BRICKS AND RUDIMENTS OF COMMUNICATION IN ENGLISH

BY

NWAUGO GOODSEED OCHULOR (PhD)

Languages and Literary Studies

Babcock University
ochulorn@[Link]

This book is divided into three sections. The first section deals with skills of
communication; the second, grammar and language; and the third, miscellaneous English

INTRODUCTION

English Language and the Nigerian Populace

English language has been domesticated in Nigeria. This is as a result of its use in
communication situations alien to its culture. In addition, it is the official language of the country
used in the areas of education, religion, entertainment, politics, music, job interviews, media,
legislature, judiciary etc. Beyond these levels, it has come to compete with the mother tongue in
most homes where it has acquired the status of either “first language” or “second language”.

The mother tongue (MT) is the original language of a people or a place. To a child, the mother
tongue is the language of the parents. But it is unfortunate that most homes do not have mother
tongue any more. Children born into such homes are introduced to English language. In this
respect, English becomes their “first language” as it is the first language they acquired; whereas
they do not have a mother tongue. The second situation is the case where a child is introduced to
the mother tongue as his first language and later, through education and contact in the
neighborhood, the child acquires English language. In this situation, the child’s mother tongue
becomes his first language while English becomes his second language. It is under the situation
two that English is regarded as a second language in Nigeria. As a second language, it has
acquired the status of official language; that is a language adopted by the government for official
purposes. The multiplicities of the different languages spoken in Nigeria are referred to as
mother tongues and first language situations, since they had been before the advent of English
language. This is buttressed further by the fact that no ethnic group in Nigeria speaks English
language as their mother tongue.
Communication situations can be both technical and non-technical. Every communication event
has its vocabulary and style, and one of the aims of being educated is to function linguistically in
one’s field. The tool to get this done in Nigeria remains English. And since the above is the case,
there is the need for proper harmonization of what to teach and how to teach it so as to give
every learner of English language enough competence to learn other subjects and also to perform
in any official situation in the country and the globe; wherever the language is used.

Therefore, the teaching of English language at this level should raise the student’s sophistication
in the language use to a level where the student can effectively flow in all the activities that are
gainful towards his study in the university. This means that the teaching of “Use of English” or
“Communication in English” is important and should be geared towards developing students
communication skills; the skills of reading, listening, speaking and writing. We will at this
juncture look at these language skills.

LANGUAGE/ COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Language is a tool for communication. Communication is the exchange/ interchange of, sharing
of, or passing across of information, message, emotions, feelings, ideas, thoughts, convictions etc
from one person or group to another. These are accomplished by the use of the four language
skills namely- listening, reading, speaking and writing skills. These four skills are broadly
divided into two namely-receptive skills and expressive skills.

These can be further represented thus:

Language/
Communication
Skills

Receptive Skills Expressive skills

Listening Reading Speaking Writing

The expressive skills are used to express or give out information, opinions, feelings, ideas,
beliefs, and world views among others while the receptive skills are used to acquire information,
opinions, feelings, ideas, beliefs and world views. These could be through verbal or non-verbal,
oral or written communication.

Stages in the Communication Process

There are different stages in the communication process which are essential for effective
communication to take place. Put differently, for effective communication to take place, these
stages are important. These can be summarized as follows:

Source/ message channel receiver/ response/

encoder decoder feedback

The source conceives a message, idea or thought and encodes that into an understandable
message and chooses an appropriate channel to transmit the message to a receiver who decodes
appropriately the message and responds or sends a feedback. This process can be intercepted or
hindered by some forces.

Factors that Hinder Effective Communication

1. Noise
Noise is anything that hinders the effective encoding, transmiting or decoding of an information
or a message. This means that noise can take place during the encoding, channeling or decoding
stages and when this happens, communication has failed.

Sources of Noise

(i) External factors: These include noise from people, machines, rain etc from the encoder
and the decoder’s surroundings.
(ii) Physiological factors: These include biological factors that affect accurate encoding or
decoding of messages.
(iii) Psychological factors: These include forces or emotions within a person that affect what
is composed or what is decoded, such as biases, prejudices, mistrust, lack of interest etc.
iv) Cultural factors: These include personal experiences, beliefs and background, practices
and traditions that influence how messages are encoded and decoded.
2. Wrong Medium/Channel: The choice of an unsuitable medium or channel will lead to a
breakdown in the communication process.

3. Wrong Timing: Not taking into consideration the right time to send a particular message
can hinder the message i.e. know when the message is most appropriate for your
audience.

4. Mechanical Barrier: Hazy voice in a telephone, dim light, breaking sounds from a
microphone etc. can delimit the amount of message received.
5. Choice of Words: Wrong choice of words, technical words, accent, etc. can hinder
communication success.

Types of Communication

i. Intra-personal – this has to do with communication within oneself

ii. Inter-personal – this involves communication between or among two or more people and groups

iii. Small group –this involves a group with a leader usually to solve a problem

iv. Public communication – A speaker addresses an audience e.g. public presentations, lectures,
sermons etc.

v. Mass Communication –this is a Media mediated communication through which messages are
created for a large audience, e.g. TV, Magazine, Newspaper (sights and sounds/ written and oral).

Uses of Communication
To warn
To instruct
To deliberate/assess
To relay experience
To educate
To persuade
To inform
To explain /clarify
To Advertise

FORMS OF COMMUNICATION

1. Verbal communication: Verbal communication is said to be vocal as it involves the use

of the voice and the ear. It is also referred to as oral communication. It is a two way
process that involves two or more people. It gives room for immediate feedback, makes
 room for adjustment in message passed for clearer understanding and grants quick
decision making for participants, e.g. interviews, meetings, telephone conversations, etc.

2. Non-verbal communication: This involves passing of information or message using:

(i) Kinesics: through the use of body language (kinetics), such a facial expression,
gestures, movements (up and down, leisurely strolling, shuffling of legs).
(ii) Proxemics: This uses shaking of hands, clasping, positioning, distance, posture –
standing position, sitting position.
(iii) Paralinguistic: This encompasses all forms or ways of passing across message
without words.

3. Written Communication: This is a communication process that uses letters, Braille or

any other graphic device to convey messages.

Communication Styles

This refers to the manner by which an individual communicates. It includes the strategies
employed by a communicator, both verbally and non-verbally in the communication process to
achieve the purpose of communication. Four styles are discussed here.

i. Aggressive style: The aggressive style is used by communicators to maintain a firm stand
as regards their point of view but they care less about pushing their point of view, as whether it
violates other people’s rights or not. Invariably, aggressive communicators do not care about the
feelings of others as long as they have their way. Such individuals can make others feel insecure
and their views of less importance.

ii. Passive style: Most passive communicators have low self-esteem of themselves which
make them admit others views as superior to theirs even when it is obvious that they have
superior arguments and that admitting others views violate their rights. Passive communicators
relegate their interests to the background and advance others interest.

iii. Manipulative style: Manipulative communicators make effort to dominate the

communication process to their advantage without revealing their intentions to the other party.
They employ hidden intentions and strategies that do not appear harmful to others but which
make others take decisions that are not to their own best interest, rather, to the interest of the
manipulator.
iv. Assertive style: Assertive communicators are straightforward communicators. They are
firm in asserting their point of view and this is done in a positive way. They are mindful of their
self-worth i.e. they protect their self-worth and respect the rights of those they communicate
with.
READING

Reading is a process that involves the eyes pick symbols and codes and transmit same to the
brain which decodes those symbols and codes and attaches meanings to them and stores them up
for future retrieval.

Reading to Study

Plan your day’s activities

Set time for particular courses or topics
Set targets or deadlines
Manage your evening times very well
Do not always read alone
Organize tutorials or be part of one
Always have a dictionary by your side as you read

Reading Speeds

Skimming: This involves browsing a material or text with the aim of getting the general idea

Scanning: A fast reading speed used to locate a particular needed information from a text

Average/ Normal Speed Rate: used especially when studying to get details of a topic or a
subject, the main idea from the subordinate and examples.

iv Slow rate: used for reading of complex materials, for evaluation or critiquing

v. Very Fast or Rapid Speed Rate: used to improve reading speed

SQ3R Reading Strategy

S = survey –a material or text

Q = question – draw questions from the material and get answers in class

R = read – read the material with the clarifications from class

R = recite / recall = with your pen and jotter, try to recite or recall points from the text read

R = review/ revise = review or revise the jotted points and fact in preparation for exam
Types of Reading

Oral – reading with the vocal tract or oral cavity to produce sounds

Silent - the eyes picks symbols and transmit to the brain to decode into meaning

Intensive – paying attention to linguistic details= grammatical and discourse markers

Extensive – reading to get a general overview of a text

Critical reading - requires understanding of the context or background of the text, and reading in-
between lines

Note Taking
Note taking is a very important aspect of studying; whether in the class during lectures, tutorials
or when studying alone. The most effective note is not the one dictated by the lecturer in the
class but the ones you jotted as the lecturer explains or illustrates what he teaches and the ones
you made while reading on your own. To make the best of every lecture situation and reading-
study time, take your own personal notes.
WHY?
i. It helps you jot down the main points or ideas from a lecture or topic.
ii. It gives you the opportunity of additional information or illustrations or examples
from the lecturer.
iii. What you are able to put down in your own words has become clear in your mind
and will not easily erase.
iv. It is a way of assessing yourself to know if you acquired some knowledge.
v. The notes you make becomes very handy during revision.
vi. Because the note is expressed in your own words, it shows you have understood the
topic or material and this can give you an opportunity to form your own opinion on
the topic.

The Make –up of Your Note

i. Jot down main points and subordinate points

ii. Explain them briefly in your own words; if possible attach a skeletal illustration

iii. You can use chart or graph to represent you study.

iv. Note where a lecturer emphasizes

v. Don’t wait to write every word in full rather develop your own symbols, acronyms, or
abbreviation so as to catch up with lecturer’s speed.

vi. make your notes from the lecturer’s explanations

vii. When you read a topic, try to make a brief summary in your own words

Common Faults with Reading

i. Head movement: the attention is drawn away / it distracts

ii. Pointing to Words: This is done using finger, pen, pencil, or ruler to point at [Link].
The eyes are slowed down; phrases and sentences are not taken together as a group
thereby affecting meaning, relationship and understanding.

iii. Vocalization: The habit of saying words silently with only the lips moving and making a
sort of “sh” sound is called vocalization. It is a bad reading habit that also affects speed.

iv. Sub-Vocalization: This is a kind of internal speech. It takes place in the throat of the
reader without outward manifestation. It makes a reader concentrate on individual words.

v. Regression or Regressive eye-movement: This means glancing backwards at what one

just read. It slows down reading speed. It could be sparingly used when one wants to
confirm or internalize a point.

COMPREHENSION

This is a process of interpreting written communication and assimilating the knowledge therein.
It requires picking out salient points in a write up, understanding and interpreting them

General Strategies for Reading Comprehension

Using Prior Knowledge/Previewing
When students preview text, they tap into what they already know that will help them to
understand the text they are about to read. This provides a framework for any new
information they read.

Predicting
When students make predictions about the text they are about to read, it sets up
expectations based on their prior knowledge about similar topics.
 Identifying the Main Idea and Summarization- determine what is important and then put
it in your own words
Questioning
Asking and answering questions about text is another strategy that helps students focus
on the meaning of text.

Making Inferences
about something that is not explicitly stated in the text; learn to draw on prior knowledge
and recognize clues in the text

Visualizing
Studies have shown that students who visualize while reading have better recall than
those who do not ie, make mind image

K-W-L -Strategy
There are three steps in the K-W-L process (Ogle, 1986):

1. What I Know: Before students read the text, ask them as a group to identify what they
already know about the topic. Students write this list in the “K” column of their K-W-
L forms.
2. What I Want to Know: Ask students to write questions about what they want to learn
from reading the text in the “W” column of their K-W-L forms. For example, students
may wonder if some of the “facts” offered in the “K” column are true.
3. What I Learned: As they read the text, students should look for answers to the
questions listed in the “W” column and write their answers in the “L” column along
with anything else they learn.

READING COMPREHENSION Skills

Examples of comprehension skills that can be taught and applied to all reading situations
include:
 Summarizing
 Sequencing
 Inferencing
 Comparing and contrasting
 Drawing conclusions
 Self-questioning
 Problem-solving
 Relating background knowledge
 Distinguishing between fact and opinion
 Finding the main idea, important facts, and supporting details
These skills are particularly important for comprehending what is generally known as
information reading or expository reading

SPEAKING

Speech Making

R.W Emerson states that: “Speech is power”, “Speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel”.

This is an oral or spoken form of communication which might be written down and
delivered from a paper or off-hand. Speech making is a talk, an address or any form of oral
presentation, especially in a formal setting on a subject by a speaker and before an audience.

Factors to be considered in Speech Making

Topic: The subjects of speech making include the following: academic, cultural,
religious, political, economic, social, health, science, technology, climatic etc. and just as the
topic differs, so is the audience and the approach. Hence, the effectiveness of a speaker in
handling his topic is determined by his ability to understand himself, his topic, his audience.

1. Audience: This takes into consideration, the age, sex, religion, socio-cultural background,
economic background, educational background, occupation, time, attitude, size, setting, etc.
Speech making is not just to say your opinion, views or feelings on a subject, but a matter of
establishing facts that present you as honest, credible, just, fair and with integrity to your
audience. It is an art that involves critical thinking. Your facts must be well reasoned out and
supported with examples, evidences, illustrations, statistics, details etc.
2. Message: This takes care of what you want your audience to know which must be relevant to
them.

3. Purpose: Every speech is meant to address an issue or a problem. In this wise, the speech
should be able to get the audience reason, behave or act in a particular way. In other words, your
purpose is what you want to achieve through your topic. Speech could be made with different
purposes: to educate, inform, warn, empower, entertain, persuade, introduce, accept, satirize,
criticize, inspire etc. No matter the purpose, it is expected of a speaker to speak clearly and
speaking clearly involves carefully selecting a topic, gathering and scrutinizing the materials,
putting in mind your audience and expressing your message in the language that best conveys
your message or meaning.

Language: This also has to do with ability to choose the right words structured in simple, concise
and clear sentences that will be easy for your audience to make meanings out of. In as much as the
sentences should be simple, things must engage the audience in a way that will see, feel, identify,
remember, make connections and be encouraged to take actions. Hence, the language of speaker
helps him achieve his purpose
The vehicle that bears and bares the speaker’s mind i.e., his message and attitude towards
his subject is his language. In speech making, both linguistic and paralinguistic attitudes or
choices are very crucial to meaning interpretation. This means that choice of word, body
language, gestures, postures, eye contact, touch, dressing and dress colours, voice modulation,
must all be effective and appropriate to enhance understanding.

The language of the speaker must remain clear, concrete, concise and sometimes colourful
with imagery. Technical or professional jargons or words should be avoided except where the
audience is informed in the field of the discourse otherwise, such words should be broken down
to the level of the audience. Thus, cacophonic, jaw- breaking or multisyllabic words should be
sparingly used in other not to hinder clarity.

The Parts to a Speech

1. The opening which is usually a greeting: The greeting starts by recognizing the most
senior or the highest ranked or position office to the least position and ends with ladies
and gentlemen in most cases.
2. The Introduction: This introduces the topic as well as the purpose of the speech.

3. The Body: All the points, supported with facts and figures are arranged into different
paragraphs at the body of the speech. Each paragraph is to make its point, supported with
details, facts, examples, illustration statistics etc. The paragraphs are to be linked together
using transitional or linking words. This gives the speech a coherent view or texture.

4. The Conclusion: This is to be introduced by a transitional that shows that you are
summing up or concluding. The concluding paragraph summarizes the points made and
emphasizes or restates the goal or purpose of the speech as stated in the introductory
paragraph. In most cases, the highest ranked person and the general audience are alluded
to in the concluding paragraph, e.g. In conclusion, Mr. Vice Chancellor sir, ladies and
gentlemen, you will agree with me that... (recap the points and state your logical
conclusion or stand that is based on the points).

Forms of Speech Delivery

1. Manuscript: This is a form of speech delivery where the speaker reads out from a
written document or script to his/her audience. One of the advantages of manuscript
delivery is that it helps the speaker language to retain its formal structures. In other
words, most of the informal features of unwritten speech such as contraction, hedges, etc.
are avoided.
2. Impromptu: The impromptu speech is a form of speech that is given on the spot without
prior preparation.
3. Extemporaneous: This has to do with a speech delivery where the speaker uses a short
or itemised points and draws illustration explanations, examples, etc. from his/her
memory.
4. Memorized: Just as the name, the speaker memorises the script and recites what he/she
has memorised to the audience.
\
INTERVIEW

This is a meeting that is organised for the purposes of eliciting necessary information that will
guide the interviewer to make the best decision for the good of the organisation...

Preparing for an Interview

Before going for any interview,

 Do a homework on the company or arganisation to get to know some of its dealings in

the area of product and services, personnel, public relations, finance, etc.
 Pick out relevant, your most relevant skill for the job.
 Speak to your resume confidently.
 Have a pen and paper to jot necessary details
 Be positive
 Do a homework on the company’s salary range and let your response on salary be within
the range of your findings. In case you do not know, ask the interviewer the range of
salary for your position; in that case, you don’t overshoot or undershoot.

Questions and Expectations at an Interview Session

1. Why do you want to work with this organization?

This is to test your knowledge of the mission and vision of the organisation.
2. Why do you think you qualify for such a job?
Test for the right education and experience you have gotten.
3. What do you think you can offer us that others don’t have?
Test for your exceptional skills and ability.
4. Why did you attend the school you graduated from and
of what importance is that to you.
 Test for benefits of attending such a school.
5. What extra-curricular activities did you engage in, in school?
Test for your ability to a balance lifestyle.
6. What courses did you do in school and what grades?
Test for relevant knowledge in the areas of the job and you
must be truthful here and give room to show you want to
know more.
7. Which are your areas of strength?
Test for areas of optimum performance.
8. Which are your areas of weakness?
Test for honesty with a room for improvement.
9. Do you think conflict is a part in an organisation? How can it be avoided?
Test for causes of conflict and management.
10. What will make you leave this job?
Test for reasons that are for progressive or upward development.
11. Ask your own questions after the interviewer’s about safety, security, training,
development, packages, etc.

Interview Dos and Don’ts

1. Be punctual
2. Be careful about marks on your body or paintings
3. Greet the interviewers in a friendly manner
4. Dress properly – avoid flashy dressing.
5. Wait until you are asked to sit and where. Sit upright
6. Avoid nervousness/watch your body language.
7. Speak confidently and clearly: Avoid slangs, informal language use such as: You
guys…, sha etc
8. Chew no gum, fiddle not with your hair especially ladies, don’t tap your foot, don’t begin
to fold your sleeves or adjust your tie or button for the gents
9. Maintain eye contact with your interviewers.
10. Thank them for considering you for the job and tell them you look forward to hearing
from them. Step out confidently.
At least three references which can include among others, your teachers/ your former boss, their
full names, designation, address, phone numbers and e-mail addresses are important here.

PUBLIC SPEAKING
Public speaking is the act of presenting an idea to the public, using your voice.
What are the 7 P's of public speaking?
 The 7P's are pronunciation, pace, pause, punch, power, passion, and posture.
What is the best art of public speaking?

Public Speaking – The Art of making speeches

 Your Audience is Not the Enemy.
 Be Yourself.
 Talk to the Audience, Not Your Slides.
 Public Speaking Works Best when You Tell Stories.
 Add Humour.
 Move Around.
 Practice.
 Get Help With Your Public Speaking
How to begin a speech?
How to start a speech effectively
1. Quote a leader. One of the most effective ways to start a speech is using a relatable
quotation from a famous leader. ...
2. Start with a joke. ...
3. Introduce yourself. ...
4. Ask a question. ...
5. Mention an important statistic. ...
6. Explain a problem. ...
7. Share an anecdote. ...
8. Tell your personal story

How to greet in a speech making occasion

Begin with a warm or bright smile. Tell a good quote related to your speech then
begin…. “Good morning, my fellow friends/all those gathered here…” is a good way to
start. You could start with a question and then greet them as well.

How do you end a presentation?

Here are a few ways to effectively conclude a presentation:
1. Summarize the key points. Choose three or four points from the presentation and reiterate
them. ...
2. Echo the core message. ...
3. Present a call to action. ...
4. Use a powerful quote. ...
5. Ask a rhetorical question. ...
6. Tell a story. ...
7. Give a visual image. ...
8. Acknowledge others.
What can I say instead of hello in a speech?
You could use the phrases below to substitute or supplement the word hello.
 Good morning/afternoon/evening. ...
 Pleased to meet you. ...
 It's nice to meet you. ...
 It's good to see you. ...
 How are you? ...
 Hey. ...
 What's up? ...
 What's new?

How do you greet dignitaries in a speech?

 “We are honoured to have you all here. I'd like to acknowledge the Dignitaries
who joined us. When I mention your name, would you please stand? Introduce
them by Rank/Title - person's name Let's have a round of applause for these
special guests.

10 tips to improve your public speaking

 Know your audience. ...
 Practice, practice, practice. ...
 Use feedback to your advantage. ...
 Make it your own. ...
 Connect with a personal story. ...
 Make eye contact. ...
 Use the stage to your advantage. ...
 Calm your nerve
Types of Speech
There are numerous speech types and these types are determined by occasions. Nwokocha
(1994) and Alimole (2004) identified the following speech types:

Informative/ Expository Speech

Informative speech is the kind of speech one can give or listen to at workshops, seminar
presentations, project defense, health talk, presidential broadcast, keynote address interviews etc.
The aim is to inform the audience or to expose them to, to enlighten or broaden their knowledge
on an issue or a subject. Informative speech can describe, define, explain, analyze, synthesis or
demonstrate.
The subject of informative speech can be a familiar, strange or abstract When dealing with a
familiar subject, the speaker is expected to expound his subject beyond what the audience knows,
or he should think of a new way of saying the old thing. In handling a subject that is looked at as
abstract or strange, the speaker has an upheaval task of defining some necessary terms to help the
audience see and understand his meaning. The process of arriving at the end of something must
be clearly stated or explained. Description should be painted borrowing from the world and the
environment of the audience to drive meaning home.
The demonstrative speech takes a practical approach whereby the audience is shown clearly
and chronologically how to carry out an operation. Here, the speaker uses additional apparatus
outside his speech paper to demonstrate his subject. A speech that analyzes, examines its subject
carefully to give the most basic or important facts about a situation. Informative speech that
synthesizes exposes the different part to a subject and puts them together to make a complete
whole.
On the other hand, informative speech is basically to give information, to share knowledge,
to help shape listeners’ perception of a subject, to clarify through available facts and evidence,
options; thereby leaving the audience with relevant information on choices.

Guidelines for Informative Speech

Information should be able to motivate the audience.
It should be attention catching.
Should make your audience rapacious.
The language must be vivid, simple and apt.
Topic should be treated in a way that relates the situation to the audience.
Gesticulations, physical movements and visual aids can help the audience understand the subject
better.
Specify the purpose and the scope of the speech.
Do not assume that your audience knows; explain necessary words and phrases.

The Persuasive Speech

The persuasive speech is geared towards audience mindset or outlook; to achieve a change on the
audience either on the positive or on the negative. It is a speech that makes a claim and buttresses
this claim using evidence, facts, examples, analogy, illustrations etc. These are employed to
compel the audience into action both physically and mentally.
Persuasive speech is built around a contending issue. The speaker must have a side to the
issue and this he tries to pass across to his audience. Before speech is made, the speaker
researches into the subject for vital, valid, authentic or reliable information that can successfully
diffuse into the cerebral of the audience to win them over to the side of the speaker. In most
situations, the speaker identifies with the audience’s situation or problem. He does that through
the use of inclusive language or pronoun-(I, we, us).
For example, a political aspirant who wishes to gain the votes of his people cannot estrange
himself from the obvious situation(s) confronting his people. He must be able to state his
observations; how some situations has affected his people which has given birth to the hunger to
go into governance to bring about the needed changes for the good of his people. The success of
this kind of speech will spur an audience to action.
Another purpose of persuasive speech is to achieve attitudinal change. People’s attitudes are
connected to their opinions or feelings about somebody or something. To change ones opinion or
view about a subject will surely meet with resistance but this point of resistance is where the
speaker targets. The audience may have reason(s) for their view or feelings and in another
instance may not. So, whatever the case, the speaker, in order to be successful, must be able to
expose to the audience an overwhelming disadvantageous effect or outcome of such held
opinion or attitude against and over the advantageous. This means that the speaker must recount
what the audience think is their gain or reason for their opinion and smash that with convincing
points, facts, evidence or examples that set them rethinking. This kind of speech does not end
without proffering the necessary solutions and steps to take to get out or over such attitude.
Some persuasive speech could be geared towards making the audience see reason why some
idea, policy, or issue is right or wrong. An appeal to the emotion as well as to reason are made
without necessarily desiring an action but rather the concern might be to clear certain doubts or
unclear grounds in the mind of the audience. The audience reaction may be passive but certain
doubts are cleared.

Guidelines for Effective Persuasive Speech

The speech must appeal to emotion and reason.
It must present credible facts, evidences, illustrations, examples etc.
The argument must be presented logically and in a discernable pattern.
The language must be effective.
Facts must be used to support claims.
Points must be clearly stated and illustrated.
Reasoning should be either inductive or deductive.
If it addresses a problem, it must proffer a solution.
 It can as well compare and contrast or use analogy.
Identify with the audience.

Argumentative Speech
This involves all that the persuasive speech is concerned with and almost all the conditions that
lead to successful persuasive speech apply to argumentative speech. The only difference can be
found in the area of the facts presentation which does not use emotion, and argument which is
deductive

Other Speech Types for Different Occasions

These speeches are contextual and so, their language must reflect the occasions. Such speeches
include: keynote address, speech to pay tribute, speech to introduce somebody/ something,
acceptance speech, burial speech, speech to celebrate victory, graduation speech, toast, etc.

Campaign speech:
This is a speech type that is used to promote or establish a tie with an audience in order to win
their approval or mandate.

Elements of a Campaign Speech

* A manifesto presented by .................. a .................. aspirant on the ...............date ..............

* State your observations from the past (the way things have been going).

* Identify a need or needs that require attention.

* State in strong terms your resolve toward addressing the needs.

* Outline steps that you will take toward getting the issues tackled.

* State what the people stand to benefit.

* If necessary, state the people’s involvement in achieving the dream.

* You can use quotes from men of renown.

* Hail the people intermittently.

* Conclude, be reassuring them of an utopia if they given you their mandate.

* Thank them with a bow.

Keynote Address
This is a speech delivered in conferences, conventions, meetings or ceremonial gatherings by a
keynote address speaker. It is a speech that highlights the theme or the most important parts of an
event or a meeting or gathering. In order words, it keys in the audience interest, enthusiasm or
anticipation towards the theme of the occasion.

A keynote speaker does not summarize other speeches for the occasion as it is always
followed by other speeches, but gives an overview of the programme event. This address is not
supposed to take much time since there are other speakers who are going to expound to the
audience some of the issues pointed out in the keynote address. A successful keynote speech
creates suspense in the mind of the audience which in turn favours other speakers.

Speech to Pay Tribute

This is a speech composed to sing the good qualities of someone or something. It is informative
in content in the sense that the audience is made to know the subject of the speech and why such
praise as contained in the speech is worthwhile. The attributes of the subject are not to be over-
stretched to an offending or unrealistic degree.
The speech is to illustrate the subject’s achievement in a way that makes the audience
develop the kind of feeling and respect that you have on your subject. To achieve this, the speech
is presented in a way that the audience must have something to benefit from it. This kind of song
is sung for people who have made great achievements and have impacted their society.

Speech to Introduce Someone/Something

The task here is to introduce someone who is going to give a talk to an audience or someone who
is going to receive an award. The introduction should be done in a way that raises the audience
interest towards the subject of introduction. Failure to raise the interest of the audience towards
the subject of introduction will affect whatever the one introduced has to say to the audience.
Before embarking on this kind of speech, it is pertinent to gather all the right and
necessary information about the subject of introduction. This will help the introducer speak
credibly and also make the subject of introduction credible to the audience.
If it is a speech to introduce an award recipient, the speech should highlight, in addition, the
recipient’s contributions in the field in which he is to receive the award. For the one who is going
to speak to the audience, his achievements are to be highlighted as well. Consulting with the one
to be introduced is the best way to gather the relevant information on such. If the speaker’s
achievements are too many to feature in the introducer’s speech, it will be reasonable to pick
from the areas that have direct bearing on what he is going to speak on or the event at hand.
The speech must achieve a dual purpose. One is to kindle the interest of the audience; the
other is to ginger the speaker’s readiness to speak to the audience. It is always spicy to end
introduction speech in the following way:
“Ladies and Gentlemen, permit me to introduce to you… or Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to
you…. (The person’s designation, qualifying adjectives, qualifications and name in full).

Acceptance Speech
People are honoured for their outstanding contributions in the different fields of endeavor
whether locally, nationally or internationally. When such an honour is given in an occasion, it is
worthwhile to make an acceptance speech. In a situation where a group of people are awarded,
one of the recipients has to speak on behalf of the awardees. Whatever the situation, the
acceptance is a response to what has happened and the audience will wait to know you more
even from your response. Therefore, it will be right to:
1. Respond in a humble way that will show that what you have received did not get into
your head; there shouldn’t be an exhibition of any form of pomposity. Recall that no man is an
atoll. Your achievements and even the award programme were made possible because somebody
or some people contributed in various ways. So you owe such people mention of their names and
thanks; just as the saying goes: “I am somebody because someone made me somebody.
2. Acknowledge that you appreciate the award given to you and also underscore that you
see it as an encouragement and a challenge to work harder to sustain the confidence reposed on
you by such great body- the award-giving body.
3. Thank the body specifically for such an honour and the general audience for making the
event a success through their presence.

4. Touch on the importance or relevance of the award to you, the audience and the award-
giving body ( e.g. it is a sign that hard work pays and that the body encourages hard work).

