USE OF ENGLISH FOR EFFECTIVE USE OF ENGLISH FOR EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

COMMUNICATION
U. I. Mbofung General Editor
B. O. Sogunro,Editor
A. O. Osunbade Editor

© Ajayi Crowther University (ACU) 2017

Ucha I. Mbofung First Published 2008
General Editor
Second edition 2017
Prepared by Centre for General Studies, ACU

B. O. Sogunro
A. O. Osunbade
Editors ISBN: 978-978-55317-0-1

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored

in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means;
electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise,
without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Printed by:
Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo. Franco-Ola Printers
08038121859, 08052621188

ii
 FOREWORD PREFACE

General Studies (GES) provides ample opportunities to Strongly supported by the ‘revolutionary vision’ of the Vice
undergraduates of various disciplines to broaden their knowledge Chancellor, Rt. Reverend Professor Dapo Asaju and the philosophy
in order to qualify to be described as being truly educated. In other of the General Studies Programme: ‘that students should be
words, the maxim stands true that to be educated is not just equipped with basic intellectual knowledge on diverse spheres of
because of one’s acquisition of educational knowledge and equally valuable subjects, concepts and fields of study beyond their
certificate in a particular discipline but knowing at least a little bit individual areas of specialization if they are to understand the
about everything in one’s world and environment. complex dynamics of the modern society and for a better living’,
This philosophy informed the policy which makes it the Senate approved the revision of all existing Books of Reading
compulsory for all students in all Nigerian university to take and writing of new ones for recently introduced courses. The
courses in General Studies, which cover every major discipline revision would reflect new knowledge, trends, technological
across faculties. In Ajayi Crowther University, the courses chosen developments and applications.
are in the Humanities, Social, Management, and Natural Sciences, The outcome is this series that comprises ten Books, all
in addition to Entrepreneurial Education through which each corresponding with the ten General Studies courses available to
student graduates with additional certificate in one or more skills. students. The General Studies Unit has also introduced audiovisual
A new addition to the GES compliment of courses is the Character recording of each book. In this second edition of the series, Use of
Assessment course which records the behaviour of each student. Library and ICT, which in the first edition was merged with Effective
The rating is computed as part of the final year overall results. The Communication in English, has a separate Book. Four other new
popular stands true that education without character amounts to Books in the series are: Introduction to Health Education, Peace and
breeding ‘clever devils’. In a Christian University like ours that Conflict Resolution, Anglicanism and Citizenship Education, which
strives to raise godly intellectuals, this innovation is helpful to now incorporates Citizenship and Ethics Education, and West
African People, Culture and Language which incorporates aspects of
achieving our overall objectives.
West African history and French language. The approach follows the
I commend the efforts of the Director of the Centre for
curricular development by National Universities Commission
General Studies, Dr. Ucha I. Mbofung, an erudite scholar in the
(NUC). The Modules are well-researched, written in simple
field of Library and Information Science, and a much disciplined
language and highly informative. The contributors are experienced,
administrator, for the efforts made to organize and edit this series
highly ranked university lecturers and chief executives from within
of General Studies Books of Reading. and outside the Institution. Therefore, students would be able to
We give our blessings upon all staff and students who will use gather adequate intellectual knowledge on particular spheres of
these resources, that so doing, they may acquire requisite valuable subjects, concepts and fields of study beyond their
knowledge that will aid them in maximizing their potentials to individual areas of specialization.
positively impact society. Generally, the page presentation has retained the Modular
system, an effective course writing style, of the first edition. There is a
Thank you. uniform sequence of presentation in all the Books. Each Module
provides opportunities for in-depth study, emphasises understanding
of principles rather than simply memorizing facts. A module can be
Rt. Rev. Prof. Dapo F. Asaju explained within a two or three hour lecture. At the end of a Module,

iii iv
cited works are listed as references in addition to a bibliography EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
for further reading so that students can obtain reasonable amount
of information that is not provided in the text. Sample questions Dr. Ucha I. Mbofung General Editor & Ag. Director General
have been provided to aid evaluation of each topic. Studies
We are especially grateful to the Vice Chancellor, Rt. Prof. O. O. Akinnawo Science Editor
Reverend Professor Dapo Asaju who stimulated the revision of the Dr. A. O. Binuyo Science Editor
Books and persistently pushed the General Studies Unit to carry Dr. B. O. Sogunro English Editor
out the assignment in record time. Initial writing or revising Books Dr. A. O. Osunbade English Editor
of Reading for university students is a huge project which by the Dr. W. O. Arinde Humanities Editor
grace of God has been completed. This work would not have been Prof. B. O. Popoola Subject Coordinator
possible without the immense co-operation and professional Dr. J. A. Ampitan Subject Coordinator
contributions of professors, learned scholars, colleagues, Dr. A. O. Ogidiolu Subject Coordinator
consultants and stakeholders. It remains for me to sincerely and Dr. P. A. Ogunbunmi Subject Coordinator
specially thank all contributors to the various volumes, who from Dr. I. Adeakin Subject Coordinator
their tight schedules compounded by constant harassment in Rev. A. A. Ewuzie Member
diverse forms put together the well researched papers. We are
grateful to the Board of Editors who critiqued and made ACU Books of Reading Series
suggestions that improved the original drafts. We express our B. O. Sogunro and A. O. Osunbade (Eds) (2017), Use of English for
sincere gratitude to all authors of all cited works. Many thanks also Effective Communication
to the University Management for the opportunity to produce the U. I. Mbofung (Ed). (2017) Use of Library and ICT
first or second edition, as the case may be, of the Books of Reading U. I. Mbofung (Ed) (2017) West African People, Culture and
series. Finally, I am grateful to Messers Peter Oiku and A. E. Agosu, Language
staff of the General Studies Unit, Rev. A. A. Ewuzie and all O. O. Akinnawo and A. O. Binuyo (Eds) 2017, Introduction to
secretaries for their various contributions. Above all, to God be the Science and Technology
glory, honour and praise for a successful completion of this U. I. Mbofung (Ed) (2017), Anglicanism and Christian Ethics
academic project. U. I. Mbofung (Ed) (2017), Introduction to Health Education
O. Oladipo and J. Olobatoke (Eds) (2008), Introduction to Logic
Ucha I. Mbofung (PhD) and Philosophy
Ag. Director, General Studies O. Oshin (Ed.) Introduction to Entrepreneurial Education
2017 Introduction to Social Sciences
Peace and Conflict Resolution

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 LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS His research interest lies in pragmatics and discourse analysis. He
is an Associate Professor in English at the Department of General
Adeoye, A. O. Adeyinka O. Adeoye lectures in the Department of Studies, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso,
English, Faculty of Humanities, Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo. Nigeria, an AHP-ACLS dissertation fellow and an AHP-ACLS
His areas of research interests are in discourse analysis, postdoctoral fellow alumnus at the Department of English and
pragmatics, stylistics and sociolinguistics. He is an African Linguistics, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South-Africa. He is
Humanities Programme (AHP) Dissertation Fellow of the currently on sabbatical appointment at the Department of English,
American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), United States of Faculty of Humanities, Ajayi Crowther University Oyo.
America.
Agboola, O.T. ’Tayo Agboola teaches courses in Literature in Oyeleye, O.A. Oyeronke Oyeleye is a doctoral student in the
English in the Department of English, Ajayi Crowther University, Department of English, University of Ibadan. She lectures in the
Oyo. She specialises in prose and African literature. Department of English, Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo. Her areas
of specialisation are drama, literature and gender studies.
Ayodabo, J.O. Olatunde Ayodabo is a professor of pragmatics,
stylistics, and English in Nigeria in the Department of English, Sogunro, B.O. Bolanle Sogunro has B.A. and M.A degrees in
Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo. His papers have appeared in English from the University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Kwara State, and has a
reputable, peer-reviewed national and international journals. He PhD (Linguistics) from the University of Ibadan. She currently
has also edited a number of books on communication skills and teaches courses in phonology and sociolinguistics in the
effective English usage. Department of English, Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo.
Oladipupo. O.O. Olalekan Oladipupo holds the B.A (English)
degree of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, and M.A. (English)
degrees of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. His research interest
lies in Literature in English. He is a lecturer in the Department of
English, Faculty of Humanities, Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo.
Osoba, G.A. Gabriel Osoba is a professor of stylistics and applied
linguistics. He studied English at the University of Calabar for his
first defgree, University of Ibadan for his Master’s degree, and the
University of Lagos for his PhD. He has taught at the Ogun State
University, now Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye. He
currently teaches at the Lagos State University. He spent his
sabbatical leave in Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo in the
2016/2017 session.
Osunbade, A. O. Adeniyi Oluwagbemiga Osunbade holds the
B.A (English) degree of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, and
M.A and Ph.D. (English) degrees of the University of Ibadan,
Nigeria.

vii viii
 TABLE OF CONTENT

Foreword ............................................................................iii

Preface ............................................................................iv

Editorial Board...........................................................................vi

List of Contributors ...................................................................vii

Table of Content .........................................................................ix

Module 1: The Speech Sounds of English ...............................1

Module 2: The English Word Classes ...................................19

Module 3: Meaning Relations ..............................................49

Module 4: Forms and Functions of Grammatical Units .........63

Module 5: Tense and Aspect in English .................................86

Module 6: Concord Rules in English .....................................98

Module 7: Reported Speech in English ...............................112

Module 8: Comprehension and Summary ................127

Module 9: Study Skills and Methods ..................................143

Module 10: Writing: ...........................................................156

Module 11: Mechanics and Problems in Writing ...................169

Module 12: Literary Appreciation ........................................200

Index .........................................................................220

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 MODULE ONE Unit 1: Objectives of the Module
At the end of this module, students should be able to:
THE SPEECH SOUNDS OF ENGLISH • Explain the differences between English spelling and
Bolanle Sogunro English pronunciation.
• Identify and describe the 44 English vowel and consonant
Introduction sounds.
In this module, we shall study the sounds of the English language • Recognise problematic sounds for speakers of English as a
in order to use them to communicate more effectively when we second language (ESL) and Nigerian speakers of ESL in
speak in English. There are over 7,099 languages spoken in the particular.
world today (Simons and Fennig, 2017). These languages are • Recognise correct word stress and appropriate intonation
made up of sounds that are combined in particular ways in each forms in English speech.
language to convey meaning. A sound in one language may not • Use various English pronunciation aids outside the classroom.
exist in another language and even when languages share sounds
in common, the way those sounds are meaningfully arranged in Unit 2: English Spelling (writing) and Pronunciation
the different languages may not be the same. For example, the (speaking)
sounds [m] and [b] occur in both English and many African Writing in English, no matter how complex the word, or lengthy
languages such as Igbo but whereas Igbo allows the combination the write-up, involves just 26 letters of the alphabet from A to Z.
of [mb] at the beginning of a word to form “mba” (meaning, “no”), Speaking on the other hand requires about 44 sounds. This means
the English language does not permit such a sequence. Sometimes, that all the 26 letters you learnt as ABC… when you were probably
a meaningful sound or sound distinction in one language may not in nursery school are, in reality, a combination of almost double
exist at all in another language. For instance, the first sound in the number of speech sounds or phonemes. In linguistics, each
“thing” is very different from the sound in “tin” but many speakers distinct sound that is capable of conveying distinctive meaning is
of English as a second language (ESL) pronounce both words with called a phoneme. One major and notorious characteristic of the
the same [t] sound, thus, sometimes leading to confusion for the English language is its spelling which is many times at variance
hearer. Unfortunately, even though the letters of the alphabet may with its pronunciation. An English poem written nearly 50 years
be similar in the written form of many languages, English spelling ago vividly captures the inconsistency of English spelling and
in particular is not always the same as sound production pronunciation and the contents of this old poem as published in
(pronunciation); hence the need to devote attention to learning Yule (2014) is quoted below:
how to correctly pronounce the English words we read. I take it you already know
This chapter is thus an introduction to the phonology of Of tough and bough and cough and dough?
English, that is, the study of how speech sounds form patterns in Others may stumble but not you
the English language, and how those patterns function. On hiccough, thorough, lough and through.
Well done! And now you wish, perhaps,
To learn of less familiar traps?
Beware of heard, a dreadful word,
That looks like beard and sounds like bird.

1 2
 And dead: it’s said like bed not bead – spellings outside the poem are provided below. Note that I have
For goodness sake don’t call it ‘deed’! underlined the spellings with identical pronunciation in each word.
Watch out for meat and great and threat
(They rhyme with suite and straight and debt).T.S.W. Examples
(i) cut, does, flood, country, wonder, fun
Inconsistencies in spelling and pronunciation illustrated (ii) rich, pretty, symbol, village, cities
through the above poem are explained in sections 2.1, 2.2 and (iii) sky, carpet, accuse, mosquito, chemistry, chicken, quiet, six
sections 2.3 below. (iv) shoe, machine, sugar, nation, conscience, special, ocean,
mansion
2.1 Same Spelling, Different Sound
In the second line of the poem, you will notice that the letters ‘ou’ 2.3 Silent Letters
are present in four words but each one has a different sound when By silent letters, it is meant that some English words contain
spoken. As speakers of Nigerian English (NE) we may not clearly letters in spelling, which should not be pronounced. For instance,
realise the fine distinctions which, to a native speaker, are very in the poem above as mentioned before, the gh is silent in bough
major, but let me help you to have an idea of the differences by and in dough. Similarly, when you pronounce the word, “listen”,
showing you some rough similarities using your knowledge of the letter‘t’ should be silent; that is, you should not pronounce it at
Nigerian English (NE) pronunciation. Please note that this is just all despite the fact that it appears in writing. Other examples are:
an illustration, NOT native English pronunciation. The word (i) “b” in bomb, plumber womb, doubt
tough in Standard British English (SBE) sounds like NE ‘laugh’, (ii) “t” in fasten, Christmas, soften
bough sounds like NE ‘house’, cough sounds like NE ‘cough’, while (iii) “h” in honour, hour, honest, shepherd
dough sounds like NE ‘hoe’. Can you now appreciate that each of (iv) “k” in knowledge, knife, knee
the four spellings of “ou” sounds different?
Also in the second line of the poem, you will notice that the 2.4 Sounds Absent in Spelling but Pronounced in Speech
letters ‘g’ and ‘h’ in the words tough and cough are pronounced In some English words, there is a y-like sound in pronunciation
with a sound like the ‘f’ in ‘fish’, while in the words, bough and which does not appear in spelling. For example, “computer”
dough the ‘gh’ sequence is silent, that is, it is not pronounced. requires a y-like sound like the first sound in “yes” between the
pronunciation of ‘p’ and “u”. Examples of other words that need an
2.2 Same Sound, Different Spelling unwritten ‘y” sound before the “u” include: fuse, huge, beautiful,
Unlike the words in many Nigerian languages that you can simply tune etc,
spell the way they are pronounced and vice versa, English words do
not always operate that way; thus quite a number of words with 2.5 Reasons for Sound versus Spelling Inconsistency
identical pronunciations are spelt completely differently as the poet The reasons for the discrepancies in English spelling and
observes about the words heard and bird in which the letters er and ir pronunciation include the history of invasions in England by
actually represent the same sound. Another illustration from the different language groups, expansion of the British Empire and
poem is the use of ea and e in dead and bed to represent the colonisation of various parts of the world, as well as internal changes such
pronunciation of the same sound. More examples of common as the Great Vowel Shift within the sound system of the language itself.
English words that also have the same pronunciation but different

3 4
For details about these and other factors, a very good book to read 3.1 The English Consonant sounds
is Baugh and Cable (2013). Phoneticians, that is, those concerned with the study of speech
sounds and how they are produced (articulatory phonetics) have
Unit 3: English Vowel and Consonant Sounds categorised and labelled consonant sounds according to (i) the
As mentioned earlier, whereas there are 26 letters in the English manner of articulation, that is, the way that air flows out from the
alphabet, there are about 44 speech sounds depending on the variety lungs and kind of obstruction involved; (ii) the place of
of English that you speak. The major varieties of English include: articulation, referring to the point at which two organs of speech
British English, American English, Australian English, Black or articulators come together in the mouth; and (iii) voicing, that
American/Afro-American English, West African, and even Nigerian is, the state of the glottis in the larynx during the production of a
English to mention but a few. However, Standard British English speech sound. The major organs of speech, that is, parts of the
(SBE), which is the recommended model in Nigerian schools, has at human body involved in the production of English speech sounds
least 44 phonemes comprising 20 vowel and 24 consonant sounds. are the larynx (voice box), pharynx, velum (soft palate), hard
Remember that a phoneme refers to any particular sound segment palate, alveolar ridge, tongue, upper and lower teeth, and the two
that has a distinct and contrastive meaning when used in an lips. Others are the lungs and the nose. For more information on
utterance. This means that if you use one phoneme instead of the workings of the organs of speech and the classification of
another, you would cause a change in meaning that may result in speech sounds, a good, simple and easy book to read on the subject
confusion and a breakdown in communication. This is why it is very is Roach (2014).
important to know and to use the correct sounds when speaking in The 24 consonant sounds in SBE are listed in the first column
English or any other language. of Table 1 showing each IPA symbol enclosed between two slashes;
In order to differentiate a letter in orthography (that is the second column shows the phonetic description and name of
writing) from a phoneme, special symbols are used, called the sound in terms of voicing, place of articulation and manner of
phonetic symbols and they were formulated by an association articulation. A few English words illustrating how each sound is
called the International Phonetic Association. The symbols differently spelt are listed in the third column with the letters
themselves are also called the International Phonetic Alphabet representing each sound underlined.
(IPA) and when written down as representing speech in its
abstract form, it is called a phonemic transcription. Furthermore, TABLE 1: SBE consonant sounds
to show that the writing is a transcription and that the symbols on S/N SOUND PHONETIC EXAMPLES IN WORDS
paper are sound symbols rather than orthographic symbols, the NAME/DESCRIPTION
1. /p/ Voiceless bilabial plosive Pencil, jump, grape,
phonemic transcription is encased in slanting lines. This is how the paper, surprise, apply
pronunciation of a word is indicated in any basic comprehensive 2. /b/ Voiced bilabial plosive Book, ribbon, broke,
dictionary. For example, the word ‘judgement’ when transcribed cube, crab
using the IPA symbols is written as So, once you know the symbols 3. /t/ Voiceless alveolar plosive Test, night, letter, Esther,
and how they sound, you can pronounce a transcribed word easily jumped, looked, pizza
even if you have never heard it spoken before. The symbols for SBE 4. /d/ Voiced alveolar plosive Dinner, ladder, bend,
crooked, landed
consonant and vowel sounds are shown in Tables 1 and 2 with
5. /k/ Voiceless velar plosive Kiss, broke, cake,
examples of common everyday English words in which they occur. accountant, chemist,
quiet, x-ray, disc, unique

5 6
6. /g/ Voiced velar plosive Ground, spaghetti, ghost, 21. /w/ Voiced bilabial approximant Window, away, quote,
guardian, exit, egg, agree, wheel, quickly, twins,
7. /f/ Voiceless labio-dental fricative Fish, wife, physical, whisper
phoneme, cough, coffee, 22. /l/ Voiced alveolar lateral L i f e , y e l l o w, c a l l ,
of lateness, select, letter,
8. /v/ Voiced labio-dental fricative Victory, heaven, groove, million, gladly, sprinkle
visit, crave, lava, driver 23. /j/ Voiced alveolar approximant Radio, running, arrival,
9. /q/ Voiceless dental fricative Thought, worth, anthem, hurry, prize, screen,
ethane, north, thin, write, rhyme, wrestle,
method depth, seventh 24. /j/ Voiced palatal approximate Yellow, argue, lawyer,
10. /ð/ Voiced dental fricative Them, father, northern, beautiful, year, stew,
worthy, clothe, with, computer, senior, value,
leather, Crowther onion
11. /s/ Voiceless alveolar fricative Sink, class, nice, advance,
scissors, axe, tense, 3.2 The English Vowel Sounds
deceive, voice Unlike what happens in the production of consonant sounds, there
12. /z/ Voiced alveolar fricative Bowls, grains, rose, is no form of obstruction of the flow of air in the production of
please, zoo, possess, exit, vowel sounds; also, no two articulators come together to form an
lose, zeal, xerox
obstruction in the same way they do in the production of
13. /?/ Voiceless palato-alveolar fricative shop, polish, machine,
official, crusher, sachet, consonant sounds. The main criteria therefore used in the
sugar, creation, conscience description and classification of vowel sounds are (i) the position
14. / ?/ Voiced palato-alveolar fricative Genre, measure, treasure, of the tongue in the mouth (front, centre, back); (ii) the shape of
massage, vision, casual, the lips (rounded or unrounded); and (iii) the degree of opening
usually, division between the tongue and the roof of the mouth (close, close-mid,
15. /h/ Voiceless glottal fricative History, behaviour, who, open-mid, open). The 20 vowel sounds in SBE are listed in Table 2
hostel, whole, house,
ahead
with examples of their occurrence in English words. Again, to
16. /?/ Voiceless palato-alveolar affricate Change, achieve, watch, illustrate how each sound is differently spelt, the letter
question, lecture, virtue, representing each vowel sound is underlined. The first 12 sounds
stature listed in the table are called pure vowels or monophthongs, while
17. /d / Voiced palato-alveolar affricate Change, agent, the last 8 vowels are known as diphthongs and this last set of
g e n t l e m a n , e n j o y, vowels are symbolised with two signs occurring together as one
adjective, jug, badge
symbol. If you look closely at the symbols on Table 2, you will also
18. /m/ Voiced bilabial nasal Mother, master, amen,
ram, summer, hymn, see that some of the monophthongs have a sign like a colon mark
comb, plumber, climb beside them e.g. /i:/, :/ and / :/. This shows that they are long
19. /n/ Voiced alveolar nasal Nose, knowledge, crown, vowels, that is, their production is slightly longer compared to
f u n n y, r e i g n , k n o t , other pure vowels. So, there is a meaningful difference between
pneumonia, campaign, the short vowel /I/ in “bins” and long vowel /i:/ in “beans”.
20. /h/ Voiced velar nasal Singer, uncle, tongue,
ring, income, anxious,
single, hang, among

7 8
TABLE 2: SBE vowel sounds 17. /a? / Closing House, mouse, how, gown, mouth,
S/N SOUND DESCRIPTION/NAME EXAMPLES IN about, founder, round, shout,
OF VOWEL WORDS 18. /?? / Centring Hero, sincere, zero, idea, media,
1. /i: / Close front unrounded Bee, lead, machine, complete, period, fear, medium, opinion,
long vowel field, key, receive, eat, people, year, ear
creed 19. /e? / Centring Care, air, parent, affair, bear,
2. /I/ Close-mid, front Sit, milk, with, chair, swear, share, aerial,
unrounded short vowel pretty, wicked, except, symbol, aeroplane
happy, village, ladies, women 20. /?? / Centring Poor, tour, pure, cure, endure,
3. /e/ Open-mid front Bet, sell, head, breath, many, curious, during, cruel, usual,
unrounded vowel friend, never, member, bury secure
4. /æ/ Open front unrounded Land, mad, badge, rat, mat,
vowel aristocrat, analytic, anger, Now that you know which phonetic symbol represents a particular
marry, lamp sound, you will find your dictionary useful not only for checking
5. /? / Open-mid, back blood, result, son, sun, country, the meaning of words but also for knowing how words are
rounded vowel southern, young, monkey, pronounced.
London, bus
6. /a:/ Open back rounded vowel Harm, large, heart, clerk, dance,
half, laugh, aunt, past
Unit 4: Problematic Sounds for Speakers of English as a
7. /? / Close-mid back rounded Dog, solve, was, water, Second Language (ESL) and Nigerian Speakers of ESL
short vowel knowledge, sausage, because, in Particular
song, offer Although the same organs of speech are engaged in the speaking
8. / ?: / Close-mid back rounded Door, cord, four, daughter, walk, of any language, the acquisition of a second language is often
long vowel awesome, fault, saw, salt, broad hindered, affected or influenced by the sound system of a person’s
9. /? / Close back rounded Cushion, bull, pull, book, good, first language also known as the mother tongue. Most often,
short vowel woman, could, courier, sugar phonemes that do not exist in the first language but are present in
10. /u:/ Close back long rounded crude, ruler, food, pool, fool,
the second language are very difficult to pronounce correctly by
vowel who, two, soup, chew, blue, move
11. /?: / Close-mid central long Work, church, purse, birthday,
the speaker of the first language. Also, a first language speaker
vowel girl, myrrh, word, journey, earth may fail to make the required meaningful distinctions expected in
12 /? / Open-mid central short About, woman, police, surprise, the second language because such distinctions do not exist in his
vowel mother, paper, doctor, figure, or her own first language. A very typical example for many users of
famous English as a second language (ESL) all over the world is the
13. /e? / Closing Made, fake, waist, fail, great, pronunciation of /? / and /ð/ and maintaining a distinction
brake, grey, may, eight, play, between both sounds and the phonemes /t/ and /d/. Such
sachet, cafe,
14. /a? / Closing Tie, rice, sign, title, might, try, type,
speakers therefore pronounce ‘thing’ as ‘tin’ /t?ŋ/ instead of /? ?ŋ
light, buy, eye, neither, cycle, / and say ‘dose’ instead of /ð??z/ for ‘those’.
15. /??/ Closing Boy, boil, toil, noise, joy, voyage, Egbokhare (2007) identifies six problematic English sounds
choice, coin, oil, and features for Nigerians speakers of ESL as being, “non-low
16. / ??/ Closing Home, zero, pose, toe, snow, grow, central vowels (/?/ and /?:/), diphthongs, long vowels, dental
road, coat, mauve, soul, own,

