer to different concepts
• Eg1. The battery was fully charged (electricity)

• Eg2. He was charged with contempt (legal)
• Eg3. The Registrar was charged with
students’ affairs (responsibility)
www.knust.edu.gh
• Structural Ambiguity: This occurs as a result of
how words are put together as structures.
• It occurs from many sources. Some of these are:
1. Unclear Modification
2. Wrong placement of adverbs of frequency
3. Making clauses nominal
4. Wrong placement of pronoun
www.knust.edu.gh
• Unclear Modification:
• Eg1. Visiting family members can be dangerous

(family members who visit or the act of visiting
family members?)
• M1: Family members who visit can be dangerous.
• M2: To visit family members can be dangerous.
www.knust.edu.gh
• Wrong placement of adverbs of frequency:
• Eg2. The lecturers who watched the movie

frequently commended it. (frequently watched or
commended it frequently?)
• M1. The lecturers who frequently watched the
movie commended it.
• M2. The lecturers who watched the movie
commended it frequently.
www.knust.edu.gh
• Making Clauses Nominal
• Eg3. The killing of the director incited the staff

to riot. (did the director do the killing or
someone else did?)
• M1. The killing (done) by the director incited
the staff to riot.
• M2. The CEO’s killing of the director incited the
staff to riot.
www.knust.edu.gh
• Wrong placement or use of pronoun
• Eg4. Pick the box from the bed and sit on it.
(sit on the bed or box?)
• M1. Pick the box from the bed and sit on the
box.
• M2. Pick the box from the bed and sit on it
(the bed).
www.knust.edu.gh
Exercise
Instruction: Each of the following sentences is
ambiguous. Rewrite each sentence twice to show two
acceptable meanings:
1. An advertising agent who had entered the conference
hall briskly delivered a talk on laptop computers.
2. The Asafo Company spotted the missing child with a
basket of fruit that was going mould.
3. At that party I spotted a guest with a smile that
quickly captivated me.
4. We were introduced to the manager with a lovely face
that we found agreeable.
(Opoku-Agyemang 1998:87-88)
www.knust.edu.gh
Misrelated/Dangling Modification
• It is an absence of clarity normally attributed to
the misplacement of the sentence modifier
(Opoku-Agyemang 1998).
• This occurs as a result of the construction of
sentences in a way that modifiers are attached
or attributed to the wrong subject or to a
subject which cannot be identified in the
sentence (Sekyi-Baidoo 2003)
• It is the attachment of modifiers to
constructions which they (modifiers) are not to
modify or qualify (Afreh 2006).
www.knust.edu.gh
Misrelated/Dangling Modification
Cont’d
• Eg1: Having finished the assignment, the TV was
turned on. (who finished the assignment?)
• Grammar requires that, in most cases, an

introductory phrase, such as the highlighted, must
relate to the first noun or pronoun or other noun
equivalents that follow (the principle of proximity).
• CEg1: Having finished the assignment, Elvis

turned on the TV (Elvis finished the assignment)
www.knust.edu.gh
Causes of Misrelated/Dangling Modification
• Misplacement of Subject: This is where the subject that
is to be modified is wrongly placed or positioned in the
sentence.
• Eg1: Moving towards the hall of residence, the
goat hit the car.
• Eg2: As a student, the Principal advised George to
study hard.
• Correction: Place or position the subject in the right
position.
• CEg1: Moving towards the hall of residence, the car
hit the goat.
• CEg2: As a student, George was advised by the
Principal to study hard.
www.knust.edu.gh
Cont’d
• Omission of Subject: This is where the subject
that is to be modified is omitted from the sentence.
• Eg1: While watching TV, the lights went off.
• Eg2: Running into the room, her wedding date
was announced.
• Correction: Introduce the missing subject.
• CEg1: While we were watching TV, the lights went
off.
• CEg2: Running into the room, she announced her
wedding date.
www.knust.edu.gh
Cont’d
• Modifiers modifying others: This is where
modifiers are not attached to their subjects but
to other modifiers.
• Eg1: Singing a song, Andy’s hands began to
shake.
• Eg2: Moving at top speed, the taxi’s number
plate fell.
• Correction: Identify and introduce the subject.
• CEg1: Andy’s hands began to shake when he
was singing a song.
• CEg2: The taxi’s number plate fell as it was
moving at top speed.
www.knust.edu.gh
Reading Assignment
Read on the following and make your personal
notes on them:
• Forms of Misrelated/Dangling Modification
(Afreh 2006; Sekyi-Baidoo 2003)
• Exceptions to the prohibition on

misrelated/dangling modification (Afreh 2006)
or Acceptable Misrelated/Dangling Modification
(Sekyi-Baidoo 2003)
www.knust.edu.gh
Exercise
Instruction: Each of the following sentences has
misrelated/dangling modification. Rewrite each into an
acceptable form:
1. Having arrived late for practice, a written excuse
was needed.
2. Without knowing his name, it was difficult to
introduce him.
3. To improve his results, the experiment was done
again.
4. After reading the original study, the article remains
unconvincing.
5. The experiment was a failure, not having studied
the lab manual carefully.
www.knust.edu.gh
References
Afreh, E. S. (2006). Grammar and usage for
tertiary students. Kumasi.
Opoku-Agyemang, N. J. (1998). A handbook for