Graduation Speech
This is an address presented at the graduation ceremony of a High School or a University. It is
also called a convocation or commencement speech. Distinguished individuals in different walks
of life are saddled with this responsibility. The reason is for them to share, encourage and
motivate the graduating students as they step out of school to face a different world. The speech
must build hope and confidence into the audience.
The speech gives tribute the giant stride of the graduating students that has brought such
achievement on their side. It as well acknowledges the support and prayer of parents and
guardian of the graduating students. The contributions of friends, well wishers and the institution
or university community are appreciated. Lastly, it shares experiences that will help the young
people believe in themselves and in their ability to bring about transformation in their time and
the world at large.
Interesting stories or quotations that teach such virtues such as integrity, honesty,
perseverance, dedication, kindness, tolerance, hard work, commitment, humility, love, team
spirit, will make your graduation speech endearing to your audience. If such stories could be
found amongst the alumni of the same institution, the speech will break more grounds in the
mind of the audience.
 Conclude by congratulating your audience once more for their accomplishment and raise
their hopes towards a future of opportunities and possibilities.

Speech to Celebrate Victory

Speech for this occasion has an attitude of joy and happiness. The joy and happiness is a product
of a journey that has been completed on a note of victory. And joy, happiness and victory does
not come in a vacuum; they are products of hard work, endurance, patience, commitment,
integrity, honesty, persistence, and determination. So the speech highlights what it costs the
celebrant before he gets to where he is at the moment. This is an important part of the speech as
it spurs the audience, especially those who are going through similar situation or who may have
lost hope.
The speech highlights the difficulties or mountains surmounted as well as the steps taken to
surmount the mountains. The reason for choosing to celebrate must be clearly stated. Humour
should be mingled with the presentation to help the audience not to get so carried away to the
extent of endangering their health by the recounted experience which they may have shared a
part in.

Burial Speech/ Funeral Oration

At the graveside, tribute is usually sung to the deceased by those who have deep personal
knowledge of the demised. This speech most times is written and presented by some speakers to
ignite or reinforce more tears and sobbing. One written in that style is out of normal. Funeral
oration is a speech that should recount some of the encouraging, cheering and endearing qualities
or parts of life of the deceased that should enliven the heart with a hope and reasons not to wail
hopelessly. The objective of this speech is not to provoke more sorrow and weeping but to
reminiscence about the legacy of the deceased in a way that leaves the mourners with a comfort
and encouragement. Philosophical statements about death and its unpredictable antics and dirty
surge over a life springing up in beauty and full of enjoyment are used most times to start this
speech. God’s supremacy is re-enacted over the activities of men and death at the final.
The speech is always made in the affirmative. It also contains brief history of the deceased
form birth to education or stages of development, to achievements, marriage (if), relationship
with the family and community and what people stand to benefit from his life style and life
history. The language should be simple and should evoke a sense of loss, pity, regret and hope.
Names of those who live to mourn the deceased are given.

After-Dinner Speech
After-dinner speech to most people means speech given after dinner and that synchronizes the
time to evening. To an extent, that sounds true but it is worthy of note here that “After-Dinner
Speech” has assumed the status of a generic term which covers a variety of
entertainment speeches, regardless of the time of the day the speech is made. It could be
presented after breakfast, lunch or dinner.
 The speaker chooses a topic he feels will interest his audience and packages it in a light-
hearted manner but with a goal which is to impress upon the heart of the audience a thoughtful
point. Humour is an essential and effective vehicle used for this kind of speech. In preparing
such a speech, the speaker should bear in mind that the speech comes after eating and that the
body will not enjoy abstract concepts or complex reasoning. Therefore, the topic to be chosen
should be properly weighed and the language of delivery should be devoid of abstractness or
complexities, no matter the topic.
Time of delivery vary from place to place depending on the organizers. It could be delivered
during the main meal or when dissert is being served. Whatever the time, make sure you don’t
choke your audience with your humorous remarks. Be time conscious especially when the
speech is to be presented after breakfast or lunch because some members of the audience may
after your presentation, have other engagements to attend to.
One other key towards a successful after-dinner speech is to mention some members of your
audience by their names as well as picking on some useful remarks or contributions you gathered
from them. This will heighten their interest and make them feel at home.
LISTENING

This is a process whereby the ears receive sound-waves and transmit the sounds to the brain
which decodes the sounds into symbols and codes and assigns them meaning.
Strategies for Learning to Listen

i. Know your topics through your course outline and survey the topics to have some
background information before class

ii. Note down the sounds you hear, verify what you wrote with your peers and make the
necessary adjustments

iii. Note the points of disagreement with other peers and make effort to get the correct or
right word.

iv. Look for the meaning of words you wrote down to ascertain their suitability and
appropriateness in the context.

v. When you listen, process what you hear, clarify that in your mind, evaluate what you
understood and make a response where necessary.

vi. Keep your mind free from internal and external distractions

vii. Using headset can as well enhance your sound perception

.

Competitive Or Combative Listening: listening that is geared towards finding flaws or faults
for attack. The listener finds an avenue to assert his or her opinion against the speaker’s
argument. \

Passive Or Attentive Listening: This is a listening type where the listener listens, understands
and accepts the speaker’s argument without making any effort to verify the validity of the
opinion expressed.

Active Or Reflective Listening: The listener here is interested in understanding the speaker’s
thought pattern, feeling, argument or message and at the same time verifies and gives feedback

Emphatic Listening: This is also known as relationship listening. It is involves empathy, helps
in establishing trust in relationships.

Critical or Objective Listening: listening to analysis, criticize, evaluate and make judgments
on what is being listened to. It draws from speaker’s background knowledge to ascertain
credibility of argument.
 Discriminative Listening: listening beyond words/messages to unspoken and implied
messages, paralinguistic elements/ non- verbal cues

Appreciative Listening: listening to entertain oneself from what the speaker speaks without
much reflection on the message. |

Strategies for Effective Listening.

1. Undivided attention i.e. put aside distractions.

2. Maintain eye contact and a focused attention or mind set.
3. Avoid critical judgment especially when you have not heard all
4. Use nonverbal cues from the speaker to drive his or her meanings home.
5. Practice listening.
6. Ask questions for confirmation; don’t assume
8. Drop the attitude of I know it all, what has he or she to offer?
9. do not attack even when you don’t agree with his or her point of view, rather try to reason
and if possible educate further the speaker.

Barriers to Effective Listening

1. Allowing differences in background to interfere with speaker’s message.

2. Lack of open mindedness.
3. Quick attitude to judge.
4. Internal and external distractions.
5. Belief systems
6. Speaker’s intonation and voice volume.
7. Listener’s mood.
8. Speaker’s lack of audience consideration.
9. Speaker’s use of words: cacophonic and jaw-breaking words or cramming the dictionary.
11. Speaker’s lack of focus and digression.
12. Not asking questions for clarifications.
13. Not reading.
LOGICAL AND CRITICAL THINKING

What Is Logical Thinking?

Logical thinking is the ability to reason systematically and follow a structured path to reach
valid conclusions. It relies on rules of logic—like deduction and induction.
 Deductive reasoning: Starts with general premises and moves to a specific conclusion.
Example: All humans are mortal. Socrates is human. Therefore, Socrates is mortal.
 Inductive reasoning: Uses specific observations to form general conclusions.
Example: Every swan I’ve seen is white. Therefore, all swans might be white.
 Key traits: Precision, consistency, clarity, and structure.
What Is Critical Thinking?
Critical thinking goes beyond logic. It involves analyzing, evaluating, and questioning
information to make reasoned judgments. It’s essential in real-world decision-making where data
may be incomplete, biased, or complex.
 Evaluates assumptions: Are the premises valid or biased?
 Considers context: What’s the broader picture?
 Recognizes fallacies: Detects errors in reasoning or manipulation.
 Open-minded yet skeptical: Willing to revise beliefs but demands evidence.
While logical thinking ensures your reasoning is valid, critical thinking ensures your
reasoning is relevant, fair, and well-informed. Here’s how they complement each other:
What is the difference between critical thinking and critical reasoning?
Critical thinking is the act of carefully considering a problem, claim, question, or
situation in order to determine the best solution. Reasoning skills, which go hand-in-hand
with critical thinking, ask you to base your decisions on facts, evidence, and/or logical
conclusions. The term critical comes from the Greek word kritikos meaning “able to
judge or discern

Critical thinking is a broad cognitive skill involving analysis, evaluation, and reflection,
while critical reasoning is a more specific process focused on constructing and assessing
arguments.
Here’s a breakdown of how they differ and relate:
Critical Thinking: The Broader Skillset
Critical thinking is the umbrella term that encompasses a wide range of mental activities aimed
at making reasoned judgments. It involves:
 Analyzing information: Breaking down complex ideas into parts
 Evaluating evidence: Assessing credibility, relevance, and bias
 Reflecting on assumptions: Questioning beliefs and perspectives
 Problem-solving: Generating and testing solutions
 Decision-making: Choosing the best course of action based on logic and evidence
It’s used in everyday life, education, business, and beyond to make thoughtful, informed
decisions.
Critical Reasoning: A Focused Subset
Critical reasoning is a subset of critical thinking that zeroes in on argument analysis. It’s often
used in logic, philosophy, law, and standardized tests (like the GMAT or LSAT). It involves:
 Identifying arguments: Distinguishing premises and conclusions
 Evaluating logic: Checking for validity, soundness, and fallacies
 Drawing inferences: Determining what logically follows from given information
 Spotting flaws: Detecting weak reasoning or unsupported claims
In short, critical reasoning is about how well an argument holds up under scrutiny.
How They Relate
Aspect Critical Thinking Critical Reasoning
Scope Broad (includes reasoning, Narrow (focused on argument
reflection) analysis)
Goal Make sound judgments Assess argument strength
Skills involved Evaluation, reflection, logic, inference, flaw detection
creativity
Common contexts Education, leadership, Law, philosophy, test prep,
daily decisions debate

Basics of critical thinking: Ask questions. Gather relevant information. Think through
solutions and conclusions. Consider alternative systems of thought.

The difference between logical thinking and logical reasoning

Logical Thinking: The Mental Framework
 Definition: Logical thinking is the general ability to analyze situations, identify patterns,
and make sense of information in a coherent way.
 Scope: It encompasses various cognitive processes like problem-solving, critical
thinking, and decision-making.
 Nature: More intuitive and flexible; not always bound by formal rules.
 Example: Recognizing that a friend’s behavior has changed and deducing that something
might be bothering them.
Logical Reasoning: The Structured Process
 Definition: Logical reasoning is the formal application of logic principles to reach
conclusions based on premises.
 Types:
o Deductive reasoning: Drawing specific conclusions from general premises.
o Inductive reasoning: Making generalizations from specific observations.
o Abductive reasoning: Inferring the most likely explanation.
 Nature: Rule-based and systematic; often used in mathematics, philosophy, and formal
debates.
 : Inductive reasoning involves starting from specific premises and forming a general
conclusion, while deductive reasoning involves using general premises to form a
specific conclusion.
 For example,
 if the statement is everything outside is wet because it is raining and a person
realizes he left his shoes outside, logical reasoning would reach the conclusion that
his shoes are wet: His shoes are outside. Everything outside is wet due to the rain.
Therefore his shoes are wet

ure! Here's a classic example of deductive reasoning:

Premise 1: All mammals are warm-blooded.
Premise 2: Whales are mammals.
Conclusion: Therefore, whales are warm-blooded.
This reasoning starts with a general rule (all mammals are warm-blooded), applies it to a specific
case (whales), and arrives at a logically certain conclusion. Deductive reasoning guarantees the
truth of the conclusion if the premises are true.
Would you like to see how deductive reasoning compares to inductive or abductive reasoning?
re's a clear example of inductive reasoning:
Observation 1: The sun rose in the east yesterday.
Observation 2: The sun rose in the east today.
Conclusion: Therefore, the sun always rises in the east.
This type of reasoning draws a general conclusion based on repeated observations. Unlike
deductive reasoning, inductive conclusions are probable, not guaranteed — they can be strong or
weak depending on the evidence.
Would you like to see how inductive reasoning is used in science or everyday decision-making?

Verbal reasoning involves understanding and analyzing written or spoken language, while
non-verbal reasoning focuses on solving problems using visual and spatial logic without
language.
Here’s a detailed breakdown of both:
🗣️Verbal Reasoning
 Definition: The ability to comprehend, interpret, and reason using concepts framed in words.
 Skills Tested:
o Reading comprehension
o Vocabulary and grammar
o Logical deductions from text
o Analogies and syllogisms
 Example:
Statement: All birds have feathers.
Question: Does a penguin have feathers?
Answer: Yes — based on the general rule.
  Common Uses: Academic tests, job assessments, and communication-heavy roles.
🧩 Non-Verbal Reasoning
 Definition: The ability to analyze and solve problems using visual cues like shapes, patterns, and
diagrams.
 Skills Tested:
o Pattern recognition
o Spatial awareness
o Logical sequences
o Visual analogies
 Example:
Question: Which shape comes next in the sequence: ◼️➡️🔺 ➡️⚪️➡️?
Answer: Based on the pattern, the next shape might be ◼️again.
 Common Uses: IQ tests, engineering roles, and design-related fields.
🔍 Key Differences
Sources: A Modern Approach to Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning
Would you like to try a few sample questions from each type to test your skills?

Non-Verbal Reasoning
 Definition: The ability to analyze and solve problems using visual cues like shapes,
patterns, and diagrams.
 Skills Tested:
o Pattern recognition
o Spatial awareness
o Logical sequences
o Visual analogies
 Example:
Question: Which shape comes next in the sequence: ◼️➡️🔺 ➡️⚪️➡️?
Answer: Based on the pattern, the next shape might be ◼️again.
 Common Uses: IQ tests, engineering roles, and design-related fields.
🔍 Key Differences

Logical reasoning
Logical reasoning is classified into two types:
 Verbal Reasoning: It is the ability to logically understand the concepts and solve
problems expressed in words. ...
 Non-verbal Reasoning: It is the ability to logically understand the concepts and solve
problems expressed in numbers/letters/figures in combination with word
3 types of logical reasoning?
Reasoning is the process of using existing knowledge to draw conclusions, make
predictions, or construct explanations. Three methods of reasoning are the deductive,
inductive, and abductive approaches.

 deductive and inductive reasoning

 Deductive reasoning is a logical approach where you progress from general ideas
to specific conclusions. It's often contrasted with inductive reasoning, where you
start with specific observations and form general conclusions.18 Apr 2019
 Deductive reasoning uses available facts, information, or knowledge to deduce
avalid conclusion, whereas inductive reasoning involves making a
generalizationfrom specific facts, and observations.
 How do you distinguish between induction and deduction?

Analogical reasoning – using the underlying structure of one situation or event to

understand another situation and event – has also been proposed to drive developments in
early social cognition.

Example of analogical reasoning?

“She's as blind as a bat.”
“You have to be as busy as a bee to get good grades in high school.”
“Finding that lost dog will be like finding a needle in a haystack.”

Comparing two objects or ideas is common practice in the English language, as useful in
writing and literature as in everyday figures of speech

Explanation: a statement or account that makes something clear.

Clarification, simplification, description, report, version, statement

Generalization statement/ words

a general statement or concept obtained by inference from specific cases. Eg.
"he was making sweeping generalizations"
 Clue words that support instruction for generalizations: all, none, most, many, always,
everyone, never, sometimes, some, usually, seldom, few, generally, in general, and
overall. Generalizations are statements that may include or imply ideas.

Ethical considerations in research are a set of principles that guide your research
designs and practices. These principles include voluntary participation, informed consent,
anonymity, confidentiality, potential for harm, and results communication.

A copyright affords the owner the exclusive right to reproduce it, create derivative works
from it, perform the work, and display the work. An important exception to copyright
protections is the fair use doctrine that allows others to make limited use of copyrighted
material under certain circumstances.

What are the rules around copyright?

Copyright prevents people from:
 copying your work.
 distributing copies of it, whether free of charge or for sale.
 renting or lending copies of your work.
 performing, showing or playing your work in public.
 making an adaptation of your work.
 putting it on the internet.
Copyright infringement is the use or production of copyright-protected material without
the permission of the copyright holder. Copyright infringement means that the rights
afforded to the copyright holder, such as the exclusive use of a work for a set period of
time, are being breached by a third party.

WRITING

Writing is an art; a complex system that requires a systematic exercise to develop the required
level of organization in its development, accuracy of expression, vocabulary and varied language
patterns. As an art, it requires both physical and mental abilities and skills to make paintings or
drawings using words. Its complexity requires a writer to follow systematically, series of sets of
actions that are geared towards achieving certain end results such as to inform, narrate, describe,
persuade, to establish a fact, to warn, to admonish etc. The organization packages the writer’s
intent and successfully transmits that to the reader using the right kind of expressions,
vocabularies and sentence patterns that has logical and cohesive flow.
The complex nature requires from the writer, thinking, creating, criticizing, picturing,
patience, and the ability to hear the reader’s questions and to proffer answers in sequence of
paragraphs. The writer’s attitude towards his subject is always revealed through his voice, tone,
and choice of words. To attain this height, a writer must conscientiously develop his talent
through training, experience, commitment, and determination. In other words, one cannot just be
a good writer without these qualities.
Paragraphs are not mumble –jumble of ideas and opinions; therefore, effective writing
requires that a writer’s work be cohesive. Coherence is achieved through effective use of
language that maintains focus and keeps a reader on track as he reads.

Writing is a very difficult ground to break for so many people. It is time consuming, involves
research and reading, and the ability to articulate ones thoughts, ideas, opinions and feelings very
well before dishing it out for the reader’s consumption. This is the reason why determination,
commitment and patience are vital parts of writing and must be bagged by every writer.
Language, working as a unified whole, must create links between sentences and paragraphs
through the use of connectives or linking words. The logicality of a writer’s presentation makes
his reader(s) to understand, share, feel, see or respond in the intended way. To decide to write is
to decide to improve oneself. To write effectively and extensively requires extensive reading and
research. And whatever the topic, simple and clear expressions are the best to use in passing
across one’s message and in helping the reader find a common ground with the writer.

The Process of Writing

Topic: Choosing or identifying an interesting topic, or accepting a topic.

Audience: Your audience is another strong factor that aids you in the purpose and language use.
Most times the experience or idea or all that you need to come up with a good write up are
stuffed in your memory. And so, your first point of call for materials whenever you are faced
with any topic should be your memory (the primary source), then, other supporting or relevant
materials (the secondary source) for the write-up can be gathered from books, articles,
magazines, papers, journals, internet, films etc.

Purpose: To decide what purpose you want to achieve through your write-up will include the
effect you want your write-up to have on your reader. This will be achieved through your choice
of simple, clear and familiar words and expressions and sentence patterns, or complex ones.

Limitation: You may be assigned a topic with a limit to number of words or lines or pages. In
this case, the length of your essay should determine how much details you need to build into
each part of the write-up (The introduction, the body and the conclusion) Important points should
be made without much colourful details, illustrations, or examples in an essay that does not
require elaborate writing while one that gives the writer opportunity to write extensively, will
require that points are detailed with illustration, examples, information, experiences, facts and
opinions. Another part that must be observed by a writer is the need to zero in from a general
point of view to the particular as is relevant to the topic. Some topics may be so broad that they
can be divided into phases and aspects. It is advisable that a writer takes a phase or an aspect of
such topics that he can effectively handle.

Stages in the writing process

Planning stage: this stage involves clustering of ideas, brainstorming, research and outlining of
the ideas and points gathered. This can represent that on a tree thus:

Planning Clustering
Brainstorming
Researching
Outlining

Clustering: jot down ideas, words and phrases that will make the meaning of the topic come
clear.

Brainstorming: Making a list of ideas or information you know or have found around the topic.
At this point, your natural library – the brain, should be activated.

Outlining: Make a sketch of what the main ideas or points are from the sub-points.

2. Drafting: Put the bricks from the planning stage into paragraph structures. In other
words, the points or ideas outlined at the planning stage are developed into different
paragraphs using details, definitions, explanations, statistics, facts, illustrations, etc. At
this stage, you might not bother much about spellings and punctuations but should be
concerned with getting your ideas down on paper.

3. Revising/ Editing: Revising your work helps you to see if you have conveyed the
intended message. You revise to ascertain the appropriateness of facts, figures, names,
dates, evidences and if the information given is clear, concise, relevant, enough, etc.
Editing checks for sentences fragments, wordiness, passive-active constructions,
monotonous sentences beginnings, weak sentences, lengthy and complex sentence
structures,
Revising and editing help to evaluate:-
i ideas to determine how clear and focused they appear and how relevant the supporting
details are.
ii. Appropriate word choices and tone
ii how logical or chronological the presentation is.
iii language use that is colourful, precise, appropriate and engaging.
iv conventions ie grammar, spellings and punctuation errors.

4. Proofreading: When you are satisfied with the revising and editing stage i.e. you are
sure your work has the right kind of information and in the right order, you then
proofread the write-up for appropriate punctuations and correct Spellings.

Developing an Outline

Developing an outline will help you stay focused as you write. An outline is a skeletal outlook of
your essay. It can be approached from two to three ways: the topic outline which sets down
points or ideas without explanations and the sentence outline which develops the ideas or point
in sentences. Depending on the nature of the write-up, there also could be a paragraph outline.

Different outline Patterns for different writings:

i. The Illustration Pattern- (descriptive & narrative)

This takes the form: Introduction and thesis statement, explanation of key terms,
illustrations through examples, comparisons and contrasts and the conclusion that
summarizes the essay and restates the thesis.

ii. The analytical pattern (expository)

This has to do with breaking down of a topic or subject into component parts through
analysis or classification. The analytic pattern could:
Classify: i.e. divide into groups, classes or parts, and make a selection on equal and
similar basis
Show Process: i.e. How to do something-direction, how something is organized -levels
and stages, how something works –logical, chronological and mechanical, how
something happened-why and how.
Show cause effect: The question is systematically established in the first part of the essay
in paragraphs and the answers are supplied in the second part of the essay in paragraphs
as wells with a conclusion that summarizes the question and answers.
Compare and Contrast: Introduce the issue, comparing and contrasting equal and
specific issues or aspects of a topic, alternating sentences and paragraphs and concluding
by summarizing the similarities and the differences and restating the thesis
The argumentative Pattern: This pattern is a way of arriving at a conclusion through
examination of evidence and therefore requires an introduction and proposition,
 explanation of proposition, arguments for, refutation of argument for or against and a
conclusion.

Qualities of a Good Writing

According to Emenyeonu (ND), qualities of a good writing include:

Economy: A good essay should be able to prudently manage its expressions to avoid
extravagant, wasteful and unnecessary flamboyancy. Economy in writing does not suggest that a
writer should use short sentences or leave out details, but that every word and sentence will make
less demand from the reader while stuffing him with maximum information in the clearest
language

Not wordy or verbose: Many writers’ especially amateur writers equate verbosity or wordiness
with intelligence and mastery of English language. Wordiness or verbosity in writing means
filling up one’s writing with redundant words and phrases which in- turn create extra work for
the reader and make meaning difficult in some situations. To illustrate this, let’s take a look at
the following sentences:

The length of the portion of the The portion of the road that
road that has been completed is has been completed is100
about 100 kilometers long kilometers long.

In spite of the fact that he came In spite of his lateness to the

late to the exam, he did well. exam, he did well.

If this progarmme is properly A revision of this programmme

revised, one would realize and will boost its merits.
understand that it is not without
less merit.

Tree planting is an important Tree planting is important in

factor in global warming. global warming.

In the field of science…. In science…

Upon all these things which Upon all the merits of lingua
could be brought to a country franca, Nigeria still hesitates to
through lingua franca, Nigeria adopt one.
still hesitates to adopt one.

Moreover, most young men are Most young people are drug
drug addicts. They indulge in addicts. They drive under the
 heavy drinking, resultantly; influence of drugs causing
they drive under the influence recklessness to abound on our
of alcohol or drug, causing roads.
recklessness to abound on our
roads.

Through their coming to live Through their living together,

together in one place, students students get to know and learn
get to mix with others from other ethnic groups’ languages
ethnic groups other than their and customs.
own. In this way, they get to
know each other and learn the
language and customs of other
people.

Simplicity: This involves using simple and direct expressions that will enhance readability and
understanding. A good and effective writing is one that uses simple and concise expressions.
Simple expressions are not series of monotonous short sentences rather; they are sentences
devoid of unnecessary embroidery and pompous style especially, in vocabulary choices.

Clarity: Clarity in writing has to do with making even a complex subject, idea or material,
clearer to the reader. This means that a writer must know what he wants to say and says that
effectively through the process of detailing, exposition and explanations in a clear and orderly
manner. Irrelevant details should be avoided. Technical or professional words or jargons without
explanations should be avoided except when writing to an audience of the same mind or that are
at home with such.

Examples:

Vague Expressions Clear Expressions

Send me some copies of your Please send me 4 copies of your

recent sales report I can use at report on the new product’s
work. sales that can aid my work.

You can expect the report in the You will receive the report
 next few weeks. latest, Monday 12th October,
2017.

One of our Lagos shops has the Our shop at 31, Odulana Street,
product. Ogba, Ikeja, Lagos, has the
product.

The fee for the service is The fee for fixing the door key
nominal. is N5,000.00

Unity: Unity is an essential quality of a good writing. This must be approached from two levels:
The first is at paragraph level where all the sentences that make up a paragraph must be
constructed around the topic sentence or the main idea or point in a paragraph. These sentences,
whether they are examples, details, illustrations etc, must be directly related to the idea expressed
in the topic sentence. The topic sentence is the sentence that introduces the main or controlling
idea in a paragraph.
The second level of unity is achieved at the level of the whole essay. Here, every idea or
point developed in the different paragraphs must be built around the subject matter or topic of the
write- up. The topic is usually being introduced by the thesis statement. The thesis statement is
contained most times in the first paragraph. It is a statement that introduces the writer’s point of
view or gives an overview of what the writer is about to do. The points developed in the
subsequent paragraphs must unite to give a whole or comprehensive outlook to the thesis
statement.

Coherence: Coherence in writing means smooth progression of thoughts from sentence to

sentence, paragraph to paragraph and from one idea to another. This could be achieved through:
= Chronological or logical arrangement of materials. This can take the following order:
=Spatial order: front to back, up to down, right to left.
= Climax/ expository order: known to unknown, simple to complex, cause to effect etc.
=The appropriate use of transitional or linking words and phrases in paragraphs and between
paragraphs.
= Maintaining a consistent tone, pronoun reference, point of view, number, tense and repetition
of key terms, voice, number and tense.

Tone in writing shows a writer’s attitude or general feeling towards his topic or subject and
how he wants his reader(s) to feel or respond to his write- up. A writer’s tone could be radical,
religious, critical, jocular, satirical, sarcastic or serious. Pronoun reference consistency is
important in writing as it provides a link between sentences by drawing reader’s attention back to
the antecedent of the pronoun. Inappropriate pronoun reference is bound to confuse a reader,
thereby defeating the writer’s effort. Repetition of key terms keeps afresh in the mind of the
reader, the controlling idea of the work or of a paragraph.
Every point of view has its effect in meaning attachment to a write- up. A writer should at the
beginning of his work decide the point of view that he will imbibe his work especially in
narratives. He has to decide whether to employ the first person “I”, the impersonal “one”, the
instructive “you” or the objective “he/ she”. Other areas that help a writer to achieve coherence
include:

Voice: using active and or passive voice.

Number: Number involves agreement between subjects of sentences and the verbs.

Tense: moving back and forth in the use of tense can create confusion in the flow of meaning
association in a work. Choose a particular tense pattern and maintain it all through your work.

TRANSITIONAL OR LINKING WORDS (CONNECTIVES).

Transitional words are sign post that a writer can use to do any or some of the following while
writing.

Express Emphasize Clarify a Show Show

point statement similarity contrast
Sequence

Chiefly In order similarly however

First words
Equally Likewise but
Secondly In
Admittedly particular In like By contrast
Again manner
In fact Simply put Nevertheless
And In the same
Indeed That is way Still
Also
As a matter Conversely
Further-more of fact
Doubtless
Most
importantly Granted

Certainly

Give Indicate
 example Show time
Location
Concede a shift Sum-up/ to
point. change
For conclude
example
Afterwards
Although For To the left
instance Next In
In spite of In the conclusion
Specifically Then
Granted that background Therefore
Such as As soon as
It may be Underneath Finally
true that Like Until
Adjacent to In short
Surely An When
illustration Here Summarily
I admit At last
Consequentl
Even though later y

Though As a
consequence
Naturally
As a result

Hence

To sum up

SENTENCES
PARAGRAPHS
PUNCTUATIONS
CONNECTIVES
ESSAYS
LETTERS

The Sentence
Ideas in writings are developed using sentences. A sentence is a word or group of words that
encapsulates a unit of meaningful expression; in other words, a sentence is a unit of meaningful
expression. Sentences are built into paragraphs to create a rounded and reasonably complete
picture of a subject. The sentence could be developed in form of a topic sentence, examples,
illustrations, details, thesis statement, reasons etc. No matter the form it takes, it must have two
parts: the subject and the predicate. A sentence that does not show these two parts (implied or
expressed) is a fragment. The subject of a sentence is made up of all the words that come before
the verb of the sentence while the predicate is made up of the verb and all the words after it.
In addition, sentences are made more impactful when their beginnings are varied. This means
that sentences should have varied beginnings both in a paragraph and at the beginning of
paragraphs to avoid monotony. The same also applies to the sentence patterns or style i.e. they
should be varied for good taste. The sentence types, whether by structure or by function, are
open grounds for a writer to draw from to make his style more effective.

The Paragraph
A paragraph is a collection of related sentences that are built around an idea or a point. It
contains a topic sentence which is the controlling idea or point in the paragraph in addition to
other sentences that help to drive home the idea or point through specific details, examples,
illustrations, reasons etc. A paragraph develops a point which must be part of the central idea or
topic.
For a paragraph to be well developed, it must have enough basic information to support the
main or controlling idea contained in the topic sentence. Admittedly, there may be limitations as
regards what to build into a paragraph based on the nature of the topic` or instructions from the
teacher. In a situation of such limitation, be informative enough; but minimize or cut off entirely
examples, illustrations, etc.

How to Develop the Paragraphs: Use

i Examples: Bringing in sufficient examples into a write- up helps to prove a point or

support a statement. It makes a writer to appear more factual.
ii Details: This involves using all kinds of data to paint a picture. It enumerates, defines,
points out similarities and contrasts, shows cause and effect, and describes, in order to
give a whole picture.

iii. Illustrations: Anecdotes or factual happenings are used to support a general statement.
That is, illustrations are supporting details that move ideas from a general stand point to a
particular point of view.

iv Reasons: Logical reasoning is an essential part of argumentative or persuasive writing.

