SINGULAR AND PLURAL NOUNS

English Language 1

A noun may be either singular or plural. A singular noun names one person, place, thing, or idea. Example: The farmer drove to the market in his truck. A plural noun names more than one person, place, thing or idea. Example: The farmers drove to the markets in their trucks. Rules for forming plurals The following are … Read more

COMMON AND PROPER NOUNS

English Language 1

All nouns can be described as either common or proper. When you talk or write about a person, a place, a thing, or an idea in general, you use a common noun. Example: Doctors work hard. They treat many patients. A proper noun is the name of a particular person, place, thing, or idea. Proper nouns … Read more

PARTS OF SPEECH

English Language 1

All words may be classified into groups called parts of speech. There are 8 parts of speech namely: Nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions and interjections. We shall now discuss these parts of speech one at a time: NOUNS A noun is the part of speech that names a person, a place, a thing … Read more

REVIEW OF TENSES

English Language 1

Tenses occurs only in verbs. Tense refers to the changes that takes place in the form of the verb to indicate time. Only two tenses, namely the present and the past, can be identified. The Present Tense: The only change that takes place in the form of the verb to indicate the present tense occurs … Read more

THE VOWEL AND THE CONSONANTS

English Language 1

Vowels: There are twenty vowels in the English Language. They include twelve pure vowels and eight diphthongs. Pure vowels /i:/ Seat, Cheap, Sheep /i/ sit, chip, ship /e/ set, bread, friend /ᴂ/ Sat, Chat, match /a:/ Far, pass, father /ɔ/ Dog, hot, what /ɔ/ port, Lord, ward /u/ full, pull, would /u:/ fool, pool, coup … Read more

Nominalization of Infinitives

English Language 1

Nominalization is the changing of a part of speech into a noun by the addition of a suffix Verbs                                                                         Nouns Advise                                                                        advice Apologise                                                                  apology Authorise                                                                  authority Choose                                                                      Choice Fail                                                                              failure Fix                                                                               fixture Hate                                                                           hatred Enjoy                                                                         enjoyment Know                                                                         knowledge Live                                                                             life Oppose                                                                     opposition Obey                                                                          obedience Secure                                                                       security Rob                                                                             robbery See                                                                             sight Speak                                                                         speech Serve                                                                         service Think                                                                          … Read more

LEXIS AND STRUCTURE

English Language 1

Lexis refers to the vocabulary or the entire stock of words in a language. The English language examination seeks to test the scope of the candidate’s vocabulary and his skills to use appropriate words in a given context. It covers such aspects as the use of items in various areas of human endeavour. In the … Read more

Formal Letters

English Language 1

These are letters we write to people in their official positions. Features of a formal letter Writer’s Address and Date: This is written at the top right hand corner. The date is written beneath the address. Receiver’s Address: This is written at the left hand corner beneath the writer’s address. Salutation: The acceptable salutation is … Read more

ANSWERING COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

English Language 1

Comprehension means understanding. Useful hints on answering comprehension questions. Read the passage carefully and quickly to get what it is all about. Read the questions that follow it. Read the passage all over again, this time jotting down points that will help you to answer the questions. Write out your answers in clear, correct English … Read more

REQUIREMENT OF THE EXAMINATION ON ORALS

English Language 1

The aspects of oral English tested in the examination include the following: vowels, consonants, rhymes, word-stress, emphatic stress and phonetic symbols. Vowels: There are twenty vowels in the English language. They include twelve pure vowels and eight diphthongs. Consonants: There are twenty four consonants in the English language. They are classified into three groups, place … Read more

CONTRASTING STRESS

English Language 1

The stressing of a particular word more than other words in a sentence is referred to as emphatic or contrastive stress. Such as a stress normally has its implications in terms of the meaning of the sentence. Examples JAMES borrowed the novel (i.e James not anybody else borrowed it) James BORROWED the novel. (i.e. James … Read more

Direct and Indirect Speech

English Language 1

Direct Speech This refers to the quoting by a speaker or writer, of the actual utterance of another speaker or writer. This is usually indicated by the use of quotation marks, opening and closing. Examples Chuks said, ‘I will return next month, by the grace of God.’ In the word of Shakespeare ‘Uneasy lies the … Read more

CLAUSE

English Language 1

A clause is a group of words with finite verb. A clause should have a subject and a predicate. e.g. John bought a piece of land. Subject: John Predicate – bought a piece of land Types of Clause There are two types of clauses. Independent clauses: These are also called main or principal clauses. An … Read more

Speech Writing

English Language 1

Characteristic of a written speech Formal Salutation (vocatives); There is always an audience to be addressed. In formal situations, people are usually appointed to perform one function or the other. Social ethics demand that you recognize and accord due respect to those at the high table and other dignitaries present at the occasion. The use … Read more