writing skills. Accra: Ghana Universities Press.
S e k y i - B a i d o o , Y. ( 2 0 0 3 ) . L e a r n i n g a n d
communicating (Second Edition). Accra: Infinity
Graphics Ltd.
www.knust.edu.gh
CONCORD
Definition
• Concord in grammar is the agreement of a subject and the verb.
• The basic rule of concord is that a verb must agree with its subject in
number. A singular subject takes a singular verb while a plural subject
takes a plural verb. The boy is here. They boys are here.
• A plural verb is always required after YOU even when it is singular.
You alone have understood the full import of this problem. You both
have been a great help to us.
Concord
• Two or more subjects joined by and take plural verb. The boy and his dog
are here. The general manager and the controllers are attending a meeting.
A singular noun followed by etc and and so on and so forth take a plural
verb. The size etc are less important for our purpose.
• If the two subjects are considered as one thing, a singular verb is used.
The hammer and sickle was flying. Whisky and soda is his favourite drink.
Corned beef and cabbage was his favourite dish. Wear and tear has to be
expected in the estate business.
Concord
• A singular verb is used when two or more subjects connected by and are
preceded by each, every, many a. Every computer, printer or fax machine
is marked for reduction. Many a man and woman has responded to our
plea for help.
• If two singular subjects are connected by expressions such as either … or,
neither… nor, not only … but also the subject is singular and must have
a singular verb. Neither the man nor his wife is present. Either July or
August is a good time for a conference. Not only is a marketing plan but
also a profit loss analysis needs to be developed.
Concord
• The rule of proximity states that the verb is coloured by the subject
closest to it. Either the teacher or the students are to blame. Either your
eyesight or your brakes are at fault.
• Disregard any intervening phrases and clauses between the subject and
the verb. The prices shown in our catalogue do not include sales tax.
Concord
• When a sentence has both a positive and a negative subject, the verb
agrees with the positive subject. The design of the container, not the
contents, determines the customer’s initial reaction to the product.
• If two singular subjects are linked by expressions such as along with,
rather, as well as, together with, in addition to, accompanied by the verb
is singular. Mr. Smith, accompanied by his wife and three children has just
arrived. The captain as well as the other players was tired.
• If the subject is plural use a plural verb. Mr. and Mrs. Gyasi together with
their child are going to the lakeside.
Concord
• Use a singular verb after a phrase beginning with one of, one of the;
the singular agrees with the subject one. One of the reasons for so
many absences is poor motivation. One of you is to be rusticated. One
of the interviewers is going to call you next week.
• A singular subject followed by a plural modifier requires a singular
verb. A list of students has been made available. A group of fifty
students is expected to make the trip to Kumasi Brewery.
Concord
• A verb in a relative clause agrees with the antecedent of the relative
pronoun. She is one of our employees who are never late. I ordered one of
the new copiers which were advertised in last Monday’s paper.
• Some indefinite pronouns are singular and they are used with singular
verbs. These indefinite pronouns are anyone, anybody, each, each one,
everyone, everybody, everything, every, many a, someone, somebody,
something, either, neither, no one, nobody, nothing, one another. Every
company has its own policy.
Concord
• Some indefinite pronouns are plural and they take plural verbs. These are
many, few, several, others, both. Both men want the newly-created
position. Several members were invited; the others were overlooked.
Many are called, but few are chosen. Both books are out of print.
• Other indefinite pronouns may be singular or plural depending on the
noun to which they refer. These include none, any, some, more, most. I
have checked your answers and none of them are correct. Most of the
stock has been sold. More than one customer has complained. More than
five customers have complained.
Concord
• Nouns like news, lens, measles, summons are actually singular and
they take singular verbs. The news is discouraging. The summons has
been issued. Measles is a dangerous disease.
• A number of nouns are always considered plural even though they each
refer to a single thing. As subjects, these nouns require a plural verb.
Assets, belongings, credentials dues, goods, earnings odds, riches,
premises, proceeds. The premises are available for inspection. My
earnings this year have gone up.
Concord
• The following nouns are considered plural: glasses, scissors, pliers, pants,
trousers. When they are preceded by the phrase pair of, the entire
expression is considered singular. These scissors need sharpening. This
pair of scissors need sharpening.
• Many nouns ending in ics such as acoustics, economics, ethics, politics,
statistics take singular or plural verbs depending on how they are used.
When they refer to a body of knowledge or a course of study they are
singular. When they refer to qualities or activities, they are plural.
Concord
• Nouns with foreign plural endings take plural verbs. No criteria have been
established. The theses have been collected.
• Data is plural but a sentence like The data obtained is now being analyzed
is correct. The noun media is the plural form of medium. The media
through which we reach our clients are varied. The media has acquired an
acceptable singular meaning when it refers to journalists, reporters and
broadcasters acting in concert. The media has given so much publicity to
this election. Treat media as a plural when these practitioners are not
acting as a unified group. The media have approached the Amina case
from varied perspectives.
Concord
• A collective noun generally regarded as singular and as such takes a
singular verb. The football team is playing well. The government has
decided to increase the pay of workers. The family is a happy one. The
committee is sitting at the Great Hall. The Board of Directors meets on
Friday.
• When the parts of the collective are considered individually, a plural verb
may be used. The family are avid movie fans. The football team are
having supper. The committee are not in agreement as to what report to
submit.
Concord
• The nouns people, police, public, clergy, cattle are always used
with a plural verb. The word couple takes a plural verb. The
couple is/are happily married. Each couple was asked to fill a
form. A couple of always takes plural verb. A couple of students
have decided to make the trip.
• Notional Concord: A plural subject considered singular takes a
singular verb. Ten years is a long time. Ten years have passed
since he died. One million cedis is not such a large sum.
Millions of cedis have been spent on the conflict in Bawku. Two
miles is as far as they go.
Concord
• In a sentence beginning with there and here the verb must agree with
the real subject which comes after there and here. There is a difference
between the two plans. There are many plans for my future. There are
many ways of killing a cat.
Punctuation Marks in English

OUTLINE
www.knust.edu.gh
Punctuation defined
• P u n c t u at i o n s a re n o n - a l p h a b e t i ca l
symbols used in writing for the purposes
of clarity and comprehension.
• Not all symbols are punctuation marks
• Capitalization is therefore not a part of
punctuation.
PUNCTUATION
THE MOST IMPORTANT MARKS OF PUNCTUATION ARE:
. PERIOD (FULL STOP) , COMMA

? QUESTION MARK ; SEMICOLON
! EXCLAMATION MARK : COLON
-- DASH “” QUOTATION MARKS
- HYPHEN () PARENTHESES
‘ APOSTROPHE [] BRACKETS
UNDERLINING
End Marks
What is an end mark?
•An end mark comes at

the end of a sentence. It
lets you know when to
stop.
•They are:
1. Full Stop
2. Question Mark
3. Exclamation Mark
Periods (.)
1. At the end of a sentence
e.g. I love my country.
2. After an initial (e.g. Alfred L.
Owusu-Ansah)
3. As a decimal (e.g. $2.50)
4. After abbreviations (Mrs.)
Question Mark
1. After a direct question
e.g. Do you know the motto of KNUST?
2. To show doubt
e.g. The Gold Coast was renamed Ghana on a
Thursday (?)
Exclamation Mark
1. To express strong feeling
• E.g. What a shock!
2. After some imperative sentences
e.g. Come here!
• Never use multiple exclamation marks in

school writing assignments or in business
letters.
• E.g. I need my money now!!!
MID-LECTURE
QUIZ
Which change in end marks should be made
to the sentence below?
Did you feed your dog this morning.
• A. The end mark should be a comma.

• B. The end mark should be an exclamation
point.
• C. The end mark should be a colon.
• D. The end mark should be a question mark.
Which change in end marks should be made
to the sentence below?
Did you feed your dog this morning.
• A. The end mark should be a comma.

• B. The end mark should be an exclamation
point.
• C. The end mark should be a colon.
• D. The end mark should be a question mark.
Which sentence has the correct end
punctuation?
• A. Where did you find that cute puppy.

• B. What a great big grin he has on his face!
• C. Roll over, you good girl?
• D. Why can’t we keep her.
Which sentence has the correct end
punctuation?
• A. Where did you find that cute puppy.

• B. What a great big grin he has on his face!
• C. Roll over, you good girl?
• D. Why can’t we keep her.
Non-Sentence End
Punctuation Marks
Comma
1. Between items in a series
e.g. I know someone who likes orange, pineapple,
and banana.
2. In dates and addresses (e.g. June 24, 2010)
3. To keep numbers clear (e.g. 1,000, 000)
4. To set off adverbials at the beginning of
sentences (e.g. Yesterday, we visited the library.)
5. To set off dialogue (e.g. The Hen replied, “My axe
is sick.”)
Comma
5. Between two independent clauses (e.g.

Aquarium workers love animals, so they rescue
hurt ones.)
6. In letter writing (Dear Uncle Jim,)
7. To separate adjectives (I like the feel of cold,
salty water when I go wading.)
Comma
8. To set off interjections (e.g. Wow, look at that

sunrise!)
9. To set off appositives (e.g. My father, a great
cook, makes the best fried rice in town.)
10. To set off introductory phrases and clauses
(e.g. After checking my knee pads, I started off.)
UNNECESSARY COMMAS
DO NOT USE A COMMA
1)BEFORE THE FIRST AND AFTER THE LAST MEMBER OF A
SERIES:
e.g. The tea was a cold, sweet, refreshing, drink.
2) TO SEPARATE A SUBJECT FROM ITS PREDICATE:
e.g. We requested that the road be resurfaced.
3) BEFORE INDIRECT QUOTATION:
e.g. The candidate stated that, he was against taxation.
4) BETWEEN TWO INDEPENDENT CLAUSES WHERE A
STRONGER MARK OF PUNCTUATION IS REQUIRED “COMMA
SPLICE”:
e.g. The foreman told me to be there early, I told him I couldn’t.
UNNECESSARY COMMAS (cont.)
6) Indiscriminately to replace the word omitted:

e.g. Frank said, he would come to see me.
(the comma is incorrectly used for “that”)
7) IN ANY SITUATION UNLESS IT ADDS TO CLARITY

AND UNDERSTANDING:
e.g. Naturally, the first thing you should do, after reporting for
work, is to see your supervisor.
After the play, Martha and I went home, by taxicab, because we

wanted, at all cost, to avoid subway crowds.
Where should a comma be placed in the
sentence below?
Please place a pencil, a pair of scissors and two
sheets of paper on your desk.
• A. after the word paper

• B. after the word scissors
• C. before the word of
• D. after the word sheets
Where should a comma be placed in the
sentence below?
Please place a pencil, a pair of scissors and two
sheets of paper on your desk.
• A. after the word paper