Therefore, reasoning backed up with factual evidence and supported with statistics is
what is needed to have a convincing argument.

v. Indentation: One important part of the paragraph is indentation. Indentation makes a

work look nice and more readable. It also portrays the various parts that make up the
whole subject. It should be used at the beginning of every paragraph.

Structure of the Paragraph

Every composition has three basic parts or segments. These basic parts are: the introduction -
which brings out clearly, the writer’s position, submission or judgment-, the body and
conclusion. Each of these parts is very essential in any kind of composition as lack of any would
imply that a work is incomplete.

The Introductory Part

This part usually contains the writer’s stand and usually presents the direction of the composition
in a thesis statement. A thesis statement is a statement that introduces the author’s or writer’s
stand point, the main idea of a composition or the central idea that the composition is out to
explore. The introductory paragraph gives an overview on a subject. The ideas or points with
which the whole composition is developed is mentioned or implied in this paragraph.
Depending on contexts, a writer may choose to start the introductory paragraph using an
anecdote; a quotation, short story, definition of key terms, or a question. It could as well be
started using contrasting or parallel ideas. The introduction of a composition can be more than a
paragraph depending on the length or the size of the subject or composition.

The Body Part

The body of a composition is made up of different paragraphs. Each of these paragraphs contains
a point or an idea stated in a topic sentence which in turn, supports or builds into the main or
central idea of the composition. The points in these paragraphs are developed using illustrations,
explanations, examples, details and experiences.

The Concluding Part

This is the last part of the composition. A properly articulated concluding paragraph restates or
summarizes the points already made in the composition and brings out clearly the writer’s
position, submission or judgment. Some kind of compositions may require a writer to come up
with recommendations or suggestions as part of the conclusion of the work. Depending on the
type of writing, a quotation that reinforces the introduction or an allusion can as well be used to
end this part.

PUNCTUATION MARKS/ MECHANICS OF WRITING

These are set of conventions to make it easier to read what is written. It is an agreed ways
of separating a text into sections that the readers can interpret and understand. They include the
following and their functions:
1. Full Stop:
(a) Used to mark the end of a sentence.
(b) Used after some abbreviations, O.A.U.,
(c) To show something omitted...
(d) As a decimal point,
(e) used in email and website addresses
(f) Used at the end of a polite request that looks like a question. E.g., Could you please
shut that door.
2. Question Mark:
(a) Used to ask question or at the end of interrogating sentence.
(b) When a writer is not sure of accurate date in scholarly work (1970?);
(c) Used at the end of a rhetorical question – when will you stop being childish? Do I
need to remind you what your job is?
3. Comma: (a) Used to indicate slight pause in a sentence.
(b) Used to separate items in a list.
(c) Used to indicate a break between clauses (although I don’t like coffee, Milo is not
an option).
(d) Used to separate introductory subordinate clause from the main clause – when he
came, nobody noticed.
(e) Used at the point of introducing a direct speech.
(f) Used to mark off days and months from year in dates.
(g) Used to mark off conjunctive adverbs – it must, however, know your limit.
4. Colon:
(a) Introduces a list of items.
(b) Used to provide explanations or illustrations on what preceded the colon.
(c) He has all the qualities – honesty, integrity...
(d) Used to introduce direct speech; He said at lat “I am free!”
(e) Used to separate book title from its subtitle CAA: An introduction.
5. Semi-Colon:
 (a) Used to balance or contrast parallel constructions.
(b) Used between transitional words that connects two main clauses.
6. Dash:
(a) Used to mark off additional information that could be omitted in a sentence without
any damage.
(b) Can be used to introduce examples in a sentence. They were there – Tolu,
Martins, Oluchi.
(c) To show digression or interruption. (4) Used to attribute quotation to authors –
John Kemy.
7. Hyphen:
(a) Used to connect certain prefixes to the root words.
(b) Used to form compound words or reduplicated words. Cost-effective, sister-in-
law, wishy-washy, mumbo-jumbo.
(c) Used to split a syllable from a word at the end of a line that cannot contain the
whole word.
(4) Used to combine double-barrelled names. Philip-Folks, J.
(5) Used in plural verbs. Kick-off, turn-down.

8. Capital Letters:
(a) First word in a sentence.
(b) Capitalize first word in a direct speech enclosed in quotation mark. He said “You
are mine; I have begotten you”
(c) Capitalize first singular nouns. John , James, Olu
(d) Capitalize proper nouns i.e. names of people, places, titles of books, newspapers,
magazines, names of weeks and months.
Do not capitalize preposition, articles and conjunctions in titles of books
(e) Capitalize proper adjectives. British, Ghanaian, Togolese etc
(f) Capitalize official titles. Vice Chancellor, Dean, IG etc

ESSAY WRITING
Essay writing gives one an opportunity to set down or make available ones view, opinion, or idea
on a subject to a reader. It is the most accurate method of assessing one’s ability to communicate
effectively. Communication is a life event. It cuts across every discipline of life, whether
business, politics, religion, sports, government, relationship etc. The ability to communicate
clearly and concisely in any field of endeavour is of utmost importance; and this is the training
essay writing opportunities in schools and colleges provide for students or learners of any
language, English language inclusive.
 Although it is not an easy ground to break through for most students, practice is an excellent
way to achieve the needed breakthrough. Practice will help to develop the needed fluency of
expression, accuracy of usage and the organizational ability. Therefore, every teacher in any field
of communication should encourage students through essay writing assignments to discover their
potentials. The essay writing assignments can come in different styles such as: description,
explanation, narration, review, character study or discussion.

Essay Types and Guidelines (Emenyeonu E.N. (ND))

Descriptive Writing: This type of composition chiefly paints pictures with words. A descriptive
writer’s imagination develops a hook with a penetrating eye that searches for details and humour
to describe its object beyond the obvious. In other words, descriptive writing requires giving all
the details about your subject to enable your reader see, smell, feel, touch, hear and taste what
you are describing. Descriptive writing involves all the senses.
For effective description, general words or expressions should be dropped for specific or
particular ones. That is, instead of saying something is good, nice, or bad, picture a scenario that
can take the place of the word. On the other hand, some technical or scientific descriptions may
focus squarely on the visible and verifiable aspects without personal paintings.

Guidelines for Effective Description

= pay attention to details through observation.
= be creative in your choice of words and expressions.
= use figurative language to make your image or object more striking.
=use analogy to describe shapes, colours, qualities, size, attitude, sounds
= present your description clearly, logically, effectively and in a discernible pattern (left to right,
inside to outside etc).
= establish a dominant impression about your topic in a thesis statement.
= describe with words and expressions that are within the scope of reality.
= start with an introductory paragraph and end with a concluding paragraph

A description of an old woman

An old woman was sitting in an old deckchair in the middle of the crowd amongst a pile
of furniture. The canvas of the chair was worn where it folded around the supporting slats and
the threads hung in dirty streamers, like dehydrated entrails. The canvas had been patched and
stitched in places too, and a lot of the stitches had come apart, so that it looked as if the old
woman would slide right through the chair at any moment. The old woman did not move. She
just sat there in the middle of the crowd, with the furniture, and stared straight ahead.
 An old perambulator full of old clothes and hats and worn shoes – a scuffed dancing-
pump, its silver rubbed off, dangling by a crooked heel from its bent shaft – stood near her right
elbow, next to the wash-stand with a cracked marble top. The stand was piled with an assortment
of dusty cardboard boxes: shoes boxes, hatboxes, dress boxes, an old chocolate box with a
picture of a man in Elizabethan clothes bowing over the hand of a woman in a big ruff and
farthingale. Odd pieces of old furniture were packed and jumbled around the old woman: an old
wardrobe with the door loose at the hinges and a cracked mirror; a chest of drawers that had once
been painted, but which was now covered with ancient grime that clung to the crevices of the
joints and wherever the paint had worn off. There was a kitchen table and several other smaller
tables, all loaded with the accumulation of decades or generations; a fly spotted calendar of the
previous year with a curling print of a full-breasted blonde in a cowboy hat and fringed G string,
and the word ‘Buffalo Gal’ printed along the bottom; an old-fashioned picture frame with the
brown daguerreotyped face of a young man in a high collar, black string tie and laced boots
posing next to a palm stand. All over were bundles and balanced on angles and projections from
the piled effects. Pots and pans with dented containers, a broken sewing machine with a spilt
cover, a chipped wash-stand set, the handle missing from a chamber pot; basins and jars and
canisters, armchairs and bedsprings rickety bedsteads, all heaped haphazardly, around the old
woman ready for loading, so that she sat in a league of second-hand household goods.
She was a thin and gnarled old woman with ropey hair the colour of used, dirty-white
knitting wool; ancient, liquid eyes stared out of the brown, clawed face with a bright fierce
dignity. Her hands, folded in the lap of her frayed coat, were hard and knotted like tangled skeins
of brown cord. She wore the coat in spite of the heat, and the imitation fur collar had scaly bald
patches as if it suffered from some kind of kin disease.
The shifting crowd gathered around and looked at the old woman sitting there inside the
barricade of furniture, but she did not notice them, crouched there in the canvas chair with her
bright, moist eyes and her impregnable dignity.(adapted from Effective Writing-Emenyeonu
E.N. (ND))

Bring out from the passage choice of words that creates vivid images of age, neglect,
poverty, and dignity. What is the general impression from the passage?

Narrative Writing: This takes the process of story-telling. It is an account of something that
happened or that is going to happen. It requires a clear plan of events that presents episodes in
the correct sequence with a climax that reiterates the opening paragraph. A narrative is built
around characters, actions, and settings in the order of life that is chronological. It could be
factual or fictional.

Elements Of Narrative Writing include: character, plot setting, action, tense, point of view,
dialogue, flashback, suspense.

Guidelines for Effective Narration

= It must be telling and well told.
= It must contain an element of suspense in its presentation.
= Use of action verbs (active verbs).
= Employ dialogue and flashback.
=Employ linking or transitional words between sentences and paragraphs.
= Use idioms and figurative expressions to give colour to your story.
= It must be chronological.
=It can start from the end and vice versa.
=It can describe, explain, or argue where necessary.
=Story either ends in failure or success.
= It must be able to recreate an event by telling: what, who, where, when, why and how of the
event.
= Elements such as character, setting, point of view, and plot must be present.
= It must be built within the scope of reality.

Expository Writing: Expository writing exposes, explains, analyses, classifies, evaluates,

compares and contrasts facts, events, processes, and objects. When it explains, it gives detailed
information on how something works or is done. It is concerned with specificity, accuracy,
complete and effective organization of information
It can expose through enumeration or examples in a logical sequence or pattern- one, two,
left to right etc. The process of analysis takes to classification and division by sorting items into
groups or according to their families. For effective exposition of some subjects, specialist
knowledge is paramount.

Guidelines for Effective Exposition

=it should give detailed and accurate information.
=it should give direction; explain a situation or an idea.
=Should give specific instruction where and when required.
= Facts to be stated clearly
= Be consistent.
= Use principles of classification- size, price, subject matter.
= The tone of the thesis can express support, disagreement, strong preference, certainty etc.
= A process must start from the beginning and go through stages.
= Analysis can be comparative.
= Measurement must be accurate.
= Points should be supported with facts.

The Argumentative/ Persuasive writing

The argumentative is most times confused with persuasive writing. The two are not the same
although they share certain elements in common. The two have the same purpose which is to win
or change something or position of the audience. They use reason and logic in their
presentations.
The persuasive writing uses emotion/ feeling and reason to make its audience do something.
It has to do with passionate appeal that woos the audience’s emotion. Its reasoning pattern is
mostly inductive.
The argumentative writing on the other hand is a controversial discussion that makes its case
by presenting through a logical but complex process of reasoning, facts, reasons evidence,
illustrations and references, to its audience in order to convince the audience. The reasoning
process mostly involved in argumentative writing is deductive in approach.

Guidelines for Effective Argument

= Argument must be presented logically.
= It must be grounded in facts, evidence with proof, illustration, statistics etc.
= Avoid emotive language, personal attacks, oversimplification and generalization.
= Don not evade the issue or beg the question.
= Strike a balance in your presentation i.e. acknowledge the points that are against your
view and counter them with stronger points. This will make your argument more
credible.
= Reasoning must be deductive –(from the general to the specific)
= Must be well organized. Start with an introductory paragraph that has a thesis statement
followed by other paragraphs that develop the points of the writing and a concluding
paragraph that summarizes the argument.
= The conclusion must be drawn from the evidence and facts presented in the paragraphs
= The introductory paragraph should include background information on the topic,
definition of key terms, writer’s position on the topic and major points to be advanced in
the body of the essay.
= Use linking or transitional words to connect paragraphs and make sure each paragraph
contains a point that is directly linked to the central issue.
= Avoid fallacies, don’t assume but prove.

LETTER WRITING

Letter is a form of written, printed or typed communication which serves different purposes
based on who is writing, what he is writing about and who the recipient is.

Types of letters
This is divided into three types: The formal, the informal and the semi-formal. Formal letters are
official letters written to recipients based on the official capacity. Informal letters are letter
written to friends, families and those close to us. Semi-formal letters are written to acquaintances
like our teachers, Principals and HoDs’ but not based on their official capacity It is midway
between formal and informal in style but must show respect

The informal letter: This is a personal letter written to one’s family or friends. It expressed
cordial relationship and the language is informal. It uses concentrated form of languages, slangs

Features of Informal Letter

1. One address i.e. writer’s address (top right)
2. Personal issues and gossips
3. Informal language use i.e. colloquial, slang, contracted forms
4. Date, salutation, body and complimentary close
5. Salutation could be “Dear + First name or nickname
6. Complimentary Close: Your son/daughter, your love, (your name),

The Semi-Formal Letter: The semi-formal letter is so called because it draws from features of
both informal and formal letters.
Features of Semi-Formal Letter
1. One address
2. Salutation: Dear Mr. or Mrs. (surname)
3. Complimentary Close: Yours sincerely, ever, etc.
4. Language is neither too formal or informal but respectful.
5. The languages can be contracted

Formal Letter: This is also known as official letter or business letter. It conveys a sense of
formality in tone and language. It is a letter addressed to offices rather than individuals or
officers.
Features of formal Letter
(1) Date Line: Different countries of the world write dates in different ways, ranging from:
day-month-year or month-day-year or year-month-day. For obvious reasons, months and
year must be fully written out to avoid misunderstanding
Month- day-year/ day-Month-Year / Year-day-Month
e.g. March 12, 2017; 12th March, 2017/ 2017, 3 12
2. Address: Official letters have the recipients address at the left hand side double-spacing
after the date. It contains name/title, company, address i.e. street, city, country (where
applicable), zip code.
3. Reference line: Ref: -----------------------------------
4. Salutation: Dear Sir / Madam, but in a situation where you do not want to sound sexist.
You can use the recipient’s name – Dear Mrs. Mogo, Dear Manager.
5. Title
6. Body: This contains the message of the letter. Language must be formal; no contractions
7. Complimentary Close: Yours sincerely, Yours faithfully, Regards, Best wishes.
8. Signature: Signature, Name, Designation.
9. Enclosure: (where applicable). It comes after the designation on complimentary close.
10. Copy Notation: Cc or Xc – used to indicate that the copy of the letter has been sent to
other individuals (where applicable)
11. No contracted form of words. Words are to be fully spelt.

There are basically three types of letter formats and two types of address style. The letter formats
include: block format, semi-block and modified format while the address format include: block
and slant.

Sample of Block Letter Format

----------------------------
---------------------------- Sender’s address
----------------------------
---------------------------- Date
----------------------------
---------------------------- Receiver’s address
----------------------------
----------------------------Salutation
-----------------------------Title
Body 1st paragraph
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------2nd paragraph---------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------3rd paragraph -----------------------------------------
--------------------------------------- Complimentary close
---------------------------------------

Sample of Semi-Block Letter Format

Sender’s address ---------------------------

---------------------------
Date: ---------------------------
----------------------------
---------------------------- Receiver’s address
----------------------------Salutation
-----------------------------Title
Body 1st paragraph
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2nd paragraph
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3rd paragraph
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Complimentary close --------------------------
-
Sample of Modified Letter Format

---------------------------- Sender’s address

----------------------------
` Date: -------------------
---------------------------- Receiver’s address
----------------------------
----------------------------Salutation
----------------------------Title
Body 1st paragraph
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2nd paragraph
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3rd paragraph
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------
` Complimentary close ------------------

Address formats

Block address format slant address format

--------------------------------- --------------------------
--------------------------------- -------------------------
--------------------------------- ------------------------

Block address is conventional for formal letter writing.

LETTER OF APPLICATION
The main reason for writing a letter of application is to ask for special consideration, and in this
regard, the reasons why it must be granted you are adequately and clearly stated. Depending on
the situation, certain expectations must be met. A letter of application for a job can be influenced
by the prospective employer in a way that you may be required to write the letter and attach
curriculum vitae or include such information as part of your letter. A third style may require an
applicant to complete an application form for a job online. Whatever the style, the way the
application is composed can make a difference between acceptance and rejection.
Letter of application needs to be carefully written, meticulously proofread for spelling
errors, typo and grammatical mistakes. Words should not be crowded, margins must be
maintained and paragraphs kept short and readable. The “you attitude” should not be an empty
boast. That is, convincingly establish how your qualifications meet the employer’s need that
makes you the right candidate for the job.
The first paragraph states why you are writing, how you learnt of the vacancy/company
and what your most important qualification for the job is. Don’t use questions to start an
application letter, (avoid unconventional or arrogant openings) e.g. “Are you looking for a
talented and dynamic young lady?” Don’t say “I want to apply…”, rather go straight to say: “I
am applying for…”, “I hereby apply for…” Mention the job and quote the source from which
you learnt of the vacancy,-where it applies.
There may be one or two paragraphs after the first that provide evidence based on the
information from your resume to prove that you are qualified for the job. You can state your
educational qualification on one paragraph and your experience on another paragraph or you
may choose to combine both in a paragraph. Avoid long complex sentences, use active voice for
emphasis.

Below are samples of the contents of application letters.

Writer’s Address
Date
Recipient’s address
Sir,
APPLICATION FOR THE POST OF AN ELECTRICAL ENGINEER

I am applying for… OR, I am interested in the position of…. OR,

In reply to your advertisement in The Punch newspaper of 10th October, 2018, I hereby apply…
(in reference to a situation where you saw the advert from a media)
On the other hand, if you were informed by someone, the name of your informant and the
place may be necessary. E.g.
At a recent meeting, seminar/ workshop at Idogba, the managing director of your
company (who was in attendance) mentioned to us that your company will be hiring …. Based
on this information, I am applying for the position of a ….
This should be followed by education, training and experience. e.g.
I attended …. (Schools and dates) and graduated with … (qualifications) I have successfully
completed … (additional qualification (s))
Having worked as … (brief mention of your work experience/duties and the places) (state your
conviction)
Attached with this application are photocopies of my certificates, credentials and curriculum
vitae for further….
(Make a reassuring statement to further persuade the employer to see reasons why you deserve
the job) e.g. I believe strongly…., I am confident that with my experience….

Complimentary close: Yours faithfully/Yours sincerely, signature, name, designation

CURRICULUM VITAE / RÉSUMÉ

The British call it curriculum vitae while the Americans call it resume. It is a document that sells
a job seeker to the employers of labour, hence, it needs serious attention and careful articulation.
The C.V. as it is popularly called bears details of your personal data, educational qualifications
and dates; work experiences and establishments, positions, duties and dates, extra-curricular
activities, publications and referees.

Qualities of a Good Résumé by Kolin (2007)

1. Honesty: This requires that you are honest in the records of your educational
qualifications, skills and job experiences. Be as truthful as possible so that you do not
cost yourself your job in future.
2. Attractiveness: Use appropriate font face, spacing and other document designs e.g. Bold
face where necessary, well planned subheadings.

3. Logicality: This calls for orderly and careful arrangement of information flow.
Unattractive resume will be a barrier to getting a job.

4. Be Concise: Use action packed words in short sentences to provide your information. As
a beginner, as much as possible, limit your resume to one page.

5. Correctness: Make sure your grammar, spellings, names, titles, dates, programmes and
contacts are correct.

6. Relevance: Make sure your skills, job experiences and educational qualifications are
relevant to the job requirement.

Samples of Curriculum Vitae

A.

GODSENT FAVOUR ANOINTED

72, Mahakwe Street, Dibo, Yaha State, Nigeria

Career Objective:
State your skill and strength in relation to the job. You can adapt your objective to the required
skills as advertised in the job vacancy. In other words, state the kind of job you are looking for
and what skills you have that qualifies you for the job. Example:

Objective: Full-time position as a computer engineer with IT/ICT consult.

Education:
This starts with the most recent qualification.

Dates (from-to) Name of schools Qualifications obtained

You can mention courses and grades you made (for beginners)

Experience:
This is your job history.
Start with the most recent job, provide a brief description of the duties or responsibilities you
carried out at whatever position you occupied. Leadership skills, accountability, integrity and
team-spirit displayed at your duty posts are important to highlight.
The items below can be part of the list of your experience from your previous jobs: You can
bullet them.

Training skills
Management skills
Technical capabilities
Group leadership
Computer language you know
Computer programme you know or have designed
Maintenance / Service skills
People skills.

Conferences/Workshops/Presentations/Publications

Additional skills/Achievements: Language, certifications, membership of associations, travels,

etc.
Honours/Awards: Academic – Dean’s list, department, school, grants, scholarships, honorary
awards, etc.
Hobbies:

References: Not less than three persons, their names, titles, e-mails, phone numbers.

B.

PAUL THOMAS CHIMDIKE

(Surname plus other names either boldly written across the top page or by the left- hand side)

Contact information:
Address
Telephone/ Cell Phone No.
E-mail Address
Website:
Personal information
Place of Origin:
State of Origin:
Date of Birth:
Religion:
Nationality:
Others (Optional Personal Information)
Objective:
This is usually written to address the specific requirements of a particular job. You state what
you want to do on the job and the required skills and abilities you possess in that direction. In
most cases, your objective should build around the key skills/abilities contained in the job advert.
Education:
From the most recent, make a list of:
Schools attended with Dates
Qualifications obtained with Dates
Example:
Date School Degree
2008 – 2012 Babcock University, BSc Nursing
Ilishan Remo, Ogun State

Professional qualifications with dates (if any)

 Job Experience
From the latest job, state positions held, the establishments, dates and a brief summary of the key
responsibilities and accomplishments. (Where applicable)
Example:
Position Establishments dates
Duties:
Accomplishments:

Papers Presented/ workshops attended with dates:

Works published/ projects supervised: (where applicable)

Hobbies:

Referees: with full names, address, contacts, email

Reports and Minutes

A report is a document that describes a situation or event; setting out the relevant information,
findings, recommendations and conclusions necessary for actions. The purpose of a report is to
enable an authority or an individual take decisions regarding certain matters under review. A
report could be oral or written, informational, technical or analytical. The style of its presentation
can wear a formal routine or situational outlook. The formal routine outlook opens with a formal
statement of place and time of incident or meeting and account of activities. In a business report,
account of business activities for a period of time with emphasis on new ideas, achievements or
positions and future prospects are included.

Types of Report
a. Business report: This can be in form of a sales report or statutory report. It opens with a formal
statement of the place and date of the meeting. It is usually prepared by the secretary of a
company for Annual General Meetings of the shareholders or Board of Trustees. Example:

THE 52ND ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEE OF BABCOCK

UNIVERSITY HELD ON THE 25TH AUGUST, 2011, AT THE VICE CHANCELLOR’S
BOARDROOM, PASTOR IWARI G. (CHANCELLOR) PRESIDING
This type of report gives account of activities or developments in the organization since the
previous annual general meeting. The secretary can refer to future prospects based on the agreed
policy of the directors. Such report concludes with the adoption of the accounts and approval of
the declared dividend. Any changes among the directors are also worth mentioning.
b. Committee Meeting Reports: The opening statement of such a meeting report also contains
details of date and place of the last meeting, the names of those who attended the meeting and
the person that chaired the meeting. It is usually written in the third person with past tense.
Example:

THE REPORT ON DISCUSSION REGARDING THE DESPICABLE ATTITUDE OF SOME

BU STUDENTS IN REGARD TO WORSHIP; BY THE DIVISION OF SPIRITUAL LIFE
DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE, BABCOCK UNIVERSITY ON THE 28 TH OF
SEPETEMBER, 2011, AT THE DISTRICT PASTOR’S OFFICE; PASTOR TH. OKOCHI
(DIRECTOR D.S.L) PRESIDING
A meeting of the disciplinary committee was held on the 25 th September, 2011, at the district
Pastor’s office.

Present:
Ps O.T. Lewajo (Chaplain)
Mrs. O.B. Ete
Prof. C.E. Uso (V.P. Institutional Effectiveness)
Mrs. M.S. Erke (Elder in charge)
Sis. Makawa (chaplain)
Prof. C.E. Uso reported that there is an obvious despicable attitude by some Babcock University
Students in Regards to worship on campus, etc.

Situational/ Investigative report: This is a special report that could be written by an individual
or a group depending on the situation and the subject and its relevance to whosoever it is written
to. It is written based on terms of reference; in other words, it is written based on a guideline. It
could be a meeting report that is drafted based on request on a particular subject or situation.
This as well, gives a brief detail, heading, date, time with the names of those whom the report is
to be sent to appearing either at the top of the page or at the bottom of the last page.
Statutory Report: this is a legal document because its written I legally necessitated. It is a
mandatory document that must be written by an organization or government in a particular form
and with some particular information necessary for particular audience consumption.
Other types of report include:

a. Periodic report written weekly. Monthly, quarterly, or yearly.

b. Progress report written to give up to date information on a project.
c. Formal report which is written in a complex and detailed from
d. Informal report which can be in form an oral report
e. informational report that provides information on an event, activity etc
f. analytic report which presents facts and figures, analyses them, interprets, makes
judgment, draws conclusion and makes recommendation.
Features of a Report
Reports, whether on request or on an individual opinion or choice, must as much as possible:
= Be objective in its language rather than being subjective.
= Have a purpose and scope.
= Be precise with information.
=Thoroughly examine the situation or question, gather relevant materials, evidence, opinions,
comments etc.
= Have a conclusion drawn based on the relevant materials.
= Be presented in a way that the audience can easily and quickly understand and take the right
action.
= Make a balanced judgment from various opinions examined. This should as well guide its
recommendations.

The Report Format

Paragraphs: Each item on the report should be set out as a paragraph and numbered for easy
reference. The introduction opens with a heading; giving date, place and a brief detail of the
subject. Terms of reference begins with a clear statement of purpose and scope of the enquiry.
Terms of reference is the instruction you were given which forms the subject of the report. This
means that if you are asked to write a report, that which you have been asked to do become your
terms of reference. The name of the person or the body requesting for the report should as well
be stated.

Evidence: All the information obtained are sorted and arranged in a logical or chronological
order depending on the subject of the report. Specific details need to be quoted while statistical
evidence and tabulated data are supplied as appendix at the end of the report. Here, only the
relevant information that will have direct bearing on the recommendations is to be mentioned.

Findings: This is where the writer’s conclusion comes in. the conclusion is based on the
evidence built above. Opinions are to be clarified and reconciled here.
Recommendations: Recommendations are made based on the facts and findings of the report.
Course of action to be taken and the intended result(s) are stated here.

Minutes of Meetings
Minutes are concise record of business transactions at a meeting, the decisions reached and
actions taken or to be taken. All the discussions are not fully reported in the minutes but only the
action taken. It opens with a brief record of the time, place and date of the meeting and the
names of those present. The minute writer takes note of all the proceedings but applies skill in
composing the minutes as regards selecting or distinguishing between relevant and irrelevant
resolutions. It is only the relevant resolutions that are compiled as minutes and they are
numbered as separate items.
There is a distinction between minutes of narration that summarizes statement made by
members and minutes of resolutions on specific proposals which notes names of the proposer
and the seconded person of such proposition. The votes or decision on such issues are also
included in the minutes.

Planning a Meeting/ Writing Minutes

Minutes are written communications that captures or summarizes discussions from
gathering where issues for the goodwill of a group or an organisation is a major course. In
planning a meeting, time, place and date must be clearly scheduled; the people who are to be in
attendance should be notified in time. The main items for the meeting or agenda to be covered
must be carefully chosen and prioritized in a way that what is most important comes first.

Writing Minutes
Minutes are summaries of what happened at meetings. This includes the following:
1) title, date, time and place of the meeting
2) Name of the person presiding over the meeting
3) The group holding the meeting (where necessary)
4) Names of those present and those absent (with permission)
5) The approval or amendment of minute of previous meeting
6) Summary of discussions, suggestions and recommendations
7) List of each motion or item voted as it is worded
8) Names of those that moved motions and those that seconded and what the body approved
base on the motion.
9) Do not include everyone’s statement. Only resolutions, assignments and other reports,
new business, etc. are to be included
10) Name of the person that made the motion to adjourn, the seconder, time for next meeting,
time the meeting officially ended.

Examples of minute’s structure

1. A narrative summary: The president requested….
Mr. Honolulu said that the committee ..., Mr. President asked ... or announced.
2. It was moved, seconded and unanimously approved that....
After some discussions, the chairperson appointed a committee to...
Projects introduced and discussed by...
Adjournment – The meeting was adjourned at 3.00p.m.
Signature.
4. Meetings where resolutions are taken go with the two words: ‘whereas’ and ‘resolved’.
Other Forms of Writings
Review: A review of a book, film, or play is neither an account of the plot nor a deep study of
the material; rather, it is a simple and brief outline that establishes the situation of the work and
identifies the characters. The major attention of this writing is to assess a work’s appeal to the
reader or audience; its strength and weakness, the manipulation of plot and development of
character. It also compares similar works or other works by the same author.
Critical remarks by the reviewer are supported by specific examples or incidents briefly
quoted from the work to get the mind of the audience ready for action; although, having not read
the work.

Character Study: This is basically a descriptive write-up with a unique style. It can study ones
work and base his character on the account of his achievement. This means that in assessing a
man’s work, his achievements becomes the bedrock upon which his character emerges. The
writing starts with a clear and concise statement of who the character is and a brief personal
history. Character study is a writing that consists of a critical assessment of character’s
personality, built in a clear and precise picture that makes him real.

Writing an Article
This is usually written for publication in a newspaper or magazine. And just like every
other form of writing, it must have a topic that addresses a particular audience or situation, and
with a purpose to accomplish. Articles can play the functions of informing, arguing a point,
providing instruction, defending a case, exposing something, entertaining, etc. They are not
letters but are accompanied with letters to editors for publication.