9 10
fricatives...Consonant clusters and closed syllables....” Each will be world including European languages. The tendency is therefore
briefly elaborated on with a few additions in the next six sub-sections. for speakers of ESL to replace both sounds with the nearest to them
in their mother tongue. Rather than say ‘this’ for instance in SBE,
4.1 Non-low Central Vowels /?/ and /?:/ Open-mid back the typical Hausa speaker of English just like the typical French
Vowel /?/ person, is likely to say /zis/ while most people from other Nigerian
These three vowels do not exist in most Nigerian languages. See language groups will say ‘dis’ depending to their type and level of
Table 2 for examples of the words in which they occur. The exposure to SBE.
tendency is for speakers of NE to replace the three vowels sounds
with /a/ or /?/ depending mostly on how the word is spelt. 4.5 Consonant Clusters
Consonant cluster refers to the occurrence of two or more
4.2 Diphthongs consonant sounds appearing together and being pronounced
As listed in Table 2, there are 8 sounds in this category. Diphthongs together without any intervening vowel sound. The word, /spr ?t/
involve the movement or glide of the tongue from one position in ‘sprite’ is an example with three consonant sounds strung together.
the mouth to another in the production of a single vowel sound. As When such a sequence occurs, ESL speakers in Nigeria, for
most Nigerian languages do not have diphthongs in their sound example, particularly the illiterate Yoruba people tend to say
system, there is the tendency to pronounce the sounds as single [sipiraiti]. This is in order to make the sound sequence of English
vowel sounds with no glide movement involved. Two diphthongs, conform to the sound systems of most Nigerian languages which
namely//??/, and /au/ have similar occurrence in most Nigerian do not permit consonant clusters and also do not permit words to
languages; therefore, they are relatively easier for speakers of NE end with a consonant sound.
to pronounce than the other six English diphthongs.
4.6 Closed Syllables
4.3 Long Vowels A syllable is a unit of speech that consists of an obligatory vowel or
There are five long vowels in English as shown on Table 2: vowel-like sound and an optional number of consonants before
This means the long vowels are produced in the mouth with a and after the vowel. The word, ‘bolanle’ for instance has three
relatively longer and meaningful duration than their short vowel syllables, while ‘writing’ has two syllables. A closed syllable is one
counterparts. The difference in the length between /i:/ and /?/ as that ends with a consonant sound (C) while an open syllable ends
well as /?:/ and /?/ is what distinguishes ‘scene’ from ‘sin’ and ‘pool’ with a vowel (V). The English language permits one or a maximum
from ‘pull’ in SBE. Unfortunately, many speakers of NE are not of four consonants at the end of a syllable (e.g. tempts = CVCCC)
sensitive to vowel length distinctions and so pronounce all such but most Nigerian languages do not allow any consonant to end a
sets of words the same way. syllable. The result is that speakers of NE tend to add a vowel
sound after the last consonant in a syllable, even when such does
4.4 Dental Fricatives not exist in SBE. An example is in the word [sipiraiti] where a final
These are /? / and /ð/. Both are produced with the front of the [i] is added at the end of [t] so as not to have a closed syllable.
tongue placed directly behind the upper teeth (or sometimes with
the tongue in-between the upper and lower teeth). These sounds do
not occur in Nigerian languages and many other languages of the

11 12
Unit 5: Correct Word Stress and Appropriate the correct stress when speaking in English; unfortunately, stress
Intonation Forms in English speech placement is not predictable in the language. Although some
Apart from the use of phonemes (that is, consonant and vowel people have tried to provide rules for stress placement, there are
sound segments) to communicate, practically all languages of the usually so many exceptions to the rules that make their
world additionally employ one or more non-segmental prosodic formulation mostly ineffective for the learner of ESL. The solution
features such as tone, stress, and intonation to make meaningful therefore is to try to learn each word along with its stress pattern
speech. While tone is an essential prosodic feature of many simultaneously.
Nigerian languages, the essential prosodic features of the English
language are stress and intonation. 5.2 Intonation
Intonation is the pattern of linguistically significant pitch changes
5.1 Stress (high/low) that occur during the uttering of a phrase or a
Stress is defined as the ‘use of extra respiratory energy during the complete sentence (Ladefoged and Johnson, 2011). Thus, it is a
production of a syllable’ (Ladefoged and Johnson, 2011). A significant aspect of the sound patterns of English. Intonation has
stressed syllable therefore is perceived as being more prominent two broad functions in English: attitudinal and grammatical
compared to other syllables in the same word. Stress in the English functions, and there are two basic types of intonation patterns,
language can be likened to the use and importance of tone in many that is, high versus low tones. These two are further combined to
Nigerian languages. In other words, just as tone is important for form a set of three additional tone patterns known as rise-fall, fall-
conveying meaningful contrast between words, so it is with rise and level tones (Roach, 2014). Let us now look at a summary
correct stress in the English language. For example, one major of each of the five tones and the attitude each one conveys.
distinguishing factor between ‘console’ (noun) and ‘console’
(verb) is the placement of stress on the first syllable for the noun 5.2.1 Fall tone: This is common to most, if not all human
and on the second syllable for the verb form. Although stress is an languages. It is described as a ‘neutral’ tone and is used when
aspect of spoken language, it is represented in writing (as you will making simple statements, or answering a question by saying
observe in a good pronouncing dictionary) with a short horizontal yes or no. This tone conveys an impression of finality.
line placed at the top of the first sound in the stressed syllable.
Example
Example Ade lives in Oyo.
The two illustrations above will be written as:
5.2.2 Rise-tune: This tone is used to ask questions. When not
console (verb)
I

used for asking a question, the rise tone gives an impression

console (noun)
I that something more is going to be said (that is, an
incomplete statement).The rise tune is also used for listing.
There are three basic types of stress in English – primary stress,
secondary stress and tertiary stress but the most basic one for all
Examples
English words comprising more than one syllable is the primary
Where do you live?
stress. The occurrence of secondary and tertiary stress largely
Her mother brought rice, milk, sugar, biscuits,...
depends on how many syllables the word has. It is important to use

13 14
5.2.3 Fall-rise tune: A speaker may use this tone when there is weekly columns and learned contributors who write about correct
limited agreement, reservation or hesitation about a English usage often addressing diagnosed spoken English
subject matter. problems in the society. Text books such as those recommended in
this module are also very useful aids.
Examples
It’s not likely. 6.2 Digital aids
You may be wrong. With the accelerated development of information technology,
anyone can conveniently acquire good spoken English. Numerous
5.2.4 Rise-fall tune: The attitude conveyed by this tone is one electronic devices, applications and software abound to help non-
of surprise or the expression of strong feelings of approval native speakers of English acquire an internationally intelligible
or disapproval. and acceptable English pronunciation. You do not need to have an
android phone before you can install an English dictionary with
Example transcriptions on your mobile phone. Also, CDs and audio cassette
That’s great news! tapes on how to speak English correctly are available for sale in the
open market. You can also maximise the time you spend on
5.2.5 Level tune: This tone conveys the attitude of boredom, watching cable TV and entertainment movies by not only paying
disinterest in the conversation or subject matter or a attention to the action, but also being sensitive to the
routine response such as saying ‘yes’ when the teacher is pronunciation of native-English speaking actors and actresses
calling names on the attendance register every morning. particularly if it is a British programme or film. Radio stations such
as the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), and the Federal
For more details and extensive treatment of English intonation, Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) are other digital sources for
please read Roach (2014). native English speaking models of good spoken English.
Unit 6: English Pronunciation Aids outside the
6.3 Emotional intelligence aids
Classroom
This is a resource that is embedded inside you. It talks about your
While it may be near impossible for users of ESL to speak like Britons
attitude towards improving on your spoken English, and your
born and bred in London, and whose mother tongue is English, we
personal interest in communicating effectively in the English
must strive to at least speak fluently and clearly enough to
communicate in English at an internationally acceptable level if only language. Emotional intelligence also includes self-motivation,
to avoid a breakdown in communication with people from other determination, consistency, diligent practice, boldness/courage to
parts of the world. There are various aids within you and in your practice speaking correctly and learning from your mistakes even
immediate environment that you can use to enhance your spoken if your peers make fun of you.
English and I have grouped them under three broad categories:
printed, digital, and emotional intelligence aids.

6.1 Printed Aids

These include hard copies of regular English dictionaries,
pronouncing dictionaries, etc. Some Nigerian newspapers also have

15 16
Unit 7: Summary of the Module 5. What is stress in English words? Place the correct word
In this module, I have discussed with ample examples, basic stress on the following words: Hospital, Record (verb),
aspects of the phonology of English in such a way that students Record (noun), salad, challenge.
can now explain, with examples, the differences between 6. List two pronunciation aids and explain how each one them
English orthography (spelling) and pronunciation (speech can be useful for you.
sounds) as well as identify the 24 English consonant sounds and
describe them in terms of voice, place and manner of References
articulation; and recognise and describe the 20 English Baugh, A.C. and Cable, T. 6th Ed. (2013). A History of the English
monophthongs (pure vowels) and diphthongs in terms of Language. USA: Pearson Higher Education.
tongue position, degree of opening and shape of the lips. The Egbokhare, F. (2007). Fundamentals of Oral English for Schools and
module has also discussed how to recognise and be sensitive to Colleges. Ibadan: Stirling- Horden Publishers (Nig) Ltd.
the problematic sounds for users of English as a second Ladefoged, P. and Johnson, K. (2011). A Course in Phonetics.
language, particularly problematic sounds for Nigerian users of Canada: Wadsworth, Centage Learning.
ESL. In addition to this, aspects relating to the recognition and Roach, P. (2014). English Phonetics and Phonology a Practical
use of the correct word stress and appropriate intonation
Course (4 ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
th

patterns in spoken English were also discussed. Finally, students

Simons, Gary F. and Charles D. Fennig (eds) (2017). Ethnologue:
were introduced to printed, digital, and emotional intelligence
Languages of the World, Twentieth edition. Dallas, Texas: SIL
pronunciation aids that they can use to improve their spoken
International. Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com
English outside the classroom.
Yule, George. (2014). The Study of Language. 5 ed. Cambridge:
th

Cambridge University Press.

Unit 8: Assessment on the Module
1. (a) List three inconsistencies between English spelling and
Reading List
pronunciation and provide at least three examples to Cruttenden, A. (2008). Gimson’s Pronunciation of English. (7 ed.).
th

illustrate each point. London: Hodder Education.

(b). Provide some more examples of inconsistencies listed in
(a) above in the poem other than those already referred
to in this module.
2. Write out the six plosive sounds and three English words for
each one to show its occurrence.
3. Write out the phonetic symbol for only the underlined
diphthong contained in the following words. Remember to
enclose each symbol between two slashes: made, boy, grain,
poor, lice, house, hostel, grow, eye, coil
4. Explain why the pronunciation of some sounds is problematic
for speakers of ESL in Nigeria.

17 18
 MODULE TWO Unit 1: Objectives of the Module
This module is targeted at enabling the learners to achieve the
THE ENGLISH WORD CLASSES following to aid effective communication:
’Niyi Osunbade and ’Lekan Oladipupo ·Identify nouns, their types, characteristics and grammatical
functions ;
Introduction ·Determine English pronouns, their characteristics, their
In grammar, an understanding of the communicative purposes of types and their functions in contexts of use
language is often aided by the knowledge of the categories for
classifying words. In English, these categories were labelled parts ·Understand verbs, their characteristics, types and
of speech by traditional linguists. The term, word classes was later usages/grammatical functions;
introduced by the structural linguists. The two terms, ‘parts of ·Identify adverbs, their types, characteristics and
speech’ and ‘word classes’ are therefore used to indicate grammatical functions;
grammatical classification of words in English, though the latter is ·Distinguish adjectives, their types, characteristics and
now being more popularly used. Essentially, nine of these classes grammatical functions;
have been recognised with initial consideration for how they ·Familiarise themselves with the English determiners, their
related to the structural division of words. They are nouns, types, characteristics and grammatical functions;
pronouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, determiners, prepositions, ·Identify prepositions, their types, characteristics and
conjunctions and interjections. These classifications were later grammatical functions;
based on the grammatical functions of the words in actual usages. ·Recognise conjunctions, their types, characteristics and
A further sub-division into content/lexical word classes grammatical functions; and
(nouns, lexical verbs, adjectives, adverbs) and ·Label interjections, and understand their characteristics
function/grammatical word classes (pronouns, prepositions, and functions in different situations of English usage.
conjunctions, determiners, auxiliary verbs, interjections) was also
made. Content/lexical words refer to words that have specific Unit 2: Nouns
dictionary meanings; they belong to the open class items, as all Nouns are words that refer to names of persons (e.g. boy, woman,
their members cannot be listed, while they still accommodate new artist John), animals (e.g. dog, cow, cat, zebra, bird) places (e.g.
words. The function/grammatical words, on the other hand, refer park, beach, church, airport, hospital) or things (drum, bed,
to words that serve to express structural/grammatical basket, bread, picture, phone) in common usage. They are
relationships with other words in a sentence or specify the members of the open class; that is, the membership of the class of
speaker’s attitude or mood; they belong to the close class items, as words tagged nouns is unlimited, and new nouns can be added to
all their members are limited and they cannot be added to. the class when required, especially to denote new innovations or
Generally, these word classes are the basic elements used for inventions (see Aremo, 1995).
formation of grammatical structures larger than words (i.e.
phrases, clauses and sentences), which are usually engaged for 2.1. Grammatical Characteristics of Nouns
communicative purposes. Learners’ proper identification of these Nouns can be characterised with consideration for the
classifications and correct usages of these words will aid effective following:
communication which is ultimately targeted by English teaching.

19 20
(I) Number: Number refers to a noun’s form, indicating (I) Some nouns are always in the plural number: scissors
whether it is marked for singularity or plurality. There are sneakers, shorts, slippers, jeans, trousers, pliers. These
thus two number forms in English: singular and plural. When are unchanging plurals.
a noun indicates one entity, it is in the singular form, but
when it indicates more than one entity, it is in the plural form. (ii) Gender: Gender relates to the classification of nominal
Plurality is marked in different ways in nouns, depending on entities on the basis of sex. English nouns manifest four kinds
the word endings: of gender, namely:
(a) Most nouns are made plural by adding ‘–s’ suffix to the Masculine: This denotes male nominal entity, e.g. King, boy,
singular: bat= bats, cat = cats, cap= caps, leg =legs, Jesus, groom, lion.
etc. These are known as regular plurals. Feminine: This denotes female nominal entity, e.g. Queen,
(b) Some nouns are made plural by adding ‘-es’: girl, bride, lioness.
glass=glasses, brush=brushes, church= churches, etc. Common: This denotes nominal entity that can be either male
These are also part of the regular plurals. or female: doctor, nurse,
lawyer, teacher, professor, cook, orphan, etc.
(c) Some nouns are made plural by changing the final ‘y’ to ‘i’
Neuter: This denotes inanimate nominal entity: Bible, school,
in words containing a consonant before the final ‘y’ and
table, phone, car, fire, etc.
adding ‘-es’: butterfly=butterflies, family= families,
library= libraries. These also belong to the group of
(iii) Case: The case of a noun is its position in a sentence, which
regular plurals.
shows its grammatical relationship to other words in the
(d) If a noun ends in ‘-f’, the ‘f’is often changed to ‘v’, and ‘- sentence. It trifurcates into three in English: Nominative
es’is added: calf= calves, loaf =loaves, half= halves, /subjective case: This is when a noun is in the position of the
thief =thieves. These are also regular plurals. subject (i.e. as the subject of a verb), e.g. Ajayi Crowther
(e) With some words that end in ‘-fe’, the ‘f’ is changed to ‘v’, University is a faith-based tertiary institution.
and ‘–s’ is added: knife= knives, life=lives. These are Objective /accusative case: This is when a noun is in the
another category of regular plurals. position of the object (i.e. as the object of a verb), e.g. The
(f) Nouns ending in ‘-o’, take the addition of ‘-s’or ‘-es’to name of my university is Ajayi Crowther University.
form the plurals: hippo =hippos, video=videos, Possessive/genitive case: This is when a noun denotes
tomato=tomatoes, hero=heroes. These are another possession or ownership of something. For example:
form of regular plurals. The Vice-Chancellor’s lodge is located on campus.
Many Bishops’ cars are classy.
(g) Some nouns are made plurals by changing their forms:
mouse= mice, goose=geese, ox =oxen, tooth=teeth.
(iv) Some nouns (except proper nouns, which normally are not)
These are known as irregular plurals.
are usually preceded by determiners, which are “special
(h) Some plural nouns are the same as their singular nouns: adjectives used before nouns” (Seaton and Mew 2007),
sheep= sheep, deer=deer, information= information, especially to show how they are being used. Examples are: the
etc. These are called zero plurals.

21 22
 students, a professor, this student, these Christians, our Count Nouns: Count nouns are the common nouns that refer to
saviour, few pastors etc. However, a proper noun can take a entities regarded as countable (Aremo 1995, Seaton and Mew
determiner in special usages, e.g. The John I told you about 2007, Adeoye 2008). Examples include a cat, two cats, a school,
has been arrested by the police. two/ three schools, a student, two/three/four students, etc. Thus,
when only one of the entities (persons, animals, places, things) is
2.2 Types of Nouns referred to, a singular count noun is involved (e.g. a pencil); but
Nouns are broadly grouped into two, namely, proper nouns and when two or more entities are referred to, a plural count noun is
common nouns. The common nouns can further quintuplicate into involved (e.g. pencils).
count, non-count (mass), collective, concrete, and abstract nouns.
Thus, there are five kinds of common nouns. Mass (Non-Count) Nouns: Mass (or non-count) nouns are the
common nouns that refer to entities regarded as uncountable.
(i) Proper Nouns Examples are: water, petrol, music, advice, milk, honey, money,
Proper nouns are names that refer to particular persons, places, food, etc. So, with these types of nouns, there is normally no need
animals, or things. Every proper noun always begins with a capital to consider the senses of singularity or plurality, since we do not
letter. They include: normally count them. By implication, we cannot say ‘one or two
a. Names of persons: Adeyeri, Angel, Adejola, Mary water’, ‘three foods’ ‘two waters’, etc.
b. Names of countries and their people: Nigeria, Nigerians,
Collective Nouns: Collective nouns refer to a collection of
India, Indians
entities (people, animals or things) regarded as a group or unit.
c. Names of cities/ towns: Lagos, Oyo, Ibadan
Some common examples are: committee, team, class, audience,
d. Days of the week and months of the year: Monday, Tuesday,
crowd, staff, family, stationery, cutlery, etc. Some collective nouns
January, February are commonly used strictly in agreement with other words, for
e. The names of mountains, seas, rivers and lakes: Olumo Rock, example: a school (of fish), a bevy (of ladies), a group (of dogs), a
Oluminrin Water Fall, The Pacific Ocean, Lake Chad, River pride (of lions), a flight (of stairs), a board (of trustees), a bunch (of
Niger keys).
f. The names of festivals, some special events and holidays:
Independence Day, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Father’s Day Abstract Nouns: Abstract nouns denote common entities that
do not have physical properties; that is to say, entities that are
(ii) Common Nouns intangible and thus can neither be seen nor touched: happiness,
Common nouns are names that refer to any example of a class of truth, love, hatred, sadness, leisure, regret, joy, etc. Such nominal
persons (boy, girl, artist, lawyer, professor, doctor), animal (eagle, entities can only be felt.
zebra, dog, horse, parrot), place (airport, school, park, church) or
thing (bed, house, car, phone). Simply put, they are common or Concrete Nouns: Concrete nouns refer to entities that can be
general names for entities such as persons, places, animals and associated with physical properties. They are tangible/material
things. There are various types of common nouns as explained phenomena which can be seen and touched. Examples include:
below: table, fridge, chairs, machine, shoe, tree, board, marker, book, pen,
ruler, etc.