• B. after the word scissors
• C. before the word of
• D. after the word sheets
Where should commas be placed in the
sentence below?
You must bring your ticket lunch and spending
money.
• A. after You and must

• B. after ticket and lunch
• C. after bring and lunch
• D. after your and ticket and lunch
Where should commas be placed in the
sentence below?
You must bring your ticket lunch and spending
money.
• A. after You and must

• B. after ticket and lunch
• C. after bring and lunch
• D. after your and ticket and lunch
Colon
• To introduce a list
• After a salutation in a business letter
(Dear Chairperson: )
• Between numbers in time (2:25)
THE COLON
The colon is a mark of expectation or addition. It’s primary function is to signal the
reader to “watch for what’s coming.”
USE THE COLON:
1) TO INTRODUCE A WORD, A PHRASE, OR CLAUSE, OR AFTER AN
INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT:
e.g. This is my problem: what do I do now?
2) TO SEPARATE INTRODUCTORY WORDS FROM A LONG OR FORMAL
QUOTATION WHICH FOLLOWS:
e.g. Jefferson concluded his First Inaugural Address as follows: “And may that Infinite
Power which rules the destines of the universe…”
3) AS A SEPARATING MARK IN SPECIAL SITUATIONS:
A) IN BUSINESS LETTERS: e.g. Dear Mr. James:
B) TITLES AND SUBTITLES OF BOOKS: e.g. The English Novel: A Panorama
C) HOUR AND MINUTE FIGURES: e.g. 10:15 a.m.
D) CHAPTERS AND VERSES OF THE BIBLE: e.g. Exodus, 12:31
E) VOLUMES AND PAGE REFERENCES: e.g. War and Peace, II:122
THE COLON (cont.)
DO NOT OVERUSE THE COLON
DO NOT PLACE A COLON BETWEEN A PREPOSITION AND OBJECT:

e.g. I am fond of: New Orleans, Seattle, Denver.
DO NOT PLACE A COLON BETWEEN A VERB AND ITS OBJECT:

e.g. He liked to see: TV plays, movies, and sitcoms.
She likes a number of activities, such as: swimming, dancing, and
cooking.
THE SEMICOLON
The semicolon is a stronger mark of punctuation than the comma; it signifies a greater
break or a longer pause between sentence elements.
REMEMBER: THE SMICOLON IS USED ONLY BETWEEN ELEMENTS OF
EQUAL RANK; IT IS ENTIRELY A MARK OF COORDINATION.
USE THE SEMICOLON:

1) TO SEPARATE INDEPENDENT CLAUSES NOT JOINED BY A SIMPLE
CONJUNCTION:
e.g. “If you make people think they’re thinking, they’ll love you; if you really make
them think, they’ll hate you.” – Marquis
2) TO SEPARATE INDEPENDENT CLAUSES JOINED BY A CONJUNCTIVE
ADVERB (ALSO, ANYHOW, BESIDES, CONSEQUENTLY, FURTHERMORE,
HOWEVER, MOREOVER, OTHERWISE, THEREFORE, THUS, ETC.):
e.g. This job is not simple; however, it’s exciting and rewarding.
THE SEMICOLON (cont.)
3) BETWEEN INDEPENDENT CLAUSES WHICH ARE LENGTHY OR CONTAIN
INTERNAL PUNCTUATION:
e.g. “As long as war is regarded as wicked, it will have its fascination; when it is looked
upon as vulgar, it will cease to be popular.” – Wilde
DO NOT OVERUSE SEMICOLON
ORDINARILY, THE SEMICOLON HAS THE SAME FUCTION AS A PERIOD: IT

INDICATES A COMPLETE BREAK, THE END OF ONE THOUGHT AND THE
BEGINNING OF ANOTHER.
ONE FAIRLY SAFE GUIDE IS: NO PERIOD, NO SEMICOLON:

e.g. Inasmuch as Joe has a fiery temper; we have to be careful what we say to him.
(a comma should be used instead of the semicolon)
DO NOT USE IT AS A MARK OF INTRODUCTION:
e.g. Dear Sir;
DO NOT USE IT AS A SUMMARIZING MARK:
e.g. Answering the phone, typing, filing; these were my duties last summer.
Hyphen
• To divide a word when you run out of room at

the end of the line (divide only at the syllables,
never divide one syllable words or contractions)
• Between numbers in fractions
THE DASH
THE DASH IS A MARK OF PUNCTUATION USED TO DENOTE A SUDDEN
BREAK OR SHIFT IN THOUGHT.
“THE INTERRUPTION, THE MARK OF ABRUPTNESS, THE SOB, THE

STAMMER, THE MARK OF IGNORANCE.”
IT IS THE ONLY MARK OF PUNCTUATION WHICH IS NOT ON THE
STANDARD KEYBOARD. TO TYPE A DASH, USE TWO HYPHENS; NO
SPACE PRECEDES OR FOLLOW THE HYPHENS.
USE THE DASH:
1) TO INDICATE A BREAK OR SHIFT IN THOUGHT:
e.g. Do we—can we—dare we ask for more money?
2) TO INTRODUCE A WORD OR GROUP OF WORDS WHICH YOU WISH TO
EMPHASIZE:
e.g. What he needed most he never got—love.
3) TO SET OFF STRONGLY DISTINGUISHED PARENTHETICAL MATERIAL: e.g.
I think—no, I am positive—that you should go.
4) TO INDICATE OMISSION OF LETTERS AND WORDS:
e.g. Senator S– was from my hometown.
June—October 1990
THE HYPHEN
MARK OF SEPARATION USED BETWEEN PARTS OF A WORD.
USE A HYPHEN:
1) TO SEPARATE (JOIN) THE PARTS OF COMPOUND WORDS:
e.g. fast-moving; sister-in-law; half-asleep; X-ray; know-it-all; forty-seven; three-fourths
2) TO INDICATE THE DIVISION OF A WORD BROKEN AT THE END OF A LINE:

e.g. knowl-edge, ste-nog-ra-pher
a) Never divide a monosyllable: e.g. strength, laughed
b) Do not divide on a syllable with a silent vowel: e.g. climbed, yelled
c) Do not divide a word with only 4 letters: e.g. also, only, open
d) Divide two consonants standing between vowels: e.g. struc-ture, alter-native, exis-
ten-tialism
e) Do not divide sums of money
f) Do not divide initials in a name or in proper names
g) Do not divide units of time
Apostrophe
• In contractions (can’t)
• To form plurals (A’s)
• In place of omitted numbers or letters (class of
91’ or fixin’ to go)
• To form singular possessives (sister’s)
• To form plural possessives (girls’)
• To form shared possessives ( Jim, Jeb, and
Jerry’s fish)
Which word BEST fills in the blank in the
sentence below?
My unusual parrot ___________ eat
a single cracker.
• A. won’t
• B. wasn’t
• C. isn’t
• D. don’t
Which word BEST fills in the blank in the
sentence below?
My unusual parrot ___________ eat
a single cracker.
• A. won’t
• B. wasn’t
• C. isn’t
• D. don’t
Underlining
• For titles of plays, books, newspapers,

magazines, television programs, movies, and
CD’s
• The Wiz (play)
• Exploring an Ocean Tide Pool (book)
• Pinky and the Brain (television program)
• The Prince of Egypt (movie)
Quotation Marks
• To set off a direct quotation

• Placement of punctuation (put other marks inside of
the quotation mark)
• To punctuate titles (songs, poems, short stories, essays,
and chapters of books, articles in newspapers,
magazines, encyclopedia, or electronic sources)
• “America the Beautiful” (song)
• “McBroom Tells the Truth” (short story)
• “Water, Water Everywhere” (chapter)
Ellipsis
• USE THREE SPACED PERIODS TO

INDICATE OMISSION e.g. Osagyefo Dr. Kwame
Nkrumah said: “Our independence is meaningless…”
• To mean ‘and so on’ (e.g. There are 16 regions in
Ghana: Oti, Ashanti, Bono, Central, Nothern…
Capitalization
• Proper nouns and proper adjectives