The Format/ features of an Article

1. Do not start it like a letter because it is not a letter, rather write your topic and go on to
introduce the topic to your audience. In other words, after the title is the introductory
paragraph which must highlight your stand point on the matter.

2. Because articles are written to address a situation or a concern that others may have made
that opinions known on, it is necessary to refer to some other arguments that already exist
on the topic. This can constitute the introduction.

3. Having pointed out what others have said, it is time for you to go into a full argument or
presentation of your own view or opinion on the matter in the body paragraphs.

4. The concluding paragraph summarizes all that has been written with a personal but
logical correction on the matter depending on what the write-up is all about.

5. Write your name in full and your city or place.

Exercises

A.

1. Language is a tool for ---------------------------

2. Language skills are divided into ------------------, ---------------

-------------------, and ---------------------------

3. One of the elements of critical listening is -------------------

4. ---------------, ------------------, ----------------- are types of listening

5. Stages of communication process include: ---------------, -----------------------------,

-----------------------.and ----------------------

6. -------------------- and ------------------ are receptive skills

7. The process by which the eyes pick symbols and codes and transmit same to the brain
which decodes those symbols and attaches meanings to them is
called___________________

8. -----------------------, -----------------------, and --------------------

9. The noise from physiological sources can come from all but not ----------------
A. Emotion B. Sight C. Hearing D. Speaking

10. Noise that affects the recipient of a message can be from the ----------------
A. Encoder B. Decoder C. Message D. None of the Above

11. Barriers to communication from experiences, beliefs, background, constitutes --------------- noise
A. Cultural, B. Psychological C. External D. Physiological

12. Which type of communication involves television, magazines, newspapers? ----

A. Public B. Mass C. Station D. Personal

13. Presentations, lectures, sermons etc are examples of ------------- communication

A. Public B. Inter-Personal C. Intra-Personal D. Small Group

14. Uses of Communication include all but not -------------

A. To Educate B. To Destroy C. To Inform D. To Persuade

15. Which style of communication employs hidden intentions and strategies against the will of
others?
A. Passive B. Assertive C. Aggressive D. Manipulative
16. Which of the communication styles is used for manipulation?---------
A. Passive B. Manipulative C. Aggressive D. Assertive

17. A communicator that is firm in asserting his point of view and as well respects other people’s
right is said to be -------
A. Passive B. Manipulative C. Aggressive D. Assertive

18. Communicators that admit others views as superior to theirs even when it is obvious that they
have superior arguments fall under ------------ style
A. Passive B. Manipulative C. Aggressive D. Assertive
19. Cmmunication skills are broadly divided into ------------- and --------

B.

1. The status of English language in Nigeria is -------------------

2. Three bad reading habits include: ______________________,

________________________ and ____________________

3. The type of reading speed that is used to get an overview of a text is ________________

4. -------------------- can affect the encoding, channeling and decoding of a message and lead
to communication failure.

5. The formula SQ3R stands for: _____________, __________, ______________,

_______________ and ______________

6. -----------------------------, --------------------------------- and

__________________ can constitute barriers to listening

7. The type of reading that requires reading beyond the letters in a text to understanding the
grammatical/ discourse markers, lexical/ semantic details etc is ___________________

8. When listening to a speaker, ---------------------- cues can aid understanding of his

message

9. ---------------------------- skills are used to give out information

10. ------------------------ listening helps to build up relationships.

11. Shaking or clasping of hands, positioning, distance, posture are examples of ----in
communication
A. Proxemics B. Kinesics C. Pattern D. Style

12. All forms or ways of passing across message without words in communication is known as
----
A. Paralinguistic B. Kinesics C. Verbal D. Proxemics
13. The communication style used to maintain one’s point of view but that cares less about
violating other people’s rights is called -------------
A. Passive B. Assertive C. Aggressive D. Manipulative
14. Biases, prejudices, mistrust, and lack of interest can lead to noise in communication known
as---- noise
A. Cultural B. Psychological C. External D. Physiological

15. Wrong timing of a message means --------------------

A. Talking At Night B. Inadequate Timing C. Late Timing D. Inappropriate
Timing

16. Hazy voice from telephone call, dim light, breaking sounds from a microphone, can
constitute ---noise
A. external B. mechanical c. Psychological D. Physiological

17. A type of communication that involves a group with a leader usually to solve a problem is --------
A. Intra-Personal B. Public C. Small Group D. Mass

18. Communication within oneself is known as ----------------

A. Personal B. Intra-Personal C. Inter-Personal D. Public

19. Kinesics and proxemics are examples of --------------- form of communication

A. Verbal B. Written C. Non-Verbal D. Target

20. Language is a tool for ---------------------------

1. A group of words that encapsulates a unit of meaningful expression is called

A. paragraph B. indentation C. word D. sentence
2. One of these is not a quality of an argumentative essay
A. logicality B. description C. evidence D. points
3. An essay type that tells a story is --------
A. expository B. narrative C. descriptive
D. composition
4. The parts that make up an essay include all but not
A. composition B. body C. introduction
D. conclusion
5. The essay types include all but not
A. narrative, B. argumentative C. expressive
D. expository
6. The essay that uses words to paint a picture of its object is called
A. expository B. descriptive C. narrative
D. argumentative
7. The sentence that embodies the controlling idea in a paragraph is called ----------
A. thesis statement B. indentation [Link] sentence
D. paragraph
8. All but one is a quality of a good writing
A. thesis statement B. clarity C. unity D. economy
9. The sentence that introduces the central idea or the direction of an essay is called
A. topic sentence B. thesis statement C. paragraph
D. introduction
10. An essay type that exposes or explains or shows a process is called ------
A. expository B. argumentative C. descriptive D. narrative
11. Communication skills include all but not
A. reading B. studying C. speaking
D. listening
12. Effective writing takes into consideration one of the following
A. reading B. note taking C. audience
D. environment
13. Stages of writing include all but not
A. pre-writing B. editing C. drafting
D. simplicity
14. The purpose of writing include all but not ------------
A. to educate B. to inform C. to entertain D. to study
15. Types of paragraphs include all but not ---------
A. argumentative B. concluding [Link]
D .introductory
16. Another name for body paragraph is ----------------- paragraph
A. topic sentence B. developmental C. complimentary D. prose
17. Concluding paragraph ----------- what has been written
A. introduces B. illustrates C. restates D. argues
18. One of the qualities of the introductory paragraph is
A. thesis statement B. examples C. story
D. paragraph
19. One of these is not a quality of a narrative essay
 A. class B. character C. plot D. setting
20. The element in a narration that propels a reader to long to read to the end of a story is
-----A. character B. setting C. suspense
D. flashback
21. The narrative element that takes a reader back into time is called
A. flashback B. past tense C. dialogue
D. point of view
22. A descriptive essay uses ------- to create or paint a picture of its objects
A. nouns B. verbs C. adjectives D. prepositions
23. Which type of essay requires high level of creativity?
A. narrative B. descriptive C. expository
D. argumentative
24. Which type of essay gives detailed and accurate information on how something is done?
A. expository B. argumentative C. narrative
D. descriptive
25. An essay type that deals with controversial topic(s) is known as-----------
A. expository B. argumentative C. narrative
D. descriptive
26. Another name for transitional words is ---------------
A. outline B. linking words C. fragment
D. prose
27. A. One of these is not a function of transition
A. to express oneself B. to show sequence
[Link] give example D. to show contrast
28. Transitions that indicate time include all but not --------------
A. to the left B. when C. as soon as D. next
29. The following can be used to draw a write-up to a close apart from -----
A. in summary B. finally C. also
D. consequently
30. Which is the odd one in the list?
A. firstly B. primarily C. initially
D. consequently
D

38. Writing requires the following but not -----------

A. creativity B. thinking C. patience
D. difficulty
39. ------------------ is an expressive skill
A. hearing B. reading C. listening D. writing
40. Expressive skills are used to express -------------
A. vocabulary B. verbs C. grammar D. opinions
41. ------------------- is a receptive skill
A. studying B. speaking C. reviewing D reading
42. Elements of a paragraph include the following but not --------
A. topic sentence B. examples C. illustrations D. data
43. Ideas, opinions or meanings in writings are developed using
A. sentences B. narrations C. complications
D. vocabularies
44. The following can be used to develop a paragraph but not ----
A. spellings B. reasons C. illustrations D. details
45. ------------ is a skeletal outlook of an essay
A. paragraph B. sentence C. outline D. speech
46. A sentence that does not make a complete sense is called ----
A. fragment B. predicate C. structure D. example
47. Which paragraph in essay writing presents the writer’s stance or direction?
A. indentation B. introduction C. conclusion
D. developmental
48. One of the following is a good reason for indenting paragraphs in a write-up
A. logical reasoning B. makes work readable
C. shows facts D. gives details
49. Essay writing assesses one’s ability to ---------
A. air one’s view B. manipulate
C. communicate effectively D. understand
50. The following must be avoided in an argumentation except-
A. personal attack B. proof C. oversimplification
D. generalization
51. The essay type that recreates life or events is called ----------
A. narrative B. expository C. descriptive
D. introduction
52. A narrative must be built within -----------------
A a school B. a compound C. a film D. the scope of reality
53. Which type of essay emphasizes avoidance of fallacy or fallacious statement?
A. argumentative B. narrative C. expository
D. descriptive
54. Essay writing in school can help students ----- their talents or potentials
A. deduce B. decrease C. discover D. deviate
55. One of the following is an essential part of essay writing
A. film watching B. newspaper reading
C. literature D. proofreading
56. Writing is an essential element in ---------- of life
A. some fields B. few fields C. all fields D. no field
57. ---------------- type of writing involves using all the senses
A. narrative B. descriptive C. expository
D. argumentative
58. Practicing writing will do the following except -------------
A. make you intelligent B. develop fluency of expression
C. accuracy of usage D. increase organizational ability
59. One of these is not a letter type
A. formal letter B. composition letter
C. semi- formal letter D. informal letter
60. A formal letter has ----------- addresses
A. one B. two C. three D. formal

Exercise E

61. The salutation of a formal letter reads ---------------

A. Dear. Mr. + surname B. Dear + surname C. Dear Sir
D. Dear + name
62. A business letter is an example of a ------------- letter
A. Formal B. semi-formal C. informal D. business
63. One of these is not a formal letter
A. personal letter B. application letter
C. query letter D. complaint letter
64. Which type of letter uses titles or subject heading?
A. semi formal B. post formal C. informal D. formal
65. One of the following is not a letter format
A. full block B. semi block C. slant format
D. modified format
66. There are -----------types of address style in a letter
A. three B. two C. one D. four
67. Which type of letter is usually written on a letterhead?
A. formal letter B. post formal C. semi formal
D. informal
68. One of these is a letter address style
A. curved style B. bold style C. block style
D. spread style
69. The salutation of an informal letter reads --------------
A. Dear Sir B. Dear + first name
C. Dear Mr. + surname D. My Dear + surname
70. Which type of essay does not have introduction?
A. narrative B. argumentative C. descriptive [Link]
71. The address of informal letter is ------------
A. two B. three C. none D. one
72. Which of these can be a complimentary close to an informal letter?
A. yours faithfully B. yours sincerely C. your son
D. signature
73. Which letter type requires a signature?
A. semi-formal B. formal C. informal
D. none
74. Which type of letter will contain personal issues and gossips?
A. informal B. formal C. semi-formal D. post formal
75. Which type of letter employs informal language use?
A. formal B. semi-formal C. informal D. none
76. ---------- letter is not too formal neither is it too informal in language use
A. post formal B. informal C. semi-formal D. formal
77. Slangs are allowed in the ----------------- letter
A. Informal B. semi-formal C. formal
D. post formal
78. In semi-formal letter, the salutation reads --------------
A. Dear Sir/ Madam B. Dear + first name
C. Dear Mr.+ Surname D. none
79. Which is the odd one from the options?
A. narrative B. expository C. composition
D. descriptive
80. Identify the odd one from the options
A. informal B. formal C. post formal
D. semi-formal
81. Which essay type uses title or heading?
A. descriptive B. narrative C. argumentative D. all
82. All essay types use ----------- addresses
A. two B. no C. three D. one
83. Which letter type uses signature and full name at the complimentary close?
A. formal B. Informal C. semi-formal D. none
84. Pick out the odd one from the options
A. formal B. expository C. informal
D. semi-formal
85. A speech type that broadens the audience’s knowledge on a subject is called --------
speech
A. persuasive B. tribute C. graduation D. informative
86. A speech that is composed to sing the good qualities of someone is called-
A. keynote address B. introductory speech
C. tribute D. expository speech
87. The aim of persuasive speech is to ----------------
A. achieve a change of mindset B. introduce C. celebrate D. inform
88. Another name for graduation speech is -------------------
A. keynote address B. convocation speech C. conference speech
D. dinner speech
89. A speech that shows giant strides and achievements of graduating students is --------
speech
A. educative B. acceptance C. victory
D. graduation
90. A speech that has an attitude of joy and happiness is called ----- speech
A. victory B. informative C. persuasive D. burial

SECTION 2
LANGUAGE AND GRAMMAR

GRAMMAR

Grammar deals with the structure and rules of a language. The structure involves the parts that
make up a speech while the rules are concerned with sequencing of these parts to achieve a
meaningful unit of expression.

The Parts of Speech

This is so called because there is no speech without them. In order words, whatever anybody
speaks or writes is a combination of these parts in certain orders to achieve whatever intended
effect or meaning. These constitute the grammar of any language. Knowing them and their right
usages and functions will aid effective communication. There are varied numbers of parts of
speech according to different languages. In order words, some parts of speech are universal while
some are not but in English language, there are majorly eight parts of speech, thus:

Noun
Pronoun
Verb
Parts Adjective
of Adverb
Speech Conjunction
Preposition
Interjection
Before delving into the discussion on the parts of speech, we will take a look at the lexical and
functional usages of the parts of speech.

Let’s illustrate with some sentences.

a. obi is a boy
b. the man is sitting under the mango tree
c. he came from Ilishan village
d. breaking of the law is easier than keeping it

Lexical analysis of the sentences

(a) Obi is a boy
noun verb article noun

(b) The man is sitting under the mango tree

article noun verb verb preposition article noun noun

(c) He came from Ilishan village

Pronoun verb preposition noun noun
(d) Breaking of the law is easier than keeping it
Verb prep art noun verb adverb conjuct verb pronoun

Functional analysis of the constituents according to the parts of speech

(a) Obi is a boy =

Noun (subject) + verb + adjective + noun (complement)/(verb object)

(b) The man is sitting under the mango tree =

Adjective+noun(S)+auxiliary+verb+preposition+adjective+adjective+noun
(c) He came from Ilishan village =
pronoun+ verb+ preposition + adjective + noun

(d) Breaking of the law is easier than keeping it =

noun+preposition+adjective+noun+verb+adverb+conjunction+verb+pronoun

Noun is always the first in the list of parts of speech. It assumes the most prominent place i.e the
subject positon in utterances. It is the major focus of attention and action in every utterance. But
for easy and effective communication, it can give away its position or choose a position lower than
its original position.

Exercise:
Draw out some simple but basic lessons of life from the interactions of the parts of speech at the
functional level paying attention to the relationship between noun and other parts of speech.

Analyse the following sentences according to their lexical and functional constituents

1. He has gone to see his father at the market

2. We must learn to take care of our health
3. Calling on the name of the Lord is the only way out
4. The police arrested the criminals because their cup was full
5. You have to wait until you complete your higher education
6. Marriage is very important for companionship
7. Titi was the only Nigerian woman at the conference
8. Playing and singing is his hobby
9. There is time for everything under the sun
10. Do to others what you want them to do to you

We will at this juncture, take a look at the parts of speech.

Noun
This is the part of speech that names a person, animal, place, thing or
an idea. The table illustrates:

Person animal place thing idea

John dog porch radio happiness
Bola cat stadium cup joy
Suleman elephant Lagos lorry strength
Jubril buffalo America book power
Ojukwu trigger Nigeria door authority
Bush lion parlor window punishment
Obama chicken Babcock Uni. paint law
Nkechi ant Ilishan shoes death
Trump hippopotamus office trumpet hatred

Types of noun
Proper noun
Concrete noun
Common noun
Possessive noun
Collective noun
Compound noun
Count noun
Non-count /mass noun
Proper noun: Proper noun names a particular person, place, thing or idea, event, date. Its first
letter is capitalized

Person Place Thing Idea/event

George Abuja Bible World war II
Bush China Koran Sabbath
Goodluck Port Harcourt Things Fall Apart Middle Age
Abayomi Babcock University Independence Day
Christmas/Easter
Tuesday/December
Proper nouns are used for persons, places, titles of books, languages, deities, names of religions,
bodies of water, regions, historical events/periods, holidays, calendar items (days/months),
names of institutions and organizations. They are started with capital letters. See the examples
above.

Common Noun: This is a general name given to members of a class or group that share similar
or same characteristics e.g.

Human being: man, woman, child, boy, girl etc

Holiday: Easter, Christmas, Independence Day, Children’s Day, Labour Day, Sabbath Day
Water: (bodies of water) Indian Ocean, Lake Chad, Caribbean Sea, Red Sea
Language: Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa, English, Arabic
School: Primary School, Secondary School, University, Polytechnic, College
Concrete Noun: This stands for things that are perceptible to the senses e.g. fire, ball, computer,
chemical, floor, cake, ice, block, paper, salt, pot, spoon, chair, table, etc.

Abstract Noun: Abstract noun as it is called stands for abstract things like:
Qualities: freedom, beautiful, horrible, rough etc,
Events: dream, resumption, etc
Emotions: joy, jealousy, envy, happiness, sadness etc

Examples:
 The joy of the Lord is my strength
 He was pained over the death of his wife
 She could not bear the insult from her maid
 The time has come for self assessment
 I need some fortune
 He was told to stop being stupid
 His success was a dream come through
 The wicked has many sorrows

Collective noun: This names a group of persons, places, things or ideas taken as a unit. E.g.
congregation, army, family, team, flock, crowd, audience, government, batch, herd,
constellation, gang, crew, committee etc
Examples:

The congregation prayed for the out pouring of the Holy Spirit
His family has travelled abroad
Jesus saw the crowd and had compassion on them

Compound noun: Here, two or more words combine or are used together as a single noun.

Such words can be:

a. joined together as one word: sunshine, dewdrops, rainfall etc

b. written differently as two words: ice cream, fish pond etc

c. hyphenated: secretary-general, father –in-law etc

Examples:

i. Learn to sleep in your night gown.

ii. They fixed a mosquito net in their bedroom.
iii. Suddenly, the tea-cup fell and spilt its content over the place.
iv. Seun hung the wall-clock in the sitting room.
v. The crops are doing well with the dewdrops.

Count/ countable noun: Noun that has singular and plural cases is referred to as count noun. In
other words, it is a noun that can be counted e.g.

one table – five tables one chair – three chairs

one loaf – two loaves one liter – four liters
one carton –four cartons one cup – two cups
one ball – ten balls one man -two men
one boy – five boys one pen – ten pens
one book –three books one bottle – six bottles
one box –nine boxes one girl – six girls
one church – seven churches one school –eight schools

Uncountable/Mass/Non-countable Noun: Just as the name implies, it is a noun that cannot be

counted into singular and plural cases.

Examples: rice, salt, oil, blood, air, water, milk, bread, food, paper, wood, dust etc.
On the other hand, these nouns can be made countable by packaging them into lengths, weights,
units of measurement etc.

Examples: two cups of water, ten liters of petrol, a speck of dust, five slices/ ten loaves of
bread, five pieces of paper, some drop(s) of blood, three lumps of sugar, five spoons of salt etc

Examples:
Did you fetch some water today?
Let’s have some milk.
I need some sauce/ soup.
The driver bought ten liters of petrol.
Can I write on a piece of paper?
He cooked with five spoons of salt

Characteristics of a Noun

a. It names ideas, persons, things and places. – ball, happiness, favour, Joseph, Aba etc.

 Joseph received favour from God

 Aba is the Japan of Africa

b. It reflects number i.e. has singular and plural cases.

box – boxes, church – churches

 The boko haram boys burnt down churches in Jos

 They keep their arms and ammunition in a box

c. It shows possession by the addition of apostrophe and ‘s’ -Niyi’s house, Ogunji’s office,
Haruna’s farm

We just passed Niyi’s house

Today is Oge’s wedding day

d. It can be modified or qualified

good daughter, beautiful daughter

I have a beautiful daughter

It takes a good husband to be a good wife
He looks good
 e. It functions as subject, object, and complement in a sentence

Subject complement object

Jago the doctor / donated/ a pint of blood.

Jude the carpenter / bought/ a car.

Noun and number

Nouns form their plural cases in different ways. Generally, we have some nouns that their plural
formation are described as “regular” while others are “irregular”

Regular plural forms of noun: This group is further divided into two viz.

a. Those that end with ‘x’, ‘sh’, ‘ch’ and ‘s’ sounds. Theses add ‘es’ to form their plurals

Examples:

Box –boxes bush- bushes

church – churches bus – buses
Fox – foxes brush – brushes
bench – benches kiss – kisses
Apex – apexes marsh – marshes
bunch – bunches gas – gases
Dish – dishes witch – witches
guess – guesses Wish – wishes
beach – beaches

b. Those nouns that end in “y” and are preceded by consonant sounds, change the “y” into “i”
and add “es” to form their plurals

Examples:

Singular plural
enemy enemies
army armies
entity entities
ally allies
 baby babies
fly flies
ply plies
lady ladies
spy spies
family families

c. Also, those that end in “y” but are preceded by vowel sounds do not change their “y”s but
add “s” after the “y” to form their plurals

Examples:
Singular plural
day days
key keys
toy toys
donkey donkeys
monkey monkeys
journey journeys
boy boys
delay delays

The irregular plural nouns:

Nouns ending with “f” and “fe” form their plurals as follows.

a. “f” changes to “ves”

Singular plural
loaf loaves
wolf wolves
calf calves
leaf leaves
hoof hooves
elf elves
half halves
self selves
sheaf sheaves
thief thieves

b. “f” takes “s”

Singular plural
dwarf dwarfs
 roof roofs
chief chiefs
belief beliefs
chef chefs
gulf gulfs

c. “fe” to “ves”
Singular plural
knife knives
wife wives
life lives

d. This next group of nouns that end with “f” and “fe” can take either “s” or “ves” in their
plural formation.
Examples:
handkerchief (s, ves), scarf(s, ves), wharf (s, ves)

e. Nouns that end with “o” form their plurals by adding “es” or “s”
Singular plural
tomato tomatoes
potato potatoes
hero heroes
buffalo buffaloes
veto vetoes
mango mangoes

Singular plural
tornado tornado (es, s)
cargo cargo (es, s)
auto auto (s)
mosquito Mosquitoes
banjo banjos

Other nouns borrowed from other languages form their plurals as follows:
f. “us” endings change to “i”
Singular plural
nucleus nuclei
bacillus bacilli
syllabus syllabi (syllabuses)
locus loci
cactus cacti
 alumnus alumni
radius radii
fungus fungi
alumna alumnae

Others include:
g. changing “um” to “a”
Singular plural
datum data
alumna alumnae
appendix appendices
criterion criteria
aquarium aquaria (ums)
addendum addenda
corrigendum corrigenda
forum fora
symposium symposia
bacterium bacteria

h. “is” ending changes to es

Singular plural
crisis crises
basis bases
analysis analyses
oasis oases
paralysis paralyses
thesis theses
parenthesis parentheses

i phenomenon phenomena
algae algae
index indices
larva larvae
pupa pupae

j. Several other nouns have mutated or mutating plurals cases

examples:

Singular plural
child children
 man men
person people
mouse mice
medium media
tooth teeth
foot feet
woman women

k.. There are still other nouns that do not change their forms in both singular and plural
cases

Singular plural

deer deer
salmon salmon
series series
sheep sheep
species species
barracks barracks
information information
cattle cattle
congregation congregation
headquarters headquarters
furniture furniture
equipment equipment
advice advice
jewellery jewellery

Compound nouns and their plural cases

i. Pluralizing the first word in the group

Singular plural
passer-by passers –by
Director Directors –General
Commander-in-chief Commanders-in-Chief
Chief-of-staff Chiefs-of-Staff
Auditor-general Auditors-General
Secretary-general Secretary-General
Secretary of State Secretaries of State
 Justice-of-peace Justices-of-Peace
sister-in-law sisters-in-law
mother-in-law mothers-in-law
parent-in-law parents-in-law
man of war men of war
Head of state Heads of State
man of war men of war

m. Pluralizing the last word in the group

Singular plural
lady driver lady drivers
female student female students
bye-election bye-elections
cupful cupfuls
baby-sister baby-sisters
boy scout boy scouts
play boy play boys
Major general major generals
go-between go-betweens
kick-off kick-offs
grown-up grown-ups
Lieutenant lieutenants
Colonel colonels
by-stander by-standers
call girl call girls

n. Pluralizing both nouns in the compound case

Singular plural
man driver men drivers
man friend men friends
man servant men servants
man bowler men bowlers
woman driver women driver

Note: Some nouns are plural in appearance but singular in meaning. Such appearance should
not be mistaken for plurality.
Examples: News gymnastics, mathematics, statistics, emphasis, economics, scissors, trousers,
pliers etc

Nouns of measurement
a. A piece A bit A block
b. A part A pile A blade
c. A lump A cup A bar
d. A sheet A length A foot
e. A kilo An acre A metre
f. An ounce A pint A bottle
g. A loaf A slice

These can form their plural by replacing the single determiners with numbers (two, some, three,
ten, hundred) and the plural form of the nouns after the numbers. Examples
Singular plural
A cup of water ten cups of water,
A loaf of bread five loaves of bread
A pint of milk some pints of milk
A sheet of paper two sheets of paper.

Nouns derived from adjectives

Adjective Noun
Abundant Abundance
Angry Anger
Foolish Foolishness
Humble Humility
Like Likeness
Scarce Scarcity
Affluent Affluence
Anxious Anxiety
Proud Pride
Real Reality
Just Justice
Mad Madness
True Truth
Warm Warmth
Able Ability
Free Freedom
Long Length
Punctual Punctuality
vain Vanity
Voracious Voracity
Wise Wisdom
Young Youth
Colloquial Colloquialism
Holy Holiness
Brave Bravery
Faithful Faithfulness / faith
Bitter Bitterness
Equal Equality
Enjoy Enjoyment
Safe Safety
Secure Security
strong Strength
Simple Simplicity
Terrible Terror
Dark Darkness
Hate Hatred
Fit Fitness
Fertile Fertility
Crude Crudity
Cruel Cruelty
Constant Constance
Honest Honesty
Grand Grandeur

NOUNS DERIVED FROM VERBS

Verbs Noun
Conclude Conclusion
Consider Consideration
Exceed Excess
Expect Expectation
Grieve Grief
Injure Injury
Fly Flight
Imagine Imagination
Invade Invasion
Judge Judgment
Develop Development
Die Death
Remember Remembrance
Vary Variety
Sit Seat
Civilize Civilization
Decide Decision
Defend Defence
Know Knowledge
Feed Food
Fail Failure
Conspire Conspiracy
Live Life
Do deed
Laugh Laughter
Like Liking
Prove Proof
Please Pleasure
Speak Speech
See Sight
Reveal Revelation
Seize Seizure
Unite Unity
Bury Burial
Ascend Ascent
Deceive Deception
Pursue Pursuit
Oppose Opposition
Enter Entry
Breathe Breath
Bathe Bath
Lose Loss
Exercise: Correct the errors in the following sentences

1. The man legs were amputated as a result of the injuries he sustained during the world war
two.
2. She speaks yoruba, hausa, and english
3. They were home during the christmas and easter holiday
4. To be in babcock university is the best thing that can happen to anyone
5. You were asked to read things fall apart
6. I saw biola and tolu at the gate
7. He will be traveling on thursday, the 27th of july
8. The problem of nigeria is not the leader’s but the followers
9. You can get to lagos in 30 minutes.
10. I will go to jos from abuja

Fill the blank spaces with the singular or plural form of the nouns
Singular Plural singular Plural
Cargo children
Dwarfs mouse
Cupful allies
Media datum
Justice of peace Bacteria
Fora thief
Belief indices
People man
Criterion teeth
barracks information
Sheep Headquarters
Loaf donkey
Deer phenomena
addenda guess
Congregation By-standers
Dishes bench
equipment witch
successes Director general
PRONOUN

Pronoun is a word that can stand in the place of a noun. It helps a writer or speaker to make a
clear and fluent utterance or statement devoid of repetitions of names e.g.

 Tom was reading at Tom’s table when Tom heard a knock at Tom’s door.
 Tom was reading at his tables when he heard a knock at his door.

Types of pronoun

This can be summarized on a tree:

Personal pronoun
possessive pronoun
Reflexive pronoun
Interrogative pronoun
Demonstrative pronoun
Relative pronoun
Reciprocal pronoun
Indefinite pronoun

1. Personal pronoun: This is used to refer to persons. It has the following characteristics:
a. It has cases: subject and object
b. It has numbers: singular and plural
c. It has persons: first, second and third persons:

persons 1st 1st 2nd 2nd 3rd 3rd

person person person person person person

case singular plural singula plural singular plural

r

subject I we you you he/she/it they

 object me us you you him/ them
her/ it

Examples:
 You are what you eat.
 We want to go to heaven.
 She likes roast chicken.
 He is tricky when it comes to money.
 I have to confirm the students that did well in my class.

Pronouns used as subjects of sentences must be in the subject case

Examples:.
 We are children of the better land.
 You and I are friends
 They laughed at him.
 He told us to pray without ceasing
 It pays to be good
 She loves me
 I love my Jesus

Pronouns that are used as objects either of the verb or preposition must be in the objective
case.

Examples
 The news shocked you and me (object of the verb)
 The man told them to leave his house (object of the verb/ infinitive)
 Any teacher can teach us (object of the verb)
 The food is for us. (object of preposition)
 The police ran after Tom and me. (preposition object)
 This should be kept between you and me. (preposition object)

Exceptions to the rule

1. It is important to note that there are exceptions to the use of a subject case pronoun after a
verb. This is in a situation where the pronoun comes after the verb BE (am, is, are, was, were,
be)
  It is I (‘me’ is universally accepted here as well)
 It was they
 Who was she?
 Those were they
 I am he

2. Another area is in the use of the “verb” plus “to be” expression .
* The boy is believed to be he.
*It is supposed to be she. *We were mistaken to
be they.