23 24
2.3 Grammatical Functions of Nouns Unit 3: Pronouns
Grammatically, nouns can perform the following roles in a Pronouns are members of the closed class used to replace nouns.
sentence: Thus, being members of the closed class, they are limited in number
(i) Subject of the sentence: A noun functioning as the subject of and new members cannot be accommodated into the class.
the sentence denotes the person(s) or thing(s) that
perform(s) the action of the verb. For example: 3.1 Grammatical Characteristics of Pronouns
Christians pray. Pronouns manifest the following grammatical features:
(ii) Direct object of a verb: A noun functioning as the direct object
of a verb specifies the undergoer or target of the action verb. (i) Number: Like in noun, this involves distinction between
For instance: singularity or plurality:
God loves Abraham. Singular pronouns: I, me, him, her, it, she, he, you, myself,
yourself, himself, herself, etc.
God sent the Israelites Moses.
Plural pronoun: We, they, us, them, you, ourselves, etc.
(iii) Indirect object of a verb: A noun functioning as the indirect
(ii) Gender: Gender relates to the following sex-based
object of a verb specifies the person for whom the action is
classification of pronouns:
performed or to whom the action is directed. Examples are: Masculine: This refers to male, e.g. he, him, himself, his
God sent Christians Jesus. Feminine: This refers to females, e.g. she, her, herself, hers
The disciples brought Jesus an ass. Common: This refers to a pronoun that can be either male or
(iv) Subject complement: This is when a noun refers to the same female: we, I, me, you, myself, yourself, them, us, ourselves
person or thing denoted by the subject. For example: Neuter: This refers to inanimate entity: it, them
He is Jesus. (iii) Case: The case of a pronoun is also its position in a sentence,
(v) Object complement: This is when a noun refers to the same which shows its grammatical relationship to other words in
person or thing denoted by the direct object of a verb. For the sentence. Three cases are identifiable: Nominative
instance: /subjective case: This is when a pronoun is in the position of
God called Jesus saviour. (The direct object here is Jesus and the subject (i.e. as the subject of a verb), e.g. He loves
saviour refers to the same Jesus, being the complement of the football.
Objective /accusative case: This is when a pronoun is in the
object “Jesus”)
position of the object (i.e. as the object of a verb), e.g. I love
(vi) Appositive: This is when two nouns occur side by side to refer
her.
to the same person or thing. For example: Possessive/genitive case: This is when a pronoun indicates
Ojo, my friend, is around. (Ojo and my friend refer to the possession or ownership of something. For example: The
same person) umbrella is yours; The car is hers; The car is mine.
My School, Ajayi Crowther University, is a faith-based (iv)Pronouns are not normally preceded by determiners:
institution. (My school and Ajayi Crowther University refer to This suggests that like proper nouns, pronouns are not normally
the same entity) used with determiners. Thus, we cannot have sentences like:

25 26
 *The she cooked; * The he jumped, etc.
This is a university.
(v) Person system: Some pronouns, especially personal
These are churches.
pronouns, have person distinction, namely, first, second and
That is a university.
third person (see discussion of personal pronoun below).
Those are churches.
3.2 Types of Pronouns
(iv) Reflexive Pronouns: They refer to the person or animal that is
(i) Personal Pronouns: They are used to refer to people in actual
the subject of the verb, especially to indicate that the subject
communicative uses of language. Three kinds of persons are
of the sentence acts on himself/ herself/ itself.
identifiable, namely:
(a) First person (the speaker himself or herself, or the
The table below shows the reflexive pronouns in English:
speaker and one or more others): Singular= I,
Singular Plural
(subjective), me (objective); Plural= we (subjective), First person myself ourselves
us (objective). Second person yourself yourselves
(b) Second person (the person(s) or the thing that the Third person himself themselves
speaker is addressing): you, (subjective), you herself themselves
(objective); Plural= you (subjective), you (objective) itself themselves
© Third person (one or more other persons or things that
are mentioned by the speaker): Singular= he/she/it Some illustrative usages are given below:
(subjective), him/her/it (objective); I made this gown myself.
Plural= they (subjective), them (objective) You may cut yourself with the blade if you are not careful.
The lady is looking at herself in the mirror.
(ii) Possessive Pronouns: Each of these pronouns shows that Children are too young to look after themselves.
something belongs to someone or something, or is connected (v) Indefinite Pronouns: These pronouns are used to make
to a person or thing. The forms of possessive pronouns are: generic references to people or things. They thus do not make
specific references because the exact identity of the entity
Subjective Objective Subjective Objective referred to is either not known/clear or not important.
1 person
st
my mine our ours
Indefinite pronouns in English are: anyone, anybody,
2 person
nd
your yours your yours
3 person
rd
his his their thiers anything, everyone, everybody, everything, no one, nobody,
her hers nothing, someone, somebody, one, all, none, etc. For
it its example:
Nobody/no one confesses committing the crime.
(iii) Demonstrative Pronouns: These are demonstrative, i.e. this, Everybody/everyone is a suspect on the matter.
these, that, and those, used to point to nouns they substitute. (vi) Relative Pronouns: A relative pronoun is a pronoun that
‘This’ and ‘these’ are used to point to things near while ‘that’ introduces a relative clause. It is called ‘relative’ because it
and ‘those’ are used to point to things farther away. Examples relates to the word/phrase (usually a noun/ noun phrase) that
are: its relative clause modifies. These pronouns are who, whom

27 28
 and whose (referring to human beings) and which, that The man and the woman adore each other.
(referring to non-human beings). Commonly, who is used as The children helped one another to succeed.
subject; whom as object; whose for possession; which for things
and that for things as well as for persons. Some examples are: 3.3 Grammatical Functions of Pronouns
· The lecturer who taught us use of English is good. (Note: A pronoun can perform the following functions in a sentence:
‘who’ relates to ‘the lecturer’ modified by the relative (i) Subject of the sentence: It denotes the person(s) or thing(s)
clause ‘who taught us use of English’). that perform(s) the action of the verb. For example:
· I do not know the man whom you brought home. ((Note: They pray.
‘whom’ relates to ‘the man’ modified by the relative (ii) Direct object of a verb: It specifies the undergoer or target of
clause ‘whom you brought home’). the action verb. For instance:
God loves him.
(vii) Interrogative Pronouns: Interrogative pronouns are pronouns (iii) Indirect object of a verb: It specifies the person for whom the
used to ask questions. They are who, what, whom, whose, action is performed or to whom the action is directed.
which, etc. Examples are: Examples are:
· What is your name? God sent them Jesus.
· Which of these books is yours? The disciples brought him an ass.
l Whose book is this? (iv) Subject complement: It refers to the same person or thing
denoted by the subject. For example:
(viii) Intensive Pronouns: An intensive pronoun is a pronoun used to He is always himself.
add emphasis to the noun/ pronoun serving as the subject of a She loves herself.
sentence. It is usually found immediately after the noun/pronoun
it emphasises. Thus, it is usually part of the subject and if it is Unit 4: Verbs
removed, the complete meaning of its sentence is not affected. Verbs are words that denote actions/activities and state of being. A
Examples of intensive pronoun are myself, yourself, himself, verb is the most important element in a sentence, as it helps a
herself, itself, ourselves, themselves, yourselves: sentence to express complete meaning.
She herself is rich.
4.1 The Characteristic of a Verb
The idea itself is useless.
A major characteristic of verbs is that they are inflectional (i.e. they can
They themselves are coming.
be inflected). Infection thus refers to change in the verb form. Lexical
verbs in English have five forms, namely the base, the third person
(ix) Reciprocal Pronouns: Reciprocal pronouns are those that singular present (-s form), the past (-ed form), the perfect (-en form)
indicate returned gesture by each of two or more people. That and the progressive (-ing form). These are illustrated below:
suggests that each of them acts in the same way towards the Base form (go); -s form (goes); -ed form (went); -en form (gone); -
other. These pronouns are each other and one another: Each ing form (going)
other is commonly used when two people are involved while However, auxiliary or helping verbs usually have two forms
one another is commonly used when more than two people (present and past). For example:
are involved. For instance: Is (present); was (past)

29 30
 Are (present); were (past), etc. Bishops are Christians.
A professor is a lecturer.
4.2. Functions of a Verb
Other linking verbs include: look, remain, seem, sound, taste,
Functionally, a verb is used as the predicator in the sentence. In
become, etc. Examples are:
addition, a verb can mark tense or attitude in the sentence.
Chibok girls fell victim of the menace of boko-haram.
4.3 Types of Verbs The food tastes good.
Verbs can be of various types in English. The commonly recognized (iii) Transitive and intransitive verbs: The transitive verbs
are discussed below. are verbs that take objects. A verb that takes one object is
called mono- transitive verb, while one that takes two objects
(i) The Lexical and auxiliary verbs: (one direct and the other indirect) is known as di-transitive
a. Lexical or main verbs are those that have independent verb. Examples are:
functionality in the sentence. That is, they can express The students enjoyed the meal. (monotransitive)
complete meanings without the help of any other verb. Idowu cooked him the meal. (di-transitive [‘him’, indirect
For example: object; ‘the meal’, direct object])
She loves food. The intransitive verbs, on the other hand, are those that take
They teach English. no object or complement. Some examples include:
b. Auxiliary verbs are helping verbs; that is, they depend on
He died.
or help the main verb to express different shades of
Jesus wept.
meaning, such as mood, continuity and completeness.
Auxiliary verbs are of two types: primary and modal. (iv) Finite and Non-Finite verbs: A finite verb is one that is
The primarily auxiliary verbs are auxiliary BE, auxiliary marked for tense (either present or past), person and number.
HAVE, and auxiliary DO: Examples are:
BE’ has eight variants: be, is, are, was, Tunji teaches Literature in English. (Here, the verb ‘teaches’ is
were, am, being, been limited to its use for present tense and singular number.)
‘HAVE’ has three variants: has, have, had They teach Literature in English. (Here, the verb ‘teach’ is
‘DO’ also has three variants: does, do, did limited to its use for present tense, third person and plural
The modal auxiliary verbs are those which express mood. number.)
These include: will, would, shall, should, can, could, may, Tunji taught Literature in English. (Here, the verb ‘taught’ is
might, must, ought to. limited to its use for past tense)
It is important to note that verbs like dare, have to, and used to A non-finite verb is the one that is not marked for the present
are semi-modals which are commonly used like modals. or past tense, number or person. A non-finite verb normally
appears in one of the following forms:
(ii) Linking/copular verbs: These are verbs that link the · The ‘-ing form’ (or present participle): He concentrated,
subject and the complement. The most commonly identified
while writing the paper.
linking verbs are auxiliary ‘BE’, For example:

31 32
 The ‘-en form’ (or past participle): The novel written by
· take a different form in the simple past tense, while the simple past
the man is educative. tense of some irregular verbs does not change at all. For example:
The ‘to infinitive form (i.e. to+ base): To pass an
·
examination, you must read/You must read to pass an Base Past
examination. Beat beat
(v) Dynamic and Stative Verbs: Dynamic verbs are those burst burst
that are used to refer to conscious actions. For example: He cost cost
danced at the party; he plays football; he works diligently. cut cut
On the other hand, stative verbs are those which are used to bend bent
refer to behaviours/ states or conditions that cannot be break broke
consciously controlled. Examples are: He knows him; they bring brought
resemble their father; he understands the topic. buy bought
(vi) Active and Passive verbs: The active verb is a verb in a
sentence in which the subject is typically the performer of the Unit 5: Adverbs
action expressed by the verb serving as the predicator. It is An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, an adjective or another
usually after the subject of the sentence. For example: They adverb i.e. it tells us more about them.
killed a goat; Sola brought the children a gift; John wrote the
examination. 5.1 Grammatical Functions of an Adverb
A passive verb on the other hand, is one in a sentence in which Functionally, an adverb:
the subject is typically the undergoer or target of the action of i. Modifies a verb: The man eats greedily. (the adverb
the verb. It comprises an appropriate form of ‘auxiliary BE’ ‘greedily’ modifies the verb ‘eats’)
followed by the ‘–en form’ of the verb. For example: ii. Modifies an adjective: The lady is very attractive. (the
The goat was killed by them. A gift was brought by him for the adverb ‘very’ modifies the adjective ‘ attractive’)
iii. Modifies an adverb: He faced the interview quite
students. The examination was written by him.
impressively. ( the adverb ‘quite modifies another adverb
(vii) Regular and Irregular Verbs: Regular verbs are those
‘impressively’)
verbs whose past tense forms are easily predictable. Their
Also, adverbs can perform the following grammatical
simple past tense forms normally end in ‘-ed’:
functions:
Base Past
aim aimed i. Tell us when, how, where and how much (to what
bake baked extent) the action of the verb is performed, e.g. He
open opened hardly listens; he was around then; he acted rudely.
scold scolded ii. Connect ideas in sentences, e.g. firstly, alternatively,
similarly,
Irregular verbs are those whose past tense forms are not easily iii. Express the view point or attitude of a speaker, e.g.
predictable. They do not normally end in ‘-ed’. Most irregular verbs frankly, honestly, seriously, happily, sadly, etc.

33 34
5.2 Characteristics of Adverbs (iii)Adverbs of place: These tell where something happens.
Characteristically, adverbs are: They answer the question where?
i. mobile: They can occur at any position in a sentence. e.g.: Examples are:
He walks slowly ;slowly, he walks. The party took place here.
ii. derivational: Many adverbs are formed by adding the Please put the books there.
suffix-ly to adjectives. e.g.: Kindly move the rubbish away.
active (actively); brave (bravely); impressive The miners are working underground.
(impressively); slow (slowly), etc. We are going abroad to rest.
iii. comparable/non-comparable: Some adverbs can be (iv) Adverbs of frequency: They convey information about
compared in the same pattern as adjectives are the rates of occurrences of actions. They thus answer the
compared, while some cannot be compared. Examples of question how often? Adverbs of frequency include
comparable ones are: always, often, seldom, biannually, biennially, fortnightly,
Positive Comparative Superlative etc. Examples are:
Interestingly more interestingly most interestingly The boys always attend parties.
Judiciously more judiciously most judiciously We often eat rice and beans.
Soon sooner soonest (v) Adverb of degree: These describe the relative extent,
level or intensity of something. These are more
Examples of non-comparable adverbs are: quite, definitely, commonly adverbs that modify adjectives and other
absolutely, etc. adverbs. E.g.
The boy is very brilliant.
5.3 Types of Adverbs Professor Paul is highly influential.
There are different types of adverbs, according to the
additional information they convey, namely: Unit 6: Adjectives
(i) Adverbs of manner: These are adverbs that describe the An adjective is a word that modifies or qualifies a noun or pronoun.
way something is done. Examples are: They include words like tall, perfect, beautiful, handsome, crazy,
They answer the question how? Examples are: nice, interesting, etc. that tell us more about nouns or pronouns.
Please speak clearly.
You have answered the questions correctly. 6.1. Grammatical Functions of Adjectives
Come and shop cheaply here. The major/specific grammatical function of an adjective is to
She dressed smartly for functions. qualify a noun/pronoun; and it can pre-qualify a noun if it occurs
(ii) Adverbs of time: These describe when something before the noun it qualifies or post-qualify a noun /pronoun if it
happens. They answer the question when? Examples appears after it or is separated from the noun by a linking verb.
are: Examples are
Everyone arrived early. (a) The handsome man (the adjective ‘handsome’ pre-qualifies
He started building his house yesterday. the noun ‘man’)

35 36
(b) The man is handsome. (the adjective ‘handsome’ post- Adjectives containing more than one syllable usually take
qualifies the noun ‘man’, serving as the subject complement) ‘more’ and ‘most’ in their comparative and superlative forms
(c) It is nice. (the adjective ‘nice’ post-qualifies the pronoun ‘it’, respectively. Examples:
serving as the subject complement)
(d) They made him useless. (the adjective ‘useless’ post-qualifies the Positive Comparative Superlative
pronoun ‘him’, serving as the complement of the object ‘him’) Serious more serious most serious
Handsome more handsome most handsome
However, some adjectives performing post-qualifying roles Interesting more interesting most interesting
commonly occur immediately after the pronouns they normally
qualify without being separated by any linking verbs. Any of such It should be noted that the comparative form is used only for
adjectives is usually realised from reduced relative clause and it is the comparison of two nouns while the superlative form is
called postpositive (see Quirk and Greenbaum 1973). Examples are: used for the comparison of more than two nouns.
Full form: Give me something that is nice.
Reduced form: Give me something nice. Here, the adjective ‘nice’ Examples: (a) Rachael is more adventurous than Rebecca.
performs a post-qualifying function to the pronoun ‘something’) (b) Shade is the most flamboyant among the girls.

6.2 Characteristics of Adjectives iii. Modifiability: Another characteristic of adjectives is that they
For ease of understanding, we have marked adjectives for the can be modified by adverbs of degree such as very, quite, just,
following characteristics: so. Examples are:
I. Suffixational distinctiveness: Many adjectives have typical The novel is very interesting.
adjective ending i.e. suffixes peculiar to them and which The journey is quite far.
assist us to identify the words as adjectives. Examples Some adjectives are usually preceded by a pre-modifying
-ish childish definite article ‘the’. Examples are:
-ful playful The poor people are suffering.
-less useless The rich citizens are comfortable.
-ous poisonous
iv. Selectiveness: Two comparative adjectives are never used
ii. Comparability: Most of them have comparative and together. For example:
superlative forms. Examples: *Foluke is more taller than Kemi (This is wrong; not
Positive Comparative Superlative grammatically acceptable)
Young younger youngest v. Non-pluralisability: They are never pluralized. We cannot
Tall taller tallest have* nices, *uglys, *smalls, etc.
Big bigger biggest
Small smaller smallest 6.3 Types of Adjectives
Happy happier happiest There are different types of adjectives. These are:
Fine finer finest

37 38
i. Attributive adjectives: These appear before the nouns they iv. Non-gradable adjectives: These are adjectives that refer to
qualify and describe their qualities. Examples are: a beautiful qualities that do not occur in varying degrees; they cannot be
rainbow, a clever boy, a difficult question, a happy child compared. Examples are: inferior, ghastly, original, fatal, etc.
v. Proper adjectives: These adjectives talk about the place or
ii. Predicative adjectives: These refer to adjectives that are country a person or thing comes from, or belongs to. e.g. the
separated from the nouns they qualify by linking verbs such as Nigerian flag, the English language, a Nigerian professor,
‘is’, ‘was’, ‘are’, ‘were’ and describe their qualities. Example are: Italian sonnet. etc. Proper adjectives also include other
John is good-looking. proper nouns that are used as qualifiers to nouns. e.g.
The lady is short. Shakespearean drama, Aristotelian logic, etc.
The story is interesting. vi. Pronominal adjectives: These are pronouns/determiners
The sea is blue. (articles, demonstratives possessives, cardinal and ordinal
numbers, interrogatives and quantifiers) used to qualify
iii. Gradable adjectives: These adjectives are those that refer to nouns. Examples are:
qualities that can be compared. They are compared in three a. Articles- the principal, an orange
levels: positive, comparative and superlative. The levels of
b. Demonstratives- These qualify nouns by pointing them
comparison of some of them are readily predictable; these are
out:
known as regular adjectives, while those that cannot be
these people, that person
readily predictable are irregular adjectives.
c. Possessive- These qualify nouns by showing possession:
My car, his book
·Regular adjectives: These are those that form their comparative
d. Number: These provide information about quantity of
and superlative forms by the addition of –r/er/more and
people, animals, or things; thus they are called adjectives
–st/est/most to their comparative and superlative degrees
of quantity: They can be cardinal or ordinal numbers:
respectively. Examples include:
Positive Comparative Superlative · Cardinal number- two people, three oranges
Close closer closest · Ordinal number- first person, second person
Young younger youngest e. Interrogatives: These qualify nouns by asking questions:
Short shorter shortest · Whose car is this?
Thin thinner thinnest · Which items are you talking about?
Sincere more sincere most sincere f. Quantifiers- These provide information about quantity
without giving the exact number, e.g. many animals, few
·Irregular adjectives: These adjectives form their comparative people, some students, etc.
and superlative degrees in a variety of other ways. Examples
are: 6.4 Order of Adjectives
Positive Comparative Superlative To qualify nouns, a number of adjectives can co-occur before the
Good better best nouns they qualify. Although there has not been any generally
Bad worse worst
Much more most

39 40
accepted standard co-occurrence order, consideration is commonly Unit 7: Determiners
given to the following: Determiners are special noun modifiers. Thus, they are words
‘whose primary function is to modify noun headwords’ (Aremo,
Determiner + Number (ordinal before cardinal) + quality 1995: 121).
(opinion) + size + age + shape + colour + origin (where
7.1 Characteristics of Determiners
something comes from) + material (what something is made of) +
(i) They usually occupy the initial position of the noun phrase
purpose (what something is used for) + noun
before the noun headword.
For example: The boy; that girl; an orange; some people, etc.
Ordinarily, it is hard to find a noun phrase that has all these (ii) They are normally used with common nouns but not with
adjectives on a roll. So, it is commonly recommended that no more proper nouns or pronouns. For instance: The boy; some girls,
than three or four adjectives co-occur before a noun. For example: etc.
i. The first two beautiful ladies (Determiner + Ordinal number So it is grammatically odd to say:
+ Cardinal number + Quality (Opinion) + Noun) *The Bola is there.
ii. A small old black mat (Determiner + Size + Age + Colour + *This she is there.
Noun) (iii) Some determiners, especially cardinal numbers (one, two,
iii. Some stupid old boys (Determiner + Quality (Opinion) +Age etc.) and ordinal numbers (first, second, etc.) are normally
+ Noun) used before count nouns and not before mass nouns. We can
iv. The nice small Japanese restaurant (Determiner + Quality have:
(Opinion) + Size + Origin + Noun) One man; two men; second person, etc.
v. The new flat black American television (Determiner + Age + But not: *one beans; *first petrol; *second air, etc.
Shape + Colour + Origin + Noun) (iv) They can be combined in a phrase. For example:
vi. That beautiful brown locally-made wooden door The other man (‘the’ and ‘other’ are determiners)
(Determiner + Quality (Opinion) + Colour + Origin + Many a celebrant turned up. (‘many’ and ‘a’ are determiners)
Material + Noun) (v) Some determiners have variants which end in an ‘of’. Some
instances are:
However, if there is need to express more qualities of the He has many of the novels; she has some of the novels; they
same noun, such qualities are commonly expected to be expressed have all of the novels, etc.
in other ways, such as by the use of relative clauses or adverbials. (vi) Some of the determiners refer to singular and plural nouns: a,
Some examples are: an, one, this, that, etc. (singular); two, these, those, many,
The new flat black American television, which you imported some, etc. (plural).
(Determiner + Age + Shape + Colour + Origin + Noun +
Relative clause) 7.2. Types of Determiners
The nice small British restaurant where I ate on Sunday Determiners are of different types/kinds in English. These include:
(i) Articles: Articles are of two types: the definite article ‘the’ and
(Determiner + Quality (Opinion) + Size + Origin + Noun +
the indefinite article ‘a/an’. The indefinite ones can be used
Adverbial Clause)
with singular nouns to talk about any single person or thing,

41 42
 while the definite one is normally used before a noun when a He came during winter.
certain person, animal, place or thing is talked about. ii. are usually combined with articles and common nouns, or
Examples are: proper nouns/pronouns known as completive to form
The boy; an orange; a soldier prepositional phrases. For example: in the well, in Ife, for her,
(ii) Demonstratives: These are basically used for pointing out etc.
nominal entities denoted by the headword of the noun iii. followed by mass nouns or plural count nouns as completive
phrase: this, these, that, those. For example: may or may not be followed by articles: The birds is in (the)
This book; that book; these books; those books cages; he immersed himself in (the) water.
(iii) Quantifiers: These determiners indicate the quality of the iv. followed by singular count nouns as completive normally have
headword of a noun phrase, e.g. to occur with appropriate articles: the birds are in the/a nest.
much wisdom, many people, some men, few customers, a few v. used with proper nouns/pronouns as completive in the
customers, etc. prepositional phrases do not occur with articles: He schools
(iv) Numerals: Numerals are definite determinants used to in Oyo (not *‘in the Oyo’); it is for her (not *‘for the her’).
specify the exact number of entity denoted by the headword
of a noun phrase. These determinants are of two kinds: the 8.2 Grammatical Functions of Prepositions
cardinals (one, two, etc.) and the ordinals (first, second, etc.). i. They function as the head words of prepositional phrases. A
(v) Possessives: These are determinants used before nouns in preposition so used to introduce prepositional phrase is
noun phrases to indicate the possessor(s) of something: my, known as prepend. For example: inside the fridge.
your, his, her, its, our, their. For example: ii. They function to introduce adjectival and adverbial phrases.
Your handwriting, his mouth, her hand, his book; etc. Examples are:
(vi) Interrogatives: These determiners are used before the He lives on the mountain. (‘on’ introduces adverbial phrase
headword in the noun phrase to ask about people or things. ‘on the mountain’, modifying the verb ‘lives’)
What colour is her car? The man on the mountain is my friend. (‘on’ introduces
Which university do you attend? adjectival phrase ‘on the mountain’, qualifying the noun ‘man’)
iii. They are commonly combined with verbs to form some
Unit 8: Prepositions phrasal verbs, e.g. pull for (meaning’ to wish for the success
A preposition is a word that indicates the relationship between a of someone or something); pull up (meaning ‘to park’), etc.
noun or pronoun and other words in a sentence. Such relationship iv. They begin some idioms. For examples: on the other hand
includes that of time, place, duration, manner, means, (meaning ‘alternatively’); at one’s disposal (meaning
reason/cause, purpose, etc. ‘available for one’s use)

8.1 Characteristics of Prepositions 8.3 Types of Prepositions

Characteristically, prepositions: There are two main types of prepositions: simple (those consisting
i. are followed by nouns or pronouns which they govern in of one word) and compound (those consisting of more than one
sentences: word). Simple prepositions include: above, under, by, on, from, at,
between, like, of, inside, beside, over, behind, beyond, etc.; while

43 44
compound prepositions include: apart from, because of, together iii. Some conjunctions, especially correlative conjunctions such
with, along with, etc. as: both… and, either …or, etc. are only normally used to
Also, subclasses of prepositions occur based on the functional
join two parts, e.g. She loves both Taiwo and Kehinde. (NOT
information they give. They are the following, among others:
*She loves both Taiwo, Kehinde and Idowu).
i. Time: They left in the morning; she left on Monday.
ii. Place: He waited in the class; he just returned from England.
9.2 Types of Conjunctions
iii. Duration: She stood for the whole day; I have been here
There are three broad types of conjunctions in English:
since morning.
coordinating, subordinating and correlating conjunctions.
iv. Manner (of doing something): He behaves like a
i. Coordinating conjunctions: These are used to connect words,
fraudster.
v. Means (of doing something): He went to Ghana by phrases, clauses and sentences which are of equal
road; he fetch the water with rank/status. They are known as coordinators: but, and or, yet,
a bucket. as well as, more than, as much as, etc. For example:
vi. Reason/cause: He married him because of his money; he Taiwo and Kehinde are good siblings. (‘and’ joins two words )
married her out of pity. Is this a chicken or a vulture? (‘or’ joins two phrases)
vii. Purpose: The team is here for accreditation; she is waiting I came but I did not meet you. (‘but’ joins two
for her money. clauses/sentences)
viii. Direction: He walked towards the well; Let us stroll up the ii. Subordinating conjunctions: These are used to join elements
hill. of unequal rank, status, especially a main clause and a
ix. Material: The chair is made of wood; the hotel was built subordinate clause. These include: because, when, while,
with cement. unless, when, although, though, as, as if, so that, in order to,
etc. For example:
Unit 9: Conjunctions He married him because he is rich.
Conjunctions are linking words. They are used to connect words or You will be saved, if you seek God’s help.
sentences. iii. Correlating conjunctions: These are conjunctions that are
used in pairs, e.g. not only… but also, both…. and, either… or,
9.1 Characteristics of Conjunctions
neither… nor. For example:
i. In joining sentences parts, double conjunction is not allowed.
Both John and Ike are brilliant.
So, it is grammatically odd to have structures like: still yet, so
I know neither the boy nor the girl.
therefore, although …but, though…but, etc. For example: *
Although he is a Christian, but he is not spiritual. (Instead of:
9.3 Grammatical Function of Conjunctions
Although he is a Christian, he is not spiritual.)
Conjunctions mainly function to join words, phrases, clauses and
ii. A conjunction may link two or more than two words or
sentences to establish meaning relationship between/among
sentences. For example:
them in the sentence structures.
Mary has a job, a car and a house.
An elephant is big but timid.
I came but I did not see you.