• Names of People
• Words used as names (Mother, Father, Aunt, Uncle …
when used as a name)
• Ask Mother what we’re having for lunch. Ask my
mother what we’re having for lunch. The first
sentence mother is used as a name, in the second
sentence it describes someone.
Capitalization
• Geographic names (Earth)

• Titles used with names (Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr.)
• Historical events (Boston Tea Party)
• Abbreviations (M.D.)
• Organizations (Girl Scouts of America)
• Titles ( Beauty and the Beast)
• First words in a sentence
Capitalization
• Days and months (June, Saturday)

• Names of religions, nationalities, languages
(Christianity, Chinese, Spanish)
• Official names (Smile toothpaste)
Which change in capitalization should be
made to this sentence?
the weather is cold today.
• A. capitalize the t in the

• B. capitalize the w in weather
• C. capitalize the t in today
• D. capitalize the c in cold
the weather is cold today.
• A. capitalize the t in the

• B. capitalize the w in weather
• C. capitalize the t in today
• D. capitalize the c in cold
Marcy rode to soccer practice with edward.
• A. capitalize the r in rode

• B. use a small m in Marcy
• C. capitalize the s in soccer
• D. capitalize the e in Edward
Marcy rode to soccer practice with edward.
• A. capitalize the r in rode

• B. use a small m in Marcy
• C. capitalize the s in soccer
• D. capitalize the e in Edward
Which sentence uses correct capitalization?
• A. Have you seen “star wars”?

• B. One of the main characters is Princess leia.
• C. My favorite character is Yoda.
• D. I would like to have a ship like the
millennium falcon.
Which sentence uses correct capitalization?
• A. Have you seen “star wars”?

• B. One of the main characters is Princess leia.
• C. My favorite character is Yoda.
• D. I would like to have a ship like the
millennium falcon.
• Mission Accomplished!!
References
www.knust.edu.gh
www.knust.edu.gh
TURNITIN
Plagiarism Prevention Software
PREMPEH II LIBRARY
OUTLINE
• Overview of Turnitin
• Steps for Using:
• creating a class
• creating an assignment
• enrolling students
• submitting papers
www.knust.edu.gh
SPELLING IN
ENGLISH
OUTLINE
Definition and Origin

 BASIC RULES IN SPELLING
 MISSPELLING
Types
Causes
Solutions
Effects
 COMMON MISSPELLED WORDS
Spelling defined
Spelling is the combination of alphabetical letters to

form a written word
RULES
• Taking note of silent letters.
Silent letters are letters that are written but are not pronounced
Example: Knife, Listen
• Combination of letters
Example: Tough(f), Stomach(k)
• Making use of syllable(s)
Syllable is a unit of speech sound
Example: Wa-ter, Ex-tra-ord-in-ary
RULES
• Effects of letters in a word

• The use of certain letters in a word makes the vowels or
consonants of the word short or long
Example: Man + e = Mane, Pin + e = Pine
Exception: live, give, come etc.
A double consonant keeps a vowel short. This occurs in words

that area formed by adding a suffix to the original word
Example: Fog-Foggy, win-winning, will-willing
RULES
F, l, s, z are often doubled at the end of one-syllable words that
have a short vowel.
Example cliff, toss, hull, jazz
Exceptions: chef, was, pal
RULES
CK serves as a double consonant at the end of one-
syllable words with a short vowel
Example: clock, tick, slack, kick, etc.
C is not required before K when another consonant
follows a single vowel.
Example: walk, silk, brisk, etc.
RULES
D is used before a soft g to keep a vowel short.
Example: fudge, bridge, lodge
Exceptions: tragedy, rigid, etc.
RULES
• The ‘ie’ and ‘ei’ in words
• They often produce the sound /i:/
When the sound /i:/ is pronounced, ‘i’ comes before ‘e’
in the word.
Example: belief, siege, yield, etc.
Exception: seize, weird, protein(short but ‘e’ appears
before ‘i’
RULES
When the sound /i:/,e always comes before i.
Example, reign, neigh, vein
We can use ‘Alice’ to remember these rules
If there is an ‘i’ and ‘e’ after the consonant ‘L’, the ‘i’
comes first followed by the ‘e’. Alice
RULES
• DOUBLING OF A CONSONANT WHEN A SUFFIX IS ADDED

TO A WORD
• The final consonant of a word is doubled when adding
-ed, -ing, -er or -est. This for words that ends in b, d,
g, l, m, n, p, r, and t.
Example, running, swimming, sobbed, bigger.
RULES
The final letter is doubled when adding er in the following

pattern: ‘consonant-vowel-consonant’ occurs at the end
of a word.
Example: travel  traveller
Words of more than one syllable have their consonants

doubled only when the final syllable is stressed.
Example: BeginBeginning
o However OpenOpening
RULES
When words have more than one syllable and end in ‘l’,
British English always double the ‘l’, even in the case
of unstressed syllables.
Example British English  Fuelled
• In American English, on the other hand, the ‘l’ is not
doubled in the case of unstressed syllables.
Example Fueled
RULES
• HOW SPELLINGS AFFECTS VERBS IN OTHER TENSES

 Verbs ending in ‘c’ take a ‘k’ before ‘ing’ and ‘ed’.
• Example :PicnicPicnicking PanicPanicked
 The silent ‘e’ which occurs at the end of the words is dropped off
in the following cases.
• Example: RhymeRhyming RealiseRealising
 The final letter ‘e’ is not dropped for the words that end in ‘ee’.
• Example: SeeSeeing FleeFleeing
RULES
 Words ending in silent ‘e’ , ‘ie’ or with another vowel before

‘e’ take the suffix ‘d’.
• Example: clotheclothed Tip-toeTip-toed
SaveSaved
 For words that ends in “y”, change the “y” to “I” when adding
“ed”.
• Example: CryCried, SpySpied
RULES
 If there’s a vowel before “y” it’s retained before “ed”
• Example: PrayPrayed, SurveySurveyed
• Exceptions: PayPaid, SaySaid
 The final letter “y” does not change to “I” when adding “ing”.
• Example: FryFrying, SpySpying
MISSPELLING
• Errors made in spelling are referred to as misspelling.

• TYPES
• Incorrectly repeated consonants
• Wrong vowel
• Wrong consonant
• Reversed order of double vowels
• Extra letters
• Missing letters
Causes of Misspelling
 Mispronunciation
Homophones
Typing Errors
Different versions of spelling of words
Lack of knowledge of correct spellings
Effects of Misspelling
• Miscommunication
• Affects text comprehension
MISSPELLING
 Solutions
• Vocabulary
• Syllables
• Mnemonics
• Sounds of words
• Intonation
• Dictionary
• Ignore spelling of words by pronunciation
MISSPELLING
• Common misspelled words

Correct Wrong
Achieve Acheive
Argument Arguement
Colleague Collegue
Committee Commitee
VERSIONS OF SPELLINGS
BRITISH AMERICAN
Analyse Analyze
Defence Defense
Neighbour Neighbor
Travelled Traveled
Centre Center
Humour Humor
Litre Liter
Mission Accomplished!!!
www.knust.edu.gh
References
www.knust.edu.gh
www.knust.edu.gh
THE PARAGRAPH
Department of English
KNUST, KUMASI
Objectives
Students should
Have a better idea about when to paragraph
Learn strategies for writing a unified paragraph
Better understand what makes a coherent
paragraph
Learn methods for organizing paragraphs
Learn about how transitions contribute to a
better paragraph
www.knust.edu.gh
Students’ activity
Write a-one paragraph essay on any topic of your
choice.
www.knust.edu.gh
WHAT IS A PARAGRAPH?
From Greek word, “paragraphos.” Means a

line showing a break in sense or a change of
speakers in a dialogue
A paragraph is a group of related sentences that
develops one main idea.
It’s a self-contained unit of a discourse in
writing dealing with a particular point or idea
It’s a miniature essay.
www.knust.edu.gh
Structural Features of Paragraph
Indentation
Block
www.knust.edu.gh
When to paragraph
Whenever you move from one major point to another.