3. A third situation of the proper use of the subject case is in the subject of the ellipted part of
a comparative statement that uses conjunctions such as “as” and “than”

 She is as weak as I
 My brother is as old as she
 He is older than I
 You are fatter than I

4. The fourth case is where a preposition introduces a pronoun. Here the pronoun takes the
object case

 To us students, lying is a way of getting out of trouble.

 For them in that apartment heaven is a hallucination

5. Other uses of the personal pronoun include:

Let you and I go (wrong)
Let you and me go (verb object)
Between you and I (wrong)
Between you and me (preposition object)

Possessive pronoun: This expresses possession. It has two types. The first one functions as a
determiner or adjective and takes on a noun e.g. my, your, his, their, her its our etc.

Examples:
 This is my book
 That is your church
 They should give you your plate
  They sold their land to the rich man
 He bought a car for his wife
 The dog sleeps with its ears awake to noise and movement
 Our message is a goodwill message
 Your mother is at the gate
They seized his identity card
The dog wags its fail whenever it sees its owner
Can you speak her language?
His book is black, Ben’s book is blue
My soup is finished
Mr. Ojo is his father

The second one functions on its own without a noun e.g. ours, yours, their, hers, mine, his etc

Examples:
The book is mine
The plate is yours
The land is ours
Yours is bigger than mine
The decision is theirs
The car is hers

Reflexive pronoun: This reflexes back on the subject of the sentence. It has number cases and as
well can be used for emphasis.

Examples:
You can’t deceive yourself
He stood for himself
The vice chancellor did it himself
They love themselves
I myself shall see my saviour
The man killed himself
The car stopped by itself
She was there herself
You know it yourself
They themselves are not sure
They are not sure of themselves
We went there by ourselves

Note: There’s no reflexive pronouns as “their self, theirselves, their selves”, or “ our self or our
selves.”
Interrogative pronoun: This includes the “wh” words- who, whom, what, whose, and whom.
Interrogative pronoun is used to either ask for information or to affirm a statement: e.g.
Who is that gentleman?
Which is your favorite Bible text?
What do you think about the issue?
Whose car is this?
Whom shall I send?

Demonstrative Pronoun: This pronoun points to specific or particular persons or things. It has
singular and plural cases.

Examples:
Singular plural
This these
That those

This is my house These are our houses

That is his shoes Those are our shoes
She gave that book to me She gave those books to me

Relative Pronoun: This relates, connects or introduces the dependent clause to the main clause.
E.g. who, whom which, whose, that.

Examples:
 The boy who stole the car has been found
 I heard it from the announcement that was made this morning
 This is the book which runners may read
 Here is the new student whom I introduced to you.

Reciprocal Pronoun: This describes mutual relationship. It is used when the action of the verb
is shared by those concerned. E.g. each other, one another.

Examples:
 Deji and Tolu shook hands with each other
 James and John love each other.
 The boys parted ways with one another after the match
 You should learn to deal fairly with one another in class.
 Church members should love one another
 Ade and Ada should not be against each other because of money
  Husband and wife are supposed to trust each other
 There will be crises where people do not appreciate one another

Note: each other is used for two persons while one another is used for more than two persons.

Indefinite pronoun: Indefinite pronoun is not definite or specific in reference. This includes:
someone, any, none, few each, nobody, everyone, nothing, no one, anybody, many, more, all etc;

Examples:
 Everybody says that anybody could do the work but nobody did what somebody should
do. None of the drivers is around.
 No one is above the law
 When nobody cares for you, Jesus does
 Someone is calling on my name in prayer
 None of us is worthy of His name
 Everyone is invited

Exercises
 a. Nigerians are admonished to love -----------------(each other/ one another)
b. The cake should be divided between you and --------------- (I / me)
c. That book is ------------- (your’s/ yours) not mine
d. Death can lay ------------- (its/ it’s) cold hands on anybody
e. Mary and Jane sat on ------------ (each other’s/ one another’s) bag
f. They kicked ------------ (theirselves/ themselves) on the face
g. Let the man and -------------- (I /me/) go and meet the governor
h. Either John or ------------ (she/ her) will go
i. The woman complained that the son got married to a woman that is as old as --------(her/
she)
j. The choice of a coach is between Yobo and ----------- (he/ him)
k. To -------------- (we/ us) Nigerians, bribery and corruption is a virtue
l. We did the homework by (our selves/ ourselves)

Fill in the table with the appropriate pronoun cases

Ist person 2nd person 3rd person

singular plural singular plura singular Plural
Personal l
Subject I you they
object us you him/her/it
Possessiv Subject my your his/her/its
e object our your theirs
Fill the appropriate reflexive pronouns to the personal pronouns
Personal pronouns Reflexive pronouns
I He
you her
Our it
THE VERB

This is the sense of a sentence. It is a word that expresses action, state, time or condition of any
utterance. E.g.
Jane slapped John (action)
They forgot that he said it (state/condition)
He was the president of the club (time)
The INEC registration is going on (process)
He is not happy (condition/state)

The verb usually occurs after the subject of a sentence in declarative statement. But this is not
always the case with other forms of statements.
Imperative statements most times employ only the verb
e.g. . Come, Go, Shut up, etc.

In the case of an interrogative statement, it can come with the tag at the end of a statement
thereby coming before the noun in the tag
e.g. She said she will come, didn’t she?

In ordinary question without the tag, it also comes before the noun. E.g. Do you understand my
point? Can I see you later?

Verb forms
The verb has two forms; regular and irregular forms.

The regular forms of the verb

Regular verb refers to the verb type that its different patterns are formed from the base by the
addition of such suffixes as: s, -ing and –ed.

Examples
base form -s- form progressive simple present past
or simple past perfect perfect:
present have had
 play plays playing played played played
help helps helping helped helped helped
believe believes believing believed believed believed
love loves loving loved loved loved
cook cooks cooking cooked cooked cooked
bake bakes baking baked baked baked
look looks looking looked looked looked
praise praise praising praised praised praised
work works working worked worked worked
walk walk walking walked walked walked

The irregular form of the verb

The irregular verb is so called because the past tense and the perfect forms cannot be predicted
from the base form. It has four different ways of forming its past tense and past perfect forms
from the base. The examples of the irregular verbs are illustrated below:

1. Verbs that have their base, past tense and perfect forms as the same in form and shape
Examples:
 base/ 3rd person progressive simple present past
simple singular–s past perfect: perfect:
form form have had

cut cuts cutting cut cut cut

put puts putting put put put
cast casts casting cast cast cast
fit fits fitting fit fit fit
burst bursts bursting burst burst burst
hit hits hitting hit hit hit
forecast forecasts forecasting forecast forecast forecast
shut shuts shutting shut (ed) (ed)
thrust thrusts thrusting thrust shut shut
shed sheds shedding shed thrust thrust
let lets letting let spread shed shed
spread spreads spreading let spread let
spread

2. Those with the simple past and perfect having the same form

base/ 3rd person progressive simple present Past

simple singular -s past perfect: perfect:
form form have had
wings wings winging wrung wrung wrung
learn learns learning learnt learnt learnt
swing swings swinging swung swung swung
3. Another breed breeds breeding bred bred bred
irregularity in feed feeds feeding fed fed fed this verb
type is noted in uphold upholds upholding upheld upheld upheld the area
where simple hold holds holding held held held
form/base, bleed bleeds bleeding bled bled bled simple
past and past wind winds winding wound wound wound
participle all spend spends spending spent spent spent have
different spin spins spinning spun spun spun patterns:
lend lends lending lent lent lent
base/ 3rdgrinds
person progressive
grinds simple
grinding present
ground past ground ground
simple singular
builds builds past
building perfect
built perfect:
built built
form dwell dwells dwelling :have
dwelt had dwelt dwelt
begin begins
spell beginning
spells began
spelling begun
spelt begunspelt spelt
made makes making made made made
buy buys buying bought bought bought
 break breaks breaking broke broken broken
blow blows blowing blew blown blown
fly flies flying flew flown flown
throw throws throwing threw thrown thrown
grow grows growing grew grown grown
swear swears swearing swore sworn sworn
speak speaks speaking spoke spoken spoken
tear tears tearing tore torn torn
hide hides hiding hid hidden hidden
rise rises rising rose risen risen
see sees seeing saw seen seen
arise arises arising arose arisen arisen
ring rings ringing rang rung rung
stink stinks stinking stank stunk stunk
swim swims swimming swam swum swum
go goes going went gone gone
lie lies lying lay lain lain
write writes writing wrote written written
wear wears wearing wore worn worn
choose chooses choosing chose chosen chosen

4. The fourth type has the base or simple form rhyming with the past participle while the simple past
is different

base 3rd person progressiv simple present past

simple singular – e past perfect: perfect:
form s form have had
become becomes becoming becam become become
come comes coming e come come
run runs running came run run
overcome overcomes overcomin ran overcome overcom
rerun reruns g overca rerun e
outrun outruns rerunning me outrun rerun
outrunning reran outrun
outran

Types of verb
 1. Lexical/main/full verb: This is a verb type that can stand alone as a verb element in a
sentence e.g.
a. Banjo did the clearing of the compound.
b. The children watched films till 3.00am.
c. I knew Mary before her wedding.
d. James and John walked to school.
e. She has a car.

2. Auxiliary verb: The auxiliary verb is a helping verb. It helps a verb that cannot stand
alone to bring out the intended meaning in a sentence. It helps the main verb to form or
express mood, voice, number and tense. It is divided into two groups: The non-
modal (Primary auxiliary): BE, HAVE, DO and The modal (secondary): shall, will,
can, may, must, might, used to, dare, could, should, need, ought to

1. The Non-Modal/ Primary Auxiliary

This is made up of the BE, HAVE and DO

BE: this is used in forming progressive utterance:es. It has the following:

BE
I am calling Aisha am be
He is eating at the cafeteria is were
He was teaching in the high school was are
They are coming home
They were driving home this morning

HAVE: this is used in forming perfect tense utterances and it has the following elements:

She has been flown to the US HAVE

They have come to wish us well.
They had finished talking before I came in.
has have had
DO: this is used in varied contexts
He does take his meal to school every day DO
I do take this woman as my lawful wedded wife
They do accept to fight one another.
James does not know his right do does did
She did not call you before going out
They did eat lizard during the war.
Dues it matter whose car was smashed?
Do they really care for you?
e. The modal auxiliary (secondary auxiliary). Modal auxiliaries are used to express mood (see
the next chapter). Some of the secondary auxiliary verbs have past forms:

Present past
Will would
shall should
can could
may might

Others do not change their forms when used as auxiliary

e.g. must, need, used to, dare, ought to. But “need” and “dare” can as well be used as main
verbs. In that case, they can wear the five verb forms. Eg.
need, needing, needs, needed, needed dare, dares, daring,
dared, dared.

3. Transitive verb: This is a verb that can transfer action from the subject (doer) to the
object (receiver). In other words, transitive verb takes object.

Examples:
a. Taiwo killed a ram.
b. Dora read the passage.
c. The soldiers were guarding that gate.

4. Intransitive verb: Intransitive verb does not take object but can be followed by an
adverb.

Examples:
a. She sleeps very well.
b. They are fighting.
c. The thief jumped out through the window.
d. Jesus wept.

5. Ditransitive verb: -verbs that take more than one object are called ditransitive verbe.g.
a. He gave the book to them.
b. The man bought a car for his wife.
6. Linking verb: This connects the subject to its predicate noun or adjective. It is also
called copulative e.g.
a. The food is delicious.
b. Daniel is a lawyer.
c. Obama became the first African-American president of the US.
d. I feel good.

7. Non-linking verb: This does not connect the subject and its predicate rather the verb is
followed by an adverbial e.g.
a. The man walks fast.
b. He eats noisily.
c. We all came to church.

8. Finite verb: This reflects tense (present, past), and number (singular, plural) e.g.
a. She eats yam ( present/ singular)
b. They eat yam (present/ plural)
c. The train left the station an hour ago (past/ singular)
d. The boys were in the class ( past/plural)

9. Non-finite verb: Non-finite verb does not show tense nor agreement with the subject of
the sentence. It rather, reflects aspects such as
a. The infinitives: to sleep, to eat, to go, to do etc
b. Gerunds: the –ing form of a verb – eating, drinking, coming, having
c. The participial form of a verb – en, ed – appeared, finished spoken, eaten, jumped.
Examples:
I want to sleep
I am eating
The man appears on the moon
The smoking of cigarette is unhealthy.

10. Dynamic verb: Just as the name is, dynamic verb has the ability to reflect action and also
in a progressive manner by adding the auxiliary BE, to the –ing form of the verb.
a. You play with fire
You are playing with fire
b. Joy eats garri
Joy is eating garri
c. I work in my farm
I am working in my farm
11. Static verb: This usually refers to state or condition. It cannot be used progressively. e.g.
contain, belong, have, etc.
a. Milo contains sugar and milk
b. The house belongs to the church
c. You have fever.
Tense and Aspect

Tense
Tense could be present or past. In other words, tense deals with the time of action as
reflected in the verb. This is illustrated with the following:

Simple present:
a. Used for regular habits. It expresses agreement e.g.
He reads his books in the night.
They read their books in the night
b. General truth:
The sun rises in the east and sets in the west.
Exercise is good for the body.

Simple Past:
This is a tense that shows action in the near past:
 We came back yesterday
 The children studied geography
 The prefect rang the bell.

Aspect:
This is another feature of the verb that shows whether the action of the verb is in progress
or perfected/completed.

1. Progressive aspect: This is formed by combining the BE form of the verb with the
present or past continuous (-ing) form e.g., is coming, are going, were leaving, was dying.

Present progressive: This is formed by joining an auxiliary BE (present form) to the –ing form
of a verb to express a present action that is in [Link].
 Idu is walking to school
 I am reading my book
 James and John are fishing in the river
 We are learning under the tree.
Past continuous/progressive:-used to express an action that was on-going at a particular time in
the past before a recent past. It is expressed with the past form of BE plus - ing form of the verb.

 I was reading when you walked into the house.

  They were learning under the tree before the rain started.
 Jude was going to school when we saw him.

2. Perfective aspect is formed in the following ways:

Present perfect: This makes use of the auxiliary HAVE plus the perfected form of the verb. It
expresses actions that has just been completed before the present moment.
 The school has gone on holiday.
 We have closed from church.
 The team has qualified.
 They have been released (present perfect).

Present perfect progressive: This also uses the auxiliary HAVE plus been and the perfected
form of the verb. It shows an activity in the past which continues till the present.

*.John has been living in Lagos since 1970.

*.The pastors have been praying for a miracle in her situation.
* They have been defeating his efforts.
* She has been suffering.

Past perfect: This is used to indicate events/actions already completed before other past
events/actions: It is expressed with the past of HAVE plus the perfect form of the verb e.g.
 He had seen them before they travelled to Ghana
 He had worked in the cafeteria before he was posted to the hall.
Past perfect progressive: This expresses an event that was on-going in the past before another
past event. It is formed by adding the past form of HAVE plus “been” plus – ing form of a verb.
i. The students had been holding secret meetings before they were caught and
expelled.
ii. I had been coming to this church before the arrival of Clifford and Babcock.
iii. They had been longing to see their savior but when he came, they did not
recognise him.
iv. She had been travelling to New York before she received the invitation.

Future time or action

Future time could be expressed using present or past tenses. There is no tense called future tense.
It is expressed using auxiliaries, to infinitives, simple present tense or the present progressive
tense e.g.

i. I shall see the king tomorrow (aux + present tense)

ii. They will call on us (aux + present tense)
iii. They are to leave in the next five minutes (aux +infinitive)
iv. The school closes 5pm today (present tense)
v. He is coming to Babcock. (BE (present) + progressive)
vi. We are going to the market soon ”
vii. She is to buy food for me (BE +infinitive)
viii. The bus arrives 8am and takes off 10am (simple present)

Exercises

A. Underline the verb or verb phrase in the following sentences and identify the tense
expressed by such.

a. The match starts by 10:00 pm -----------------

b. They play at the stadium always ------------------
c. The woman swept the floor very well ------------------
d. I am thine Oh Lord --------------------
e. We are walking to school ----------------------
f. The two villages had been fighting before the coming of the whiteman
g. You had finished your classes before the rain started ------
h. We shall have fully prepared for the exam before the end of the week
i. He has been visited -----------------------
j. They must have been being punished ---------------------

B. Fill the spaces below with the appropriate forms of the verb
a. The man has --------- (lie) on the sick bed for months
b. You buy ----------- (grind) pepper in the market
c. The woman ------ (bleed) so much
d. The birds ---------- (fly) across the Atlantic Ocean in the ‘90s
e. This has --------- (stink) since yesterday
f. The choir has --------- (sing) well
g. Junior has ------------ ( burst) the balloon of his sister
h. Someone has ----------- (ring) the bell
i. The first time he saw the lady, his head ---------- (spin)
j. She has --------------- (overcome) by her faith
The voice of the verb.

The voice of the verb is divided into two, namely active and passive. A verb is in active voice
when the subject of the sentence is the performer of the action of the verb. The passive voice on
the other hand makes the receiver (object) of the action, the subject of the sentence while the
original subject (doer) becomes a by-product or sometimes omitted.

Examples

i. The soldiers are guarding the gate (active).

ii. The gate is being guarded by the soldiers (passive).
iii. John killed the goat (active).
iv. The goat was killed by John (passive).
v. The children counted the oranges (active).
vi. The oranges were counted by the children (passive).
vii. The policemen may have disarmed the armed robbers (active).
viii. The armed robbers might have been disarmed (passive).
ix. The boy was writing a letter (active)
x A letter was being written. (passive)

Rules for active-passive transformation

 The subject changes or swaps position with object

NP2 takes the place of NP 1
Dele flew the plane
(NP1)
The plane was flown (by Dele)
(NP2)
 NP1 becomes a by agent or can be dropped. e.g.
Dele flew the plane
The plane was flown (by Dele)
 The verb changes either from present to past or past to perfect plus “BE” + the “-ing”
form e.g.
 The boy drew a picture
A picture was drawn by the boy
The girl was drawing a cat
A cat was being drawn by the girl

* The number of the NP2 determines the number of the verb in passive voice
The boy was writing petitions
Petitions were being written by the boy
The principal has dismissed the disobedient students
The disobedient students had been dismissed.

CONCORD/ AGREEMENT BETWEEN SUBJECT AND VERB

Concord means to make the number of your subject and verb to agree. The subject of a sentence
could be singular or plural either expressed in writing or implied. The verb as well shows
singularity and plurality.
* Singularity of a verb is expressed with the addition of –s- to the base or simple form of the
verb. E.g. rise- rises, give- gives, come- comes, plays, sees, hears, talks, works, etc.
* Plurality is expressed by the simple form of the verb. E.g. rise, give, come, play, see, hear, talk,
work, etc.

English grammar has the following rules for subjects in a sentence to agree with the verbs of
such sentences.

RULES OF CONCORD

1. A verb must agree with its subject in person and number.

Examples:
i. Chinedu is a famous writer
ii. He excels in music
iii. They excel in music
iv. You are in my class
v. You live in Lagos
vi. She lives in Lagos
vii. They live in Lagos
Other examples include
Present Past
Person singular plural singular plural
st
1 person I am we are I was we were
nd
2 person you are you were you were you were
rd
3 person he/she/it is they are he/she/it was they were

2. When the subject and the verb in a sentence are separated by other words or phrases
such as: as well as, along with, in addition to, including, with etc the verb should be
singular/ s- form.
Examples:
i. The man as well as his sons is here (not are).
ii. Joan together with her mother has registered.
iii. The door in addition to the window was painted.

3. When two singular subjects refer to the same thing or person, the verb is singular.
Examples:
i. Jacob, my good friend and classmate, is a genius.
ii. Dr. Tunde my lecturer and supervisor is a father.
iii. My best friend and companion is Jesus.

4. When two or more subjects are preceded by indefinite pronouns such as each, every,
nobody, either, any, somebody, one etc. the verb is singular
Examples:
i. One of the men that fought the Biafra War tells the story to all who comes his
way.
ii. Every boy and girl was asked to come to school with cutlery.
iii. None of the drivers is here.
iv. Each of the cars needs repairs

5. When two subjects are conjoined by ‘or’, ‘but’, ‘not’, ‘either’, etc, the verb agrees with
the subject nearer it.
Examples:
i. Neither the women nor the tailor was there.
ii. Either the man or the children were at fault.
iii. All but Ali has eaten.

6. Compound subjects joined by ‘and’ take plural verb e.g.

i. The Super Eagles and Super Falcon are the senior teams in Nigeria.
ii. The families of Obi and Ada happily felicitate with you.

But when the idea expressed by the compound subjects refers to singular event or thing, the verb
is singular.
Examples:
i. Rice and beans is good for breakfast.
ii. Bread and butter is my favorite meal.

7. Collective noun that refers to singular unit, takes singular verb e.g.
i. The committee is deliberating over the matter
ii. The team consists of blacks and whites

But when the collective noun is used in reference to individual members, plural verb is taken.
Examples:
i The family have gone their separate ways over the sale of the land.
ii. The team (members) are fighting for supremacy and their focus is derailed.

8. Sentences that start with phrases or clauses take singular verb.

Examples:
i. To have beaten twenty champions in the game is incredible.
ii. Finding himself amongst the topmost ten is a thing to brag for.
iii. What is hard to accept is that what goes up remains there forever.
9. Some nouns look plural in form but take singular verb e.g. dynamics, economics,
physics, statistics, mathematics, news, measles, etc.

10. Other nouns that end in “s” and describe a thing with two equal parts take plural verb
(simple form) e.g. scissors, pants, trousers, binoculars, freezers etc.

11. Plural nouns used in a phrase to represent a unit take singular verb.
Examples:
i. Ten years is a lot of time.
ii. One hundred dollars is so much money.
iii. Five liters of fuel is enough for the night.

12. Other issues in agreement include the use of the demonstrative pronouns: this, these,
those, that. This and that take singular verb (-s form) while these and those take plural
verb (simple form)
Examples:
This books are mine * This book is mine –
These book is mine* These books are mine –
 That books are yours* That book is yours –
Those book is yours* Those books are yours –

Exercise A:
Underline/ Fill in the gaps with the correct answers

i. Every boy and girl ----- asked to come to school with cutlery (was/ were)
ii The man as well as his wife ---------------- not doing fine (are/ is)
iii. The cause of all the crises and problems in Nigeria ------------- not detached from the
political mad dogs (is/ are)
iv. Dr. Tunde my lecturer and supervisor ------------- very busy (are/ is)
v. The man together with his family ------------ at the cinema last night (was/ were)
vi. The team ----------- of blacks and whites (consist/ consists)
vii. The family --------------- different opinions on the matter and cannot agree (have/ has)
viii. Measles --------------- children if not properly handled (kills/ kill)
ix. This ------------- should be sold (books/ book)
x. Ten marks ------------- much to miss (is /are)
xi. Joan together with her mother ________here (is/are)
xii. The woman was angry with the son because he got married to a woman that is as old
as_______________(her/she)
xiii. James as well as John (rise, rises) at eight, so James like John (goes/ go) early for work.
xiv. Neither of the singers (was, were) present.
Xv. Everybody (was, were) pleased as each of them (was, were) treated alike.

Exercise B:
Underline/ Fill in the gaps with the correct answers

1. Joy is _________________ corn (eating/eaten)

2. He _________________his books in the night (reads/read)
3. John has _____________living in Lagos since 1970 (been/being)
4. She _____________seen them before they travelled to Ghana (has/had)
5. Each of the boys ______________________to see me (are/is)
6. Neither the women nor the tailor ___________________right (was/were)
7. To ____________students, lying is a way out of trouble (we/us)
8. ____________were in school when the men of the underworld struck (Mary and I/I and
Mary)
9. He called __________________ (you and me/you and I)
10. The nurse is as tired as __________________(him/he)
11. We were mistaken to be _________________(they/them)
12. (Wasn’t, weren’t) we pleased when we heard you (was, were) going?
13. All but William (has, have) behaved well.
14. Every little girl (desire, desires) a nice doll.
15. Why (does, do) every one of us (do, does) stupid things at times?

MODALS

These are auxiliary verbs used to express possibility, ability, obligation, probability, habit,
necessity, certainty etc

Should and ought to: These can be used to express obligation and probability.

Examples:
Obligation: to give an advice or make a recommendation:
i. They should/ought to have informed the school before staging the party.
ii. The computer is bad; you should/ought to take it to maintenance for repairs.
iii .The building ought to/ should have been finished by now.
iv. As an ulcer patient, you shouldn’t/ought not to go on empty stomach all day.
v. People should/ought to know the danger of not exercising their bodies.

Probability: to express what is assumed to be true. E.g.

i. The school should/ought to have published the results before registration started.
ii. You should/ought to have written them a memo.

Will and would: Would is the past form of will used to express willingness, likelihood, and
certainty.
Will: This is used to show willingness to do something- make an offer, invitation, request, and
order for something etc, while “won’t” is the opposite and shows unwillingness,
reluctance, refusal, denial, etc.
Examples:
i. I will attend your party
ii. He will ask for it from the preacher
iii. They will clear the whole bush judging from the way they are going
iv. The man won’t bend his neck
v. You won’t get me to do that to my father

Would: This can be used to state general willingness in the past

Examples:
i. Whenever I close from work, Tom would give me a ride home.
ii. We thought that the school would call off the strike before January ending (thought they
were willing to).
iii. You would know where these ones came from and who they are.

Used to: to express habits especially in the past

Examples:
i. My father told me that he used to spend 6 hours by the television everyday whenever he
comes back from school.
ii. People used to eat all kinds of things during the time of war.
iii. We used to visit the Don’s when they were in Nigeria.
‘Used to’ is also employed when asking questions.
Examples:
i. Are you used to visiting the zoo?
ii. Can you get used to vegetarian food?

May/Might: Might is the past form of may. It can be used to express possibility in affirmative
sentences.
Examples:
i. The news may/might come as a shock to many.
ii. This may/might be our last class before the exam.
iii. The registration may/might close on or before 20th of next month.
iv. I might have completed the report by Wednesday.
v.
There’s little or no difference in meaning between the two except that “might” can suggest less
possibility.

Can and could: used for possibility

Can is used in affirmative sentences to talk about general possibility. Could is preferred to show
that we are giving an opinion we are not so sure of.

Examples:
i. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me
ii. It could rain later today
iii. You can recall what your best teacher taught you ten years ago
iv. You could sleep in the afternoon

When we want to establish that something is not the case, we use can’t/cannot, couldn’t/could
not.

Examples:
i. There can’t/couldn’t be any fire without smoke.
ii. The doctor cannot/could not determine when your life ends.

May/might/could, can be use to express:

(a) Present or future possibility,
Examples:
i. I have to set the alarm of the phone to remind me of the time, otherwise, I
may/might/could forget.
ii. You may/ might/ could have judged her wrongly
(b) Past possibility,
Examples:
i. Someone may/might/could have come up with a new research findings in that subject
area.
ii. The students may/ might/ could have heard the rumor from their teacher.

(c) Might and could can be used to express possibility in the past that didn’t come true, e.g.
i. If we didn’t seek counsel, the whole thing might/could have ended in vanity, but thank
God we did.

(d) To express likelihood of an occurrence based on circumstances e.g.

i. It may/might/could possibly have been that they have attributed my job success to an
affair with the man.

(e) Can, could: used to express ability

i. He can read and write/He is able to read and write
ii. She can recognize the mother’s voice at the age of three months.
iii. We cannot/can’t afford to pay our school fees at this age
.
(f) Could: preferred for the past
iv. He could read and write (he was able to read and write)
v. Jane could do that then not now.

Need/Needn’t
Need: to express that something is necessary (whether you like it or not). Needn’t; to say
something is not necessary.

“Need” can act as lexical or auxiliary verb.

Examples:
i. She needs a drink (lexical verb)
ii. He needs marriage counsel
iii. You need to see him

* To act as an auxiliary verb, it goes with the negative.

Examples:
i. I needn’t tell you that again.
ii. She needn’t stay in class if she won’t write.
iii. You need not see him

Must/mustn’t

Must is used to say something necessary, very important, to give a rule or law, a
recommendation or to show insistence.

Examples:
i. You must remember that there’s a day of reckoning
ii. You must come to class early
iii. They must learn to trust in God
iv. If you must know, she is my girl friend
v. You must be born again if you must enter the kingdom of heaven

Mustn’t declares something or act not allowed.

Examples:
i. You mustn’t use your cell phone during church service
ii You mustn’t talk in class when your teacher is talking
iii. Mary mustn’t sleep with a man until she is married.
Asking for permission/ making an offer
Can, could, may: these are used to ask permission or for something
Examples:
i. Can I come with you?
ii. Could you pass the cup to me? (more polite)
iii. May I borrow your pen?
iv. We can/ could use the lodge for the parking. Can’t/couldn’t we?

* To offer to do something, one can use:– can, could, shall.

i Can/could I help you with your bags?

ii. They can/could bring your son home after school.
iii. You can/would sleep in any of the rooms.
iv. Would you like to take eba or fufu?

Shall/should are also used for confirmation, advice, assurance, certainty.

Examples:
i. I shall/should work harder.
ii. Shall/should I increase the fan?
iii. Who shall/should take it from us?
iv We shall/should talk to ourselves.

ADJECTIVE
Adjective gives specific meaning to or information on a noun e.g. good road, these books, clear
word, lively boy, healthy talk, some cars, wedding day, ethnic crisis etc
Adjective is a word that modifies or qualifies a noun or its equivalent. When it precedes the
noun, is modifies but when it comes after the noun it qualifies

Examples:
i. The moon is lined with silver ring (modified)
ii. Your attitude can be annoying (modified – attributive)
iii. The man is handsome (qualify/ predicative)
iv. The ugly man won her hand in marriage (modified)
v. The girl is good

Forms of Adjectives
Any part of speech that can function or do the work of an adjective is termed an adjective.
This can be in the forms below:
Noun Pronoun Article Determines
 Mouse trap his a ordinals: 1st, 2nd, 3rd
Fish net our the cardinals: one, ten, fifty
House boy their an demonstratives: this, that
Students its quantifiers: some, any
Study guide yours / hers
Functions of Adjective

Predicative function
i. This is the use of an adjective as a subject complement after the verb.
Examples:
He is serious,
I feel good.
You are strong

ii. It can as well act as object complement after the verb.

Examples:
His position drives him mad
The police makes everyone sick
The people felt disgusted

iii. It can also complement a finite clause serving as a subject of a sentence.