45 46
Unit 10: Interjections 3. Mention two (2) characteristics of each of the following,
Interjections are words that express sudden, strong, feelings such with suitable examples:
as surprise, pain, pleasure, etc. Examples are: Wow! Oh! Gosh! a.Noun b. Verb c. Adjective d. Adverb e. Pronoun f.
Hey! Ouch! Preposition g. Determiners
Hurray! You are now a university graduate. 4. Differentiate between content and grammatical words in
Wow! She is such a rare beauty.
English.
5. Write a one-paragraph essay on the role of word classes in
10.1 Characteristics of Interjections
effective communication in English.
i. The exclamation mark (!) is often used after interjections in
written form.
References
ii. Interjections are marked by rising intonation in spoken
Adeoye, Yinka (2008) (p.136-155). Word Class. In Ayodabo, O.
English. and D.Jolayemi (eds.). Effective Communication skills for
Higher Education: The Use of English. Ilorin: Adegbesan Press.
10.2 Grammatical Function of Interjections
Aremo, Bolaji (1995). An Introduction to English Sentences 1 &
Interjections function to express different feelings and emotions of
2.Ibadan: SCRIBO.
surprise, pain, pleasure, shock, excitement, appreciation etc.
Downing, Angela and Locke, Philip (2006). English Grammar: A
University Course. Second Edition. Routledge: London and
Unit 11: Summary of the Module
New York.
This module has introduced the learners to the different word
Leech, G. and Svartvik, J. (2002). A Communicative Grammar of
classes (nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, determiners,
English. Delhi. Pearson.
pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions and interjections); the
Quirk, Robert and Greenbaum, Sydney (1973). A University
characteristics of each of the word classes; and the grammatical
Grammar of English. London: Longman.
functions associated with the different word classes in their
Seaton, Anne and Mew, Y. H. (2007). Basic English Grammar for
contexts of use. The module also introduced the usage of the
English Language Learners. Watson Irvine. Saddleback
appropriate word classes for effective communication.
Educational Publishing.
Unit 11: Assessment on the Module
Reading List
1. Put all the words in the text below into their different word
Alo, Moses and Ogunsiji, Ayo.(eds.). (2005). English Language
classes:
Communication Skill for Academic Purpose. Ibadan:
This book is devoted to the discussion of the two broad types of
General Studies Programme Unit, University of Ibadan.
sentences in English: the simple sentences and the non-simple Melcalfe, J.E.and Astle, C. (1980). Correct English. Survey:
sentences. The latter is discussed first, with copious examples. The Clarion.
former is later given adequate attention with clear examples. Odebunmi, A.and M. Alo (eds.). (2012). English in the Theological
2. Mention two (2) functions of each of the following, with Context. Ibadan: Baptist Press.
suitable examples:
a.Noun b. Verb c. Adjective d. Adverb e. Pronoun f.
Preposition g. Determiners
47 48
 MODULE THREE dictionary, meaning of a word, which is normally stable, and not
affected by contextual colouring or emotional overtones of either
the speaker or hearer. All the speakers of one language share a
MEANING RELATIONS IN ENGLISH common conceptual meaning of a lexical item. Hence this type of
Joel Olatunde Ayodabo meaning has a universal implication. The semantic features used
for specifying the word table, for instance, are universal.
Introduction The conceptual meaning of a word can be expressed in terms
This module looks at meaning relations in English, generally. But it of contrastive semantic features (i.e. by considering features it
shall first discuss some types of meaning in English. Primarily, possesses and the features it lacks). For instance, the meaning of
there is a two dimensional view of semantics as consisting of the boy can be contrasted with the meaning of girl, as follows:
relationship between an expression (e.g. a word) and what it Boy Girl
refers to in the universe-of-discourse (the totality of what can be +HUMAN +HUMAN
discussed in a conversation); and that between the expression and +MALE -MALE
other expressions within its particular field. The term used for the -ADULT -ADULT
first relationship is reference, while the second is called sense
relation. The main goal of any study of language is the interest of The semantic features which are used in specifying the
conceptual meaning of lexical items are contrastive in the sense
processing meaning. This is done in a number of ways. To fully
that if semantic features for a particular word is plus (+), it cannot
grasp the dynamics of meaning processing, we shall then discuss
at the same time be minus (-). The contrastive features are the
some of the different meaning relations in English.
attributes of the referent (i.e. that to which a word refers). They
provide the criteria for the correct use of a word.
Unit 1: Objectives of the Module The conceptual meaning of a word is the substantial part of the
This module seeks to achieve the following, at the end: common system of language which is shared by all the speakers of
· Identify and illustrate some types of meaning, in English; the language. It does not vary with the experience or world view of
· Discuss the different types of meaning relations, in English. an individual, provided the people involved in the piece of
communication speak a common language. In the words of Leech
Unit 2: Types of Meaning (1981:11), “Conceptual meaning is an inextricable and essential
Ndimele (1999:65) has reported that linguists have fairly part of what language is”. It is a major factor in language, and
conveniently discussed the several types of meaning under three therefore an integral and essential part of human communication.
broad classes. This classification is being used here with some All speakers of a language, therefore, ought to share the same
modifications. The three broad classes are ‘conceptual’,
conceptual meanings, as they share same syntax of that language.
‘associative’ and ‘thematic’ meanings. However, some other shades
of meaning are also identified and illustrated, as indicated below.
2.2 Associative Meaning
2.1 Conceptual Meaning Associative meaning is that type of meaning which a word conveys
Conceptual meaning handles meaning, at the word level. This type over and above its ordinary, basic or commonly shared sense. It is
is sometimes referred to as the ‘denotative’, ‘cognitive’, ‘logical’, unstable, open-ended and variable in nature. Associative meaning
‘central’, or ‘primary’ meaning of a word. It is the ordinary, basic can be influenced by gender, the experience of the speaker or hearer,

49 50
the historical epoch in which the word is used, the society or the the speaker and the hearer must share similar background
culture. knowledge.
At times, individuals may use a particular word in such a way Barnwell (1980) and Leech (1981) have recognised five sub-
as to arouse some emotional response in someone who uses the classes of associative meaning. They are connotative, collocative,
same language. This may be due to the idea which the word affective, reflected and stylistic (social) meanings. However, we
communicates, the context with which the word is associated, or shall discuss each of them as distinct types of meaning.
what the word conveys to the hearer about the attitude or
behaviour of the speaker (see. Barnwell 1980: 60). All these i. Connotative Meaning
different shades of meaning, which words convey, as a result of the Connotative meaning can be described as that type of meaning
peculiar way in which the speaker uses them, fall outside the scope which “an expression has by virtue of what it refers to, over and
of conceptual meaning. above its purely conceptual content” (Leech 1981). Connotation is
Associative meaning is not central to communication, and concerned with the ‘real world’ experience which an individual
therefore cannot be expressed in terms of contrastive semantic associates with both the conceptual meaning of an expression and
features. It presents a problem to the language learner in the sense the individual`s personal experiences which he brings to bear
that it is peripheral, and does not have any universal implication; upon what he communicates or expresses. So far as our
rather it is peculiar and unique to individual people‘s experiences. experiences vary, connotative meaning can never be stable.
Miscommunication or misinterpretation of sentences arise due to Connotative meaning conveys additional meaning which a
differences in individual people‘s feelings, attitudes and other concept carries. While denotative meaning remains stable,
emotional overtones which are brought to bear upon what they because it defines the main attributes of a concept, connotative
communicate. In other words, it is the variability of associative meaning changes, as it is based on association made to the
meaning that creates room for miscommunication. concept, and such associations may change over time.
Unlike conceptual meanings of words, which are commonly In discussing the connotative meaning of an expression,
shared by all the speakers within a speech community, associative additional non-criteria semantic features are employed in
meanings reflect individual differences. Difficulty in communication specifying its meaning. If in the traditional Nigerian context,
arises due to these individual differences. Hence there is not always someone says: John is nothing more than a woman, the fellow may
a one-to-one correspondence between the speaker‘s intended be describing John with some putative, non-criteria semantic
meaning and the hearer‘s interpretation of the message. In fact, properties which may include the fact that he is ‘gregarious’, ‘frail’,
intentions are private, while meanings are for public consumption. ‘clumsy’, ‘emotional’ and ‘prone to tears’. The fact which emerges
Since intentions are private, they are only recoverable from the from the foregoing example is that connotative meaning involves
meaning that the expression conveys. Essentially, communication the figurative use of language.
can only take place if the intended meaning of an expression is the Whereas the conceptual meaning is determinate and non-open-
same as its interpreted meanings. The problem with communication, ended, connotative meaning is non-determinate and open-ended.
however, is that meanings, particularly the associative ones, do not Connotative meaning varies from individual to individual, society
lie overtly there in the text (whether oral or written) waiting for the to society, one historical period to another, or from culture to culture.
hearer to get at them with ease. The hearer must dig laboriously In the western world, for instance, the animal fox is often associated
through the text to get at the meaning intended by the speaker. To with negative overtones such as cunning and deceitfulness. So to
get at the associative meanings or expressions required that both call someone a fox in western world is to associate the fellow with

51 52
some negative additional semantic features, such as [+DECEIT, Similarly, words such as ‘pretty’ and ‘handsome’ share
+CUNNING]. The equivalent of the fox in the African context is common ground in the meaning [+GOOD-LOOKING] when they
the tortoise – a great trickster in West African mythology. are used to refer to the aesthetic quality of a referent. They differ,
Not all speakers of a language share all the connotative however, in the range of nouns that they select. Whereas the
meanings associated with certain expressions; that makes adjective pretty is often associated with nominals that have
communication difficult among people if they have to speak feminine or neuter qualities, handsome tends to collocate with
figuratively all the time. nominals that have masculine attributes.
Other clear examples of words which share common core in
ii. Collocative Meaning their meaning but differ in the range of words they select are:
Collocation is used “to refer to the habitual co-occurrence of
individual lexical items” (Crystal 1997).So collocative meaning is Stroll vs. wander
that in which a lexical item conveys meaning on the basis of the (For human beings) (For animals)
company it keeps. Certain pairs of lexical items exhibit a natural Tremble vs. quiver
tendency to co-occur. Lexical items which always co-occur are (coll. with fear) (coll. with excitement)
called collocates of each other. In other words, there is the (cf. Leech 1981)
tendency for words to occur together repeatedly. Some examples Thus, from the above, we can say:
of natural collocates in English are presented below:
Human beings stroll
Husband and wife Aminals wander
Bread and tea Tremble(s) with fear, etc.
Auspicious occasion/event
Letter of the alphabet iii. Affective Meaning
Far and near Meaning becomes affective, when words are chosen in a particular
Gentlemen of the press manner to communicate something about the attitude or feeling of
Gentlemen of the road the speaker towards his/her hearer or the subject matter of
Green with jealousy discourse. The choice of certain words can trigger either a positive
or negative emotional response from the hearer, depending on
Words such as ‘salary’, ‘wages’ and ‘stipend’ share some common how he/she perceives the utterances of the speaker.
ground in the sense that all of them refer to some kind of financial The primary function of interjections (e.g. oh, alas!) and
reward accruing to some individual, for carrying out some vocatives (e.g. sir, mummy, daddy, etc. used at the beginning of
assignment on a routine basis. They differ, however, according to sentences) is to convey the emotional disposition of the speaker
the range of nouns which they select, as can be seen below: which falls within the affective use of language. Terms of
endearment like dear, love, darling, etc. also express the speaker’s
A teacher‘s salary emotional attitude of affection towards the hearer; and thus
A pastor‘s stipend convey affective meanings.
A worker’s wages

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iv. Reflected Meaning them belongs to different particular circumstances of use. Where
Reflected meaning often arises in situations where an expression one form is used, the other(s) is/are not seen as appropriate.
has more than one conceptual meaning, but only one of the Social meaning therefore derives from awareness of the style in
meanings reflects on the hearer’s mind at the use of the expression. which something is written or spoken, and of the relationship
In other words, reflected meaning is a feature of polysemy (i.e. between speaker and hearer. The relationship can be strictly
words with several meanings) where one of the senses of a formal, official, polite, casual, friendly or hostile.
particular word becomes dominant. As time goes on, the other less The following expressions, for instance, are different ways of
dominant senses of the word are dropped. In standard Nigerian making requests, but differ in terms of the degree of formality:
English usage, for instance, the phrase to go out with someone has Might I join you on this trip? [Very formal and rare]
now acquired a restricted sense. It now refers to an amorous May I join you on this trip? [Formal]
sexual relationship between people who are of the opposite sex. It Can I join you on this trip? [Causal and less formal]
is hardly ever used to refer to a mere platonic relationship between
people of the opposite sex or even people of the same sex. Again, there is apparently no significant difference in the use of the
Leech (1981) has also rightly observed that words such as words adult and grown-up to refer to human beings; the
ejaculation, erection, intercourse, and even turgid “can never be differences lie only in the fact that the former is formal, while the
used in their ‘innocent’ sense without conjuring up their sexual latter is colloquial. The differences in all these examples thus
associations”. The consequences of reflected meaning is that as a convey stylistic meanings in them.
particular sense of a word continues to attract prominence, due to
its frequency of use, the other less frequently employed senses 2.3 Thematic Meaning
continue to disappear. This is the type of meaning which an expression conveys depending
on how the speaker organises his message in terms of ordering,
v. Stylistic or Social Meaning focus and emphasis. In certain situations, a speaker may decide to
This is a type of meaning which a word conveys due to the fact that make one part of the sentence communicatively prominent, over
it is associated with a particular pattern of speech, a language and above other surrounding words, in the same sentence. The
variety, a society, or a social setting. The choice which an different ways of achieving communicative prominence in a
individual makes in his/her use of word can reveal his/her social sentence are through ‘localisation’, ‘topicalisation’ ‘passivisation’ or
background, regional or geographical dialect, or the social through the use of certain prosodic features such as stress and
distance in terms of the degree of formality between him/her and intonation. Thematic meaning is therefore the meaning that is
his/her hearer. In this type of meaning, we are concerned with the communicated by the way a speaker or writer organises his
stylistic variations that are available for people to explore within a expression to lay focus or emphasis on his message. Most times,
single language. Every language provides, within its lexicon, this is clearly explainable when we have active and passive sentence
selectional possibilities for language users to draw from. structures. Despite the fact that meaning often seems to be the same,
In other words, this is the meaning that a word or an expression emphasis is considered to vary. Let us consider two examples:
conveys about the circumstances of its use. That is, the meaning of a
word is understood according to the different style and situation in i. Ade killed the goat (active sentence).
which the word is used, e.g. the words ‘kid’, ‘child’, ‘offspring’, ii. It was the goat that Ade killed/ The goat was killed by Ade
‘urchin’, ‘minor’ all belong to the same semantic field, but each of (passive sentence).

55 56
 In i. above, the intended meaning could be that the writer is opposition, inclusion, and pre-supposition. In other words, not only
trying to provide information on who killed the goat, whereas in ii, do words have meaning properties, they also bear various
the focus could be on what was killed. meaning relations to one another. Meaning relations, therefore,
can be achieved through a proper harnessing of the dynamics of
In addition, let us compare the following pairs of sentences: sense relations, some of which are: homonymy, polysemy,
synonymy and antonymy, among others.
Eze kicked the ball. vs. It was Eze who kicked the ball.
I like rice. vs. Rice, I like. 3.1 Homonymy
John sold the car. vs. The car was sold by John. This involves homonyms. Homonyms are different lexical items or
structure words with the same phonetic form, but
The first sentence in each of the above pairs is neutral in having/conveying different meaning. For example, ‘ear’ (organ of
terms of emphasis; it is in the second sentence that we find a word hearing) and ‘ear’ (a stem of wheat) are homonyms. Homonymy
or phrase that is emphasised. can be further classified as:
From the foregoing, it is obvious that the distribution of the (a) Homography: a phenomenon of two or more words having
elements of a sentence is not merely a question of linear sequence the same spelling forms for different pronunciation or
or order; most often, the distribution is based on how the speaker meaning, e.g. lead /led/ = metal; lead /li:d/ = verb..
chooses to organise his information. Communicative prominence (b) Homophony: a phenomenon of two or more words having
or dynamism is concerned with the extent to which a particular the same pronunciation but different meanings or spelling
constituent of the sentence contributes to the development of forms, e.g. sea/see, know/no, son/sun/, knew/new.
communication. Communicative dynamism pertains to the
relevance of an element of a sentence in the organisation of 3.2 Polysemy
information. And the relevance of an element of a sentence is a This refers to the phenomenon where a single lexeme (a
function of how the speaker uses it in the communication process. polyseme) is associated with multiple distinct but related
When a speaker deliberately draws the attention of his addressee senses. As a consequence, polysemy is one potential source of
to a particular constituent of the sentence, either by order of lexical ambiguity. Polysemy is often difficult to differentiate from
arrangement or by the use of certain prosodic devices, we say that homonymy, because of the sound patterning. However, in
the constituent in question has been focused. A focused item is polysemy, the ‘same’ lexical item can have different meanings, e.g.
usually given more communicative prominence than any other
constituent in the sentence. bank 1
= a financial institution
bank 2
= a row of keys
Unit 3: Types of Meaning Relations in English bank 3
= edge of a river
We can explain the meaning of a linguistic item by using some bank 4
= to keep (a verb).
other words. This relation of a word with another word is a sense-
relation. Thus, sense is the complex system of relationships that hook = 1
a piece of curved metal material
holds between/among the linguistic items themselves. Sense is hook = 2
short for fish hook
concerned with the intra-linguistic relations, i.e. relations within hook = 3
a trap or snare
the system of the language itself, such as similarity between words,

57 58
 hook =4
a sharp bend or angle in a geographical could be ‘girl’, ‘man’, since the denotation of both (‘girl’, ‘man’) is
formation, e.g. river different from that of ‘boy’
hook =5
a sharply curved spit of land Arising from the above, we can then say that some lexical
hook =6
Boxing: a short swinging blow delivered from the items are less compatible than other items. There can be nearness
side with the elbow bent of contrast or remoteness of contrast. In this case, ‘boy’ and ‘girl’
hook =7
Surfing: the top of a breaking wave are related, just as ‘man’ and ‘woman’ are related, in spite of being
Adapted from Saeed, J.I. (2009:64) contrasted. Contrasts can thus create antonyms based on gender
distinctions, age distinctions, time/period distinctions, material
Other words that may carry multiple meanings abound in English, distinctions, situation distinctions, etc.
such as: ‘face’, ‘file’, ‘table’, ‘cup’, ‘watch’, ‘pen’, etc. The evolution of a complex system of sense relations is largely
dependent on the way in which the objects of the world and the
3.3 Synonymy environment are perceived and conceptualised by the people who
As the name suggests, synonymy involves synonyms, that is, words make that language.
which mean almost the same as another word. Synonyms can
explain the relationship between two lexical items, or among 3.5 Hyponymy
several lexical items if they have ‘the same denotative, connotative This is another kind of sense-relationship in language. It explains a
and social meanings, and can replace each other/one another in relation that holds between a more general and more specific
all contexts of occurrence (Syal and Jindal 2008). What we lexical item. For instance, ‘fruit’ is a more general term, and
consider as synonyms in a language are normally near-equivalent ‘mango’, ‘orange’, ‘apple’, etc. are more specific. The more specific
items or descriptive items, because no two linguistic items are item is considered a hyponym of the more general item. The
perfectly synonymous. For example, ‘toilet’, ‘washroom’, lavatory’ specific item includes the meaning of the general. Whenever we
are descriptive or near-equivalent synonyms in English. say ‘orange’, the meaning of ‘fruit’ is included in the meaning.
An important source of synonymy, according to Saeed It should be put on record that there are more detailed and
(2009:65), is taboo areas where a range of euphemisms (hedges complex discussions on sense and meaning relations in English,
and soft words) may occur, for example in the English vocabulary however, what we have discussed, so far here, is suffice at this
for sex, death and the body. For instance, ‘die’ can be expressed as level, as an introductory attempt.
‘cease living’, ‘deceased’, ‘demise’, expire’, perish’, ‘pass (on)’, etc.
Synonyms may also portray positive or negative attitudes of a Unit 4: Summary of the Module
speaker: for example sluggish appears more critical than slow. In this module, we have attempted to discuss meaning and its
general types. The types discussed are: conceptual
3.4 Antonymy meaning,associative meaning, connotative meaning,
This involves antonyms, lexical items which are different both in collocative meaning, affective meaning, reflected meaning,
form as well as meaning. An antonym of a word conveys the stylistic/social meaning, as well as thematic meaning. Some of
opposite sense, e.g. boy-girl, open-shut, good-bad. There is a them are illustrated. Also, meaning relations in English are
limitation to this definition, however. What constitutes an opposite discussed, particularly those that centre on sameness of sound
of a lexical item may be relative. For example, the opposite of ‘boy’ and meaning; those that exhibit relationships of contrast; and
those that reflect senses of oppositeness.

59 60
Unit 5: Assessment on the Module References
Provide answers to the following exercises: Akmajian, A., Demers, R.A., Farmer, A. K. and Harnish, R. M.
1. Identify the type of meaning that is expressed in the following (2008). (5 ed.). LINGUISTICS
th

sentences: An introduction to language and communication. New Delhi:

i. The Blues saw red in their match against Manchester Prentice-Hall of India.
United. Barnwell, K. (1980) Introduction to Semantics and translation.
ii. An innocent beggar was killed by a cop’s stray bullet. Summer Institute of Linguistics.
iii. A minor was sentenced to three weeks’ hard labour by a Crystal, D. (1997) A dictionary of linguistics and phonetics. Oxford.
Juvenile court. Blackwell.
iv. A man has two legs. Leech, G. (1981) Semantics. London. Penguin Books.
v. Mary is a dog in her social conduct Ndimele, O. (1999). Semantics and the frontiers of communication.
2. Explain the type of relationship that holds in each pair of the Port-Harcourt: Port-Harcourt Publishing House.
words below: Saeed, John I. (2009). Semantics. Singapore: WILEY-BLACKWELL
i. Bachelor vs Spinster Samaila, M. (2015).Semantics: The study of meaning. In Ayodabo,
ii. Open vs Close O. and Butari, N.
iii. Cattle vs Cow Issues in language and linguistics (Perspectives from Nigeria).
iv. Dress vs Blouse Volume 3. Kaduna: Language Study Group of Nigeria. Pp 81-
94
v. Die vs Gave up the ghost
Syal, Pushpinder and Jindal, D.V. (2008). (2 ed.). An introduction
nd

vi. Half open vs Half close

to linguistics. New Delhi: Prentice-Hall of India.
vii. Colour vs Pink
viii. Minor vs Offspring
Reading List
ix. Fruit vs Apple
Ayodabo, O. and Butari, N. (2015). Issues in language and
x. File (a metal tool for sharpening objects) vs File linguistics (Perspectives from
(material for keeping documents) Nigeria). Volume 3. Kaduna: Language Study Group of Nigeria.
Kearns, K (2000). Semantics. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Odebunmi, A. (2001). The English word and meaning: an
introductory text. Ogbomoso: Critical Sphere.
Odebunmi, A. (2006). Meaning in English: An Introduction.
Ogbomoso: Critical Sphere.
Palmer, E. R. (1996). Semantics. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.