Whenever you move your readers from one time period or
location to another
Whenever you introduce a new step in a process or
sequence
When you want to emphasize an important idea.
Every time a new person speaks (dialogue).
To signal the end of your introduction and the beginning
of your conclusion.
www.knust.edu.gh
Qualities of a Good Paragraph
Unity (1)
Every sentence in the paragraph must
directly or indirectly support the main or
central idea. A sentence is thus meaningless
u n l e s s i t i s l i n ke d u p w i t h t h e t o t a l
development of the central idea.
Coherence/Cohesion (2)
• A paragraph is not a ‘forest of sentences’ rather sentences that are
interconnected/related. A good paragraph is said to be cohesive when
there is a ‘thread’ that ties all the sentences up to produce a ‘chain’.
• Well organized details
– Spatial
– Chronological
– Importance
– logical 
• A clear connection by using Linkers/connectors
• Cohesive strategies:
– Use of pronouns
– Repetition of key words
– Use of Synonyms of key words
– Use of transitional words (e.g. firstly, moreover,
Examples of Connectives/Linkers
To Signify Sequence or Addition
again, also, besides, first . . .second . . .third, furthermore,
In addition, moreover, one . . . another, too
To Signal Time
afterward, as soon as, at first, at the same time, before, earlier,
finally, in the meantime, later, meanwhile, next, now, soon,
subsequently, then, until
To Signal Comparison
also, by the the same token, in comparison, likewise, similarily
To Signal Contrast
although, but, despite, even though, however, in contrast, instead,
Meanwhile, nevertheless, nonetheless, on the contrary, on one hand . . .
on the other hand, still, whereas, yet, conversely
More
Transitions/Linkers/Connectors/
To Introduce Examples
for example, for instance, namely, specifically, thus
To Signal the Narrowing of Focus

after all, indeed, in fact, in other words, in particular, specifically, that is
To Introduce Conclusions or Summaries

as a result, consequently, in conclusion, in other words, in summary
therefore, thus, to conclude, finally
To Signal Concession to Another Perspective

admittedly, certainly, granted, naturally, of course
To Introduce Causes or Effects

accordingly, as a result, because, consequently, hence, since, so, then, therefore
Completeness (3)
• It means that the central idea captured in the

paragraph must fully developed.
• Some main ideas sometimes suffer:
1. under-development
2. overdevelopment: The writer may even end up repeating
ideas.
3. wrong development : A different idea, rather than the
one stated, is developed.
Thus, a good paragraph is a
UCC paragraph.
Rearrange
1. It contains, of course, the meanings of difficult
words. 2. One of the most important reference tools
that you must possess is a dictionary. 3. It also gives
you the pronunciation of the words. 4. You do possess
one, perhaps, but I doubt whether you are aware of
the different kinds of information it contains. 5. The
dictionary can be referred to for the various
grammatical forms of the words. 6. Every college
dictionary should provide at least these four kinds of
information about words, namely, pronunciation,
meaning, grammatical patterns and usage. 7. Finally, a
good dictionary contains illustrative sentences or
phrases, showing how words are actually used.
Rearranged Paragraph
2 One of the most important reference tools that you must
possess is a dictionary. 4 You do possess one, perhaps, but I
doubt whether you are aware of the different kinds of
information it contains. 1 It contains, of course, the meanings
of difficult words. 3 It also gives you the pronunciation of the
words. 5 The dictionary can be referred to for the various
grammatical forms of the words. 7 Finally, a good dictionary
contains illustrative sentences or phrases, showing how words
are actually used. 6 Every college dictionary should provide at
least these four kinds of information about words, namely,
pronunciation, meaning, grammatical patterns and usage.
www.knust.edu.gh
Types of paragraph
There are four types of paragraphs that you

need to know about: descriptive, narrative,
expository, and argumentative. A quick
search around the internet will yield other
types, but to keep this simple, it's a good
idea to consider just these four.
The narrative paragraph
This type of paragraph tells a story. There's a sequence of
action or there's a clear beginning, middle, and end to
the paragraph.
• Tells a story
• Uses specific details
• Is not a mere listing of events- it has characters, setting, conflict, and
resolution
– Time and place are usually established
• Usually chronologically organized
• The narrative paragraph. The narration is about a serie of events, and
it has an organized, logical sequence: ★ Beginning ★ Middle ★
End. In the narrative is important to write where did the events
happen, when, how, and the characters.
The descriptive paragraph
This type of paragraph describes something

and shows the reader what a thing or a
person is like. The words chosen in the
description often appeal to the five senses
of touch, smell, sight, hearing, and taste.
The expository paragraph
This type of paragraph explains something or
provides instruction. It could also describe a
process and move the reader step by step
through a method. This type of paragraph often
requires research, but it's possible that the writer
is able to rely on his or her own knowledge and
expertise.
The argumentative paragraph
This type of paragraph tries to get the reader to accept a
particular point of view or understand the writer's
position. This is the type of paragraph that many teachers
focus on because it's useful when building an argument.
It often requires the collection of facts and research.
• Calls reader to action or to take a stand on an
important issue
• More than just opinion is needed; information,
analysis, and context must be given to the reader
to let him/her make a decision
The real vs ideal: What writers really
do
• It important to point out that many
paragraphs are a combination of these
fo u r t y p e s , b u t fo r t h e p u r p o s e o f
instruction, let's consider some examples
of each:
• All writings are persuasive
Paragraph Development
Functional Sentences in a Paragraph
1. Topic sentence
2. Major supporting sentence
3. Minor supporting sentence
4. Concluding sentence
5. Transitional sentence
Topic sentence (1)
• It is the sentence that contains the main idea

developed in a paragraph.
• Tells what your paragraph is going to be about.
• Expresses the main idea of a paragraph.
• Contains the central idea.
• Is also the most general sentence in a paragraph.
Examples of Topic Sentence
• There are many reasons that I love to teach.
First of all, I love to teach because I love being
at school. Another reason I love teaching is
that the days go by quickly. A third reason I
love to teach is because I love seeing a student
understand something new. Finally, I love to
teach because I love to be around kids. These
are just a few reasons I love to teach.
Types of Topic Sentence
– Explicit: It is directly stated in the text, such that one can
e a s i l y u n d e r l i n e i t . C o m m o n i n ex p o s i to r y a n d
argumentative discourses/writings/essays.
– Implied : It is indirectly captured. One has to read the text
and make deductions. Common in narrative and
descriptive writings.
 May be stated or unstated (implied)

 When stated in a sentence (s) by the author, the
main idea is expressed in the topic sentence(s).
Placement of topic sentences (TS)
• Three stages
1. Initial stage
2. Medial stage
3. Final stage
The positioning of a TS is informed by a number of
factors:
1. Style
2. Formality
3. The subject matter (topic)
4. Purpose of writing
Explicit Topic Sentence
1The high cost of college causes many problems for
students today. 2For one thing, it keeps some students from
attending college in the first place. 3Also, high tuitions affect
the amount of time available for study. 4Because loans and
scholarships are not easy to get, many students have to put
in numerous hours at work in order to afford an education.
5Finally, those who do manage to get loans know they must
begin their careers with large debts.
www.knust.edu.gh
Practicing Implied Main Ideas
Read to discover the implied main idea in this paragraph:

1College students must attend classes for several hours each day.
2When in class, they must listen carefully to their professors and take
careful notes. 3In addition, students must spend many hours reading
difficult textbooks that deal with many varied subjects. 4Furthermore,
college
students must take a few hours daily to complete homework assignments
and to prepare for regular exams. 5Besides all this, they must frequently
do research papers and write essays.
The best statement of the implied main idea for the
previous paragraph is:
1. Taking notes is a difficult task for many students.