Examples:
That the day will come is true
What He promised is certain

iv. Complement of non-finite clause:

To be successful in life is not easy
Eating and sleeping without work brings poverty.

2. Attributive adjective
Attributive adjectives come before the noun they qualify.
Examples:
i. He is the incumbent President of the association.
ii. The Jos crisis is giving everybody serious concern.
iii. The case is with the magistrate court.
iv. There is a new song by a Nigerian artist.
v. She wore the new white Chinese long sleeve shirt.
vi. You dialed a wrong number.
Kinds /Types of Adjectives
1. Proper Adjective: Proper adjective is formed from proper nouns. The first letters are
always capitalized as is the case in nouns. These are names of countries and the corresponding
adjectives derived from the names.
Examples:
Names Adjective
Nigeria Nigerian
Ghana Ghanaian
Cameroun Cameroonian
Egypt Egyptian
Sudan Sudanese
Africa African
America American
Iraq Iraqi
Portugal Portuguese
Spain Spanish
France French
Scotland Scots
Britain British
Denmark Danish
Greece Greek
Holland Dutch
Ireland Irish
England English
Belgium Belgian
Vietnam Vietnamese

2. Adjective of quality: This tells the state, kind or quality of a person, place or thing. E.g.:
brown shoe, new shirt, dirty room, poor boy etc.

3. Adjective of quantity: This describes, using degrees/ quantities

Degree or quantity: many, more, a lot, a few, several, all, too, very.
Examples:
 We bought many oranges
 You can see a few of them in the refrigerator.
 I bought several books on health and diet.
 I attended a high- impact conference
 His intelligence quotient is very high

Cardinal numbers: these also function as adjectives- one, ten, fifty, hundred, thousand.
Examples:
 They have one thousand cattle in the field
Ten men can clear the farm.

Ordinals: first, second, twentieth, seventh, sixtieth also serve as adjectives.

Examples:
He celebrated his twentieth birthday
The seventh day is important to God.

4. Possessive Adjective: This is adjective that shows ownership, duration, source,

characteristics etc.
Examples:.
Every 27th of May is Children’s day (ownership)
Nigerians observe Labour Day ”
To be a man is not a day’s job (duration,)
That they missed the train was Deji’s fault ( source,)
He is now on wheel chair. (characteristics )

5. Demonstrative Adjective: It points to particular thing(s).

We used to live in this house.

I borrowed those books from the national library.
I love that man.
Who has such a faith in Israel?

6. Interrogative Adjective: used to ask questions

Examples:
Which one of the cars did he pay for?
What plans do you have for the next five years?
Whose own are you going to use to replace it?
How far are you from home?

7. Emphatic adjective: employed for emphasis

Examples:
This pen is my own
That is the very one I took
What we spoilt is our own; it is nobody’s business!

8. Distributive adjective: This is used to refer to individual persons or things.

Examples:
Each of the boys is present
Every member of that family is on his own
 Either the governor or the aide is shot.

9. Comparative adjective: This compares adjectives in degrees; either in regular or

irregular forms. The regular involves addition of suffixes and prefixes while the irregular
does not follow any pattern.

Regular comparisons of Adjectives: These are compared by the use of affixes as shown
below:
“er” and “est” affixes

Positive Comparative Superlative

Long longer longest
Old older oldest
Young younger youngest
Tall taller tallest
Hard harder hardest
Rich richer richest
Ugly uglier ugliest
Neat neater neatest
Strange stranger strangest
Thin thinner thinnest
Dear dearer dearest
Quiet quieter quietest
Mad madder maddest
Late later latest
Dirty dirtier dirtiest
Naughty naughtier naughtiest
Early earlier earliest
Hungry hungrier hungriest

“More and most” prefix

Positive Comparative Superlative

Careful more careful most careful
Dangerous more dangerous most dangerous
Generous more generous most generous
Famous more famous most famous
Successful more successful most successful
Expensive more expensive most expensive

Irregular Adjectives: the comparison of these adjectives have no regular pattern.

Examples:
Positive Comparative Superlative
Good better best
Well better best
Bad worse worst
Many more most
Little less least

ix Gradable adjective: Gradable adjective are preceded by adverbs which give quality or
degree to an utterance. E.g. immensely happy, pretty young, fairly comfortable, very
angry, extremely busy, reasonably quite, so, too good.

x Ungradable adjective: This adjective suggest an idea of “to a large degree”. The adverbs
that follow it suggest that the adjective is on the higher degree. E.g. completely amazed,
absolutely impossible, totally invaluable, simply terrible, utterly useless etc. E.g.

Gradable Adjectives: extremely, absolutely, completely

Ungradable: quite, fairly, to a large degree

I am quite certain.
Are you quite satisfied with your result?
You are quite wron.

xi. Certainty adjective: This includes such words as; certain, confident, convinced, positive,
sure, (total) etc

xii. Affective adjective: This also include such words as afraid, warmed, annoyed, pleased,
hopeful, shocked, surprised, disappointed, astonished, faithful etc.

Adjectives that measure small quantities

Air A breath, puff, whiff
Bread A crumb, crust, morsel
Colour A dab, tint, touch,
Energy An ounce
Flower A nosegay, posy
Water A drop, mouthful, sip
Sugar A grain, spoonful
Liquid A drop, sip
Corn An ear
Food A morsel, particle, scrap
 Grass A blade, tuft
Light Beam, glimmer, ray
Time A moment, second
Snuff A pinch
Salt A grain, pinch
Hair A lock, strand
Dirt A particle, speck,spot
Smoke A wisp
Paper A scrap, piece

ADVERB

An adverb adds to a verb’s further dimension not expressed by the verb. In order words, it tells
more about the action of the verb in respect to the time of action, place of action and the how or
manner of the action.

Types of Adverbs

1. Time adverb: This can be expressed in three ways:

i. Time- when:
When did you go there?
I went to Shagamu yesterday.
The man retired last year/recently
The work was completed then
He was formerly here

ii. Time – duration:

He was in Ghana throughout the summer.
I have been in this school for four years.
The party lasted all night.

iii. Time – frequency:

I always meet you here
John seldom visits his mother
Women usually live longer than men.
They ran twice around the field.

Other examples of time adverb: soon, already, new, before, every, monthly, generally,
occasionally, temporarily.
2. Place adverb: This answers the question where?
Examples:
The breeze scattered the papers everywhere.
She went nowhere.
Jane told me she saw the book there.

Other examples of Place adverb: here, where, elsewhere etc.

3. Manner adverb: This tells how.

Examples:
The bank treats its customers shabbily.
The thief was bitterly beaten.
The clash was ghastly.
He appealed politely to our conscience.

Other examples of manner adverb: gladly, happily, joyfully, kindly, easily, carefully, loudly,
quickly etc.

Degree Adverb: This as well tells how plus much, the extent, the degree.
Examples:
We are almost home
He has much money
That is very good of you
He speaks quite slowly

Other examples of degree adverb: only, fully, entirely, wholeheartedly, nearly, scarcely, highly,
rather, quite etc.

Forms of adverb

Adverb has two forms: those that have ly- endings and those without –ly endings.
1. adverbs with –ly endings: these are formed from adjectives.
Examples: sadly, quickly, monthly, surely, verily, frankly, extremely, finally, strongly, quickly,
happily, faithfully, hopefully, joyfully, dejectedly, willingly etc.

2. The second are those without – ly endings.

Examples: before, now, everywhere, then, quite, rather, very, not, where, when, how, soon, well,
once, twice, afterwards, every etc.

Functions of the adverb

1. The adverb functions as a modifier.
a. It modifies an adjective
Examples:
The soil that can grow that crop must be very fertile
The ceremony was quite colourful.
The man is too tall
He is scarcely hopeful
This is arrant nonsense

b. It modifies a verb:
Examples:
She wholeheartedly supports her husband
Robert undoubtedly committed the robbery
Jacob drives carefully

d. It also modifies another adverb

Examples:
Go through this document very closely
He did his job wonderfully well
The breeze caresses very gracefully

e. An adverb can modified a preposition

Examples:
They feel awfully about his performance
He rides hurriedly to school
Go and run twice round the field

Adverb can be used for affirmation: yes, certain, assuredly etc and for negation: no, not, never
etc

Comparison of Adverbs

Adverb can be compared in the same way as adjective i.e positive, comparative and superlative.
Some words that end with ‘y’ changes to ‘ier’ in comparative and “est” in superlative degrees.
Exceptions also exist.
Examples:
early earlier earliest
long longer longest
Brave more bravely most bravely
bad worse worst
 well better best
far further furthest

Uses of degree adverb: very, very much, too, extremely, quite etc

Very and too

‘Very’ is used to imply a high degree
‘Too’ is used to express more than enough, wanted, normal or bearable
Examples:
The man was very wicked to us throughout our stay there.
The water is too hot for bathe; please mix it with cold water.

‘Very much’ can be used before a verb to emphasis our feeling.

I very much appreciate you.

‘Very’ can as well be used before a participle adjective:

She was very happy to see her mother
It was a very interesting trip

‘Very much or much’ can be used before a past participle in a passive statement.
The sale of PHCN was very much/much needed to settle the problem of energy supply in
Nigeria.

Adverb of subjective comment:

This is used to indicate

a. How we think about something ; apparently, certainly, definitely, probably, undoubtedly,
presumably etc.

b. Our attitude or opinion of something: astonishingly, frankly, generally, interestingly

enough, luckily, naturally, personally, seriously, sadly, incredibly etc.

c. Our judgment of someone’s action: bravely, carelessly, wisely, foolishly, stupidly,

wrongly, generously, steadily, etc.

d. View point adverb: This expresses ones stand or angel of reference: physically, mentally,
spiritually, socially, financially, politically, biologically, philosophically, logically,
ideologically, etc.

e. Focus adverb is used to lay emphasis: even, only, alone, e.g.

 You could do this even to your friend!

f. Interrogative adverb: why, when, where, how, e.g.

Why be a chicken when you can be an eagle?
The table below shows some verbs and the adverbs that go with them:

Verbs Adverbs Examples

explain briefly, vaguely, concisely, He explained vaguely his
clearly mission
decide eventually, carefully, They decided eventually to
unanimously, immediately see you
ponder deeply, thoughtfully, seriously You need to ponder deeply
over the issue
shone dimly, brightly, brilliantly, The moon shone brilliantly
clearly last night
Fell heavily, quickly, suddenly He suddenly fell from the
window
flogged brutally, cruelly, unmercifully All the disciples were
unmercifully beaten
Bled profusely, freely, slightly The accident victim bled
profusely to death
listened attentively, anxiously, The woman listened
carefully anxiously to the story
tremble fearfully, visibly, frightfully, Passing through the forest
uncontrollably made him tremble
uncontrollably.
smiled happily, ruefully, broadly She smiled ruefully
injured accidentally, fatally, seriously, She was slightly injured by
slightly the rattan
Ate greedily, hungrily, noisily, The princess ate her food
daintily, slowly daintily
mumbled angrily, inaudibly, indistinctly Joke mumbled indistinctly
before her teacher
drove carefully, carelessly, He drove recklessly and
recklessly, speedily bashed his father’s car
wept bitterly, piteously, sadly, Jesus wept piteously over
uncontrollably Jerusalem
demande angrily, indignantly, rudely, The man huffily demanded
d huffily an explanation from the wife
changed completely, slightly, suddenly, Surprisingly, the boy
 surprisingly changed his mind and left his
parents
declared
openly, loudly, formally, He hastily declared his
proudly, hastily intentions
PROPOSITION

Proposition is a word that relates one word to another in a sentence i.e it shows the relationship
between words in a sentence.

Examples: in, on, at, by, under, beside, besides, up, across, long, over, through, above, below,
under, between, among, during, for, in, over, until, except, apart from, about, with, after.

Such relationships are expressed between:

Noun and noun The ball is over your head
Verb and noun John is in the hall
Adjective and noun Life is full of dreams
Adverb and noun Dickson reads well for his age

Types of Preposition
1. Simple Proposition: This takes one word.- at, in, from, between, below, inside, etc.
Examples:
May God smile on you.
Babcock is a good school to study in.
For whom did you work?
For what purpose did you come to class?

2. Compound Preposition: This is made up of two simple prepositions. E.g. Along with,
together with, out of, up to, from within e.g.

3. Complex Preposition: this is made up of more than two words -on account of, in favour
of, in the course of, by the way, in addition to etc.

Prepositions and Uses

Preposition Meaning/ Uses Examples

At In reference to a place as We saw him at the junction.
a point rather than an He has an office at 22 Wogu
area, a city at a point on a street, Port Harcourt.
journey, before an I live at Welch Hall
address, in reference to a Classes start at 7:00 am
 building in a place, in I will see you at lunch
reference to time, She studied Computer Tech at
position Babcock University.
In In reference to a large The school will vacate in May.
area, an enclosed area, a He has been in the US
period within which the We passed the night in Ife.
school will vacate, to The meeting held in NFH
inside Are you in the market?
on In reference to a flat Your food is on the table.
surface, one on Who is on the line?
telephone, punctuality; The church is on Ehi road
before the name of a We met on Sunday
road, days of the week, My birth-day is on 16th January
date, for mode of travel Be in class on time.
etc. She travels on foot, horseback,
bicycle, motorcycle
By In reference to a place not The plant grows well by the
far away, close to one’s riverside.
side, not later than, for He stood by me all through.
mode travel Give it to him by Sunday
We saw him by the junction.
He travels by air, taxicab, boat,
bus, train.

For In reference to duration, We waited for the teacher for two

sum of money, a request, hours.
state or condition The car was sold for $1000
I want to apply for a loan
You are working for your money.
It is good for nothing
across Used for one side to He lives across the road.
another, the other side, Yobo passed the ball across to the
movement or direction keeper
He looked across at her.
over Used for something high, The ball went over the bar.
at a higher level than The building is over the fence
another, out of position, a He pushed the boy over
second time, range of Every okada rider needs to wear
grades, across a street, to something over his head
cover etc.
above Used over a level The cap is above your head.
Her height is above 5 feet
below Lower level or position Her height is below 5 feet
The standard of education these
days is below what it used to be in
the 70s
under Below something or a He hid under the locker
surface, subject or The competition is for who stays
subordinate, according to longer under water.
law, going through a James is under the influence of
process alcohol.
Is your computer under
guarantee?
The building is still under
construction.
along From one end towards The women were marching along
another, in a line the way.
following the side of Building a school along a highway
something is risky.
through Movement in a space, a He passed through Babcock
process University.
She jumped through the window.
between Space separating two The distance between the road and
things or places, period of the house is too short.
time, to show connection, Joke should sit between Oke and
contrast or comparison Oye
The Sabbath is between sunset on
Friday and sunset on Saturday
The goods were ceased at the
boarder between Nigeria and
Ghana.
What are the similarity and
difference between light and
darkness?
among In the midst of something Eke is among the crowd
or people, included, Is my name among those
involving more than two mentioned?
things or people, Share the biscuit among the
children
beside Near to or close to, next Your daughter is sitting beside me
 by the side It is wrong to build the kitchen
beside the toilet
Their house is beside mine
besides In addition to, apart from, There is no other God besides
also, additional comment Jehovah
In which other way can you make
money besides your salary/
We win when we work as a team;
besides, we also learn from one
another
during Happening within a The number of deaths by AIDS
particular period in time, had fallen during the past four
to emphasize time lag years.
No student left the class during
the exam.
except Not included, apart from, We work everyday except on
a remark not completely Saturday .
true The colour is the same except that
one is darker.
until Up to a point in time, not You cannot travel until you’ve
before spent a month in school.
You must not zip down until your
wedding day.
of in relation to cause or He died of heart attack.
reason They hanged him on account of
blasphemy.
Having been found innocent of the
charges, he was discharged and
acquitted.
about A little more or less, The police came about an hour
before or after, near or after the incident
very close, here and The shoe is about her leg
there, doing nothing in We are just about there.
particular, opposite Why are you standing about?
direction, in connection Find something to do rather than
with, busy with standing about.
From the left, about turn.
Artists are all about making
anyhow money these days.
I am going about my business
 with In company or presence I am with you even unto the end
of, having something, of the world
concerning, comparing They were told to come with their
way or behaviour, in writing materials.
possession of She is with the lawyer.
I need a jacket with a hood
Be careful with those you call
your friends
We have less work today
compared with yesterday
He always stands with his hands
akimbo

Some Problem Areas in preposition Usage

Wrong Right
The group comprises of boys The group comprises girls and
and girls boys
It consists five colours It consists of five colours
It is composed with butter, milk It is composed of
and sugar
We just discussed about you We just discussed you
When you get there ask about When you get there ask of me
me

He came in/on time before/exactly

I am standing at/by the junction exactly/around
I am in Ilishan at Babcock University, location: at-smaller space within, in- larger space

CONJUNCTION

A conjunction is a word that can conjoin words, phrases, or clauses or sentences.

Examples:
James and John
He ran into the room and escaped through the window
In sight and out of sight.
Out of sight but not out of mind.
Types of Conjunction
1. Coordinating conjunction: This is used to join clauses or sentences of equal importance
and similar parts of speech. E.g. and, but, or, both, either, etc.
Examples:
i. Itunu cooked the food but did not eat it
ii. One can look rich in appearance, whereas in reality he is poor.
iii. I will like to see both Tom and Dick
iv. Either the lady or the secretary will stand in for their head.

When the subjects of two clauses joined by a coordinator refer to the same person, the second is
omitted.

Types of coordinating conjunction

a. Disjunctive is used to make a choice between different things e.g. either – or, neither –
nor, else, otherwise, etc
b. Adversative used to express contrast e.g. but, yet, still, whereas, otherwise, lest etc
c. Consequence/ cause and effect conjunctions: consequently, therefore, so, hence, then etc

2. Subordinating conjunction: This is a conjunction used to make one clause depend on

another for its complete meaning; thereby giving the idea expressed in one less weight
than that expressed in the other.
Examples of subordinations include: where, after, before, since, whenever, while, now
that where, whence, wherever, as, because, although, if, though, so, so that, in order,
unless, except etc.

Examples:
i. We were in the class /when the rain started
ii Everybody has eaten /except those that are just coming in with you
iii. Use your raincoat/ when it is raining/ so as not to get drenched
iv. The presidential award was given to the lady/ who made the highest CGPA
v. Everybody ought to know who Jesus is

3. Conjunctive adverb: This joins independent clauses e.g. nevertheless, accordingly,

moreover, furthermore, although, interestingly.

Examples:
i. Many proposals were turned in; interestingly, the highest bidder got the job.
ii. The church is filled up; nevertheless, God knows those that are His.
 4. Correlative conjunction: This involves the use of two related conjunction words that
collocate to express two different ideas or comments e.g. whether – or not, either – or,
neither – nor, both – and, not only – but also, not – but, no sooner – than, rather – than.

Examples:
i. You are advised to see either the doctor or the nurse.
ii. No sooner we arrived than he left.
iii. I will rather have Jesus than silver or gold.
iv. Whether he is there or not, the meeting will go on.

Exercises

A. Fix the appropriate prepositions here.

1. The boy must apologise -------------the lady

2. That man is an authority ------------- flowers

3. The mother was proud --------------- her daughter’s success

4. He placed the bat -------------- the wall

5. My cousin put the book ------------ the drawer

6. It is an exception -------------- the rule

7. His opinion differs ----------------- mine

8. The man ran ------------- the path

9. She takes great pride ------------ her appearance

10. The ball went --------------- the roof

11. I stood -------- the bridge -------the ship

12. ------------ me, I saw a cloudy sky

13. The dog leaped ------------- the wall

14. With the ticket you can obtain admission --------- the show

15. She is the oldest ------- the three

B. Fix the appropriate conjunctions here.

1. Not only the boy -------- the man is guilty

2. You will go there ------------ he will go

3. We will go there ----------- will not keep the night

4. The doctor --------- the patient is wrong

5. We met the Vice Chancellor ----------- he promised to give us his support

6. John--------- Audu ate the food

7. We saw them ----------- they did not see us

8. He took his drugs without food ---------------, he passed on

9. No one knows ----------- he told the doctor or not

10. I did it to please him, ------------, my spirit did not direct otherwise.
11. Do not stand ---------- a car that is revising

12. They got married --------- ten years of courtship

13. The man was diagnosed ------------ cancer

14. Life is sweet when one identifies --------- his people

15.. Learn not --------- quarrel ---------- people you meet ------- your way
Determiners

These are words that precede nouns and specify range of reference of such nouns. They make a
noun definite, indefinite and or specify quantity. They have different positions relative to one
another i.e. they have particular related positions. Determiners hardly precede proper nouns
except in reference to nationality, but are common to singular count, plural count and mass
nouns.

Singular count Plural count Mass noun

A university most universities some water
An egg some eggs a piece of wood
A chair four chairs the news
An hour two hours a little salt
A teacher the teachers much sand
An eagle all eagles a gallon of oil
A bird five birds
The car those cars
The man

Forms of determiners

Articles: This is made up of the definite and the indefinite.

Definite article- “the”- this is used before singular/ plural count and mass noun e.g. The house,
the houses, the water, the sand, the orange, the oranges etc

Indefinite articles- “a, an”- the indefinite article is used before singular count noun. E.g. an
orange, a house, a book, an egg etc.

Demonstratives: these are used before count and non-count nouns. They reflect singular and
plural cases.
Examples: . this – these,
this water these waters
this house these houses

That - those/
that water, those waters
 that house those houses

Possessives: These are derived from possessive pronouns e.g. his, her, theirs, my, your, they are
used before count, non-count and mass nouns

Examples: his water, his car, their water, their car, my car, your cars etc

Quantifiers: They show relation to quantity of noun.

Examples:. all, both, every, twice, double, some, any, neither, each, few, a few, little, less, much,
least, many, most, several, much, little, less etc.

Numeral: This is divided into two.

a. Cardinals: one, two, three, four, eleven, twenty
b. Ordinals: first, second, third, fourth, eleventh, twentieth, next, last.

Determiners and their usage with nouns or in noun phrases

Determiners can modify a noun e.g. the man; or occur before a pre-modifier in a noun phrase-
the ugly man. But there are patterns or restriction to the occurrence of determiners in a noun
phrase; that is, determiners cannot occur indiscriminately but must have a selection process.
Determiners hardly go with proper nouns except in reference to nationality.

Examples:
The Igbo’s,
The Orobo man

for definite reference:

The John that we are talking about is not here.
The Tayo’s are travelling

The possessive- “his, her, my, your etc” and the definite article “the” can co-occur with
singular/plural and mass/ non-count nouns.

Examples:
His – book/books, idea(s), water/oil
Her – water/buckets of water/ bottles of oil
The– water/buckets of water/bottles of oil/idea(s)

Some quantifiers co-occur with singular/plural count nouns

Any is used with singular/plural count and non-count nouns

 Any –book, table, spoon, plate, problems, doubts, idea

Few is used with plural count noun

Few houses, rooms, sticks, beds

Neither is used with singular/plural count/non-count noun

Neither soup, water / table(s), pen(s), pencil(s), spoon(s)
Neither is also used to make negative sentences with both singular/plural and count/non-count
nouns
Neither of them came to church
Neither the boy nor the father received us
Neither oil nor water can dissolve the substance

Many/ both is used with plural nouns (count) e.g.

Many – tables, people, houses

Each is used with singular count noun except in -of phrases e.g.
Each– boy, girl, of my friends, of the classes
Each used before singular count noun, takes singular verb.

Examples:
Each book is accompanied with a CD
They gave each student a bucket
I wake up each morning with a song in my heart

But when each follows the noun or pronoun it refers to, it takes plural verb (simple form of
the verb).

Examples:
They are each candidates of heaven
You are each to submit your individual contributions.

A lot is used with plural noun (count/non-count)

Lots is used with plural noun (count/non-count)
A lot of and lots are use to designate large amounts and quantities e.g. lots of students, a
lot of people, a lot of troubles, lots of money

Some is used with plural and uncountable nouns e.g.

Some- rice, oil, books, buckets of water, ideas etc
Much is used with uncountable noun: much sand, much water, etc.

Plenty of means enough or more than enough: used with plural count and uncountable nouns e.g.
Plenty of- food / time / halls

All is used with plural count noun to talk about totality of things or people
All that thrills my soul is Jesus
All my brothers are in London
They have all had their shares.

Both is used with plural count noun e.g.

Both of them are from the market
Are they both in the same shoes?
You can go with both of them
They have both finished their university education

Every is used with singular count and non-count nouns.

Examples:
Every new student undertakes a vow.
Every child needs the love of the mother.
Every now and again he visits the wife.
He has every reason to talk to her the way he did.
She had every confidence that the job was hers.

Few is used with plural count noun and it means not enough

Examples:
We have few bottles of soft drinks in the refrigerator.
He has few hours to complete his work.
They are few in class.

A few is used with plural count noun as well and its use means just enough for a given purpose.
Examples:
There are a few oranges for the children.
We have a few books for the research.
You will find only a few students who know why they are in the university.
I have a few ideas about computer maintenance.

A little is used with non-count noun and it means just enough for a particular purpose.
Examples:
 You have a little oil for the soup.
There should be a little water in the overhead tank.

Less is used with uncountable/plural count noun.

Examples:
The work ought to take you less time.
He has less time to practice.
The population of old people in the country is less than (20%) twenty percent.
The number of your students is getting less.

Order of determiners in the noun phrase

a. Article + numerals = the first three half of a second reason

b. Possessive + numerals = her first/third child
c. Demonstrative + numerals = those three cones
d. Possessive + quantifier = his many wives, her few words
e. Article + quantifier = a few people, the little water

THE PHRASE

A phrase is a group of words without a subject and a predicate that functions as part of a
sentence. We have different types of phrases and they have different functions they perform in a
sentence.

Types of phrases
1. Prepositional phrase

This is a phrase introduced by a preposition.

Examples: in the air, on the land, by the road side, to the garden, up the road, about dawn,
from the start, to the end, at noon, during the week etc.

* Prepositional phrase can be used as an adjective or adverb to clarify time or location.

Examples:
 The man in red jersey won the competition.
From the beginning of the match, the referee’s bias was obvious.
He laid down His life on the cross.
We came to the garden with him.
The pastor visited their house during the week.

2. Gerund phrase: This is formed from verbal nouns or gerunds, e.g. having, taking,
breaking, seeing, eating etc.

Examples:
Having time to pray is difficult for many people.
Eating supper late is not healthful.
Acting on another’s behalf has less effect on the people.

3. Adverbial phrase: This is introduced by adverbs such as: late, early, slowly, happily,
loudly etc, to modify adjectives, verbs or another adverb.

Examples:
He got the money later in the day
I used to sing loudly in the choir
She talks slowly at all times.
4. Appositive Phrase: is a noun or pronoun that identifies, renames or complements
another noun or pronoun.
Examples:
The neurosurgeon, Ben Carson visited Babcock University.
Dangote Taiwo, a business tycoon is also a philanthropist.

The Clause
A clause has a subject and a predicate and can be a sentence or made part of a sentence.
Basically there are two types of clauses.

1. Main or independent clause

The main or independent clause expresses a complete thought and can stand alone as a
sentence.
Examples:
i. The dog barked loudly
ii. The boy hurt himself
iii. She bought a pot
iv. They love listening to stories
 Examples:

2. Subordinate or dependent clause

The subordinate or dependent clause does not express a complete thought and cannot stand alone
as a sentence. In other words, it is a fragment

Examples:
i. Although this has lasted for two weeks
ii. That tomorrow is (going to be) a good day
iii. So as not to be drenched

Words that introduce clauses

Clauses are usually introduced by subordinating and coordinating conjunctions.
Subordinating conjunctions Coordinating conjunctions
Who, which, that, whom, where, And, but, yet, or, nor, for,
whenever, whosoever, whenever, when, also, furthermore, then, still,
whomever, whose, whereby, whichever, otherwise, therefore,
whatever, as if, although, after, before, as, moreover, hence, besides,
because, if, then, unless, while, even consequently.
though, so that, as long as

Examples of coordinate clauses

a. He stole someone’s money, consequently, he was dismissed.
b. We knew he would not answer us yet we went on to ask him the question.
c. He mixed the dough and baked the cake.

Examples of subordinate clauses

a. Whenever I see him, I’ll remind him of his promise.
b. We were in the class before the lecturer came in.
c. The man that drove pass us is wicked.

Functions of clauses

A clause can function as a noun, adjective and an adverb,

1. As a noun: When a clause functions as a noun, it can take the position of the subject of a
sentence, direct or indirect object in a sentence.
 Subject of a sentence:
Examples:
That you cry/ marvels me.
What you are given/ should be enough for you.
Who heard/ what I said?
That he is a good man/ is not questionable
That we may receive/ we must learn to give

Object of a sentence
Examples:
i. We receive /what we ask for
ii. She is influenced by /what she sees her friends do.
iii. You can become/ what you eat.
iv. We believe/ that He rose from the dead

Indirect object
Examples:
i. They attribute /whatever they do to the fact/ that they are humans.
ii. We give /whatever we have /that we may receive.

2. A clause as an Adjective
Adjective clause does the work of an adjective. It modifiers or qualifies a noun, pronoun
or another adjective. It is usually been introduced by such words as; who, whom, which,
whose and that. E.g.
i. It is Uche who scored the winning goal
ii. The man whose daughter lives next door is around
iii. It has been given to whom it was meant for.
iv. The road that you took is bad
v. The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.
i. The man that repairs our computers /brought his bills.
ii. You cannot ask for a blessing/ which you can’t handle.
iii. Anyone /whose bag is missing/ should contact the police station.
iv. A pregnant woman/ who stays near a mast, risks the health of the unborn baby.

3. As an adverb

A clause that functions as an adverb is known as an adverbial clause. Such a clause can function
as an adverb when it modifies a verb, an adjective or any other adverb. It is usually introduced by
conjunctions such as: if, before, since, when, where, because, although, provided that, unless,
whereas, in order that, as soon as etc.

Examples:
i. The children live in fear/ wherever their father is with them.
ii. He decided to amend his ways/ because of the manner in which she spoke to him.
iii. The boy acted/ as if he is an adult.
iv. God made all things beautiful/ when He created them.
v. He falls easily/ whenever the attack starts.
vi. They lived happily/ until the boy came into the family.
vii. You need to be careful /since you don’t know your status.

THE SENTENCE

This can be defined as

i. The minimum unit of meaningful expression.
ii. A group of words that begins with a capital letter and ends with a full-stop.
iii. A group of words which makes a single complete statement and contains a subject and a
verb.
iv A group of words conveying a complete thought and normally, contains a subject and a
predicate.