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 MODULE FOUR Unit 2: The Morpheme
A morpheme is the smallest meaningful unit of the grammar of a
FORMS AND FUNCTIONS OF language. This means that an identified morpheme cannot be
further broken into any parts that can give a grammatical
GRAMMATICAL UNITS
meaning. It is the lowest in the hierarchy of the units of grammar.
Yinka Adeoye
A morpheme is different from a syllable, which is the smallest
pronounceable unit of language. While the morpheme concerns
Introduction
minimal grammatical meaning, a syllable concerns minimal
Grammatical units or units of grammar are the levels of
pronounceable sound. For illustration, compare the number of
grammatical analysis in a language. In English, as in many
morphemes and the number syllables in the following words:
languages, the sentence is the highest level or unit of grammatical
analysis, and it has other units that are lower in hierarchy than it.
These other units include the clause, the phrase, the word and the Word No. of Morphemes No. of Syllables
morpheme. These five units of grammar have a relation of pronounceable 2 4
inclusion in that the unit at a higher level contains at least one form hierarchically 3 5
of the unit that is immediately below it. This means that a baby 1 2
morpheme is included in a word; a word is included in, or may be a lorries 2 2
phrase; a phrase is included in a clause; and a clause is included in, boys 2 1
or may be a sentence. This can be presented diagrammatically as fights 2 1
follows: teachers 3 2
Sentence « Clause « Phrase « Word « Morpheme
2.1 Types of Morphemes
The form (or structure) and the function (or meaning) of The two major types of morphemes are the free morphemes
each of these grammatical units will be discussed in this module. and the bound morphemes. A free morpheme can stand on its
own whereas a bound morpheme cannot. A free morpheme is
Unit 1: Objectives of the Module essentially a simple word. Examples include teach, fight, key, lorry,
At the end of this module, students should be able to: hierarchy, pen, etc. On the other hand, a bound morpheme is the
· Identify the English morpheme, its types and grammatical attachment (or affix) added to the free morpheme for additional
features, for the purpose of forming acceptable words, meanings, e.g. the -er and -s in teachers (2 bound morphemes), the
· Understand the concept of words, the types and their -s in keys (1 bound morpheme), ir - and - al in irrational (2 bound
grammatical features , morpheme), en - in enrich (1 bound morpheme). Note that there
· Recognise the phrase, and determine its types and is no bound morpheme in irate, island, remember, customs,
functions in English expressions, mathematics, endure, etc.
· Identify the clause, and state its types and grammatical In some instances, the free morpheme can serve as and can
functions, be called the base or stem morpheme.
· Understand the concept of the sentence, and its various types, The bound morphemes can be further divided into inflectional
so as to apply the knowledge for effective communication. morphemes and derivational morphemes. The inflectional
morphemes give meanings related to tense/aspect (present or past/

63 64
continuous or perfective), and number (singular or plural), while beauty (noun) +ful adjective
the derivational morpheme changes a word from one class or part fever (noun) +ish adjective
of speech to another.
These sorts of derivational morphemes are sometimes called class-
Examples of inflectional morphemes: changing derivational morphemes. However, some derivational
morphemes retain the class of the existing part of speech, and are,
Free or Base Inflection Inflection Word therefore called class-preserving derivational morphemes.
Morpheme (Tense/Aspect) (Number) Examples include:
Call +ed Called child + ish (noun) = childish (noun)
Ball +s Balls
Class +es Classes
mother + hood (noun) = motherhood (noun)
Speak +en Spoken chancellor (noun) +ship = chancellorship (noun)
Speak +ing Speaking Awo (noun) +ism = Awoism (noun)
Speak +s Speaks federal (noun) +ism = federalism (noun)
Child +ren Children parliament (noun) +arian = parliamentarian (noun)
Lorry +ies Lorries
Sleep +ed Slept
2.2 Zero Morphemes
Sleep +en Slept
Forget +ed Forgot Some bound morphemes are not orthographically present in the
Forget +en Forgotten word (that is, no bound morpheme can be attributed to them) but
Put null/zero Put are conventionally seen as being with the word, and are called null
or zero morphemes. Examples are aircraft, cattle, sheep,
The comparative morphemes -er and -est are also regarded as information, furniture, etc. These words are plural in sense but the
inflectional morphemes. For example, plural marks are not seen. The markers are embedded in the
large + -er = larger; words. Also, some words are naturally devoid of any possibility of
a bound morpheme; such words are therefore said to be of zero
large + -est = largest bound morphemes too. Examples are fun, good, etc.
big + -er = bigger
big + -est = biggest 2.3 Identification of Morphemes
In identifying the number of morphemes in a word, it is important
Examples of derivational morphemes: to note that related meanings of the words are crucial. In other
words, if you identify a word as having two morphemes, the two
Word Derivational New Word
morphemes should be able to give minimal meanings separately,
Morpheme (New Part of Speech)
and should give related meanings in combination. For example,
attract (verb) +ive adjective these words: remember, remnant, repeat, repeat or refuse have one
attend (verb) +ion noun morpheme each, whereas reassess, reset, re-arrange or readjust etc.
attentive (adjective) +ly adverb have two morphemes each. Also, island and illusion have one
morpheme each while irrational and illegal have two morphemes
commit (verb) +ment noun each.

65 66
Unit 3: The Word grammatical functions in the sentence. This means that they help
As a grammatical unit, a word can be defined as a combination of to build the sentence by connecting the content words together.
morphemes for the expression of meaning. Examples include Grammatical words are articles, conjunctions, prepositions,
chair, fan, belief, house, release, etc. In written language, a word pronouns (although they refer to nouns, pronouns by convention
can be seen as a meaningful combination of letters which has a are grammatical words), and auxiliary verbs. Examples are:
space before it and a space after it. Apart from the spaces, there
may also be a punctuation mark. Articles: a/an, the
Conjunctions: and, but, nor, or, if, unless, until, because,
3.1 Types of Words According to Meaning or Function so, either … or, etc.
According to the meaning(s) they give or the function (s) they Prepositions: of, at, in, with, without, above, under, for,
perform, words can be categorized into two: content words and beyond, etc.
grammatical words. Auxiliary Verbs: can, be, are, have, must, will, could, is,
was, are, etc.
i. Content words: Content words are also called full words Pronouns: he, she, they, it, etc
or lexical words. They are words which can be defined, described
or explained in concrete terms. They are words that refer to These grammatical words are also called closed class items
things, people, ideas, qualities, actions, or states. The content because they are limited in number and do not keep increasing as
words are all nouns, adjectives, main verbs and adverbs. Examples content words do.
are:
Nouns: Gbade, success, refuse, rabbit, Ibadan, paradise, 3.2 Classification of Words Based on Structure or Form
finesse, advice, content, etc. i. Simple word: A simple word is a free morpheme. Examples
Main Verbs: sleep, succeed, walk, advise, refuse, come, are class, trend, boy, element, etc.
go, jump, pass, etc. ii. Compound word: A compound word has at least two free
Adjectives: tall, wide, modern, exotic, appreciative, morphemes. Examples include:
beautiful, sweet, long, etc. classmate, house help, gate-keeper, man-made, etc.
Adverbs: seldom, very, briskly, abruptly, attractively, Compound words are written in three ways:
appreciably, slowly, etc. a. solid: heartbreak, teaspoonful, sweetheart, Photoshop,
taxman, barman, soothsayer, etc.
These content words are also called open class items because they b. hyphenated: father-in-law, Director-General, heart-
are the major vocabulary stock of a language. They increase in throb, poverty-stricken, thought-provoking, mind-
number according to the social development or circumstances of the searching, etc.
people using the language. In concrete terms, for example, new c. open: sound track, tipper lorry, life everlasting, house
inventions can bring about new words, such as, Facebook, Google, the master, etc.
Internet, WhatsApp, snapchat, instagram, Photoshop, etc. iii. Complex word: A complex word is a combination of one
free morpheme and at least one bound morpheme. Examples
ii. Grammatical Words: Grammatical words are also called are:
empty words, structure words or form words. They perform un -pleasant,

67 68
 bribe-ry, iv. Past participle e.g.
ir -regret - able, etc. a. Kept in the dark, her father didn’t know about her affairs.
b. Privileged to attend the conference, Orji was happy.
While the free morphemes are italicised, all the morphemes c. Embarrassed by the insult, Tatiwere decided not to
in each of the words listed above make up a complex word. Other gossip again.
examples of complex words include: feet, geese, oxen, children,
fought, rung, bound, was, were, etc. In these, the bound morphemes 4.1 Types of Phrases
are implicit. For instance, children is made up of child+s, fought is
fight+ed, etc. 4.1.1 Noun Phrase
A noun phrase is a phrase that is headed by a noun or a pronoun. It
Unit 4: The Phrase can be one word, i.e., the headword (h), or a number of optional
A phrase is a group of related words which usually have neither a words situated before and after the obligatory head word. The words
subject nor a finite verb. What then are a subject and a finite verb? before the headword are called pre-modifiers or modifiers (m) while
A subject is a doer or performer of the action indicated in a the ones occurring after the head are called post-modifiers or
sentence. In the sentence, The student passed the exam, the subject qualifiers (q), Examples are as analysed in the following table:
is The student, and it is performing the action indicated by the verb, M H Q
passed. The finite verb is the verb that agrees with the subject in a. office
person, tense and number. In the above example, the verb passed b. customs office
agrees with the third person singular subject, The student. Also, c. good people
passed reflects the past tense indicating that the action of the d. the happy students
subject occurred in the past. A phrase will not have this type of verb e. the new bag on the rack
and may not have any verb at all. However, a non-finite verb can be f. spectators at the stadium
in the form of the following: g. some notebooks which I bought
i. Infinitive with ‘to’ e.g. to sing, to dance. h. the rich who also cry
a. I like to sing.
b. Ronaldinho likes to dance. Note that examples g and h are also seen as noun phrases despite the
c. To dance is to exercise the body. fact that they have subordinate clauses having a finite verb in them.
This is because the subordinate clause “which I bought…’, for
ii. Infinitive without ‘to’. e.g. sing, dance. example, is used as a modifier of the head ‘notebooks’. The clause
a. What I want now is sing a song. has been embedded in the constituent of a phrase. Therefore, the
b. All Ronaldinho does is dance to the beat. high status of the clause will be lost to the low status of the phrase
since the clause is now not the focus, but the headword of the phrase
iii. Present participle e.g. dancing, singing, praying which the clause is giving us more information about.
a. Dancing at a party makes you noticeable.
b. Singing my favourite songs makes me happy. 4.1.1.1 Grammatical Functions of Noun Phrases
Noun phrases can perform six grammatical functions which are:
c. You should cultivate praying before eating.
subject of the verb, object of the verb, preposition complement,

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subject complement, object complement, and noun phrase in c. Koroboto can consume four litres of ice cream in a day.
apposition. d. By Monday, we will have submitted it.
i. Subject of the verb e. They must have been there.
a. The manager invited Amalu for an interview. f. Efe and Efosa should have been waiting.
b. People in my life are happy. g. The school authority will not allow the student to go out
without permission.
ii. Object of the verb
a. The International Football Federation honours the best Note that in the last example, ‘not’ is an adverb, but as it is used in
footballer in the world. this constituent of a verb phrase, it is also included as a member of
b. The best footballer of all time has a football-shaped the verb phrase.
mansion. Note also that a verb phrase is different from a phrasal verb. The
phrasal verb is a combination of a verb and a preposition; the
iii. Complement of Preposition preposition is used as particles e.g. put off, put out, kick off, put
a. Give the prize to the current best footballer. away, check in, check out, close up, close in, close down, etc. The
b. God comes first in a happy family. phrasal verbs at times, function as idiomatic expressions. The verb
phrase functions as the element of the sentence.
iv. Complement of a Subject
a. Lionel Messi of Argentina is the best footballer in the 4.1.3 Adjective Phrase
world for all time. An adjective phrase is a group of related qualifying words, which
b. The erudite professor of pragmatics is my mentor. may include an adverb, headed by an adjective. The adjective
phrase functions as a modifier or complement of a noun, or a noun
v. Complement of Object phrase. Examples are:
a. They called him the Prince of Peace. a. The teachers were not so surprised at her performance.
b. We have appointed Chukathe Class Rep. b. It was almost perfect.
c. We were all very happy.
vi. Noun Phrase in Apposition d. The boy is getting appreciably taller by the day.
a. Johnson Orubebe, one of the former President’s men, is e. It was the much expected movie.
the guest speaker.
b. Let us know the President’s situation from his 4.1.4 Adverb Phrase
spokesman, Lai Muhammed. An adverb phrase is a series of adverbs which may include a degree
adverb, and is headed by a main adverb. The adverb phrase
4.1.2 Verb Phrase functions as a modifier to a given verb in a sentence. Examples are:
The verb phrase is the combination of a lexical (main) verb and any
a. I was quite delightfully surprised to see her.
auxiliary verb(s) accompanying the main verb. The verb phrase
b. The prize was very appreciatively received.
functions as the verbal element of a sentence. Examples are:
a. I am going there tomorrow. c. Some notable people and events are usually inadvertently
b. Danladi is cooking vegetable soup. forgotten.

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d. The car was so badly driven that it did not last for six months. 4.1.6 Gerundive Phrase
To know a gerundive phrase, we should know what a gerund is
41.5 Prepositional Phrase first. A gerund is a verbal noun. It is the “-ing” form of a verb, its
A prepositional phrase comprises a preposition which obligatorily present participle form, which functions as a noun. The following
serves as the head of the phrase, and a noun or nominal entity which are examples of a gerund:
serves as the complement of the preposition. Such a nominal entity a. Writing is like building.
could be a pronoun, a gerund, a noun phrase, or a gerundive phrase. b. Listening is an active activity.
Examples are the italicised structures in the following sentences: c. Teaching makes your knowledge grow.
a. God takes delight in your doing good to your neighbours. d. The job of an academic involves teaching.
b. The master takes the lead in dancing. e. Gossiping is not beneficial.
c. The project is meant for the good of the society.
d. Don’t pay the cash to me; pay it to the bank. A gerundive phrase is headed by a gerund. Examples are italicized
e. Keep your money right inside your pocket. below, with the gerunds in bold italics:
f. He woke up just before dawn. a. Some politicians are guilty of sleeping during official functions.
b. Eating late can contribute to obesity.
Note that examples e and f have adverbs that pre-modify their c. Coming prepared for lectures is a sign of seriousness.
prepositional phrases. While right pre-modifies inside your pocket d. Teaching fresh students requires a lot.
in Example e, just pre-modifies before dawn in Example f.
Note also that some prepositional phrases function as either 4.1.6.1 Functions of a Gerundive Phrase
adjective phrases or adverb phrases, and may thus be called i. A gerundive phrase can function as a subject of a verb.
adjective or adverb phrases respectively. a. Watching football is a great delight.
b. Entertaining visitors makes them happy.
Examples of prepositional phrases which function as adjective ii. A gerundive phrase can function as the object of a verb.
phrases are: a. I like going to the cinema at weekends.
a. Call me the boy in glasses. b. The children appreciate playing with toys.
b. People in government should be careful. iii. A gerundive phrase can function as appositive element.
c. Youths of nowadays should listen to the elders. a. His aspiration, being the President, will soon be realised.
d. They should get the reward for their hard work. b. I detest your way, deceiving people.
e. The money with me can buy a yacht.
4.1.7 Infinitival Phrase
Examples of prepositional phrases functioning as adverbs are
This is a phrase headed by an infinitive. An infinitive is a verb
italicised in the following sentences:
preceded by ‘to’ and can function in positions where a noun can
a. Itohan is prudent, with money.
function. Examples of infinitival phrases include:
b. They met at the party.
To be content in life
c. He prostrated right before her father.
To have peace of mind
d. The teacher taught the pupils under the tree.
To sleep early
e. He woke her up in the middle of the night.

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 To wake up early a. Encouraged by their Principal, the pupils won the quiz contest.
To be the president (past participle).
b. Getting closer to the venue, we had to round off our discussion.
4.1.7.1 Functions of an Infinitival Phrase (present participle)
i. It can function as a subject of the verb. For example: c. Having accomplished the task, he felt fulfilled. (present
a. To be content in life is to have peace of mind. participle)
b. Some believe that to sleep early is to wake up early. d. Disturbed by the trend, the government is considering another
ii. It can function as a complement of the subject. Some
option. (past participle)
examples are:
a. To be content in life is to have peace of mind.
Unit 5: The Clause
b. Some believe that to sleep early is to wake up early. A clause is a combination of related words that have a subject and
iii. It can function as the object of the verb. For example: a finite verb. Clauses can be classified according to form and
a. He aspired to be the President. according to function.
b. We need to go now.
iv. It can function as an appositive element. For instance: 5.1 Clause Types according to Form or Structure
a. Your plan, to be a preacher, should be encouraged.
b. The admonition, to love your wife, is beneficial. 5.1.1 Main or Independent Clause: This is a clause that can
v. It can function as an object complement. Some examples are: stand on its own to make a complete meaning. It is equivalent to a
a. They want him to dance. simple sentence. Examples are:
b. They advised me to pass my exams. a. We are happy.
c. We told her to wait behind. b. They stopped talking.
c. Rapuluchukwu sleeps early.
vi. It can function as an adjectival complement. For example:
a. We are ready to go now. 5.1.2 Subordinate or Dependent Clause: The subordinate
b. Ada is prepared to dance there. clause cannot stand on its own to make a complete meaning. It has
vii. It can function as an adverbial. For example: to depend on the main clause. Examples are the following:
a. Chiamaka works to feed herself. Main Clause Subordinate Clause
b. Osaze always prepares to laugh. a. We are happy because we have contentment.
viii. It can function as an adjectival, qualifying a noun or b. You will do well if you obey God.
pronoun. For instance: c. Awele will get married when she is ready.
a. The person to blame is not your parent. d. I will not leave you unless you pay me.
b. What to do is right there.
The subordinate clause can come first:
4.1.8 Participial Phrase Subordinate Clause Main Clause
A participial phrase has either a present participle or a past a. Before they got there, they stopped talking.
participle form of a verb as its head. A participial phrase functions b. When we stop our selfishness, Nigeria will be better.
as an adjective. Examples are: c. Since you are here now, we can start.

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The main clause can occur in the middle of subordinate clauses: v. Complement of the Object
Subordinate Main Clause Subordinate a. You can call the President what you like.
Clause Clause b. He makes his business where he can relax.
a. Whenever she has Iboroma sleeps late in order to finish up.
work to do, 5.2.2 Adjectival or Relative Clause
b. So that I can prepare tell me if you will come. An adjectival clause is a subordinate clause which functions as an
for you, adjective in that it qualifies a noun or noun phrase. Examples are:
c. Because of my love I supported her so that she could win. a. The trumpet which belongs to the king has been stolen.
for her, b. We are looking for the man who parked this car.
c. Are you expecting the real government that will solve
5.2 Clause Types according to Function mankind’s problems?
d. The criteria with which you selected the participants are strict.
Subordinate clauses can be further categorized, according to their
functions, as follows:
In example a, the adjective clause qualifies the noun, trumpet or
the noun phrase, The trumpet; in b, the adjective clause qualifies
5.2.1 Noun Clause the noun, man or the noun phrase, the man, and so on. Note that
A noun clause is a subordinate clause which functions as a noun. in all cases, an adjective clause does not qualify any noun or noun
phrase within itself, i.e. within its own frame.
5.2.1.1 Functions of a Noun Clause
i. Subject of a Verb 5.2.3 Adverb Clause
a. What you need to do is prepare well. An adverb or adverbial clause is a subordinate clause that
b. That the President is ill is not news. functions as an adverb and can show time, place, condition,
c. Which one to choose depends on your needs. manner, purpose/reason and concession.
ii. Object of a Verb
i. Adverb Clause of Time
a. You must know where you are going to.
a. When I got to the place, he was not there.
b. We should consider what you are proposing first.
b. After we finished our discussion, we departed.
c. I know that you are with us. c. Let us meet when it is dark.
iii. Complement of a Subject d. I will marry whenever the time is right.
a. Our need is what we are praying for.
b. The time to pray is not just when you are in need. In a, the adverb clause modifies the verb, was; in b, the adverb
c. The time of need is really when you should thank God. clause modifies the verb departed; and in c, the adverb clause
iv. Complement of a Preposition modifies the verb, meet, etc.
a. I believe in what I have been taught.
b. Don’t wait to be reminded of when to move. ii. Adverb Clause of Place
c. We should be sure of the person with whom we are dealing. a. Let us meet where we arranged.
b. Many youths like to go everywhere there is money.

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 c. I will go wherever you go. 6.1.1 Sentence Classification According to Form
d. We will start from where we stopped. i. Simple sentence: A simple sentence expresses a single
thought, and has only one main verb or verb phrase.
iii. Adverb Clause of Condition Examples are:
a. I will follow you if you promise to marry me. a. The cat killed the rat.
b. Unless you do the right thing, I will not allow you to come in. b. The cat has killed the rat.
c. Except something radical happens, the current situation c. The cat in the house killed the rat in the middle of the
may not change. night.
d. The king will organise his domains into provinces and
iv. Adverb Clause of Manner different smaller parts.
a. He speaks as if he is a prophet.
b. He wore the gown as if he was a graduating student. The (one) main verb or verb phrase is italicised in each of the
above examples.
v. Adverb Clause of Reason
ii. Compound Sentence: A compound sentence is a
a. She complained because her husband was not caring enough.
combination of two main clauses. Thus, the compound
b. She will stay here since that is the only option.
sentence makes at least two coordinated statements and has
c. She has to work so as to earn a living. the corresponding number of finite verbs. This means that a
compound sentence that has 2 main clauses will have 2 finite
vi. Adverb Clause of Concession verbs; one that has 3 main clauses will contain 3 finite verbs,
a. Although he woke up early, he did not meet the bus. and so on. Examples are:
b. Although he attended all the classes, his mates did not a. The cat killed the rat and ate it.
know him. b. The cat in the house killed the rat in the middle of the
c. Even though the value of Naira is appreciating, many night and ate it early morning.
Nigerians still find things difficult. c. The king organised his domains into smaller provinces,
appointed his chiefs as overseers of the provinces, and
Note that in all cases, an adverb clause does not qualify or modify charged them with high responsibilities.
any verb or verb phrase within itself, i.e. within its own frame. d. Work and pray.
e. Eat well and sleep well.
Unit 6: The Sentence f. Open the window or switch on the fan.
A sentence is a unit of language that expresses a complete thought. g. Eat well but don’t overeat.
It is a combination of words which have a subject and a predicate.
It starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop. iii. Complex Sentence: A complex sentence has one main
clause and one or more subordinate clauses. The subordinate
6.1 Types of Sentence clause is linked to the main clause by a subordinating
A sentence can be classified according to the form or structure it conjunction, such as which, that, if, when, unless, because,
takes; the meaning it gives; or the function it performs. until, etc. Examples include:

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 a. The workers had entered before he closed the gates. d. Do Uche and Kanu read together?
b. I will see you when I return, if it is not too late. e. Did they travel in the same car?
c. When Buhari ruled in 1984, the economy of the country f. Must you ask those questions?
was balanced. g. Are you listening to me at all?
d. Whatever I say is none of your business. h. Is it white or black?
i. Is Lionel Messi not your favourite?
iv. Compound-Complex Sentence: This is a sentence that
has at least two main clauses (joined together by a Wh-Questions: They use wh-words (including how, when,
coordinating conjunction) and at least one subordinate what, who) as question operators. The questions require
clause. Examples are: statements as their answers. For example:
a. The cat killed the rat and ate it before we woke up. a. When are you coming back?
b. The man bought rice, cooked it, and ate it because he b. Why do you eat beans at night?
was hungry.
c. Who is your favourite footballer?
c. If you are ready and they are willing, we can cook the
d. Where can we watch the match?
rice now and eat it later.
e. How would you describe a 6 – 1 win in an epic, UEFA
d. When I get to class and if the lecturer agrees, I will
championship, come-back, football match?
submit your assignment and explain why you could not
f. What is your name?
attend the class.
iii. Exclamatory Sentence: This sentence type expresses
6.1.2 Sentence Types according to Function
i. Declarative Sentence: This type of sentence makes a strong emotional states, such as surprise, disappointment,
statement which may be true or false, affirmative or approval, happiness, etc. Examples are:
otherwise. A few examples are: a. What a wonderful day!
a. It has not rained for six months. b. How happy I am to see you!
b. He is not the one in charge. c. What a foul play that was!
c. I am the President of the United States of America.
d. She can’t do without him. Note that an exclamatory sentence does not have to be a
complete grammatical sentence. See Example a above which
ii. Interrogative Sentence: This is a sentence constructed to is more like a phrase than a clause.
ask a question. Interrogative sentences are of two types:
polar questions and wh-questions. iv. Imperative Sentence: An imperative sentence is used to give
a command, warning, suggestion, request etc. Examples are:
Polar or Yes/No Questions: They are questions requiring a. Keep quiet. (command)
Yes or No as the basic answer. b. Let us suspend the meeting. (suggestion)
a. Do you eat beans? c. Please sit down. (polite request)
b. Can Kamiye skip ropes? d. You may go now. (permission)
c. Have I not told you before?