2. College students have to do a lot of homework.
3. Tests and research are very important requirements
for college students.
4. College students must spend much time doing
everything that is required of them.
Keep these suggestions in mind.
 The topic sentence must include the topic within it.
 A topic sentence must NOT include details; it is a general

sentence.
 A topic sentence must NOT contain transitions (terms like

“for instance,” “second,” “in addition”) which suggest examples.
 A topic sentence may end in a plural noun or contain a plural

noun that is a general term for the supporting details.
 A sentence that is followed by a statement with a contrast

term is NOT the topic sentence.
Supporting sentences
• Develop, explain and support the main idea of the
paragraph.
• They come after the topic sentence
• They make up the body of the paragraph
• They give details and support the main idea
• Give supporting facts, details, and examples
• Contains facts, examples and details.
• Explains why the main idea it’s true.
• Forms of Supporting Sentences
– Major Supporting Sentence
– Minor Supporting Sentence
Major Supporting Sentence
(MaSS) (2)
• This is the sentence that directly develop the topic
sentence. NB: There can be more than one major
supporting sentences in a paragraph.
1. I am pursuing higher education for a number of
reasons.
2. One, I want to obtain a good first degree in my area of
study so that I can further to become the professor I
have conceived to be.
Sentence 1: Topic Sentence
Sentence 2: Major supporting Sentence
Minor Supporting sentence (MiSS)
(3)
• It indirectly develops the topic sentence BUT directly develops
the major supporting sentence. NB: There can be more than one
MiSS to a MaSS.
• …………………………………………………………………………
……………………………….
1. I am pursuing higher education for a number of reasons. 2. One, I
want to obtain a good first degree in my area of study so that I can
further to become the professor I have conceived to be. 3. I want to
be an internationally acclaimed practicing academic nurse/professor
in pediatrics. 4. In fact, I conceived this vision when I was made to
act as a nurse in a sketch at class five.
Sentence 1: Topic sentence
Sentence 2: Major supporting Sentence
Sentence 3: 1st Minor Supporting Sentence to Sentence 2
Sentence 4: 2nd Minor Supporting sentence to sentence 2
Concluding sentence (4)
• The concluding sentence mostly is the last

sentence in a paragraph. It’s optional… but
good to have one.
• It..
1. re-states the topic sentence in a paragraph
2. summarizes the main views in the body pf the
paragraph
3. may give writer ’s final remark on a topic
sentence
Transitional sentence (5)
• I t a n n o u n c e s t h e ‘c o m i n g ’ o f t h e
subsequent paragraph. It’s optional.
• The last sentence of a paragraph (instead
of closing sentence)
• Closes one topic while leading into the
next
• Summarize main idea of paragraph and
hint at topic for next one
Paragraph Analysis
1 THE PERIOD BETWEEN 1972 AND 1982 WAS THE DARKEST IN

GHANA’S POST-INDEPENDENCE HISTORY. 2First, it was characterized
by political instability. 3There were as many as five change of government
within this period –N. R. C. (1972), S. M. C. I (1975), S. M. C. II (1978), A. F.
R. C. (1979), P. N. P. (1979), P. N. D. C. (1981). 4 In addition, political
rulership changed frequently between different forms of military
dictatorship and totalitarianism and liberal democracy. 5The economy of the
country suffered a heavy setback during this period. 6Inflation was higher
than it had ever been. 7Per capita income was lowest, and there was a serious
scarcity of everyday essential commodities. 8Further, economic malpractice
reached an alarming height. 9The depression of the period was manifested at
the social level also. 10 Hard-work gave way to theft and laziness; and
prostitution aggravated. 11Honesty gave way to deceit. 12Ghanaians were
taught disobedience, and hate the owners of property and to punish them
for acquiring property. (Source: Sekyi-Baidoo, 2003)
Paragraph Analysis
• Sentence 1: Topic Sentence
• Sentence 2: 1st Major supporting Sentence
• Sentence 3: 1st Minor Supporting Sentence to sentence 2
• Sentence 4: 2nd Minor Supporting Sentence to sentence 2
• Sentence 5: 2nd Major Supporting Sentence
• Sentence 8: 3rd Minor Supporting Sentence to sentence 5
• Sentence 9: 3rd Major Supporting Sentence
• Sentence 12: 3rd Minor Supporting Sentence to sentence 9
Two main categories of people exist in this world –troublemakers and trouble-
shooters. 2The former are people who mastermind all the chaos and atrocities
in this world.3 Talk of the two world wars and you will have them around their
remote and immediate causes.4 All the things in this world which are anti-
human are the works of their hands, heads and hearts. 5Examples of these
ungodly activities are human tracking, child abuse, same-sex intercourse,
cyber crimes, armed robbery and the likes. 6It is surprising that even though
these people are God’s creations, they rather do not have the loving spirit of
God in them. 7But thank God for the existence of the other category of people
who aims at transforming what the troublemakers have deformed. 8 For
instance, when the troublemakers created virus, they manufactured anti-virus.
9They help create home for refugees who, due to the nefarious activities of the
troublemakers, are homeless 10 Without trouble-shooters, there will be no

‘heavens’ for those who have been made victims in the ‘hells’ created by the
troublemakers. 11Really, they make bitter life better to people. 12Indeed, it is
always good to have an eraser wherever there are pencils.
1Some scholars maintain that there are two broad causes of climate change.
2Truly, the earth’s climate is influenced and changed through natural causes.
3When volcano erupts, it throws out large volumes of sulphur dioxide (SO2),
water vapour, dust, and ash into the atmosphere. 4Although, the volcanic
activity may last for a few days, the large volumes of gases and ash can
influence climatic patterns for years. 5Millions of tonnes of sulphur dioxide
gas can reach the upper levels of the atmosphere (called the atmosphere)
from a major eruption. 6The gases and dust particles partially block the
incoming rays of the sun, leading to cooling. 7 But the world climate is not
only changing through a natural dynamic cycle but also what the world is
worried about is that the change that is occurring today has been speeded
up by human activities. 8So, there are three types of human activities which
contribute to climate change. 9Industrialization is listed by scientists as the
most significant human cause of climate change.10Indeed, climate change
can be said to be a negative consequence of both human-related and natural
f a c t o r s .
1 The discovery of oil in Ghana in commercial quantities is a blessing to all.
2 First, it has provided employment opportunities for many people. 3 Many
skilled professionals such as engineers, accountants and managers, as well

many unskilled workers such as labourers and cleaners are gainfully employed
in the various oil drilling companies. 4Apart from these categories of people
who are directly employed in the oil companies, private businessmen, traders
and wayside hawkers alike are also indirectly involved in the oil business.
5Second, the drilling of oil in Ghana is a major foreign exchange earner for the
country. 6Like gold, cocoa and bauxite, the oil that is sent out of the country
brings in substantial revenue which is used in infrastructural development such
as building of schools, hospitals, and roads. 7In addition, the discovery of oil in
Ghana has made us less-dependent on other oil-producing countries for our
petroleum product needs, thereby saving us costs. 8 Finally, every worker
employed directly or indirectly in the oil industry is required by law to pay tax.
9 Such taxes also help in the growth of the economy of the country. 10 It is
therefore not surprising that all political regimes Ghana has had have made
efforts to discover oil in commercial quantities.
1The internet is one of the most useful inventions of our time but, like all useful
things, its abuse can be very worrying. 2The World Wide Web, as it is sometimes
called, serves the triple function of informing, educating and entertaining.3 it is
easy enough to pick the latest news and other happenings around the world in real
time, as well as follow events as they occur. 4The net also makes it possible for
researchers, teachers and students to access the needed information, most of
which is free. 5Teachers, for instance, can use information from the net to put
together their teaching notes while students can also complement what they learn
in class with additional information from the net. 6Social media like Facebook,
Instagram and Twitter also help to connect people around the world to share ideas
and follow their interests. 7The net also provides opportunities for entertainment
where people can watch movies on the net and follow sporting events including
soccer, which most of us are fond of. 8However, many people, especially young
persons, can easily be influenced negatively by some of the harmful information
on the net. 9Sadly, there are many sites that promote pornography, violence and
religious radicalism. 10 The internet may be a blessing, but we must also be
mindful of the potential harm it can cause us.
Strategies for paragraph development
By this we mean how to develop the topic sentence