Parts of a Sentence
A sentence is made up of two parts: the subject and the predicate. The subject is all the words
that come before the verb of the sentence while the predicate involves the verb and every other
word that comes after the verb. The subject is what we want to talk about while the predicate
bears information on the subject.

The subject of a sentence can be made up of any of the following:

i. Noun: (N) John is a student.

ii. Pronoun: (P) She is a mother.
iii. Noun Phrase:(NP) The lecturer did not come to class today.
iv Adjectival NP: The most beautiful queen in the contest is the Abia queen.
v. Prepositional phrase: By the End of the class we will go to the libr
vi Infinitive phrase: To err is human but to forgive is divine.
vi. Adverbial NP: Today, many people travel by air.
v. Clause: What the end will be nobody knows.
vi. Gerund Phrase: Breaking the rule is easy.
vii Compound subject: James and John were friends.

The predicate consists of the following:

i. verb: (V) Mary sings
ii. verb phrase (VP) The boy plays well
Tolu cooked the food
The girls must have been being punished
Types of Sentences

Sentences are divided into two broad types

a. Types by structure
b. Types by function

Structure
The structure means the form or composition of the sentence and this can be simple, compound,
complex or compound complex.

1. Simple sentence: This is made up of one independent clause only. It has a subject and a
predicate.
Examples:
i. You are the light of the world.
ii. The wicked are doomed by their own violence.
iii. He was with the Father from the beginning.
iv. From the depths of our despondency we call unto you Oh Lord.
v She must have gone to the market.
2. Compound sentence: This consists of two independent clauses joined by a conjunction
or connection. It can also be joined by a semicolon or conjunctive adverb. The sentences
in this case, share equal status and must contain two different action words.

Examples:
i. He came to them but they did not accept him
ii. I am the vine and you are the branches
iii. Then they laid their hands on him and he received the Holy Ghost
iv. I called on the Lord in time of trouble and He answered
v. She mixed the dough and baked the bread
vi. I will carry my cross and follow him
 vii. It may be dynamic; it is not dependable
viii. It may be dynamic; however, it is not dependable
3. Complex Sentence: This has one main/ independent clause and one or more subordinate
clauses.

Examples:
i. He was sent away from school although he is the president’s son.
ii. Whenever he comes back from school he greets us before entering his house
iii. Jesus died for us because He loves us
iv. Because he lives, I can face tomorrow
vi. He resigned although against his people’s wish
v. The righteous shall be translated when He comes

4. Compound Complex: A compound complex sentence contains two or more independent

clauses and one or more subordinate clause.
Examples:
i. We discovered from the investigation that the problem is not with the students,
rather it was the fault of the school authorities
ii. They conducted a research on people who eat pork and came up with a conclusion
that eating of pork leads to a high risk of heart disease.
iii. While the man was speaking with his friend, the dog went under his bed and ate
the food he hid there.
iv. We had to walk home since the rain refused to stop and there was no motor bike
on the road as it was getting late.

Sentences Types by Function

Sentences are also classified according to the functions they perform. The functions include
making a declaration, interrogation, command (i.e. imperative) and exclamation.

1. Declarative Sentences: They are used in making declarations, stating facts, and in giving
information.

Examples:
i She was late to the examination hall.
ii. She did not answer all the questions.
iii. The dog ate the food.
iv If any one works hard, he will pass his exam.
v. The road to their house is bad.
vi. Since this boy has been out of school for more than two years, he would need additional
lesson period to cope.
vii. Jesus is my friend.
viii. He said come unto me and I will give you rest.
ix. You shall be blessed in the morning and you shall be blessed in the evening.
x. No weapon formed against you shall prosper.
2. Interrogative Sentences: These are used to ask questions or set thought process in
motion.
They could be polar or non-polar in nature.
Polar questions are restrictive in approach while non-polar gives the respondent chance to
freely respond to the subject of the question.
Examples of polar questions are- ‘wh’-questions and alternate questions, while non-polar is tag
questions. The sign of interrogation is‘?’

Polar Questions: this is divides into two:

a. Wh-Question ─ used to acquire information: who, what, which, whose, where, how,
when.

Examples:
i Who are you?
Ii When is he coming?
iii. How did it happen?
iv. Where did you go?
v. Which of the books is he asking for?
vi. What is the latest news in town?
vii. What can I offer you?
viii. Whose name did you delete?
ix. Who shall I send and who will go for us?
x. Who will you worship?

b. Alternate Question. This gives options out of which the recipient makes a choice.
Examples:
i Would you go or I would go?
ii. Did John come or he sent his wife?
iii. Are you staying in my house or should I lock my door?
iv Did the students return or they slept outside?
v. Did you cook the food or you bought it?

Tag Question. This has a statement made and then the tag
Examples:
i. Anointed is handsome, isn’t he?
ii. The road is blocked, isn’t it ?
iii You need a car, don’t you?
iv. They are good people, aren’t they?
v. He did the work, didn’t he?
vi. Makinde did not see them, did he?
vii. I was not in school, was I?
viii They weren’t at the party, were they?

3. Imperative Sentences- used to give command, order or instruction.

Imperative sentences do not always wear the acceptable appearance of a sentence, i.e. they do
not always incorporate the two parts to a sentence. They could be only a verb, a verb and an
adverb (with an implied subject) or a complete sentence.
Examples:
i Come here.
ii. Go.
iii. Sit down.
iv John read your book.
v. Thou shall not kill.
vi. Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy.
vii. Honour your father and mother that your days may be long.
viii. My son, listen to the voice of wisdom.
[Link] shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and with all your strength.
x. Look unto me and be saved.

4. Exclamatory Sentences: These express emotions such as: joy, fear, surprise, happiness,
wonder, gratitude, etc. The sign of exclamation is ‘!’
i What a lovely day!
ii. How dare you!
iii. Here comes my love!
iv. What a mighty God we serve!
v. Help!
vi. He is risen!

Exercises: Identify the following sentences by their structures

Section A:
i. I know that my redeemer liveth.
ii. The man who you spoke with yesterday wants to see you.
iii. Because he lives, I can face tomorrow.
iv. He married the lady, although against his mother’s wish.
v. The man preached so well as if he has been a preacher.
vi He will sing and I will pray.
vii. The poor are rich in patience; the rich are poor in patience.
viii. Joan came with her father so that he can plead with the principle on her behalf.
ix. Joke went to farm but Tolu stayed at home because of her bad leg.
x. When the trumpet sounds, the dead will rise.
xi. He decided to pray when all hope failed him.
xii. I heard the noise and it was one that made my head to ache.

The Phrasal Verbs and Idioms

The Phrasal verbs

Phrasal verbs are groups of words formed by combining verbs and adverbial particles or
prepositions. The words lose their original meanings and acquire a new meaning as a group. The
sequence is a verb followed by an adverb or a verb + an adverb + preposition

Phrasal verbs and their meanings

Give in yield
Bargain for – expect
Break in unlawful entering
Break in on barge in/ interrupt
Walk out on abandoned
Black out – faint
Catch up on get closer, have effect
Give away – betray
Put up with tolerate
Hit on – discover
Check up on investigate, inquire
Stand out – be obvious
Done away with abolished
Show off – boast
Done away with escape with
Put off – postpone
Make away with escape with
Put away – tidy
Look down to despise, how opinion
Look around – tour
Get down to serious attention
Block out – destroy, till
Drop in on call on
Bring around – revive
Back out of quit
Hand out dispense
Face up to confront
Go for attack
Square up to face
Hold – up delay
Square up settle
Stick out project, extended, stretch
Tuck in feast
Tick off rebuke
Wear away erode
Turn off stop
Get about begin, start
Wind up end, finish
Make up invent
Work up stir up, cause
Hatch out form
Size up judge
Butt in interrupt
Lie back recline
Carry off win, succeed
Come at attack
Call off cancel/stop
Brush off reject
Hook up reserve
Brush up improve
Figure out calculate
Get along manage
Shut off separate/isolate
Stack up acquire
Weed out remove
Wrap up finalize, seal
Take after resemble
Write in for apply
Think up invent
 Write off cancel
Talk around persuade
Team up cooperate
Take down humiliate
Tie in blend
Get away with succeed
Add up to amount to
Stand up for defend
Get away escape

Idiomatic Expressions

An idiomatic expression is an expression whose meaning cannot be got from the meaning of the
words that individually make up the expression. They feature in conversations. E.g.

The lecturer buttered up the students over the valentine preparation.

When someone attempts to deny you your right, go at it hammer and tongs.
Mr Jubril’s problems are making him behave like one who has gone off one’s head.
Everyone seems to be hard up (short of money).
We can’t make head or tail of your argument.
The Bible condemns the attitude of blowing ones trumpet (proclaiming ones good works).
Every piece of advice you give him, go in one ear and out the other.
The enemy’s target is to nip in the bud someone’s future (stop).
Jonathan’s faithfulness and friendship to David was made more obvious even by his choice to
play second fiddle not minding that his father was the king.
Jesus taught His disciples to turn the other check to their enemies (refuse revenge).
You don’t have to wear your heart on your sleeve (believe to show your feelings clear to all).
Ayola is always talking with a high hand (arguing).
He rides the high horse to the workers because of his father’s wealth. (better than/ know more
than)
His accomplishment has added to the feather in his cap. (achievement/ advantage)
Marriage has become something else these days therefore, before you go into it, make sure you
keep your powder dry (ready/ prepared).
Jobs in Nigeria these days are secured by crossing somebody’s palm with silver (bribery).
When you find yourself between the devil and the deep blues sea, wisdom from above becomes
pertinent (unacceptable alternatives).
She was asked to keep her fingers crossed after the interview (hopeful).
The students almost succeeded in making the teacher hang his head but for his mastery of the
subject. (ashamed)
When you are confused and there’s none to guide you, follow your nose (instinct).
Our political system is filled with more hawks than doves. (those with aggressive policy of
power)
Dignitaries from all walks of life attended the funerals service of the late head of state. (sphere/
class)
How peaceful this world would be if only, gossips could hold their tongues.
Any time my lecturer comes to class keeping a straight face, everyone begins to pray for the
grace of God. (not smiling)
Some people dislike borrowing but they can’t help picking someone’s brain (getting ideas from
people).
The word of God that people listen to in Nigeria is like water off a duck’s back, judging by the
rate of evil and wickedness in a society that has on every street, three churches and one mosque.
(having no effect)
To ask for money from that man is like looking for a needle in a haystack.(almost impossible)
The victims of the accident were rushed to a hospital in the nick of time (before late).
She was head over heel in love with her husband that she couldn’t stand the sight of another
woman in bed with him (deeply).
Most male supervisors hit their female supervisees below the belt (unfair).
Sometimes my situation almost makes me feel high and dry (helpless and hopeless).
Most girls that were sexually abused by their fathers find it difficult to bury the hatchet with
them.
Most of our young men know how to keep the ladies in a fool’s paradise with their tongues.
Virtually all the people we refer to as philanthropists have axe to grind, (ulterior motives).
The word of God should give its hearer a fresh lease of life.
I could not make out anything out of your speech because it sounded all Greek (unintelligible).
Valentine’s Day is a hornet’s nest (excitement of people).
That pastor was once a jail bird (crime repeater)
Achebe is a man of letters (literacy).
There will always be a penny day in one’s life. (low income status)
What is happening these days makes one have one’s heart in one’s mouth. (very excited /
panicky)
The best candidate for such a job must have a gift of the gab (fluency).
The Muslims fly in the face of the horses. (oppose a common sense)
The one I call my friend was the flyspeck in my ointment. (source of annoyance/ difficulty)
His stay in the office was a flash in the pan (sudden).

Others include
Rain cat and dog – to rain heavily.
No time like the present – the best time to do something.
At the top of the tree – highest position.
Turn tail – run back away.
Hit the nail on the head – the (exact) truth.
Hit the jackpot – sudden success, quick money.
Strike while the iron is hot –make use of an opportunity.
Cut corners – go for easiest, quickest, cheapest way.
A bird’s eye views – a general view.
When the chips are down – a point of decision, challenge.
See eye to eye – agree.
Hold all the aces – have all the advice.
Back the wrong horse – go for a loss, something not successful.
Go the whole hog – completely or thoroughly.
Birds of a feather, flock together – people of same minds.
Cut your coat according to your cloth – do only what you have the ability.
Rock the boat – upset a situation, cause problem.
Behind somebody’s back – without permission.
Sail close to the wind – take a risk.
A piece of cake – easy to do.
Spill the beans – reveal secret.
Keep the dark – keep secret.
Talk through one’s hat – say nonsense.
Be in seventh heaven – extremely happy.
Green with envy – very jealous, envious.
Put one’s thinking cap on – think out a solution.
Keep up with the times – adapt.
Carried in stones – unchangeable.
Put one’s foot forward – great effort to do something.
Keep one’s finger on the pulse – know the latest.
A dog in a manger – one that stops others from enjoying when he cannot.
Every dig has its day – everyone has good luck at some points.
A big gun/shot – important person.
Crocodile tears – deceptive.
A man of his words – a man of truth.
An ugly customer – dangerous person.
Cut the ground under someone’s feet – put one in a weak position.
Give a piece of one’s mind – scold, punish.
Add insult to – worsen a situation.
The interview caught me on the wrong foot – not ready.
 Some of the causes of depression, if traced, are storms in teacups.
I walked/floated on air when I saw my result (very happy).
Mr. Tunde is a ball of fire –very energetic and enthusiastic).
The man thinks he has all the power but I think he has to be reminded that still water runs deep
(a quiet person can act).
Young minds often battle with so many bats in the belfry.
One of our problems as Christians and as Nigerians is that we pay lip services to cogent issues
and calls.
Better not be called on the carpet in Babcock University (summon for wrong doing).
Be in the can – ready for use.
Can of worms – complicated problem.
A closed book – unknown subject or issue.
He who pays the piper calls the tune – he who provides, controls.
Make little of something – hardly anything.
Loose no sleep – worry less/not.
Sweep something under carpet– hide something unpleasant.
Swings and roundel points – advantage and disadvantage.
Kettle of fish – problematic situation.
Cock of the walk – one that dominates.
Act out somebody’s script – carry out somebody’s plan or intention.
Under a cloud – in disgrace.
Go off the deep end – express feelings without control.
Take French leave – leave/ absent without permission.
Turn the table – reverse the result.
Run into someone – unexpectedly meet.
Run someone down – say unkind thing about.
To strain at a gnat and swallow a camel – overly particular in less things.
Problem shared is halved - to speak out brings some relief and lax in important things.

PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY

Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that focuses on the production and

classification of the world's speech sounds.

Phonology is the study of the patterns of sounds in a language and across languages.
Put more formally, phonology is the study of the categorical organisation of speech
sounds in languages; how speech sounds are organised in the mind and used to
convey meaning

The three branches of Phonetics

ARTICULATORY PHONETICS

This is divided into three: 1)place of articulation, 2) manner of articulation, and 3) quality of production
Place of articulation: In speech making, certain speech organs are brought together at various places
and manners. These organs come together to shape or moderate the sound signals produced from the
larynx. Major among these organs are the lips, teeth, teeth ridge, tongue, pharynx, and even the nose. It
is concerned with the study of the vowel and the consonant sounds involved in speech making in any
language

The manner of speech production concerns the various ways or how these articulators produce speech
sounds. For the consonant sounds, it is possible to say that some sounds are produced with total closure
of the articulators (stops or plosives), or friction (Affricates/Fricatives). Another sound might be
produced by the vibration of the tip of the tongue, slightly touching the palate (Rolled) or just tapping it
(Tap-Flap). It is also possible to shape the mouth such that a sound is allowed to pass through a space at
both sides of the blade of the tongue and the mouth (Lateral), or allow the sound to come out of the
vocal tract with little or no obstruction of the articulators.
The quality deals with the quantity or length of time expended on a sound; (ii) the amount of force or
pressure exerted on a sound; whether voiced or voiceless

Acoustic phonetics
This studies how human speech is transmitted by the sound waves that originate from the lungs
into the larynx or what is called the voice box. The larynx is usually referred to as the voice box, mainly,
because it houses the vocal folds whose precursor is the generation of the vibrations that give
phonation or the sound waves that lead to the voiced sounds
The Source-Filter Theory recounts that the speech sound generation starts from the lungs, which pump
air into the larynx. The air, so pumped, forces the vocal folds housed by the larynx to open and close.
When the sound waves that escape through the folds get to the vocal tract, they are moderated by the
various speech organs in the vocal tract by the process of filtration and the vocal tract acting as the
acoustic filter. The filtering process converts the sound vibrations from the larynx into the individual
speech sounds that we hear.

Auditory phonetics
This is the aspect of phonetics that concerns the natural processing systems of speech reception and
perception. The main organ of the human body concerned with this is the ear. The ear consciously
selects what it wishes to process, in this case, speech. transmits the selected signals and analyses them.
 What's the difference between phonics and phonetics?
Phonetics is the study of speech sounds in languages and is focused purely on
pronunciation. Phonics is a method of learning to read English by developing an
awareness of the variety of sounds that letters represent in different positions and
combinations
The difference between phonetics and phonology?
Phonetics is the study of the production and perception of speech sounds,
and phonology concerns itself with the study of more complex and abstract
sound patterns and structures (syllables, intonation, stress etc.)

THE ENGLISH PHONETIC / SPEECH SOUNDS

This is divided into two, thus:
20 vowels in English
 7 short vowels: /ɪ/ /ʊ/ /ə/ /e/ /ɒ/ /ʌ/ /æ/
 5 long vowels: /iː/ /uː/ /ɑː/ /ɔː/ /ɜː/
 8 diphthongs: /eɪ/ /aɪ//ɔɪ/ /əʊ/ /aʊ/ /ɪə/ /eə/ /ʊə/

 24 consonants in English phonetics

 English has 24 consonant sounds, and 21 consonants. ...
 /b/ /f/ h/ r/
 /d/ /v/ /m/ /w/
 /p/ /s/ /n/ /g/
 /t/ /z/ /l/ /k/
 (The remaining 8 consonant sounds are: /θ/ /ð/ /ʃ/ /ʒ/ /ʈʃ/ /dʒ/ /j/ /ŋ/)

How many types of phonetic sounds are there in English?

It is generally agreed that there are approximately 44 sounds in English- 20 vowel
sounds and 24 consonants sounds. The 44 English phonemes are represented by the
26 letters of the alphabet individually and in combination.
 The diphthongs with examples
 /eɪ/ as in day, pay, say, lay.
 /aɪ/ as in sky, buy, cry, tie.
 /ɔɪ/ as in boy, toy, coy or the first syllable of soya.
 /ɪə/ as in beer, pier, hear.
 /eə/ as in bear, pair, and hair.
 /ʊə/ as in tour, poor or the first syllable of tourist.
 /əʊ/ as in oh, no, so, or phone.
 /aʊ/ as in all the words of "How now brown cow!"

What is meant by diphthongs

A diphthong is a vowel that contains two different vowel sounds in one syllable.
Diphthongs are categorised in terms of how they sound and how they are
pronounced

Triphthongs and smoothing

 English has five triphthongs, which are formed by the diphtongs ending in /ɪ/
and /ʊ/ + the sound /ə/. ...
 /aʊ/ + /ə/ = [aʊə] hour.
 /aɪ/ + /ə/ = [aɪə] fire.
 /eɪ/ + /ə/ = [eɪə] player.
 /əʊ/ + /ə/ = [əʊə] mower.
 /ɔɪ/ + /ə/ = [ɔɪə] employer.
 As you can see, triphthongs have three vowel sounds in a row.

The voiceless consonants?

/p/ - pot, stop, tape /t/ - tap, attache, matt

/k/ - cat, crack, lake /s/ - sun, mute, base

/f/ - fan, rough, life /θ/ - thin, teeth, wrath

/ʃ/ - show, hush, wish /tʃ/ - teacher butcher, fetch

/h/ - hat, behind, whole

The voiced consonants

These are the voiced consonants: b, d, g, j, l, m, n, ng, r, s, z, th (as in the word

"then"), v, w, y, and z.

SOUND PRODUCTION
The human voice produces sounds in the following manner:

Air pressure from the lungs creates a steady flow of air through the trachea (windpipe),
larynx (voice box) and pharynx (back of the throat). Therefore, the air moves out of the lungs
through a coordinated action of the diaphragm, abdominal muscles, chest muscles and rib
cage.
The vocal folds in the larynx vibrate, creating fluctuations in air pressure, known as sound
waves.
Resonances in the vocal tract modify these waves according to the position and shape of
the lips, jaw, tongue, soft palate, and other speech organs, creating formant regions and so
different qualities of sonorant (voiced) sound.
Mouth radiates the sound waves into the environment.
Nasal cavity adds resonance to some sounds such as [m] and [n] to give nasal quality of the
so-called nasal consonants.

Places of articulation

The upper lip or in-between the lips (labial / bi-labial)

In-between the teeth (labio-dental)
The alveolar ridge, the gum line just behind the teeth (alveolar)
The back of the alveolar ridge (post-alveolar)
The hard palate on the roof of the mouth (palatal)
The soft palate further back on the roof of the mouth (velar)
The uvula hanging down at the entrance to the throat (uvular)
The throat itself, a.k.a. the pharynx (pharyngeal)
The epiglottis at the entrance to the windpipe, above the voice box (epiglottal)

Manner of Articulation
 Fricative: /f,v,θ,ð,s,z,ʃ,ʒ,h/ are made in 5 positions of the mouth: The fricative sounds /v,ð,z,ʒ/
are voiced, they are pronounced with vibration in the vocal cords, whilst the sounds /f,θ,s,ʃ,h/ are
voiceless; produced only with air.

Sinilants are consonants of higher amplitude and pitch, made by directing the air with the
tongue towards the teeth. E.g. /s/ and /z

Plosives/stops are the kinds of sounds usually associated with the letters p, t, k; b, d, g, in which
air flow from the lungs is interrupted by a complete closure being made in the mouth. Stop
sounds can be voiceless, like the sounds /p/, /t/, and /k/, or voiced, like /b/, /d/, and /g/. In
phonetics, a plosive consonant is made by blocking a part of the mouth so that no air can pass
through

Glides include speech sounds where the airstream is frictionless and is modified by the position
of the tongue and the lips. Glides and semivowels are very similar to vowels.

Approximants are consonants produced by bringing one articulator (the tongue or lips)
close to another without actually touching it, as in English r and w.

Nasal consonants are produced with a complete block air flow in the mouth while the air passes
through your nose.
Lateral is a type of approximant pronounced with the side of the tongue. (l)

Phonological system

The phonological system of a language has two levels: phonemes and allophones.

Allomorph
In linguistics, an allomorph is a variant phonetic form of a morpheme, or, a unit of
meaning that varies in sound and spelling without changing the meaning. The term
allomorph describes the realization of phonological variations for a specific
morpheme
For example, the plural morpheme '-s' in English has three allomorphs: /s/, /z/, and
/ɪz/, as in 'cats', 'dogs', and 'buses'.

Allomorph = the different forms (based on sound) of a morpheme

Allophone = the different forms (based on sound) of a phoneme

Allomorhs are organized into Four categories:

 Additive allomorphs: morphemes that are phonologically similar .
 Suppletive allomorphs: morphemes that are phonologically different .
 Zero allomrphs: morphemes that have no change.
 Replacive allomorphs: morphemes that have an infix or internal change of word.

Phonemes

Phoneme, in linguistics, is the smallest unit of speech distinguishing one word (or
word element) from another, as the element p in “tap,” which separates that word
from “tab,” “tag,” and “tan.” A phoneme may have more than one variant, called
an allophone which functions as a single sound

For example, the phoneme /ɛ/ is different from the phoneme /i:/, so if we use the
word set [sɛt] instead of seat [si:t], the meaning of the word will change.
In English the t sounds in the words “hit,” “tip,” and “little” are allophones;
phonemically they are considered to be the same sound although they are different
phonetically in terms of aspiration, voicing, and point of articulation

MOOD AND MODALITY

Modality is about a speaker's or a writer's attitude towards the world. A speaker or

writer can express certainty, possibility, willingness, obligation, necessity and
ability by using modal words and expressions. Speakers often have different
opinions about the same thing
Mood is a grammatical notion, whereas modality is a semantic notion relating to
such concepts as 'possibility', 'necessity', 'permission', 'obligation', etc.
Traditionally, modality is said to be implemented grammatically through three
moods namely indicative, imperative and subjunctive.

In linguistics, grammatical mood is a grammatical feature of verbs, used for

signaling modality. That is, it is the use of verbal inflections that allow speakers to
express their attitude toward what they are saying (for example, a statement of fact,
of desire, of command, etc.). The term is also used more broadly to describe
the syntactic expression of modality – that is, the use of verb phrases that do not
involve inflection of the verb itself
Indicative mood
The indicative mood, or evidential mood, is used for factual statements and
positive beliefs. It is the mood of reality. The indicative mood is the most
commonly used mood and is found in all languages. Example: "Paul is eating an
apple" or "John eats apples

Subjunctive mood
The subjunctive mood, sometimes called conjunctive mood, has several uses
in dependent clauses. Examples include discussing imaginary or hypothetical
events and situations, expressing opinions or emotions, or making polite requests

The imperative mood expresses direct commands, prohibitions, and requests. In

many circumstances, using the imperative mood may sound blunt or even rude, so
it is often used with care.

The interrogative (or interrogatory) mood is used for asking questions

WORD FORMATION PROCESSES

In linguistics, there are many ways for creating a new word, and this is known as word-
formation processes in the English language.
As languages evolve and develop all the time, new words emerge to help speakers communicate
better.
This is a list of common word-formation processes in English:
Loan-word Compounding Blending Clipping Back-formation Conversion
Coinage Eponym Affixation Infixes Abbreviation
Analogy
Loan-word
Borrowing or loan word refers to the process where a foreign word is used in the
language without being translated. The English language has adopted a large number of words
from other languages.
Foreign words with the same spelling in English
ballet from (French) to (English)
patio from (Spanish) to (English)
hamster from (German) to (English)
cookie from (Dutch) to (English)
yogurt from (Turkish) to (English)
Foreign words with different spelling
chauffeur from (French) to (Spanish) chofer
football from (English) to (Hungarian) futbal
check from (English) to (Finnish) sˇekki
Calque
Loan-translation, also known as calque, is a translation method in which a word or phrase is
translated literally, word-for-word, into another language. It's important to note that calques are
usually semantic or syntactic translations, meaning that they retain the meaning or structure of
the word in the original language, rather than being phonetically matched.
Compounding
When two separate words are combined together to form a single new word,
Compounding: Types
There are three types of compound words:
 Open compounding: When there is a space between two elements.
ice cream peanut butter first aid
 Hyphenated compounding: When there is a hyphen between two compounded elements.
never-ending in-depth left-handed
 Closed compounding: When the two elements are written together.
bookcase fishbowl fingerprint

Blending
Blending is when a word is formed by mixing two other words together.
brunch : breakfast + lunch
smog: smoke + fog

Clipping
Clipping or shortening involves cutting down some parts of a word and forming a shorter word
that is a synonym for the original word. Clipping is different from abbreviation as it is
the shortened form of written words.
gasoline = gas condominium = condo
examination = exam mathematics = math
laboratory = lab veteran = vet
captain = cap manicure = mani
pedicure = pedi Fantasy = Fancy
madam = ma’am forecastle = fo'c'sle
science-fiction: Sci-fi situation comedy: sitcom
Alexander= 'Alex' Moving picture: movie
Television: telly Sick leave: sickie
 Bookmarker: bookie

Backformation
This word-formation process happens when a word (usually a noun) is reduced to another part of
speech (normally a verb). This word-formation process originated in Latin nouns ending with '-
ion' that entered the English language. Take a look at some examples:
Option (noun) → to opt
Insertion (noun) → to insert
opinion (noun) → to opine
resurrection (noun) → to resurrect
worker → to work
editor → to edit

NOTE:
Back-formation is different from clipping. Back-formation may change the word's class or
meaning, whereas clipping makes shortened words from longer words, but does not change the
class or meaning of the word.

Conversion

This word-formation process is also called zero derivation and happens when we create a new
word with another part of speech without changing its form. For example:
green (noun) → green (adjective)
The adjective 'green' is derived from the noun 'green' that means a grass land.
cheat (verb): cheat (noun)
phrasal verb to noun
to print out → a printout
to take over → a takeover
 verb to noun
must (verb) → must (noun)
hit (verb): hit (noun)
 noun to verb
bottle (noun) → to bottle
mail (noun) → to mail
 adjective to verb
clean (adjective) → clean (verb)
empty (adjective) → empty (verb)

Coinage
Coinage is a type of word-formation process in which a new word is created, either by inventing
a completely new word or by adapting an existing word in a new way. This can happen because
of advances in technology, movies, literature, music, and popular culture. For instance:
google teflon aspirin

Note:
Words that are formed by coinage are usually written in lowercase letters when they are used in
context, but when we want to refer to the source of the word, it becomes a proper noun and has to
be written in uppercase letters.

Eponyms
This is a type of coinage where the word is derived from the names of people or places. Eponyms
are usually written in lowercase letters, but when they are used as proper nouns, they must be
written in uppercase letters. Like:
jeans
Here, 'jeans' comes from the Italian city of Genoa where this type of cloth was first made
parkinson
Here, The condition is named after James Parkinson who described the shaking palsy.

Affixation
Affixation involves the use of prefixes and suffixes which are small words put before or after
some words to change their meaning and part of speech. Here are some examples:
create → creation
Here, the suffix -ion shows the result of a process.
agree → disagree
Here, the prefix dis- shows the opposite meaning of the word.
Infixes
Infixes are affixes inserted into the word stems. There are a few infixes in English and they are
normally used in informal speech or technical texts. Here are some examples:
sophistimacated (sophisticated)
saxomaphone, (saxophone)
edumacation (education)
hizouse (house)
Here, -iz- is an infix from hip-hop culture.
shiiznit (shit)
Here, -izn- is an infix from hip-hop culture.

Tip!
Tmesis is quite different from infixes. Infixes are tiny meaningless words but tmesis is a
meaningful word inserted into another noun. For example:
Hallebloodylujah!
Absogoddamnlutely!
Unf^^kinbelievable!