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Unit 7: Summary of the Module c. But he did not want her to have to do that.
In this module the learners have been introduced to the concept d. Emily whom he loved would make it all the more
of the morpheme, its types and grammatical features as well as worse.
its application in word formation in English. The module has e. As the Duchess had said, the fact that Emily was
also introduced the concept of words, their types and
marrying a General was a very adequate excuse for
grammatical features; the concept of the phrase, its types and
so much ceremony at the wedding.
their functions; the concept of the clause, its types and their
grammatical functions; and the concept of the sentence, and f. Eating well is good for your well-being.
its various types, so that learners can apply the knowledge to g. Encouraged by his parent he soared to the top.
aid their effective communication in English. h. To know true love nowadays is difficult.
i. Reading the scriptures will satisfy your spiritual needs.
Unit 8: Assessment on the Module
1. Break each of the following words into its morphemic 4. According to form, what sentence type is each of the following?
components and label the components according to their a. A very prolific source of new words is the facility of
morpheme types (e.g. free, bound, inflectional, derivational, etc.) Modern English for shifting the forms and functions of its
standing untiring academically words.
standard repentant prophecy b. The name of practically every part of the body has been
reunion user disused converted to use as a verb and verbs may also be used as
invitation urbanization monetise nouns.
inadequate appropriacy derivational c. There is considerable agreement that nowadays English
forms most of its new words by combining morphemes
2. Give 5 examples for each of the following word types: that are already in the language.
d. Compounding and affixation account for two-thirds of our
a. simple words
new words while the other one-third is a result of putting
b. compound words
old words to new uses or shortening or blending them.
c. complex words
e. Popular loan words are transmitted orally and are part of
d. full words
everyday talk.
e. empty words
5. According to function, mention the sentence type of each of
3. Identify the grammatical names and the grammatical
the following:
functions of the italicised structure(s) in each of the
a. Does he live in a big house?
following sentences:
b. Where does she park her car?
a. The parlour maid was in the room and her c. What a beautiful garden you have!
presence caused Lady Emily not to say immediately d. My nephew is an artist and he has just painted another
what she was going to say. picture.
b. There were six men bending over that map and five e. How happy am I to see you!
of them were to find their graves at the point where f. Device a means to cope with the current economic
the General’s finger was stabbing at the map. situation in the country.

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 g. English is worth learning because people speak it in a lot MODULE FIVE
of countries.
TENSE AND ASPECT IN ENGLISH
Reading List ’Niyi Osunbade
Alo, M. and Ogunsiji, A. (eds.) (2005). English Language
Communication Skills for AcademicPurposes. Ibadan:
Introduction
University of Ibadan GSP Unit.
Essential to communication in English is the verb system of English.
Kolln, M. and Funk, R. (2009). Understanding English Grammar. Unfortunately, this system has constituted problems for learners and
New York: Longman. users of English, resulting in poor grammatical usages and
Lamidi, M.T. (ed.). (2012). English Grammar and Usage: A consequently ineffective communication in English. Scholars have
Textbook for GES 101: Use of English I. Ibadan: General observed that this problem is quite apparent in tense and aspect
Studies Programme, University of Ibadan. (Aremo 1995, Binnick 2002, Ayodabo 2008, Ebuka 2012), which are
Ogungbe, E.O. and Bossan, R.T. (2010). Communication in two grammatical features that can expose learners to the necessary
English: A Complete Guide for Undergraduates. Jos: Star Link tit-bits on the English verbal usages for achieving proficiency in
Communications. communication, whether oral or written, and fostering effective
Quirk, R. and Greenbaun, S. (1973). A University Grammar of communication. In this module, tense and aspect are therefore
English New York: Pearson Education Ltd. discussed as grammatical elements that relate closely to the notion of
time in English in slightly different ways. While tense refers to the
Swan, M. and Walter C. (1998). How English Works: A Grammar
location of an event or action in time, aspect refers to how an event or
Practice Book. Oxford: Oxford University Press
action is to be viewed with respect to time (whether as progressive or
completed). The module is ultimately devoted to the discussion of
the types and grammatical functions of tense and aspect in the
English verbal system, especially with insights from the structural
and the traditional perspectives, which established the commonly
used features of the two elements.

Unit 1: Objectives of the Module

The set objectives of this module are:
· To discuss tense and identify the different tense types in
English usually engaged for communication.
· To demonstrate that there are also different aspects of verbs
in English, distinct from tense according to the structural
perspective, usually used for communication.
· To explain that despite the differences between them, tense

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 and aspect are normally traditionally conflated and simply singular sense. The simple present tense can be used for the
presented as tense. following purposes, among others:
·To discuss tense and aspect of passives in the English verb i. To express action that is done regularly (i.e. habitual action):
system. e.g. I clean my room (always). Or She cleans her room
(everyday).
Unit 2: Tense in English ii. To express a state of being: e.g God is everywhere.
Tense is the general concept (primarily used to show (in the form ii. To report an ongoing action: e.g He throws the ball to him.
of a verb or verb phrase) the time of an action relative to the time iii. To indicate an aphoristic statement: e.g Success has many
the sentence is uttered (Aremo 1995). This implies that tense is friends.
shown in the changes that take place in the form of a verb in iv. To state a scientific fact: e.g. The moon is spherical.
relation to the time of an action (i.e. to show time), ‘time’ being a
universal, non-linguistic concept with three natural divisions:
2.1.2 Simple Past Tense
past, present and future (Quirk and Greenbaum 1973:40). In
This is marked by the use of the past form of a verb (i.e. the ‘-ed’
English, tense is used to refer to the correspondence between the
form of the verb and the concept of time (Quirk and Greenbaum form). This implies that the past tense is regularly formed by
ibid). Therefore, the present tense is marked by the ‘base form’ adding an ‘- ed’ suffix (or ending bound morpheme) to the base
(original form of a verb) and the ‘-s’ form, and it points to the form (the original form) of the verb. For example: dance + ed =
present time; the past tense is marked by the ‘-ed’ form and it danced, jump + ed = jumped, camp + ed = camped, work + ed=
points to the past time; and what is traditionally described as worked, clean +ed = cleaned etc. Some of these are in italics in
future tense, referring to the future time in English, is realised by the sentences below:
the means of the auxiliary verbs ‘will’ and ‘shall’. It is note- worthy I cleaned it yesterday.
that for future time reference ‘will’ is usually used with all personal He jumped in the morning.
pronouns while ‘shall’ is commonly used only with ‘I’ or ‘we’ (the He danced happily.
first person singular and plural pronouns respectively). Three
tense types are thus identified in English viz: the simple present,
simple past and simple future tense. However, in English, with some verbs, the past tense forms cannot
be so readily predictable from the base form. The ‘-ed’ marker is
2.1 Tense Types in English only used for the verbs in this category by convention. Examples
include: shot, crept, slept, came, went, cut, etc., some of which are
2.1.1 Simple Present Tense used in sentences below:
The simple present tense is realised by the use of the present form of He shot the man.
a verb (be it a lexical or auxiliary verb). The present tense form of a I slept early yesterday.
lexical verb is usually its base form or the ‘-s’ inflectional form. While I came to school on Sunday.
the base form is normally used when the verb is used in the plural
sense (with the exception of the personal pronouns ‘I’), the ‘-s’
Generally, the past tense is used to indicate an action/ event that
inflectional form is commonly used when the verb is used in the
took place in the past.

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2.1.3 Simple Future Tense I could play any indoor game. (Past)
This is the tense of a verb usually used to mark futurity. Futurity in MAY/MIGHT /(SHOULD)
English is normally expressed in a number of ways: You may play here (now). (Present)
i. By the use of ‘will’ or ‘shall’+ the base form of a verb, e.g. She said that he might play there then. (Past in indirect speech)
I shall clean it tomorrow. You might play here (then). (Past; permission)
He will clean it tomorrow.
ii. By the use of simple present tense, e.g. Note that ‘might’, which is regarded as the past tense equivalent of
The vice chancellor leaves for Maiduguri on Monday. ‘may’ is not commonly used for past time reference, except in
iii. By the use of present continuous tense e.g. indirect speech sentences and in expressing permission as in the
The chairman is leaving for home tomorrow. above instances. ‘Could’ is however commonly used in expressing
many shades of meaning with reference to the past time:
2.2 Tense of Modals You could play here (then).
In the English verb system, the modal auxiliary verbs usually
I could play any indoor game.
modify the verb heads to form a verb phrase. The English modals
WILL/WOULD
have two tense forms: the present form (which is the base form
The person at the door (now) will be Juliana. (Present)
used for dictionary entry) and the past form. These are:
The person at the door (then) would be Juliana. (Past)
Present Past
SHALL /SHOULD
Will would
I shall finish my meal (now). (Present)
Shall should
Can could
May might/could ‘Should’ does not normally express past tense, except in indirect
Must - speech sentence. For instance:
Ought to - He said that he should be older than me then.
MUST/ HAD TO
Note that ‘must’ and ‘ought to’ have only the present tense form You must swim in the pool (now).(Present)
without the corresponding past tense form, though they are You had to swim in the pool. (Past)
commonly used in the past tense in reported speech. ‘Had to’ usually OUGHT TO/SHOULD
serves as the past tense of ‘must’, while ‘should’ sometimes serves as He ought to be here now. (Present)
the past tense of ‘ought to’, especially in indirect speech sentences. He said that he should be there then.(Past, in indirect speech)
It is important to stress that in a verb phrase structure
containing a modal auxiliary verb, the modal auxiliary is the Unit 3: Aspect in English
carrier of tense for the phrase. Thus, the tense of the modal is the Aspect is concerned with the verb, or more generally, with the
tense of the whole verb phrase. For instance: predicate. Specifically, it is connected with the auxiliaries, BE and
CAN/ COULD HAVE (frequently used to modify verbs in order to form verb phrases
I can play any indoor game. (Present) (see Aremo1995:64). The variants of the auxiliary ‘BE’ (i.e. be, am,

89 90
is, are, was, were) indicate verbal actions considered as being in realised by using either (was/were) with a present participle
progress (progressive aspect), and the variants of ‘HAVE’ (i.e. has, form of a verb (i.e. ‘-ing’ form) e.g.
have, had) indicate verbal actions considered as having been He was teaching us English (when she misbehaved).
completed (perfective aspect). Essentially, therefore, English has We were singing a song (before he interrupted).
two aspects, namely, progressive and perfective aspect. The
progressive aspect of verb(s) shows that the action described was, iii. Future Progressive Tense: This is used to express an
is or will be continuous (i.e. in progress). It is marked by the action that will be in progress in the future. It is usually
combination of the appropriate form of the auxiliary ‘BE’ and the ‘- realised by using ’’shall/will’’ ‘’BE’’ and present participle form
ing’ form of the verb head. For example: of a verb (i.e. the ‘-ing’ form) e g.
I am working.
You will be travelling to Ghana on Monday.
He was working.
You shall be investing the matter soon.
He will be working.
iv. Present Perfect Tense: This is used for an action that is
The perfective aspect, on the other hand, shows that an action or
activity described has been completed (i.e. such an action/activity just finished. It is used when we are talking more about
is already concluded). It is marked by the combination of the present result than about the past action. Its realisation takes
appropriate form of the auxiliary ‘HAVE’ and the ‘-en’ form of the the combination of HAS/ HAVE and a past particle form of a
verb. For example: verb (i e. on form), e g.
We have done it. I have closed the door.
She has done it. He has done it.
It has eaten it.
v. Past Perfect Tense: This is used for a completed action in
Unit 4: Combination of Tense and Aspect the past (i.e. to show that an action took place before another
In English, tense and aspect can combine for different action in that past). It is often realised by the combination of
communication purposes, resulting in what is commonly described HAD and an ‘-en’ form of a verb, e. g.
as: I had cleaned it before he came in.
i. Present Progressive Tense: This is used for an action The match had started before we got to the field.
that is still going on. It is usually realised by using either of
(am, is, are) with a present participle form of a verb (i.e. ‘-ing’ vi. Future Perfect Tense: This expresses an action that will
form,) e.g.
have been in a state of completion at (or before) a time in the
I am writing on the chalkboard.
future. It is marked by the use of SHALL/ WILL with HAVE
Tom is reading his book.
and the ‘-en’ form of a verb, e g.
You are singing a beautiful song.
I shall have done the work by Friday.
ii. Past Progressive Tense: This is often used to show that
an action was going on at a time in the past. This tense is He will have written the note before Monday.

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vii. Present Perfect Progressive Tense: This is used to 4.1 Tense of Passive Verbs
express an action that began in the past and is still in progress. Like in the active verbs, three tense types are associated with the
A combination of tense, perfective and progressive aspect is passive verbs in English, namely, the simple present, simple past
therefore involved. It is realised by using HAVE/ HAS with and simple future tense.
BEEN and a present participle (-ing) form of a verb e. g.
I have been teaching you tense since morning.
4.1.1 Simple Present Tense of Passive
She has been reading English.
The simple present tense is realised by the use of ‘is’ for singular or
‘are’ for plural, the present forms of auxiliary BE, followed by the
viii. Past Perfect Progressive Tense: This is used to indicate
that an action began in the past and was still in progress passive verb (which is usually the ‘-en’ form of the base of the lexical
(when something else happened). It is marked by the use of verb in the corresponding active form). Some examples are:
HAD with BEEN and an ‘-ing’ form of a verb e.g. My room is cleaned by me (always).
I had been cleaning it (before you instructed). Her room is cleaned by her (everyday).
She had been listening (before she got distracted). The balls are thrown to me.

ix. Future Perfect Progressive Tense: This is used to show Note that in the passive verb phrase in the examples able, the auxiliary
an action that will have started at (or before) a time in the verbs ‘is’ and ‘are’ are the carrier or marker of tense; and they indicate
future and will be going on until a certain completed time in passive actions/events that take place at the present time.
the future. It is usually realised by the structure SHALL/
WILL+HAVE+BEEN+ING form of a verb, e.g. 4.1.2 Simple Past Tense of Passive
I shall have been cleaning the floor by tomorrow. The simple past tense of passive is realised by the use of ‘was’ for
He will have been calling me on phone before this time on
singular or ‘were’ for plural the past form of auxiliary BE, followed by
Thursday.
the passive verb (which is usually the ‘-en’ form of the base of the
Unit 4: Tense and Aspect of Passive Verbs lexical verb in the corresponding active form). Some examples are:
The passive verb is the verb of the passive sentence while the active It was cleaned by me yesterday.
verb is the verb of the active sentence. An active sentence is a The food was cooked by her.
sentence in which the subject is the performer of the action expressed The drums were bought by them.
by the verb or verb phrase that serves as the predicator of the
sentence. A passive sentence, on the other hand, is one in which the Note that the verbs ‘cooked’ and ‘bought’ in examples 2 and 3 above
subject is the undergoer or target of the action expressed by the are used in the participle form (-en form) and not in the past (- ed)
verbal element that serves as the predicator of the sentence. form; that is why the appropriate forms of auxiliary BE ‘ was’ and
However, it is only transitive verbs (i.e. verbs that take object(s) after ‘were’ are used before them. So, they should not be mistaken for the
them) that can be in the passive forms. Thus, many of our examples past form, which will not be pre-modified by any auxiliary verb.
on tense and aspect above are active sentences, with active verbs. We Generally, the past tense of passive is used to indicate passive
now turn to a discussion of tense and aspect of passives in English. action/event that took place in the past.

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4.1.3 Simple Future Tense of Passive Unit 5: Summary of the Module
This is the tense of a passive verb usually used to mark futurity. It In this module, we have discussed tense and identified the
can be realised by the use of ‘will’ or ‘shall’ plus ‘be’, followed by the different tense typesin English usually engaged for
passive verb (which is usually the ‘-en’ form of the base of the communication; demonstrated that there are also different
lexical verb in the corresponding active form). Some examples aspects of verbs in English, distinct from tense according to the
are: structural perspective, usually used for communication;
The drum will be bought by him. explained that despite the differences between them, tense and
The drum will be beaten by her. aspect are normally traditionally conflated and simply
His school fees shall be paid by me. presented as tense; and discussed tense and aspect of passives
in the English verb system.
4.2 Aspect of Passive
Two aspects of passive verbs also exist in English. These are: Unit 6: Assessment on the Module
progressive and perfective aspect. Demonstrate your understanding of tense and aspect in English and
their appropriate usage by attempting the following questions:
4.2.1 The Progressive Aspect of Passive 1. Identify all the tense and aspect types used in the text below:
The progressive aspect of the passive verb(s) shows that the Although many modern playwrights emphasise the art at the
passive action described was, is or will be continuous (i.e. in expense of the craft, the original nomenclature has
progress). It is marked by the combination of the appropriate form registered, and any attempt to change it will amount to a
of the auxiliary ‘BE’ or WILL/SHALL (in the case of future time fruitless academic exercise.
reference) and the progressive ‘being’ followed by the passive verb (From A Handbook for Nigerian Creative Writers, p. 97)
(which is usually the ‘-en’ form of the base of the lexical verb in the 2. Differentiate between tense and aspect in the English verb
corresponding active form). Some examples are: system, using appropriate examples.
The work is being done by me. 3. With 5 examples from each category, distinguish between
The work was being done by him. tense of main verbs and tense of modal auxiliary verbs.
The drums will be being beaten by the girl. 4. Mention the differences between tense and aspect of active
verbs and those of the passive verbs.
4.2.2 The Perfective Aspect of Passive 5. Give instances of the possible combination of tense and
The perfective aspect of passive verb(s), on the other hand, shows aspect, with 2 examples each.
that a passive action or activity described has been completed (i.e.
such an action/ activity is already concluded). It is marked by the
combination of the appropriate form of the auxiliary ‘HAVE’ and
the passive ‘-en’. For example:
The job has been done by him.
The drums have been beaten by them.

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References MODULE SIX
Aremo, Bolaji (1995). An Introduction to English Sentences 1 &
2.Ibadan: SCRIBO. CONCORD RULES IN ENGLISH
Ayodabo, Olatunde (2008). Pragmatics of Tense and Aspect in ’Yinka Adeoye
English. In Ayodabo, O. and D.
Binnick, Robert (2002). Tense and Aspects. In: Handbook of Introduction
One essential quality of language is that it is rule-governed. All
Pragmatics. London: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
languages are systems of rules; they have forms of rules that specify
Jolayemi (eds.). Effective Communication skills for Higher how they should be used. According to Algeo (2010), ‘we speak in
Education: The Use of English. Ilorin: Adegbesan Press, 181 – patterns. A language is not just a collection of words, such as we find
198. in a dictionary. It is also the rules or patterns that relate our words to
Quirk, Robert and Greenbaum, Sydney (1973). A University one another’. When the rules guiding the use of a language are not
Grammar of English. London: Longman. followed, the result is that the string of words produced will be
ungrammatical and unacceptable (Wardhaugh, 2006: 2). For
Reading List example, in English, the head of a phrase can come after the
Aremo, Bolaji (1995). An Introduction to English Sentences 1 & modifiers, such that we can have ‘cold water’, my good friend’, or ‘the
2.Ibadan: SCRIBO. high table’, where ‘water’, ‘friend’ and ‘table’ serve respectively as the
heads of the phrases. On the other hand, in Yoruba, the head comes
Ayodabo, O. and D. Jolayemi (eds.). (2008). Effective
first while the modifier comes last. Consider a translation of the
Communication skills for Higher Education: The Use of English.
above phrase, ‘omi tutu’, ‘ore mi daradara’, and ‘tabiligiganaa’, where
Ilorin: Adegbesan Press. ‘omi’, ’ore’, and ’tabili’ serve respectively as the head words. Failure to
Odebunmi A. and M. Alo (eds.). (2012). English in the Theological obey these head-last rules (in English) or head-first rules (in Yoruba)
Context. Ibadan: Baptist Press. will result in the production of ungrammatical strings, such as, for
Quirk, Robert and Greenbaum, Sydney (1973). A University English, ‘water cold’, ‘friend my good’, ‘table high the’, and for
Grammar of English. London: Longman. Yoruba, ‘tutu omi’, ‘dara-dara mi ore’ and ‘naagigatabili’.
Meanings also depend largely on choices in word
combination or patterns. Thus, the meaning of sentence (a) below
is different from that of sentence (b):
a. The man finished the job.
b. The job finished the man.

In the two sentences, the rule of syntax followed is the same,

but the different word combinations result in different meanings.
An important body of rules in English is the concord rules. In
this unit, you will learn the concord rules and how to apply them
appropriately in English usage. You will also learn other
miscellaneous rules that guide the proper use of English.

97 98
miscellaneous rules that guide the proper use of English. h. Rachael and Rebecca tease each other a lot.
i. Kamiye and Itanna love each other.
Unit 1: Objectives of the Unit
At the end of this unit, the student is expected to be able to: Also, note the following rules which relate to subject-verb concord.
· Know the concord and other related rules in English. §When a clause functions as a subject, it counts as a singular
· Apply these rules to practical use. subject. In the following examples, the clauses that function
· Resolve controversial issues in the application of the rules. as subjects are italicised.
a. When you will marry is a decision you will have to take
Unit 2: The Concept of Concord carefully.
Concord refers to agreement between elements of a sentence. b. How they made it to the place surprises me.
Elements in a sentence need to agree in number, person and tense. c. Where I will spend my holiday has not been determined.
The sentence elements include nouns and pronouns functioning
as subject, object, and complement, and verbs which express §Prepositional phrases functioning as subjects are also treated
actions and states. How these elements interact in the sentence is as singular. Examples of such prepositional phrases are
governed by arbitrary and conventional rules. Based on such rules, italicised below.
we can categorise concord into types, such as subject-verb a. After work is the time to play.
concord, notional concord and proximity rule, concord related to b. Before food is a time to pray.
collective nouns, coordinated subjects, and expressions of c. Next to him was the owner of the house.
amount; concord of person, and so on.
§The nominal relative clauses may be treated as singular or
2.1 Types and Rules of Concord plural since they are equivalent to noun phrases. Examples of
such clauses are italicised below:
1. Subject-Verb Concord a. What we wish to accomplish has been our driving force.
This is concord of number (i.e. singular or plural) between subject b. What we want to do have been scheduled.
and verb. The subject should agree with the verb in number. The c. How we will send the package is yet to be determined.
basic rule is that a singular subject selects a singular verb, and a
plural subject selects a plural verb. The following examples Note that in Example (a) What we wish to accomplish is
illustrate the point. The verbs in the sentences are italicised. equivalent to The thing we wish … (singular),while in (b)
a. Kentibe enjoys dancing. What we want to do is equivalent to The things we want to do …
b. She dances every day. (plural). In (c) How we will send the package corresponds to
c. Kingibe has invited her to a dance party. The way we will send the package … (singular).
d. They have the same attitude.
e. Children are gifts from our merciful Father. §Singular nouns ending with the plural marker ‘-s’ take
singular verbs. Examples of such nouns are italicised in the
f. We do our chores every morning.
following sentences.
g. I attend classes every day.
a. Measles has been eradicated in Luxemburg.
b. Mathematics does not require lengthy notes.