in a paragraph
www.knust.edu.gh
Definition 1
A number of factors account for why most first year
students boast of enviable CWA after the first
semester. CWA refers to...
www.knust.edu.gh
Explanation 2
semester. These factors can classified as social,
academic, financial, emotional or psychological
www.knust.edu.gh
Exemplification 3
For instance, for example, a case is…
semester. One of those factors is relative financial
stability. Because their admission fees usually
include hostel fees and other academic user fees, it
takes a chunk of what may be considered as ‘post-
first year financial worries’. As result, they have
mental tranquility to undertake their academic
responsibilities which include attending lectures,
doing assignments, etc. www.knust.edu.gh
Description 4
Appeal to the senses (at least one) of the readers.
One of the factors of teenage pregnancy in postmodern
Ghana is broken home. A ‘home’ as we all know is a place
of peace, belongingness, security, we-feeling, and any
good thing that contribute to a positive self-image of an
individual. But when it is said to be ‘broken’, the ‘can’t be
held and therefore mere anarchy is loose upon the hitherto
abode of joy. Father, who is the head (the roofing), is
therefore disconnected from the mother and therefore the
children are in most cases left to fend for themselves.
Thus,… www.knust.edu.gh
Compare and contrast 5
This strategy teases out the similarities and

differences by using appropriate conjunctions.
E.g.
www.knust.edu.gh
Some FAQs
1.H o w l o n g i s a g o o d
paragraph?
2. Is there a one-sentence
paragraph?
3. How does paragraph differ
from paragraphing?
www.knust.edu.gh
SEE YOU IN THE NEXT
LECTURE!!!
www.knust.edu.gh
ENGL 157: COMMUNICATION SKILLS I
Lecture 13: Text Comprehension & Summary Writing

AIMS OF THE LECTURE
The aims of this lecture are as follows:
to introduce students to how to read comprehension texts

to discuss how to answer comprehension questions
to learn about summary and how to write a summary of a text
www.knust.edu.gh
2
READING & COMPREHENSION
• Reading is not merely a physical or visual contact with written symbols. It is rather a way of
decoding, interpreting or making meaning from these symbols.
• Two kinds of reading can be discussed, which are reading aloud and reading for
comprehension.
- Reading Aloud: Generally occurs during early years, and the focus is to help readers
acquaint themselves with the relationship between the alphabetic symbols, or their
combinations, and the sounds associated with them.
- Reading for comprehension: This is the kind of reading which involves the understanding of
the phonetic components and the meanings that are embedded in the stresses and intonations.
Reading here is a direct relationship between orthography (writing) and meaning.
www.knust.edu.gh
3
IMPORTANCE OF READING
• It gives a reader/person access to (new) information.
• It enables a reader/person to crosscheck information received from
other people.
• Reading helps a reader/person to do revision to what has been written.
• Reading helps a reader/person to know the demands of questions and
other instructions.
www.knust.edu.gh
4
COMPREHENSION
• Comprehension is the understanding and interpretation of what is read. To be
able to accurately understand written materials, learners need to be able to
achieve the following:
- decode what they read;
- make connections between what they read and what they already
know; and
- think deeply about what they have read.
(Wornyo 2013)
www.knust.edu.gh
5
COMPREHENSION
con’t
• One big part of comprehension is having sufficient vocabulary, or knowing the
meanings of enough words.
• Readers who have strong comprehension are able to draw conclusions about
what they read – what is important, what is a fact, what caused an event to
happen, which characters are funny. Thus, comprehension involves combining
reading with thinking and reasoning.
(readingrockets.org)
www.knust.edu.gh
6
COMPREHENSION
•con’t
Thus, comprehension involves applying various skills to make sense of what one reads
and hears.
• On the other hand, comprehension skills involve the ability to use context and previous
knowledge to enhance reading and understanding. These skills include the following:
- knowing the meanings of words (vocabulary)
- detecting key words, such as those identifying topics and ideas
- guessing meaning from context
- recognizing grammatical word classes
- knowing how words combine to form bigger units of meaning (syntax)
- detecting sentence constituents, such as subject, verb, object, etc.
- recognizing typical word-order patterns
- recognizing cohesive devices
- using prediction as an aid to reading
(Afful, Appiah & Mensah 2013)
www.knust.edu.gh
7
TECHNIQUES IN READING A COMPREHENSION TEXT
• Skimming: This is a reading technique that aims at understanding or obtaining facts. It does
not seek to identify words, figures, or phrases, but rather to identify the gist of a
story or text.
• Scanning: It involves reading rapidly for a specific facts in the material. This is a reading
exercise to identify or locate some word, expression or figure on a written or
typed text.
• Close reading: This reading technique aims at yielding the full meaning of a text.
NB: Extensive Reading (thus, reading to get oneself informed) Vs.

Intensive reading (thus, reading to gain deep knowledge; usually for professional
or academic purposes.
www.knust.edu.gh
8
IMPORTANCE OF GOOD COMPREHENSION SKILLS
It is important to acquire good comprehension skills because of the following:
- it helps us to increase our knowledge

- it helps us to enrich our vocabulary
- it enhances our ability to communicate with others
- it helps us to exhibit the appropriate emotional responses to what we read or listen to
- it helps us to develop critical thinking skills
- it makes us observant readers and keen listeners
(Afful, Appiah & Mensah 2013)
www.knust.edu.gh
9
STRATEGIES IN UNDERSTANING COMPREHENSION
1. The use of transitions: Knowing the functions of transitions will guide the reader to
be able to locate important points in passages. As the reader begins to take notice of
transitions and their functions, this will serve as discourse signals that will direct
them to vital information in the text. Transitions carry the reader across from one
thought or idea to the other. (e.g. transitions that show addition – also, in addition,
furthermore; transition that show contract – but, however, yet; etc.)
2. Identifying main ideas: Reading and identifying what the main point of the author
is would help the reader to improve upon their comprehension of text and to
answer comprehension questions accurately and appropriately. In text construction,
a paragraph is considered as a unit of information unified by a controlling idea (main
idea).
www.knust.edu.gh
10
STRATEGIES IN UNDERSTANING COMPREHENSIONS
con’t
3. Patterns of organization: A reader is able to understand a comprehension passage by
knowing the principles that govern paragraph structure and patterns of organization.
Authors will help readers in understanding a comprehension passage by introducing the
main ideas, and arranging the supporting details in several common patterns including
cause and effect, comparison and/or contrast, and time order relation.
4. Drawing inferences: The reader’s ability to discover ideas not stated explicitly or
directly in the text in important for a full understanding of what the author means.
Drawing inferences from what we read involves discovering the ideas that are not stated
directly and this can be achieved by using one’s experiences and general knowledge to
make informed guesses based on facts observed.
www.knust.edu.gh
11
TYPES OF COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
• Content Questions: These are questions that the answers can be found directly in the passage (the
comprehension text). Such questions begin with who, when, what, how, which, etc.
• Inferential/Deductive Questions: These are questions that the answers cannot be found directly in the
passage but there are cues in the passage for you to deduce the answer.
• Appreciative Questions (questions on figures of speech): These are questions about the writer’s choice of
words. (e.g. the use of simile, metaphor, etc.)
• Vocabulary in Context Questions: These questions require providing a word or a phrase that means the
same and can be used to replace a word used in the passage. These questions are answered appropriately by
taking the context in which the word is used into consideration, and not necessarily the dictionary meaning
of the word in question.
• Summary Type Questions: These questions require stating only the main idea(s).
• Quoting: These questions require that you quote a portion of the text to support your answer or opinion.
www.knust.edu.gh
12
SOME FIGURES OF SPEECH USE IN COMPREHENSION
•
TEXTS
Simile
• Metaphor
• Personification
• Irony
• Paradox
• Oxymoron
• Euphemism
• Hyperbole
• Homophones
• Idioms
www.knust.edu.gh
13
READING TECHNIQUE: “SQ3R”
• The SQ3R study method is a popular system designed to strengthen students’ reading muscles.
• One of the greatest benefits of SQ3R technique is that it helps you understand more of what you are
reading, especially when you are reading it the first time.
• SQ3R stands for:

- Survey
- Question
- Read
- Recite
- Review
(www.khanacademy.org)
www.knust.edu.gh
14
READING TECHNIQUE: “SQ3R” con’t
• Step-by-step approach:
- Step 1: Survey: Do not jump straight into reading the passage; glace through or survey the passage to
identify the subject matter, the point of view, and the overall purpose of the passage.
- Step 2: Question: After surveying or glancing through the passage and you are interested, then come
up with a couple of questions about the passage. E.g. What is this passage about? Why does
this passage exist? What question is this passage trying to answer?
- Step 3: Read (R1): Start reading the passage – actively. (e.g. Underline and/or circle claims;
Underline and/or circle key words; Make quick notes in the margins of the passage, etc.)
- Step 4: Recite (R2): This is the most important part of effective Active Reading. The second "R"
stands for Recite – in your own words.
- Step 5: Review (R3): Once you reach the end of the passage, say back to yourself what the point of
the whole passage is - again, using your own words.
(www.khanacademy.org)
www.knust.edu.gh
15
STRATEGIES IN ANSWERING COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
• Take note of what exactly a question requires that you do.
• Make sure that there is no grammatical/expression error in your answers.
• Avoid lifting a sentence that contains elements of the required answer from the passage.
• Where another word/expression is expected to be given to replace a word/expression in the passage,
consider all options that come to your mind critically to pick the one that fits in perfectly.
• Candidates’ knowledge of grammatical units is also tested in the comprehension exercises. This makes
a demand on candidates’ ability to recognize the different word classes, phrases, and clause structures as
well as their grammatical functions in contexts.
• A good knowledge of the commonest figurative expressions like simile, metaphor, onomatopoeia, and
idiomatic expressions is necessary for comprehension to take place.
• Limit your answers to the information contained in or can be inferred from the passage before you.
www.knust.edu.gh
16
PRACTICAL SESSION ON COMPREHENSION TEXTS
Discussion of sample comprehension texts and how to answer

comprehension questions
www.knust.edu.gh
17
SUMMARY WRITING
• A summary is a shortened form of a text.

• Writing a summary involves writing someone else’s piece of work or writing in your
own words as much as possible and presenting the original work very briefly.
• It involves the attempt to reduce a whole text or paragraph to about a third of its length.
• It also involves a brief statement of the main points of a piece of writing.
www.knust.edu.gh
18
KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF A SUMMARY
• A summary re-states. Thus, when writing a summary it must restate what the original
writer has said and not comments or judgements on the piece of writing.
• A summary must be brief.
• It must focus on the essential points only. Descriptive details and examples are not
included in a summary. When writing a summary, it is important to distinguish between
the main points and the illustrative details.
• It must be in your own words as much as possible.
www.knust.edu.gh
19
GUIDELINES IN WRITING A GOOD SUMMARY
In order to write a good summary, it is important to take note of the following:
• The main idea of each paragraph in the text
• The supporting ideas
• Transitional markers/sentence modifiers
www.knust.edu.gh
20
GUIDELINES IN WRITING A GOOD SUMMARY con’t
When writing the summary there are three main requirements:
1. The summary should cover the original as a whole.

2. The material should be presented in a neutral fashion.
3. The summary should be a condensed version of the material, presented in your own
words.
www.knust.edu.gh
21
ANSWERING SUMMARY QUESTIONS
For instance: Read the passage below carefully and then answer in your own words, as far as possible, the
questions on it. In such a questions, what you need to do is:
• To remove all examples which are meant for clarification

• To remove all parenthetical examples
• To avoid rhetorical questions
• To exclude any ideas that are not stated in the passage
• To note that in summarizing, the points in the summary do not correspond sentence by sentence, with the
passage
• To note that you are not to put in more than one idea in one sentence unless the question expressly asks
for more than one idea
• To watch out for the writer’s use of signal words or linking expressions such as again, next, one, two, two,
additionally, etc.
• To note that some writers may sometimes use the first paragraph (and second) to make general comments
but the main points may not be found there
• Exclude illustrations
www.knust.edu.gh
22
PRACTICAL SESSION ON SUMMARY WRITING
Discussion of sample texts and how to summarize them
www.knust.edu.gh
23
REFERENCES
• Afful, K. P., Appiah, B. F. & Mensah, I. C. (2013). Composition and Comprehension.
Winneba: UEW.
• Appiah, B. F. (2013). English Comprehension and Summary with Tit-Bits inn Literary
Devices Practice. Kumasi: Wilas Press.
• Adolinama, P. P. (2005). Communication Skills for University Students. Accra: ANEST
Company Limited.
• Sekyi-Baidoo, Y. (2003). Learning and communicating (2nd Ed.). Accra: Infinity Graphics
Ltd.
• Olatunji, S. O. (2014). Reading Comprehension and Summary Skills. [url:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259752916]
• www.khanacademy.org: https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/sat/new-sat-tips-
planning/sat-reading-test-strategies/a/sat-active-reading-strategies-part-1-sq3r [Accessed on
January 17, 2021]
www.knust.edu.gh
24

Comskills Binder by Hannah Charkour Ayeh

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Comskills Binder by Hannah Charkour Ayeh

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Comskills Binder by Hannah Charkour Ayeh

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

HANNAH CHARKOUR AYEH

COHSS SECRETARY ‘23

They are: Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs,

They have been categorized into lexical items and

• The lexical items are: Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives and

By form, we mean the shape that it can take, how it is

By position, we mean the kind of words that it occurs

By function, we mean its usage or its role in a sentence.

• Most count nouns form their plural by adding ‘s’. E.g.

• Nouns which end in ‘y’ that follow a consonant form their

• Some non-count nouns retain their form whether singular

Plural nouns which end in ‘s’ indicate possession with

Plural nouns which do not end in ‘s’ indicate possession

NB: Read on Types of Nouns and other ways by which

• Nouns can be identified based on their positions in

• In sentences, nouns come after determiners (a, an, the, his,

• Proper nouns do not take determiners unless in certain

• Grammatically, the subject of a sentence agrees in number

• In other instances, the indirect object comes before the

• Nouns as well as other items such as noun phrases, noun

They are also called object complements when they directly

A noun, a pronoun, a noun phrase or a noun clause set

There are other instances where the appositive precedes

Identification of verbs based on their positions

Verbs as expressing processes

NB: Read on other types of verbs

The comparative is used when two items are being

The superlative is used when three or more items are

• Adjectives can also occur predicatively. This means they can

It must be indicated that adverb phrases can also

1. Adverbs are used to indicate time.

The non-lexical items do not carry semantic content. This

The non-lexical items are: prepositions, pronouns,

NB: It must be noted that the closed word classes do not

Prepositions are words that link nouns, pronouns and phrases

A word or phrase that a preposition introduces is called the

For example in the sentence, “The book is leaning on the

Prepositions normally precede their objects.

NB: The word complement is being used here in a

This is usually referred to as the object of the

The complement may be a pronoun, noun phrase or a

Prepositions fall into different types. These types have

Some of the types and their uses are presented in the

We use at to designate specific times.

We use on to designate days and dates.

We use in for non-specific times during the day, month,

We use at for specific addresses.

We use on to designate names of streets, avenues, etc.

We use in for the names of land-areas (towns, countries,

We use to in order to express movement towards a place.

Toward and towards are also helpful prepositions to

Example of a pronoun as an object

“I” and “We” are the first person pronouns in English.

“He”, “She”, “It” and “They” are the third person

E.g. She is a lecturer.

A demonstrative pronoun points to, and identifies a

The interrogative pronouns introduce questions.

Whereas “who” and “whom” are used to refer to people,

What did he say to you?

Read on relative pronouns, indefinite pronouns,