Abbreviation
An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase that is used to represent the full form of
the word or phrase. Here are some examples:
USA (United States of America)
CEO (Chief Executive Officer)
UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization)
km (kilometer)
St. (street)
Abbreviation: Types
There are five types of abbreviations. Let’s take a look at each type:

Acronyms: When we put the initial letters of a set of words together or separate the initial letters
of a word, we make an acronym. An acronym is always pronounced as a word.
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)
sonar (sound navigation and ranging)
UNICEF (United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund)
 Initialism: An initialism is formed by the first letters of a group of words that are
pronounced letter by letter, not as a word.
HR (Human Resources)
UN (United Nations)
URL (uniform resource locator)
FYI (for your information)
 Contraction: When we reduce the size of the word, by omitting the middle letters.
Sgt. (Sergeant)
Mr. (Mister)
amt. (amount)
 Shortening: when only the first letters or first syllables of a word are kept.
Prof. (Professor)
approx. (approximately)
Sun. (Sunday)
Co. (Company)
 Syllabic abbreviations: When an abbreviation is formed from the initial syllables of a
group of words and pronounced as a word.
Interpol (International Police)
Comintern (Communist International)
MISCELLANEOUS ENGLISH

Common Grammatical Errors

We have already established that a sentence must have a subject and a verb. It is also important
that these should agree. For example, a singular subject must have a singular verb, a plural
subject, a plural verb e.g.

*Each of the engineers is to be given details of the new processes.

*The details of the new processes are to be given to each engineer.

The error of a singular subject and a plural verb, or vice versa, usually arises when the subject
and verb are separated by a number of other words. Remember also that ‘each’ ‘everyone’,
‘either’ ‘neither’ ‘none’ are all singular words.

Most collective nouns are singular, but if the constituent members of the collective noun act as
individuals, the verb has to be in the plural.
*The family “was” able to reach a decision over the land.
But
*The family “were” in disagreement over the land.

Similarly, demonstrative adjectives and relative pronouns must agree with the words to which
they belong. E.g.
*He cannot afford these type of cloth for the wife.
This sentence gets a reader confused since it can mean:
*We cannot afford this type of cloth for the wife.
Or
*We cannot afford to buy these types of electric fitting for the factory.

Make certain that demonstrative adjectives (‘this’, ‘that’, ‘these’, ‘those’) agree with the nouns
to which they belong.

Another example of the singular- plural confusion is seen in the sentence below.
*She is one of the students who is taking the examination.

The relative pronoun ‘who’ refers not to ‘she’ but to ‘students’ since the students are those taking
the examination. Therefore, the verb should be plural, ‘are’, to agree with students.
In the same way that singular and the plural words are confused, subject and object cases are
sometimes wrongly transposed without the error becoming obvious to the ear. E.g.
*The hotel had no room available for my wife and I

Here the phrase ‘my wife and I’ is the object of the sentence.
This can be more clearly seen by omitting the words ‘my wife and’, so that the sentence is more
obviously incorrect. -*

*The hotel had no room for I. therefore, the correct version should read:
The hotel had no room available for my wife and me.

When two persons or things are compared using the words ‘than’ or ‘as’, they are in the same
case; that is, they are both subject or both object e.g.

*He is much happier than me in working for the local authority,

should be: (wrong)
*He is much happier than I in working for the local authority.
Many people get confused with the difference in usage between the relative pronouns ‘who’ and
‘whom’. Below is a simple way to go about it.
*‘who’ is the subject and is equivalent to ‘he’ or ‘they’
*‘whom’ is the object and represents ‘him’ or ‘them’
The case of a relative pronoun depends upon its function in the part of the sentence to which it
belongs. To ascertain its function, isolate the clause in which the relative pronoun appears and
make it a separate sentence by replacing the relative pronoun with the appropriate pronoun thus:
*He is the man whom we hope will contribute generously to our funds.

If we separate the clause as suggested above, the result is as follows:

*Him will contribute generously to our funds.
This is proof that the relative pronoun in the original sentence should have been ‘who’.

Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers

a. The misrelated participle is one of the commonest errors which can lead to considerable
misunderstanding or absurdity.

*Going inside the car, the man drove off

The above sentence neither shows who the subject of the sentence is nor does it show any
relationship between ‘the man who drove off’ and ‘going inside the car’. The sentence can be
corrected in two ways: either by replacing the participle phrase or the subject of the sentence
changed to make the participle phrase relate to it.
i. The man drove off immediately he went inside the car
ii. The man going inside his car, drove off.

b. A prepositional phrase placed far from the word it modifies:

*The meat comes from the local farmers killed on the premises
*The convict was seen by the policeman running across the bridge
The meat killed on the premises comes from the local farmers.
The convict was seen running across the bridge by the policeman

Sentence Fragments
Sentence fragment is an incomplete sentence. It could either be a phrase or a dependent clause.
In other words, it dose not make a complete sense. E.g.
i. It was on the 30th of August, 2012.
ii. Unless we allow him to see the father.
iii. All the nurses in the hospital.
iv Since he has accepted Christ as his lord and saviour, and has been baptized.
In all the examples above, it is obvious that something or part of the needed information is
missing and these can be supplied in response to a question as, “what? or what
happened?”

Some Commonly Misused Words

Most students misuse the following pair of words:
there (an adverb) and their (a pronoun)
as (an adverb) and has ( a verb)
is (a verb) and his ( a pronoun)
it’s (a contracted form of “it is”) and its (a pronoun)
I (first person singular pronoun) and i (small letter used in words)
theirselves (not English ) and themselves (plural reflexive pronoun)
our selves (wrongly spaced) and ourselves (one word)
fateful ( in reference to a day/event) and faithful (synonym of truthful)

Correlatives
Correlative conjunctions go together in pairs as shown below. In usage, they should be arrange in
this order.
Either or
Neither nor
Both and
Not only but also
Rather than
The first correlative must be placed immediately before the first alternative, and the second
before the second alternative.
 She is going neither to her daughter nor her son this Christmas.

Inconsistent Use of Pronoun

*‘One should abide by the high way codes even if it causes him to be late to his destination.’
The use of both one and he suggests two persons. To avoid pronoun confusion, the same pronoun
must be maintained throughout. Thus we can rewrite the sentence thus:

*One should always abide by the Highway Code even if it causes one to be late at
one’s destination.

*He should always abide by the Highway Code even if it causes him to be late at
his destination.

Comparative and Superlative Confusion

The comparative form of an adjective which usually ends in ‘er’ or preceded by ‘more’, should
be used when two items are compared. When three or more items are compared, the superlative
form must be used. The superlative form usually ends with –‘est’ or is preceded by ‘most’. e.g.
John was the younger of the two brothers
Ken is the tallest of the three brothers

Shall /will
It is a wrong assumption that shall and will, can be used interchangeably without an alteration in
meaning.
a. In a simples sentence expressing the future, I and we are followed by shall, you, he, she,
it, they- are followed by will.

*I shall be taking my post JAMB next week

b. If the writer wishes to convey strong determination in the future, the above rule is
reversed thus:
*I will write and pass the JAMB examination by myself, even if it means writing it five
times.

Here the emphasis of the word ‘will’ conveys a different meaning from the use of ‘shall’.

When a writer wishes to express a conditional dependence of one action upon another, he may
use the first rule above which suggests a result which is definite or likely to happen. This is
illustrated below:

Simple future action

 I /we shall you/he/she/it/they will
Determination
I/we will you/she/he/it/they shall
Conditional
I shall you/ he/she will
We should it/they would
Note that all the tenses used ‘should, when the intended meaning is ‘ought to’

Split Infinitive
*‘It is necessary to strictly observe the rules of the game’
A split infinitive occurs when a word (usually an adverb) is place between ‘to’ and the verb of
the infinitive.
*‘It is necessary to observe strictly the rules of the game’.

Ambiguous Sentences
Ambiguities of expressions occur when a writer chooses or arranges his words carelessly so that
a second and unintentional meaning can be derived from an utterance. It is important to examine
our expressions to be sure that the intended meaning will easily be understood by the reader or
recipient of our expressions. thus:
*A furnished accommodation required by young professional man, about to be married
for one year or more’.
The above expression is full of confusion. To avoid this, note that qualifying words and phrases
must be placed close to the word they qualify. The phrase ‘for one year or more’ refers to ‘to be
married’ whereas it ought to qualify ‘required’, thus:
*A furnished accommodation required for one year or more by a young professional man
about to be married.

Omission of necessary words

*‘The judge said the witness was biased’.
This utterance can be interpreted in two ways to indicate that the witness accused the judge of
being biased or that the judge accused the witness of being biased. The omission of the word that
will make the utterance simple and clear:
*‘The judge said that the witness was biased’.

* “I have lecture by 2 pm”.

* “I have a lecture by 2 pm”.

Differences between British and American English

SPELLINGS
British American
Favour Favor
Spectre Specter
Underground Subway
Power point Socket/ outlet
Dust bin Garbage can
Aeroplane Airplane
Organise Organize
Install Instal
Moustache Mustache
Spilt Spilled
Knelt Kneeled
Leapt Leaped
Spelt Spelled
Learnt Learned
Burnt Burned
Encyclopaedia Encyclopedia
Pygmy Pigmy
Travelled Traveled
Storey building Story building
Bathroom Rest/wash room
Lorry Truck
Line Queue
Lift Elevator
Dungarees Overalls
Autumn Fall
Nought Zero
Undertaker Mortician
Garden Yard
Cinema Movies
Amoeba Amebe
Aesthetics Esthetics
Encase Incase
Andoise Indoise
Capitalise Capitalize
Cheque Check
Draught Draft
Kilogramme Kilogram
Petrol Gas
Headlamp Headlight
To grill To broil
Pitcher Jug
Estate agent Realtor
Vest Undershirt
Braces Suspender
Nappy Diaper
Anaemia Anemia
Colour Color
Enquire Inquire
Ensure Insure
Fibre Fiber
Metre Meter
Manoeuvre Maneuver
Litre Liter
Paediatrics Pediatrics
Mould Mold
Odour Odor
Practice Practise
Defence Defense
Pretence Pretense
Plough Plow
Theatre Theater
Skilful Skillful
Worshiping Worshiping
Tyre Tire
Woollen Woolen
Billboard Hoarding
Bill Banknote
Maize Corn
Torch light Flash light
Flask Thermos
Tap Faucet
Bonnet Hood
Sitting room Living room
Jumper Sweater/pull over
Overall Smock
Sidewalk Pavement
Mimeograph Cyclostyle
Boot Trunk
Post Mail
 Petrol Gasoline
Spanner Monkey wrench
Sweets Candies
Quarreling Quarreling
Sulphur Sulfur
Whisky Whiskey
Grey Gray
Fulfil Fulfill
Instill Instill
Programme Program
Sofa Couch

Sentences

British American
He’ll come to see it later He’ll come see it later
We just had to battle with/against the enemy We just had to battle the enemy
They protested against the referee’s decision They protested the referee’s decision
You have to fill in the form You have to fill out the form
I have got to talk to you I have got to talk with you
See them on Monday See them Monday
Do you have any chicken soup Have you got any chicken soup
Yes I have Yes I do
Please go and call for me Eze Please go call me Eze
It seemed an age since I last saw you It seemed like an age since I last saw you

Differences between Nigerian and British English

Nigerian English British English

Go slow Traffic jam
Chop Eat
Cow meat Beef
Wonderful Something terrible
Waka waka To wander about
Congo meat Snail
Jaguda Ruffian
Hot drink Spirit/strong drink
Academician An academic
 Tight friend Bosom/close friend
Bottom power Unfair female advantage
Longer throat Salivate/tantalize
Wash down Bath
Penssioneer Pensioner
Dash Gift, bribe
Soup/stew Sauce
Motor Vehicle, motor car, lorry
Machine/Okada Motor cycle
Senior Elder
Junior Younger
Light Electricity, power supply
Lesson Private lesson
Zinc Corrugated iron sheets
Armies Soldiers
Gateman Janitor/gatekeeper
Watch night Night watchman
Indigene Native
Branch Call on (ones way)

Popular Nigerian expressions and the English versions

Nigeria English British English

You are not coming? Are you not coming?

She has gone? Has she gone?
The child is in pre-nursery the child is in crèche
The teacher asked about you in class the teacher asked after you
Go to the fish sellers shop go to the fish monger’s shop
You will board a bus at Ibadan garage at Ibadan Motor Park
The robber asked the driver to park asked the driver to pull out
My house is a face to face apartment … in a roomy apartment
The go-slow was much at Ikotun Egbe the hold-up/ traffic
I don’t like that boy, he’s a trouble shooter he’s a trouble maker Ritualists disvirgin girls
deflower girls
Make no bones be frank
Bare bones simple and important details
Stick one’s neck out take a bold but risky step
Have one’s heard in one’s boot sad and depressed
Stick to one’s gun refuse to change position
Make somebody’s blood run cold to be filled with fear and horror
Make somebody boil make angry
Poke one’s nose interfere
Turn one’s nose up cheat with contempt
The match is coming up at the playing ground …at the play ground
The man was hunged last month was hanged
He hanged his clothes outside hung his clothes outside
You are shorter than me shorter than I
Borrow me your book lend me your note book
Do you have grounded pepper have ground pepper
th
This is their 5 year anniversary 5th anniversary
I will drop at the met bus stop alright/get off at the next ….
He gives her a lift home gives her a ride home
Sir please come again sir please repeat yourself
She is selling market along the road she sells goods
I can be able to come I can/ I am able
All what he is saying all that he is saying…
We discussed about you we discussed you
I met your absence in the room I did not meet you / you were not
The child is having running stomach the child is stooling /purging
The man is an academician the man is an academic
My house rent has expired my rent has expired
She is not social she is not sociable
It is not good to eat port meat it is not good to eat pork
Mrs. Adamu is a gossiper Mrs. Adamu is a gossip
You are trickish you are tricky
She doesn’t mix words she doesn’t mince words
I like meat pie/fish pie I like mince pie/meat loaf
Try and crack your brain for an answer rack your brain
Please put on the light switch on, turn on
He used to call every 2 – 2 weeks used to call fortnightly
Time is against us time is running out
From every nook and corner every nook and cranny
Are you writing the GCE exam are you writing the GCE
I don’t approve your marrying that boy I don’t approve of your marrying that boy
Who gave you the gut who gave you the guts
There’s no chance in my car no space in my car
give way make way.
He drove on top speed he drove at top speed
there’s a man at our back a man behind us
Eze love Bola too much- Eze loves Bola very much
Who is having a torchlight who has a torch/ flash light
They were dragging the matter- arguing over the matter
Please give me pen there- give me a/the pen
To have long leg to cut corners/ to be corrupt
To deliver a baby to be delivered of a baby
To take in to conceive a baby/ become pregnant
To be with to have, be in possession of
To pregnant somebody to make pregnant, impregnate
On or off the light switch on or switch off
To hear a smell to perceive an odour
To eat/chop money to steal, embezzle money
Know something off head off hand, by heart
Dash somebody something give somebody gift
Small boy is worrying you being childish
Coloured television colour television

Mispronounced Words

Word Nigeria sound British sound (Not transcription)

architect achi-tet aki-tek-t
comb kom-bu keum
climb klaim-b klaim
listen lis-tin li-sn
sword s-wod sod
vehicle ve-hi-kl vee-kl
debt deb-t det
vacant va-kant vay-kant
data daa-ta day-ta
bustle bo-st-l bo-sl
courtesy kot-ci ko-te-ci
fatal fa-tal fay-tl
shepherd she-fad she-ped
village vi-la-ge vi-lig
gate get gey-it
plumber plomba ploma
sandwich sand-wich san-wich
bomber bom-ba bo-ma
succumb so-kom-bu so-kom
GLOSSARY

Words and their meanings

Between: in reference to two persons or things

Among: refers to a group of three or more than three
Epithet: word or phrases used to describe someone, a nickname
Alias: a.k.a.
Epitaph: short piece of writing on stone or grave
May: permission, possibility
Can: to be able, ability
Choose: present tense of chose decide, make a choice
Chose: past tense of choose
Undertaker: one that arranges funerals , a funeral director
Desert: dry, sandy region, to abandon
Dessert: sweet food served after the main meal
Stoker: one that looks after a furnace
Differ from: to be dissimilar
Differ with: to disagree with
Eminent: distinguished, outstanding
Farther: refers to distance
Further: in addition
Imminent: about or near to happening
Imply: to suggest in an implied way
Infer: to come to a conclusion or a meaning
Official: with proper or right authority
Its: a possessive pronoun
It’s: a contracted form of “it is” or “it has”
Officious: quick to act advice or use authority
Learn: to gain knowledge
Teach: to instruct
Penchant: strong liking, fondness or proclivity for something
Equable: calm and happy, not easily annoyed
Quiet: freedom from noise or disturbance
Quite: truly or almost completely
Transpose: change the order or position of two things
There: in reference to a place
Their: a pronoun showing possession
They’ re: a contraction for “they are”
Trenchant: Say something without minding the effect on people
Your: a possessive pronoun form of you
You’re: a contraction for “you are”
Accept: to accede or agree to something
Except: not included
Already: previously, before now
All ready: all are ready, to be prepared
Affect: to move or influence somebody or something
Effect: the result of an action
Borrow: to loan receive something
Lend: to give out
Advice: a noun, meaning counsel given to
Advise: a verb, meaning to give counsel
Practice: in reference to daily activity
Practice: in reference to methods, customs, systems of religions etc
Stationary: fixed or unmoving
Stationery: materials for writing
Arrive in : be in or come into a large location or place
Arrive at: be in or come into a small location or place
Deal with: to treat
Deal in: to sell
Careful with: you can be careful with something
Careful about: you can be careful about something
On time: at the exact time
In time: about the time, not late
Acumen: ability to think fast and make good judgment
Accountable to: responsible to an authority or a person
Accountable for responsible for your actions
Glossary: word list

Words and Shades of Meaning

Dark: little or no light

Dimly lit: light not bright
Dim: fairly dark
Darkened: darker than usual, light turned off
Gloom: not bright or cheerful
Murky: dark and difficult to see
Pitch dark/black: completely dark, nothing can be seen
Shady: cooler and darker than the area around.

Defend: to protect from attack

Stand up for: strongly defend somebody or something
Stick up for: strongly defend one that has no defense
Come to somebody’s defense: say something to defend someone

Embarrassed: feeling uncomfortable, nervous

Self-conscious: embarrassed about your body looks or the way you talk
Uncomfortable: not relaxed, not sure of what to say or do
Awkward: an embarrassed situation that doesn’t allow self to naturally play out
Sheepish: slightly embarrassed for doing something silly
Red-faced: embarrassed or ashamed
Mortified: extremely embarrassed and ashamed for doing something silly

Harm: to have a bad effect

Harmful: causing physical harm on health or environment
Be bad for: to have a harmful effect on something
Damaging: causing permanent physical harm
Detrimental: causing harm or having a bad effect
Negative: something bad that causes problems
Hazardous: dangerous to health and safety
Toxic: poisonous waste
Pernicious: something with gradual bad effect not easily noticed

Hit (someone): to touch quickly and hard

Beat : to hit deliberately many times
Strike someone: to hit with hand or weapon
Punch someone to hit hard with closed hand
Thump someone: to punch very hard
Beat someone up: to hurt badly in a violent attack
Slap someone : to hit with open hand
Spank/smack: to hit especially a child with open hand

Hit (something)
Knock: hit a door or window
Strike: to hit a surface
Whack: to hit something very hard
Bash: hit to cause damage
Tap: hit gently
Rap: knock quickly or hit several times
Bang: hit to make a loud noise
Pound: hit many times with much force
Hammer: hit many time to produce loud continuous noise
Hit accidentally: bump, bash, bang, stub,
Stub: hit your toe against something

Modern: most recent, belonging to the present time

The latest: the newest that is available
Up-to-date: most modern idea, technology, information
Newfangled: modern, fresh
High-tech/hi tech: very advanced technology
State-of-the-art: the newest and most advanced features, ideas

Old-fashioned: not modern or fashionable

Out-of-date: not having the recent info, not useful
Outdated: machines or methods that have been replaced by recent ones
Dated: styles that are no longer fashionable
Unfashionable: not popular any more
Obsolete: old fashioned (machines & equipments) replace
Antiquated: old and not suitable for modern need

Sell: give something in exchange for money

Export: send goods to another country

Deal in: to buy and sell a particular type of goods

Put up for sale/put on the market: make something available to be bought
Sell up: to sell your house or business
Auction: sales at special events that go to highest bidder
Flog: sell something of low quality
Peddle: sell cheap things, illegal drugs or items

Strict: expects people to obey rules or do what one says

Firm: being in control of a situation not ready to change opinion
Tough: determined to see ones order and decisions obeyed
Stern: strict in a serious, disapproving and unfriendly way
Harsh: criticize or punish in a very severe manner
Authoritarian: very strict about forcing people to obey rules and meting out severe
punishment to offender.

Thin: having little fat on ones body

Slim: thin in an attractive way
Slender: thin in an attractive and graceful way
Lean: thin, healthy looking and fit
Skinny: very thin in an unattractive way
Slight: thin and delicate
Scrawny: very thin, small and weak –looking
Underweight: below the usual weight
Gaunt: very thin and pale
Emaciated: extremely thin and weak
Skeletal: so thin that the shape or the bones can be seen
Anorexic: extremely thin as a result of mental illness
Unfriendly: not interested
Hostile: ready to argue or fight, very unfriendly
Cold: behaving as one that does not like or care about others
Frosty: unfriendly especially when angry
Aloof: not wanting to talk or spend time with others
Antagonistic: unfriendly and ready to start arguments
Antisocial: not interested in meeting people or establishing relationship with
them
Impersonal: lacking the normal friendly relations.

Young: not lived for very long

Teenage: young person between the ages of 13 and 19
Adolescent: the age when one has changed from being a child into an adult
Juvenile: young, not yet adult
Youthful: seeming young, typical of one that is young

Shame: to feel guilty, embarrassed and disappointed

Humiliation: embarrassed, look weak or stupid
Dishonor: lose people’s respect for doing something stupid
Disgrace: complete loss of people’s respect for doing something bad,
shocking
Ignominy: feeling of great shame and embarrassment
Stigma: feeling that other people disapproves of one, something
Ill: suffering from a disease
Sick: suffering from a disease or illness
Not very well: not seriously ill
Unwell: ill
Poorly: ill
In a bad way: very ill
Under the weather/off colour: slightly ill
Run down: feeling slightly ill and tired
In poor health: unhealthy and often ill
Delicate: weak and likely to become ill
Sickly: often ill

Careless: lack of attention to what one does

Sloppy: careless and lazy in doing things
Clumsy: carelessly dropping or breaking things
Reckless: doing dangerous or stupid things without care
Irresponsible: careless act that affects other under ones care
Casual: not treating something as important
Negligent: careless about what you are responsible for

Careful: to avoid mistakes, paying attention to details

Methodical: doing thing in a careful and well-organized way
Thorough: deal with every part; examine carefully
Meticulous: very careful about details
Painstaking: putting in a lot of time and effort to something

Confused: unable to understand something

Puzzled: confused, perplexed by something
Baffled : very confused at what you have tried hard to understand
Bewildered: very confused and surprised at something unusual and unexpected
Bemused: confused and surprised by what one said or what happened
Can’t think straight: difficulty in thinking clearly

Nice: friendly, kind, polite

Pleasant: friendly, polite and easy to talk to
Sweet: very kind and gentle
Charming: polite and friendly behavior that attracts people
Engaging: interesting or amusing in a way that people like
Likable: easy to like, nice and friendly
Good-natured: kind, nice, not easily angered
Great: likeable and admirable
Lovely: very nice, kind and friendly.

Reputation: people’s opinion about someone or an organization

Image: idea people have about something through what they read or saw
Name: the reputation of someone or an organization
Standing: someone’s reputation in a society or group
Prestige: a good reputation that makes people respect and admire something
Stature: a person’s or organization’s importance and respect based on achievement.
Smell: a quality you can recognize by breathing in through your nose
Whiff: something you can smell for a short time
Scent: smell from flowers, plants or fruits
Fragrance/perfume: pleasant smell from flowers, plant, fruits
Aroma: pleasant smell from food
Odour: unpleasant smell
Pong: unpleasant smell
Stink/stench: very strong and unpleasant smell

War: a situation where fighting is going on

Conflict: a situation of war or fighting
Hostilities: fighting in a war
Warfare: fighting activities or methods of fighting
Battle: fighting in a war that involves two armies or groups
Skirmish: a small fight outside the main war between small groups
Combat: Act of fighting
Action: military action during a war

Wet: covered in water or any liquid

Damp: slightly wet
Moist: slightly wet in a pleasant way (soil, eye)
Clammy: wet, cold and sticky (skin)
Soggy: unpleasantly wet
Humid/muggy: hot weather with wet air that makes one feel uncomfortable
Soaked: thoroughly wet, very wet all through
Drenched: very wet (a person or place after rainfall)
Saturated: extremely wet and unable to take in any liquid
Waterlogged: ground wet where water gathers
Sodden: Very wet with water

Effect: a change caused by an event or action

Impact: big and permanent or noticeable effect on somebody or something
Influence: power that affects behavior, opinion or thoughts
Side-effect: unwanted and unplanned effect that something brings
After-effects: a bad effect that results from past actions
Repercussion: a later, long lasting effect of an event or decision
A knock-on-effect: an effect on something that affects another thing
Footprint: effect of human activities on the environment

Forest: a very large area of land with lots of trees closely growing together
Woods: an area of land covered with lots of trees
Woodland: a type of land covered with trees
Rainforest: a thick forest with tall trees in tropical that have lots of rain regions
Jungle: tropical forest where trees and large plants grow very closely together
Grave: an area of land with small group of trees
Copse: small area of trees or bushes growing together
Plantation: a large area of trees planted for their wood or fruit
Thickets: small group of bushes, plants or small trees growing closely together

Job: regular paid work you do for an employer

Work: activity you are paid for doing
Profession: a job that requires special education and training
Occupation: a type of job
Career: work you do or plan to do most of your life
Position: particular job within an organization
Post: an important job in a large organization
Vacancy/opening: job available for someone to do
Appointment: an important job that one is asked to do
Posting: sending one somewhere to do a job
Employment: having a job.

Journey: to travel from one place to another

Trip: journey to visit a place
Tour: a journey for pleasure
Excursion: a short journey by a group of people to visit a place
Expedition: a long and carefully organized journey to a dangerous or unfamiliar place
Commute: the journey to and from work done everyday
Pilgrimage: journey to a holy place
Trek: a long journey on foot for pleasure
Travel: the activity of moving from one place to another
Flight: a journey by air
Voyage: a long journey over the sea
Crossing: a short journey by boat from one piece of land to another
cruise: a journey by boat for pleasure
Drive: a journey in a car
Ride: short journey in a car on bicycle or on horse

Look: to turn your eyes towards somebody or something so as to see

Glance: look at somebody or something for a short time and look away quickly
Peek/peep: to look quickly at something
Peer: look very carefully when you can’t see well

Dishonest: behave in a way to deceive

Corrupt: using power in a dishonest way for selfish gain
Devious: dishonest but clever tricks to deceive people to get what one wants,
Underhand: methods or ways that secretly deceive people
Sneaky: secretly saying or doing something that is dishonest or unfair
Sly: behaving in a way that hides what you are doing or thinking
Unscrupulous: using dishonest measures or methods to get what you want
Fraudulent: deceiving people in an illegal way to gain power

Plan: a set of actions for achieving something in future

Plot/conspiracy: a secret plan to do something harmful or illegal
Scheme: official plan intended to help people
Strategy: a carefully designed plan to achieve particular purpose over time
Initiative: a new plan to deal with a problem or achieve a particular aim
Policy: a plan by a body on how to deal with a subject or problem
Programme series of activities organized by a body to achieve something

Prejudice: an unreasonable dislike or distrust of people

Discrimination: a practice of treating a group of people differently in an unfair way
Intolerance: an unreasonable refusal to accept people’s belief, customs or way of life
Bigotry: a completely unreasonable hatred based on fixed opinion for people of a
different race, religion
Racism: unfair treatment of a people because they belong to a different race.
Sexism: a belief that one sex is weaker, unintelligent
Ageism: unfair treatment of a people because they are old
Homophobia: prejudice towards or hatred of gay people
Xenophobia: hatred and fear for foreigners
Anti-Semitism: strong feeling of hatred towards Jewish people
Islam phobia: hatred and fear for Muslims
Gay bashing: unfair public criticism of gay people.

Some foreign words and expressions and their meanings

Persona grata – acceptable person
Persona-non-grata – unacceptable person
Pot – pourri – mixture, medley
In lieu – in place of
En-masse – all together
Esprit de corpse – team spirit
Jeu d’esprit – a witty remark
Entrepreneur – a business organizer
Tete-a tete – private conversation
Vis-à-vis – face to face
Double entendre– ambiguous expression/double meaning application
Carte blanche – full powers to do what one likes
Viva voce – oral examination
Prima facie – at first sight
Bona fide – genuine
A priori – deduced
A fortiori – with stronger reason
Ad hoc – arranged for a special/ particular purpose
Inter alia – amongst other things
In toto – completely
In camera – in private
In loco parentis – in place of a parent
Deffacto – in fact, actual
Sine qua non – indispensable condition
Quasi – seemingly, in the manner of
Quorum – minimum no. of people to constitute a meeting

Coup d’état – revolution/overthrow of a government

Rapport – relationship
Impasse – position where there is no escape
De trop – not required, unwelcomed
Debacle – collapse, downfall of a government
Ex-officio – by virtue of office or position
Per se – in itself, intrinsically
Pro forma – for the sake of form
Status quo – unchanged or original condition
Ultra vires – beyond one’s authority
Vice versa – the other way round
Siesta – afternoon nap
Verbatim – word for word
Avant garde – modern
Alma mater – a school one has attended
Cul de sac – a dead end
Bonanza – good luck, prosperity
Certeris peribus – all things being equal
Volte face – complete change of attitude
Faux pas – an indiscreet blinder
Sub rosa – in confidence
Pro-rata – in proportion
Passim – to be found throughout the work of an author
Ne plus ultra – highest point attainable
Data – facts known, given information
Ex cathedra – from the highest authority
Ex libris – from the library
Ex parte – in the interests of one side only
In situ – in its proper or original place
Stet – let it stand
Apropos – with regard to
Bête noire – strong personal dislike
Quid pro quo – fair compensation
Non sequitur – an illogical statement
Onus probandi – burden of proof
Modus Vivendi – mode of living
Gauche – tactless, socially awkward
Horse de combat – out of action

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