99 100
 c. Physics was my best subject. a. No one except his brothers believe him.
d. News has it that the president is alive. b. The man or his boys sell toys.
c. The boys or his sister obeys the law.
§Plural words that have no ‘-s’ inflection are treated as plural. d. The principal or the teachers work late.
Examples of such plural words are italicised in the sentences
below. 3. Coordinated Subject
a. Some people are belligerent. A coordinated subject which consists of two or more noun phrases
b. The clergy have agreed to postpone the convention. coordinated by and can be treated as an implied reduction of two
or more clauses. The subject is treated as plural.
c. Some cattle from the state are not healthy.
a. Kamsi and Kamdi attend the cinema every Saturday. (i.e.
Kamsi attends the cinema and Kamdi does.)
§Plural words and phrases count as singular if they are used as
b. Daniel, Elijah and Isaac visit me every day.
names, titles, quotation, etc. Examples are:
c. The chairman, the secretary and the treasurer come to
a. Pride and Prejudice is a popular novel.
work early.
b. Procter and Gamble has a plant in Ibadan.
d. The coach, his assistant, and the captain considered the
c. The Bachelors was a popular TV series.
next move.
d. Desperate House Wives has won awards.
e. The Lion and the Jewel still sells like hot cake. §Appositional coordination is treated as singular.
a. The monument and memorial to the Nazi regime is in the
However, the titles of some works which are collections of holocaust village.
stories, poems, etc. can be singular or plural as in the following: b. Our pro-chancellor and chairman of council has paid for
a. Songs of Lawino is a classic collection of poems. the construction.
b. Songs of Lawino are good poems. c. My brother and friend does not eat rice.

2. Notional Concord and Proximity Rule §Coordination involving abstract nouns may be singular or
Notional concord is the agreement of a verb with its subject plural since it is not always clear whether they are to be taken
based on the idea of number intended and not to the nature of as one quality or two.
the grammatical marker for that idea a. Peace and love was/were taught by Christ.
a. The government are working on it. b. Your patience and hope has/have worked for you.
b. The government has approved the proposal.
c. The public are not surprised. §Concord rules on sentences involving (either … or) are
applied as follows.
d. The public is a big factor in government plans.
a. Either the vice chancellor or his deputy is to address us.
e. The audience was enormous.
b. Either the teachers or the pupils have misunderstood the
f. My team is playing tonight. instructions.
c. Either her nose or her eyes are impaired.
§The principle of proximity means that the verb will agree with §The negative correlatives ‘neither … nor’ function as follows:
whatever noun or pronoun is closer or closet. a. Neither he nor his wife knows the way to the party.

101 102
 b. Neither the President nor his vice was at the meeting. c. The number of employees does not increase
c. Neither Amos nor Joshua has finished his money. proportionately to the amount of work to be done.

§When ‘more than …’ is used, the expression obeys the rule of 5. Concord of Person
concord according to the structure of the sentence. Examples: Apart from concord of number between subject and verb
a. More than one candidate fails exams each year. there is also concord of person between subject and verb.
b. More than one room has been booked. Examples:
c. More than four cars have been impounded in the last two
days. §First Person Singular Concord
d. More than a million letters have been written to the a. I have accepted the offer.
Russian Government on the issue. b. I am ready to go there.
c. I do not eat rice.
4. Indefinite Expressions of Amount
§Third Person Singular Concord
With indefinite and negative expressions of amount, the
a. It has eaten the food.
choice of either using a singular verb or a plural one depends
b. He is ready to go there.
on whether grammatical concord rule is to be involved or the
c. She does not eat rice.
notional concord rule is to be applied. The two options are
d. She was not ready yesterday.
acceptable.
a. She has ordered the cars but none (of them) has/have §Other Examples:
arrived. a. Neither you nor I know the man.
The choice of the singular has is grammatical while the b. Neither you, I nor anyone else knows the man.
choice of the plural have is notional, i.e. accordingly to the c. Neither you nor she is going there.
spoken idiom, which may mean They have not arrived. d. Either Ade or I am to deliver the talk.
b. We invited Adaobi and Nkem to the occasion but neither
(of them) has/have replied; in fact I don’t know if any (of §Consider also:
them) is/are coming. a. It is I who am to blame. (Strictly formal)
b. It is me who is to blame. (Informal more accepted)
§Also consider the following examples:
c. A large number of guests have arrived. 6. Other Types of Concord
d. A number of letters have been posted. Subject-complement Concord:
e. A number of students do not read in the night. Subject-complement of numbers exists in SVC clause
f. A number of media messages are incorrect. structure between S and C (note S=
subject, V= Verb and C= Complement) examples:
n But note the following examples: a. The painting is a treasure.
a. The number of rape cases has increased. b. The paintings are treasures.
c. Baskets are not good containers for water.
b. The number of ghost workers was estimated at below
d. They became disciples.
10,000 last week.

103 104
§Consider the following exceptions: Examples:
e. What we need is love. a. Everyone has his/her load to carry.
f. All we need is the truth. b. Has anyone received his/her credit alert from the bank
g. Good manners are a rarity these days. account?
c. Somebody needs to inform him/her bank of the delay
In examples e and f, the subjects are taken in a collective sense. d. No one knows whether or not there is a problem with
his/her account
7. Subject-Object Concord
The subject and object in a sentence should agree in number, n However, informal usage tends to opt for simplicity at the
person and gender. Examples: expense of complete grammaticality, such that we can have
a. She hit herself in the leg. the following.
b. They encouraged themselves to move on. a. Everyone has their load to carry.
c. He gave himself a treat. b. Has everyone received their credit alert from the bank yet?
d. I reminded myself of the promise I made.
e. She is baking a cake for herself. The plural pronoun is a convenient means of avoiding the
f. You should not block your own chance of becoming cumbersome or complex he/she personal pronouns in the
successful. informal setting. The strictly formal setting will be
g. The choir congratulated themselves for a good performance. a. Everyone has his load to carry etc.
h. The army prepared themselves for the task ahead. b. Has everyone received his credit alert from the bank yet?

8. Pronoun Concord 9. Other Rules of Concord in English Usage

The rule of pronoun concord states that pronouns in the third 1. Plural subjects which can be taken as a single whole takes a
person agree with their antecedents both in number and in singular verb. Examples:
gender. Examples: a. Bread and butter makes me heavy.
a. All the students carried their bags. b. Rice and beans taste nice.
b. Kunle carried his. c. Bread and tea is like a snack.
c. Kemi carried hers.
d. Kunle and Kemi carried theirs. 2. When two singular subjects are joined by words or phrases
e. The boys carried theirs. such as as well as, with, together with, in addition to, along
f. He has just submitted his. with, etc., the verb agrees with the first word or phrase.
g. She opened hers. Examples:
a. The man as well as his friends knows the business well.
§Indefinite pronouns count as singular and should take a b. The students together with their teacher are ready for the
singular verb. trip.
c. The Choir master in addition to many numbers of the
Choir does not sing in the night.

105 106
3. Some indefinite pronouns can be both singular and plural e.g 8. There must be consistency in the use of one as an indefinite
a. Allis well. pronoun in a sentence. Examples:
b. All have finished the exam. a. One must learn to mind one’s own business. Not: One
. All that glitters is not gold. must learn how to mind his (or her, or his/her) own
business.
4. The quantitative “any” can serve as a pre-modifier for both b. One does not have to stress oneself out because of a
singular and plural nouns. Examples: football match. Not: One does not have to stress himself
a. Any cold drinks will quench my thirst. (or herself, or him/herself) out because of a football
b. Any refreshment will do for now. match.
c. I will not invite just any friends to my house.
d. Read any books on cooking. 9. In wh-interrogative questions, which, who, etc. can be used as
e. Please give me any pen there. singular or plurals as shown in the following examples:
a. What are your plans?
5. The subject, One of … refers to only one out of many; b. What is on your mind?
therefore, it should take a singular verb: c. How do you know which is better?
a. One of my friends is here already. d. How are your people?
b. One of the new students is a Briton. e. Who is there?
c. I know that one of the ministers does not eat at public f. Who are they?
functions.
10. In a sentence that contains the phrase “One of …”, the main
6. Mathematical computations can take either singular or plural clause takes a singular verb while the embedded (or
verbs e.g. subordinate clause) takes a plural verb. Examples:
a. Five plus ten is equal to fifteen. a. One of Nigeria’s footballers who play abroad has won a
b. Five and ten are eleven. medal.
c. Five multiplied by 10 is fifty. b. One of those poems which touch the heart has been
d. Ten divided by five is two. adjudged the best.
e. Ten minus two is eight.
Unit 3: Summary of the Module
7. A cleft sentence takes a singular verb regardless of the In this module, you have learnt the rules of concord and other
number of nouns that follows it. Examples: related rules that can improve your use of English to the level of
a. It was the people that choose him. effectiveness. The few illustrative texts provided should
b. It is our cars that we will travel by. stimulate you to be able to formulate your own examples and
c. It has been five hours since we finished the examination. assess the correctness or otherwise of different sentences based
d. It is only God and my wife that help in times of need. on the specified and relevant concord rules.
e. It is God that answers prayers.
f. it was the goat that ate the money.

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Unit 4: Assessment on the Module 16. Two hours thirty minutes …..enough to write the test. (a) are
Instruction: Choose an appropriate answer from the (b) were (c) is (d) have been
options given.
17. The news………… the president is alive. (a) has it that (b)
1. Prepare what ………. will discuss at the meeting.
say (c) do say (d) have it that
(a) you and them (b) you and they (c) them and you (d)
them and I 18. One of the politicians who……………. at the Senate was
2. Many a man ………. found true love. (a) has (b) having (c) once a university lecturer.
have (d) haven’t (a) are (b) was (c) were (d) is
3. Neither the students nor their lecturer ………. football
match. (a) has watch (b) have watched (c) watch (d) watches 19. Aircrafts ……. strict monitoring. (a) requires (b) require (c)
4. Every day brings ………. own problem. (a) their (b) its (c) it’s do requires (d) does require
(d) theirs 20. Your routine ………. washing. (a) comprises (b) comprises of
5. He, together with his workers ………. been arrested. (a) has (c) consists (d) consist of
(b) have (c) is (d) was
21. How to effectively read many books ……… not difficult. (a)
6. If I ……..to the cinema, I would return early. (a) went (b) had
are (b) has (c) is (d) have
gone (c) am going (d) go
7. My teacher and brother ……… advised me to be serious. (a)
have (b) has (c) is (d) were
8. Five hours ………. spent already. (a) was been (b) is been (c)
has been (d) have been
9. Ten kilometers ………. covered. (a) has been (b) have been
(c) has being (d) have being
10. ‘I, your God, ……… the one teaching you. (a) is (b) am (c)
has been (d) have being
11. More than one new school ………built annually. (a) have
been (b) has being (c) are (d) is
12. The Bible ……….we should be honest. (a) said (b) says (c)
had said (d) was saying
13. Evidence before us …….. the case. (a) proves (b) prove (c)
are proving (d) are proven
14. Neither the teacher nor his students will lose…..popularity.
(a) his (b) their (c) the (d) our
15. The workers as well as their leader….. late often. (a) works
(b) work (c) is working (d) does work late

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References MODULE SEVEN
Algeo, J. (2010) The Origins and Development of the English
Language (6 edition) Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning
th
REPORTED SPEECH IN ENGLISH
Wardhaugh, R (2006) An Introduction to Sociolinguistics Malden: (DIRECT AND INDIRECT)
Blackwell Publishing Joel Olatunde Ayodabo

Reading List Introduction

This module examines, briefly, language interactional functions
Alo, M. and Ogunsiji, A. (eds) (2005) English Language
within the popular framework of reporting the Direct and Indirect
Communication Skills for Academic Purposes. Ibadan:
speeches in English. In examining the actual functions of language
University of Ibadan GSP Unit.
within the interactional domain, we observe that we ‘do things
Kolln, M. and Funk, R (2009) Understanding English Grammar with words’ (Austin 1962).
.New York: Longman. Closely related to the speech acts are the functions that we
Lamidi, M.T. (ed.) (2012) English Grammar and Usage: A Textbook perform, with language, in our daily use of English, through
for GES 101 Use of English I. Ibadan: General Studies reporting what we say or what others say. In other words, we
Programme, University of Ibadan. express our intentions, report others, inform, state, tell and say in
two basic ways. We either say what we have to say directly or we
Ogungbe, E.O. and Bossan, R.T (2010) Communication in English:
report what others have said indirectly. This brings us to a
A Complete Guide for Undergraduates. Jos: Star Link
discussion of Direct and Indirect speech in English.
Communications.
Quirk, R. and Greenbaum, S (1973) A University Grammar of Unit 1: Objectives of the Module
English New York: Pearson Education Ltd.
At the end of this discussion, students should be able to:
Swan, M. and Walter C: (1998) How English Works: A Grammar · Discuss and explain the features of reporting direct speeches
Practice Book. Oxford: Oxford University Press. in English.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wyze6AeN_aQ · Discuss and explain the features of reporting indirect speech
in English
Ø Change direct speeches into indirect speeches
Ø Discuss backshift in reporting indirect speech
Ø Examine other changes in reporting indirect speech.
· Discuss how to report free direct speeches and free indirect
speeches.

Unit 2: Reporting Direct Speech in English

If we want to report or write what someone has said, the simplest
way is to repeat the exact words that have been used, and put them

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between quotation marks (‘ …’). This is called reportingdirect Put differently, in direct speech, the reporting clause may occur
speech. Examples are: before, within, or after the direct speech. When the reporting
clause is positioned medially or finally, subject-verb inversion may
‘Benjamin quite enjoyed the meal’, he said. occur, if the verb is in the simple present or simple past.
She rushed into the room and shouted, ‘It’s time to go to school!’
The medial placing of the reporting clause is very frequent:
In reporting direct speech, we give the exact words that someone
utters or has uttered, in speech or writing. In other words, it refers ‘As a result’, said John, ‘I am very angry’
to speech reported using the actual words spoken or written, as in: ‘I wonder’, said John/John said/he said, ‘whether I can
borrow your pen’.
‘I don’t want to go there’, said James. ‘The radio is too loud’, Elza complained/complained Elza/ she
He said, ‘I am very angry’. complained.

In direct speech, the exact words of the speaker are ‘incorporated’ Inversion is most common when the verb is said; the subject is not
(in writing by quotation marks) within the reporting sentence, a pronoun; and the reporting clause is medial. It is unusual and
and such retain the status of an independent clause. Despite that, archaic or dialectal, however, when the subject of the reporting
the ‘incorporated’ speech has, in part, the function of an element clause is a pronoun, even when the verb is said (e.g. said he).
within the clause structure of the reporting sentence, e.g: If you mention the speaker at the end of the sentence, and do
not say he or she, you usually reverse the order of the subject and
He said, ‘The game has ended’. the verb. For example:

Structurally, the reporting clause, in direct speech, may be classed as ‘I am your brother’, said James/James said/he said.
a comment clause. It may occur before, within, or after the actual ‘It’s much too cold to swim’, said Coach Omobude.
speech itself. Except when it occurs in initial position, there is likely ‘Go back to your classroom’, said her aunt.
to be an inversion of the subject and a reporting verb in the simple
present or past tense. Let us also examine the example below: In other words, inversion is unusual and archaic, however, when
the subject of the reporting clause is a pronoun.
Hon. Femi said to me after the meeting, ‘In my opinion, the
arguments Examine the passage, below, and take note of the use of reporting
in favour of radical changes in the constitution are not direct speech in the build-up of dialogue:
convincing’.
‘No trouble about that, my dear cousin,’ said Niam breezily;
The report may be a representation of mental activity, which by its ‘you’ll go by bus, of course.’
nature is unspoken, e.g: ‘Getting a bit airy-fairy, aren’t you?’ I asked. My voice was
already taking on that virile self-assurance that can be
‘Should I tell them now’, I thought to myself, ‘or should I wait produced only by the knowledge that one is absolutely
until they’re in a better mood?’ indispensable. ‘You’ll go by bus. So I go by bus. What happens

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 then? Can you see me walking ten or twelve miles lugging The inclusion of that is more common in written English and in
this case? I suppose you’d like me to carry it on my head. Why formal spoken English.
not on the little finger of my left hand while you’re about it?’
Bikokolo laughed quietly. ‘The boy has a point there,’ he said. Indirect speech also conveys a report of what has been said or
‘Let’s see, now. Fifteen miles by road and then about twelve written, but does so in the words of a subsequent reporter. Indirect
more along a forest track, that’s right, isn’t it?’ speech conveys a report of what has been said or written, but does
so in the words of another speaker/writer, e.g.:
‘That’s right,’ several voices replied in an off-hand way, as if to
say the place was just round the corner. David said to me after the meeting that in his opinion the
‘Can the bus or any kind of car travel on this track?’ Bikokolo arguments in favour of radical changes in the curriculum
asked, with the air of a man who knows in advance exactly were not convincing.
what answer he will get.
‘Not a hope,’ said some wag or other, ‘not a hope of getting a 3.1 Changing Direct Speech to Indirect Speech
car down this track’. When changing from direct to indirect speech, you need to change
the grammar in certain ways. Verb tense forms usually need to
‘That’s what I thought,’ said the old man. ‘If these up-country
change. In most cases, you change the present tense into the past
bushmen round Kala saw cars every day, I can’t see any
tense.
reason why they shouldn’t be as smart as we are. Come on,
give the boy some transport. He deserves it.’
Example:
Encouraged by this support, I announced that what I needed
was a bicycle, and that nothing else would do. Direct Speech Indirect Speech
In fact I was dreaming of a richly caparisoned horse. She said, ‘I am staying at the She said that she was staying at the
‘First-rate notion!’ Niam exclaimed. ‘Your Aunt Amou’s Premier Hotel’. Premier Hotel.
bicycle, just the thing!’
If the direct speech is already in the past tense, you need to put the
Excerpt from Mission to Kala by Mongo Beti, pg. 17. verb even further back in time, using had. This applies to both past
tense and present perfect forms of the verb.
Unit 3: Reporting Indirect Speech in English
You can only report what someone has said without using question Example:
marks. This is called reporting indirect speech. In reporting Direct Speech Indirect Speech
what others have said, in such a way, the usual way of doing this is Jane said, ‘I‘ve eaten my food’. Jane said that she had eaten her
to use a clause which begins with plus or minus (+/- ) that. For food.
example: Olu said, ‘I‘ve definitely seen Olu said that he had definitely
He said he was sick. seen James recently’. James recently.
or
He said that he was sick. We should however note that we do not need to use this rule, if the
verb in the direct speech already contains had.

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Example:
Direct speech – The teacher said ‘I had given up hope of There is also the need to change certain personal pronouns. I and
meeting the brilliant students again. you have to be changed to he and she, unless the original people are
Indirect speech – The teacher said that she had given up hope of still taking part in the conversation. Similarly, my and your need to
meeting the brilliant students again. be changed to his and hers.
Example:
Thus, we can see that there is a relationship between the verb in Direct speech Indirect speech
the reporting clause and the verb in the reported clause. The Mary said to John, ‘I saw Mary said that she had seen your
correct relationship is called the ‘sequence of tenses’. For instance, your cat’. cat.
if you report something that someone said, which is still true now, (if the person who says this is talking
you do not need to change the tense of the verb: to John)
Example: or
Direct speech Indirect speech Mary said that she had seen his cat.
‘I want to get married’. She said that she wants to get (if the person who says this is not
married. talking to John).
‘Blue is my favourite colour’. She said that blue is her favourite
colour. You also need to change times and places that depend on the
speaker’s point of view.
However, if the direct speech contains the modals will, shall or
may, these need to change. Example:
Direct speech Indirect speech
Example: Tunde said, ‘I saw the car Tunde said that he’d seen the car
Direct speech Indirect speech here yesterday’. there the previous day.
Mary said, ‘I will see you soon’. Mary said that she would see us
soon. In that situation, here becomes there, because you are in a
different place, and yesterday becomes the previous day or
On the other hand, when the modals would, could, should, might the day before because you are now speaking at a later time.
and must are used, they do not change: In similar circumstance, now becomes then,last week
becomes the week before,two months ago becomes two
Example:
months before, tomorrow becomes the next day, etc. Of
Direct speech Indirect speech course, if the time phrase does not depend on the speaker’s point of
Bola said, ‘I could buy it on Bola said she could buy it on view, it can be used without change.
Monday’. Monday.
Example:
He said, ‘We should reason He said we should reason with the Direct speech Indirect speech
with the teacher’. teacher. He said, ‘I bought the car in He said he had bought the car in
November, 2006’. November, 2006.

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What we have discussed, so far, can further be summarised as I wish to add that backshift is optional when the time-reference of
backshift in indirect speech. the original utterance is valid, at the time of the reporting.

3.2 Backshift in Indirect Speech Examples:

Several changes are usually made in converting direct speech to The nurse told me that drug is being served.
indirect speech. For instance, if the time of reporting is expressed Bola said that they are being discriminated against.
as later than the time of the utterance or conversation, there is He didn’t know that their meeting is next Friday.
generally a change of verb forms. The change is termed Sunday told me last night that he now works with The Herald.
backshift (Greenbaum and Quirk, 1996: 288-289), and the The association thought the prison situations have improved.
resulting relationship of verb forms in the reporting and reported
clauses is known as the sequence of tenses. There are shifts in I should also add that the reporting verb may be in the present tense
tense sequence in the following: for communications in recent past time.

Direct speech Backshifted in Indirect speech Examples:

Present Past Kenny tells me that he was travelling to Abuja soon.
Past Past or Past Perfect He says she was too busy to see us last night.
Present Perfect Past Perfect
Past Perfect The present tense is also used for reports attributed to famous
works or authors which have present validity.
Thus, if the present references in the direct speech become past
references in the direct speech, there is a corresponding shift of Examples:
verb forms into the past, or if necessary into the past perfect. The Shakespeare somewhere writes that cowards die many times
verbs in the indirect speech are thereby related to the time of the before their death.
reporting an event. Examples of each part of the rule are: The Bible says that murder is evil.

Direct speech Indirect speech Also, verbs of cognition, such as know, do, think, etc, may be used
‘I am being paid by the The man said he was being paid by in the reporting clause in the present tense.
hour’, the man said. the hour.
‘The examinations ended Grace explained that the Examples:
last Friday’, I know they don’t care.
explained Grace. examinations ended Kika thinks Paul went to Chicken Palace last night.
the previous Friday.
‘I had studied German for Tolu said that she had studied German 3.3 Other changes in Indirect speech
two years at for two years at school before she The reference to persons in indirect speech must be appropriate to
abandoned it. the situation at the time of reporting. There may therefore be
school before I Tolu said. changes in pronouns or nouns, as illustrated below:
abandoned it’,

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Direct speech Indirect speech Indirect S- Someone asked why she didn’t resign.
‘I’ll behave myself’, he promised He promised that he’d behave Direct S - She asked, ‘When will you go back to Japan?’
himself Indirect S –She asked when he would go back to Japan.
‘You know my family’, she said She told him that he knew her
family. Other examples of indirect questions:
Direct question Indirect question
Other changes may be necessary to adjust the references to time ‘Are you ready yet?’ Wale asked (me) whether I was
or place. For example, yesterday to last Monday, now to then, here asked Wale. ready yet.
to there or at College. (Yes – No question)
‘When will the plane I asked when the plane would
3.3.1 Indirect questions, exclamations, directives arrive?’ I asked. arrive.
Direct questions, exclamations and directives can be converted or (wh. Question).
changed into indirect speech forms.
i. When you are to change a question from direct speech into ii. An example of indirect exclamation is:
indirect speech, you follow the same kinds of rules as for
statements. The only differences are that you need to use a Direct exclamation Indirect exclamation
different word to introduce the reported speech, and the word ‘What a nice man you are!,’ Emman told him what a
order of the question is similar to that of a statement. You end Emman told him. brave boy he was.
the sentence with a full stop, and not a question mark. You
also use if or whether to introduce a ‘yes no question’. iii. Examples of directives:

Example: Direct directives Indirect directives

Direct S- I asked, ‘Does he eat meat?’ ‘Arrange the books on the I instructed that Adams
Indirect S- I asked whether he ate meat. OR table properly,’ should arrange
Indirect S- I asked if he ate meat. I instructed Adams. the books on the table properly.

However, you introduce questions where there is a choice in

the same way, more usually, by using whether than by using Note that there is no tense backshift in the verb forms exemplified
if. in the directives above.
Example:
Direct S- I asked, ‘Is it Tola’s book or Lawal’s?’ 3.3.2 Modal Auxiliaries and Indirect speech
Indirect S - I asked whether it was Tola’s book or Lawal’s. If there is a change in time-reference, modal auxiliaries are
backshifted from present tense forms to past tense forms, even if
You introduce questions that begin with who, why, what, howetc these do not normally indicate past time in direct
by using the word that begins the question in direct speech. speech.
Example:
Direct S- Someone asked, ‘Why doesn’t she resign?’

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Example: Unit 4: Reporting Free Direct Speech and Free Indirect
Direct speech Indirect speech Speech
‘You may be able to answer He told her sister that she might
this question,’ be able to Free direct speech is used in fiction writing to represent a
he told her sister. answer that question. person’s stream of thought. It is basically a form of direct speech,
‘I won’t play another game,’ I said that I wouldn’t play but it is weighed with the narration without any overt indication
I said. another game. by a reporting clause of a switch to speech. It is distinguished from
the past time-reference of the narration by its use of unshifted
However, if the modal auxiliary in the direct speech is already in the forms. In the example below, the free direct speech is italicized.
past tense, then the same form remains in the indirect speech.
We sat on the door way staring at the crowd. Everybody looked
Example: worried. Why didn’t we move closer?
Direct speech Indirect speech
‘You shouldn’t smoke in the He advised that they shouldn’t Free indirect speech is useful extensively to report speech or
office,’ he advised. smoke in the office. the stream of thought (as we have in fictional works). It is mainly
a form of indirect speech, but
Several modal auxiliaries or marginal modals that have only one
form (e.g. must, ought to, need and had better) do not change their (a) the reporting clause is omitted (except when retained as a
forms in indirect speech parenthetical clause, as in direct speech), and
(b) the potentialities of direct speech sentence structure are
Examples: retained.
Direct speech Indirect speech
‘You must be hungry,’ she said. She said that they must be hungry. It is therefore only the backshift of the verb, together with
‘You had better not say He warned me that I had equivalent shifts in personal pronouns, demonstratives, and time
anything about better not say anything and place references that signal the fact that the words are being
this,’ he warned me. about that. reported, rather than being in direct speech. The italicised verbs
below are backshifted to the past tense:
In its obligatory sense, however, the past of must may be replaced
by had to in indirect speech. So you can see that was their idea, was it? He well knew their
tricks, and would show them a thing or two before he was
Example: finished.
Direct speech Indirect speech
‘You must be in by seven His parents ordered him that Thank goodness he had been alerted, and that there were still
tonight,’ he had to a few honest people in the world!
his parents ordered. /must be in by seven that night.

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Unit 5: Summary of the Module Excerpt from The Interpreters by Wole Soyinka, pg. 121.
1. (a) List three features of direct speech.
In this module, we have discussed, with illustrations, the (b) Give three speeches that are directly reported.
various issues in reporting direct and indirect speeches, in such a 2. (a) What is the main characteristic of indirect speech?
way that the users can identify and explain reporting direct (b) How is it different from direct speech? Illustrate with 2
speech in conversation, and their features by reporting what sentences.
someone says directly, using punctuation marks appropriately, 3. Bring out examples of what is meant by the following:
and by the use of inversion. In addition, users can identify and (a) Tense sequence in direct and indirect speeches.
discuss reporting indirect speech in conversation, and its (b) Reporting clause versus reported clause.
features (change direct speech to indirect speech, identify (c) Explain the term ‘backshift’ in indirect speech.
backshift in indirect speech, identify other changes in indirect 4. With 2 examples for each, illustrate free direct and indirect
speech, indirect questions, exclamations and directives), and speeches.
explain free direct and indirect speech.
References
Unit 6: Assessment on the Module Beti, Mongo. (1983). Mission to Kala. London: Heinemann.
Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow:
‘I am speaking generally now.’ Greenbaum Sidney and Quirk Randolph. (1996). A Student’s
‘Sure, sure.’ And he laughed, rising to answer the now Grammar of the English Language. England: Longman.
persistent knocking on his door. Soyinka, Wole (1965). The Interpreters.London: Heinemann
He was back some moments later, waving foolscap sheets Educational Books Ltd.
before him. ‘You see, a present from my students. Yesterday
was the deadline but this is the first essay to arrive. Everybody Reading List
wants to arrange the universe to suit his whims but where Alimi, S. Adebayo and Adetunji, A. Akin. (2007) Speech Patterns
does that get me, the other man? (Direct and Indirect Speech) and Ambiguity. In
‘No good looking at me,’ Kola said. I didn’t carry us on a OlatundeAyodabo (Ed.), Towards Effective English Usage.
Mungo park excursion down cannibal creek.’ Oyo: Odumatt Press & Publishers.
Egbo said, ‘I merely say that the dead should be better tucked
Greenbaum, Sidney and Quirk, Randolph. (2004). A University
away. They should not be interfered with because then they
emerge to thrust terrifying dilemmas on the living. They have Grammar of English. India: Pearson Education Pte Ltd.
no business to make impositions on us.’ Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. England: Pearson
‘But there was never any question of an imposition.; Education Limited.
‘And I repeat there was. To be manoeuvred towards a choice –
never mind by what forces or circumstances, never mind how
tenuous the forces…’
Kola interrupted him. ‘You deliberately throw your resentment
to the winds. Throw it on your own head where it belongs.’

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 MODULE EIGHT In order to access the meaning of different written materials
in textbooks, newspapers, manuals of instruction,
COMPREHENSION AND SUMMARY correspondences, reports and examination questions for example,
’Lekan Oladipupo every word, as it occurs in every sentence, and relates to other
words in the text to create meaning, must be understood. This
Introduction implies that accurate meaning can be extracted based on the
This module presents a practical approach to the acquisition of understanding of the roles every component (i.e. words, phrases,
comprehension and summary skills. These two elements are clauses, sentences etc) of a text plays.
necessary for good communication practice in everyday social If comprehension deals with the derivation of meaning from
relations and formal correspondences. This module teaches students a text, its purpose in the domain of learning should be explained.
the relevant techniques for answering comprehension questions, Hence the next discussion will be on the purpose of
and also equips them with the needed skills to summarise passages comprehension exercises.
and other academic materials with remarkable ease.
The module is presented in two parts: comprehension is 2. 2: Purpose of Comprehension Tests
treated in Part I, followed by summary in Part II. Doing well in academic activities which basically involves
laborious mental exertion requires the ability to understand,
Unit 1: Objectives of the Module interpret, assimilate and communicate without ambiguity.
At the end of this module, students will be able to perform the Students and people generally read to achieve different purposes
following academic tasks: but the comprehension exercise is given to assess the ability of
· Explain the meaning of comprehension and the purpose of students to derive meaning, as it relates to the linguistic content of
comprehension tests, a text.
· Discuss the requisite comprehension skills. Comprehension also serves the purpose of training students
· Enumerate hindrances to good comprehension. to derive conclusions from words, phrases and sentences where
· Discuss the meaning of summary writing. concepts are not clearly stated. For example, someone may decide
· Identify the types and rules of effective summary writing, to write on ideas like social class, governance, civilisation,
and itemise the relevant skills for summary writing. diplomacy or development without using any of the expressions or
words that are enumerated. However, good understanding of the
Part 1: COMPREHENSION text or passage will provide insight into the focus and purpose of
such a passage. Knowledge of the correct meaning of words is
Unit 2: Meaning and Purpose of Comprehension enhanced and this helps in the construction of good sentences and
sensible use of vocabulary. Finally, students are exposed to the
2.1 Meaning of Comprehension gamut of the structure of English grammar as comprehension
The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines comprehension as exercises help them to learn how to identify and use grammatical
“the ability to understand a language” and “an exercise that trains structures, types of clauses and phrases that assist learners to
students to understand a language”. Comprehension is also defined develop sound aptitude in the use of the English language.
as “laying hold on the meaning beneath the written or printed word”
(Osoba, 2008).

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UNIT 3: Requisite Skills for Comprehension indicate some changes in the use of sentences to ensure that
This unit explains requisite skills students should possess in order correct meaning is derived. Examples of sentence markers are: in
to answer comprehension passages with confidence and ease. addition, on the contrary, meantime, correspondingly, however,
regardless, on the other hand, in conclusion, etc. These markers give
3.1 Clear Understanding of Words in the Text direction to the readers on various levels and dimensions that the
The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English defines the word text may assume, while reading.
as “the smallest unit of language that people can understand if it is
said or written on its own”. Therefore, to get the accurate meaning 3.3 Good Understanding of the Structure of the Text
of any text, the words that make it up must be understood. When A good text will have a definite structure, an arrangement that
words are logically put together to form sentences, these words expresses method, orderliness and direction. Beyond the knowledge
are carefully selected and organised to relate with one another so of vocabulary, grammar and structure of sentences in the English
language, a good understanding of the arrangement of the entire
that an intelligible piece of writing is constructed. A word may
text will help you as a student to unlock meanings inherent in the
serve a literal, metaphorical or aesthetic purpose in a sentence
passage. A standard structure for texts should follow the pattern of
depending on the intention of the writer. The literal use of a word
introduction, the body or argument and the conclusion.
implies that the word does not mean more than it represents on
Students should be able to see the difference between
the surface. A metaphorical use of a word, on the other hand,
embellishment of jokes, examples, allusion and references, and
implies the opposite of a literal use. For example, if a man is called crucial points that are central to a discussion. The intention of a
iroko, which is a type of tree, this is metaphorical because a man writer should be clear to the reader: that is, it must be established
cannot be a tree, rather it is the influence and strength such a man whether the writer wants to educate, teach, instruct, warn,
demonstrates that elicits his comparison with an iroko tree. The describe, inform or dissuade.
aesthetic use of a word addresses the linguistic beauty and The task of understanding a comprehension passage is
embellishment in any piece of writing according to the creative accomplished when readers are able to relate with the structure of
ability of the writer or speaker. This third aspect of word use a text.
manifests in rhetorical practices like poetry, proverbs, songs,
praise of noblemen, especially cognomen of kings and legends. UNIT 4: Hindrances to Good Reading Comprehension
Some cluster of scientific or professional registers may appear Reading a comprehension passage requires intense mental
in some texts, and it is imperative that the meaning be grasped concentration, good reading speed, and profound cognitive
before the reader can get hold of the thought of the writer or speaker. knowledge of meaning and features of comprehension. However,
some habits like reflex actions that are exhibited involuntarily
3.2 Recognition of Sentence Markers should be controlled to enhance faster reading and understanding
Just like words, sentences serve different purposes, in as much as of comprehension passages. The following are some common
the complete meaning and focus of a passage is locked in its hindrances that prevent speedy reading, quick understanding and
structure. The sentence is the vehicle that conveys meaning to the accurate interpretation of comprehension passages.
reader; hence, it should not be ambiguous, and its function must
be clear. In well written passages, sentences sequentially connect Mouthing words: Reading aloud quietly or whispering words
to one another to express a seamless flow of thought of the writer. while reading interrupts the mental processing of information in a
It is relevant that readers of passages give attention to markers that passage. It can slow down the speed of reading.

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Movement of the head: Moving the head to and fro, across the more about Olu, many details about his business deals must be
page, can prevent understanding. It can also make the reader to provided but “the sentence’’ above has given us the main idea
spend a longer time on texts. about who Olu is.
Pointing to words: The action of pointing to words slows In written communication, a summary can be defined as a
down the mental activity of capturing or taking in phrases and shortened version of a passage, having been expressed in few words
clauses that contain relevant ideas and crucial points. Reading or sentences. In other words, the idea or knowledge that is contained
words one-by-one in a passage makes reading cumbersome and in a text is reduced to a much shorter version in summary writing. A
distracting. written passage of one thousand words might be summarised in one
Wandering eyes: Moving the eyes over the passage to and fro hundred or eighty words that will not exclude the central idea of the
prevents speedy grasp of the meaning of comprehension passage. original text. Apart from the structural compactness of a summary, it
The action often forces the reader to read words slowly, which must be written in correct grammatical order, coherently arranged
affects focused reading and quick assimilation. and devoid of extraneous ideas. Summary writing is a skill that
focuses on order and substance above allusions, illustrations and
Part II: SUMMARY several embellishments that often attend written or spoken
communication. For example, let us consider the sentence below to
UNIT 5: Meaning and Features of a Good Summary
explain further, what summary represents:
Summary skill is essential in every human communicative activity.
Unconsciously, we all make use of summary in our daily activities
The government of Nigeria has tightened restrictions
when we relate, in brevity, our experience at events to our friends,
on the importation of rice and selected food items as
colleagues and mates. When we inform our neighbours or family
one of the measures to address economic recession.
members about interesting encounters, we speak of major ideas
but leave out some details that may affect the credibility of the
information given; this is summary, though the medium is oral and The sentence summarises vast areas of human activities like
not written. economy, governance, policy implementation, customs and excise
When we make a statement based on a related chain of events and transportation. Volumes of books, articles and policy papers
that produce similar results, the conclusion that is provided is a have been written on these subjects; invariably these are sectors
form of summary. that remain invaluable to the sustenance of Nigeria’s economy.
A summary can be written about a person, nature, different By the way, the quoted sentence might be the central idea of a
human activities, actions in a market and classroom interactions. As book or an article that someone might have considered necessary
a matter of fact, we unknowingly make use of advanced forms of to proffer practical solutions to the ailing economy of Nigeria.
summary when we make comments about people, countries and Better still, it may be the summary of the article of a weekly
leaders. A statement like “South Africa is notorious for xenophobia” magazine that narrates steps being taken to stem the trend of
is a compressed socio-historical statement that can take a whole economic recession in Nigeria.
article or book to explain. It will also take a careful explanation to Now it is obvious how crucial the skill of summary is in
relate the circumstance that elicits a conclusion like “Olu is a shrewd communicative practice beyond the context of examination. In the
businessman”. The interpretation of this sentence may require context of examination, however, the summary is a major test that
tracing out the entire business career of Olu, who is now being determines a student’s knowledge of grammar and vocabulary in
identified by a particular quality as a businessman. In order to know the English language. It extends to confirm that a student has

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acquired commensurate skill at understanding comprehension Perfunctory remarks through which we evaluate things around us,
passages as well. Without a good knowledge of comprehension, it through the subconscious, are made in one-sentence types of
is difficult to attempt a passage on summary because of the summaries. Students are therefore sometimes asked to summarise
connection that exists between both. a text or a part of it in one sentence, invariably to determine their
One basic skill that is common to summary and understanding of the text. Another method that examiners adopt
comprehension is the ability to interpret and paraphrase in the to make students write a one sentence summary is to ask them to
words of the student without lifting expressions from the passage. give a suitable title or topic to the set passage. But the most
Since we have discussed summary as an everyday practice, in important factor that aids the ability to answer such questions is
human interactions, we should find its application in examination the thorough understanding of the passage set by examiners.
situations or some other formal exercises interesting, practical,
and useful. It is therefore relevant to say that summary is not The one paragraph summary
difficult as many people think it is but a relatively easy skill that This kind of summary might not be relevant in a restricted
every student should acquire. The positive attitude generated in situation of examination but it is a craft that is practiced by
students will inspire their readiness to answer summary questions, language experts. Texts that will be summarised in one paragraph
and confidence to apply techniques learnt in this module. should be of considerable length containing elaborate
explanations about ideas, situations and conditions of people, and
UNIT 6: Types and Rules of Summary Writing maybe, diverse concepts that relate to life, knowledge and
6.1 Types of Summary humanity. The length of the passage that is summarised should be
The basic types of summaries are a fraction of the original like its quarter or fifth.
i. The one word summary
ii. The one sentence summary 6.2 Rules of Summary Writing
iii. The one paragraph summary In order to write a good summary, some rules should be followed.
iv. The one page summary When students deviate from applying these rules, a haphazard and
clumsily written summary is inevitable, showing the poor
One Word Summary knowledge and ill preparedness of the writer.
Since students are required to have a thorough understanding of
the set passage, the instruction may ask them to give a one-word Some of the rules are stated below:
summary of a text. Good knowledge of vocabulary is equally i. Do not deviate from the restrictions implicitly set by questions
important to answer this type of question. given on the passage.
ii. Do not write your answer in phrases; write in sentence(s).
One-Sentence Summary iii. Address grammatical and spelling errors.
Sometimes students are required to give a summary of their iv. Never include extraneous ideas like jokes, illustrations and
impression or opinion about a story, concepts, objects or allusion. These details are included in writings to elucidate
environment which they have encountered in a text. Giving a one- the main ideas of the writer.
sentence summary is part of our daily experiences and v. Do not cite examples of objects in your sentence. For example,
communicative activities through which we report our conclusions a sentence like the next one should be avoided. Food items such
and observations about diverse tasks, responsibilities and people.

133 134
 as liver, egg, okro, carrot, fish and nuts are good for sharp eyesight. Have you ever taken time off your programme to watch these
This is what is known as exemplification. An appropriate one ants move in a row? What gives them the sense of direction,
sentence summary without exemplification can be written as we do not know. Indeed, whoever sends them on an errand
presented in next sentence. Food items that are rich in protein, and how they even know their destination and the type of
vitamins and nutrients are good for sharp eyesight. errand to run we are yet to be told. But they are an extremely
well-organized lot.
UNIT 7: Relevant Skills for Summary Writing Certainly, there are no defined routes for them on walls or
Some skills are fundamental to good summary writing. These trees, yet they move in an orderly manner, almost in a straight
skills are not acquired overnight; rather, they are developed line. The beautiful thing about these insects is that even when
through conscious learning, persistent practice and desire to get their line of movement is disorganized, they soon regroup
better at using them. The implication is that summary writing is a and connect themselves again end to end. If in the process,
language art that deserves attention through the aid of skills one of them is killed, they quickly recognize that fact from
discussed below. their various positions. Then one sees them running helter-
i. Ability to relate the meaning of a piece of writing in ones skelter with a seeming insistence on getting at the comrade to
words without affecting the meaning of the original. confirm its death.
ii. Good knowledge of vocabulary. When this has been done, some of them run zigzag at a
iii. Sound knowledge of grammar. tremendous speed to alert the others on the route. Soon, they
iv. Ability to express ideas clearly and succinctly. disappear completely. Later, as if everything were over and
v. General ability to understand, so as to separate main ideas forgotten, they reappear and form a new route and continue
from less relevant ones. their movement transporting food or going on one errand or
the other as before. Bring your ears close to them and you
Unit 8: Samples of Comprehension Passages with hear nothing and you wonder what their means of
Suggested Answers communication could be.
Examples of two comprehension passages are provided below
Perhaps, most surprising is their high sense of understanding
with the complements of suggested answers to help students put
the weather and the climate. They are just like men in this
to practice the techniques and skills discussed in this module. The
area. They know when it is the raining season and when the
passages are selections from past questions of the West African
dry season comes. In fact, it is true to say that they prepare
Senior School Certificate Examination.
better for the future than man.
Read the following passage carefully and answer the During the dry season, they file out to different places
questions on them. gathering food which they store underground. At the
1. Exercise 1: slightest sign of the approach of the raining season, they all
The black ant is indisputably one of the smallest visible insects get into the hole and seal it up. Surprisingly they reemerge
on earth. Except with the aid of a very powerful microscope, it when the dry season sets in; and whoever tells them that the
is difficult if not impossible to locate the eyes, the mouth, the dry season has come we do not know. You can now see the
nostrils (if it ever has any) or any other part of the body. An air sense in the injunction, “Go to the ant, thou sluggard, learn
of mystery surrounds the exercise of this little creature. her ways and be wise.”

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Questions c. i. The writer’s attitude towards the black ant is that of
1a. Why does the writer regard the black ant as one of the awe/ amazement/ admiration.
smallest insects on earth? ii. “Perhaps most surprising is their high sense of
b. Give two reasons why the writer thinks that the way ants live understanding the weather and the climate”.
is interesting? d. The clause refers to confirmation of death of one among
c (i). What is the writer’s attitude towards the black ant? them.
e. i. Noun phrase
(ii) Quote an expression from the passage to support your
answer. ii. It serves as the subject in the sentence.
f. The quality of ant that is implied is resourceful/ creative/
d. “When this has been done “ What does ‘this’ refer to?
industrious.
e. “The beautiful thing about the insects_____________________ g. i. Indisputably – undoubtedly, surely
(i) What grammatical name is given to this expression? ii. helter skelter – hurriedly in a disorganized way
(ii) What is its function in the sentence? iii. row – line
f. What quality of the ant is implied in the last sentence of the iv. a tremendous– an amazing
passage? v. area – aspect, sense
g. For each of the following words or phrases, find another word vi. approach – commencement, coming, start
or phrase that means the same and can replace it as it is used
in the passage: Exercise 2
(i) indisputably; In the 1960s and 1970s, undergraduates did not need to apply for
(ii) helter skelter; employment. Employers usually wooed them by depositing offers
of jobs in their halls of residence for those interested to pick and
(iii) row;
choose from as soon as they finish writing their degree
(iv) a tremendous; examinations. How things have changed! We have since
(v) area; “progressed” from this age of abundance in which unemployment
(vi) approach was hardly heard of to one of economic recession and widespread
(WASSCE June, 1999) unemployment. The problem is so acute nowadays that one finds
unemployment even among engineers and doctors.
Exercise 1 What are the causes of this phenomenon? For one thing, our
Suggested Answers for Exercise 1 educational system does not train its products for self-employment.
Everybody expects the government or the private sector to provide
1a. The writer regards the black ant as one of the smallest insects
them with a job at the end of their studies. As we have now realized,
on earth because it is difficult to discover their body parts
the government and the private sector combined cannot create
with the naked eye.
enough jobs to go round the army of graduates turned out annually
b. i. Black ants have a sense of direction. by our universities. For another; many parents encourage their
ii. Black ants are well organized; they have good sense of children to enrol in courses leading to prestigious and lucrative
understanding of weather. professions for which they may be intellectually unsuited. They end

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up obtaining poor degrees or none at all. Such graduates cannot (iv) lucrative;
compete on the job market, so they swell the ranks of the (v) boom;
unemployable and the unemployed. (vi) orientate.
Perhaps the most important single cause of unemployment is (W.A.S.S.C.E. JUNE 2001)
economic recession. During periods of boom, economic activities are
generated in abundance and these make plenty of jobs available. But Suggested Answers for Exercise 2
the reverse is the case in times of economic recession. 2a. (i) In the 1960s and 1970s it was not difficult to secure
There is no simple solution to the problem. Everyone in the employment.
society has a role to play here. The government has a duty to (ii) At the present time it is difficult to secure employment.
ensure that the economy is buoyant, thus providing the right b. (i) The education system does not prepare students to be
environment for the creation of jobs. The educational authorities self-reliant / self-employed.
have to orientate the process of education towards the production (ii) Parents encourage their children to study courses that
of job creators rather than job seekers. Guidance and counselling are not consistent with their abilities.
services should be made available in all secondary institutions. (iii) Students perform woefully resulting in poor degrees.
Parents, too, should stop misdirecting their children into choosing c. (i) Government should provide a conducive environment
careers for which they are ill suited. that promotes the creation of jobs.
(ii) Policy makers in the educational sector should design
Questions curriculum that will produce job-creation.
2a (i) What was the employment situation like in the 1960s (iii) Professional guidance counsellors should be posted to all
and l970s? secondary schools.
(ii) What is the situation now? d. The writer used the word to describe the opposite of what
(b) In what ways do the educational system, the parents and the actually happened.
students contribute to the unemployment situation? e. Adjectival clause/relative clause
(c.) Mention three suggestions given in the last paragraph for f. (i) recession – lull, decline, down turn
solving the problem? (ii) acute – severe,
(d) Why does the writer enclose the word “progressed” (first (iii) army – large number, numerous
paragraph) in quotation mark? (iv) lucrative – profitable, rewarding
(e) “______________________for which they may be (v) boom – abundance, prosperity
intellectually unsuited” (vi) orientate – redirect, guide
(i) What grammatical name is given to this expression?
(ii) What is its function as it is used in the sentence? Unit 9: Summary of the Module
(f) For each of the following words, find another word or phrase This module has explained the subjects of comprehension and
that means the same and can replace it as it is used in the summary and also introduced students to the integral skills that
passage: will help them to answer comprehension and summary passages
(i) recession; effectively. Specifically, the module has defined comprehension,
(ii) acute; stated its purpose and features and also drawn students’ attention
(iii) army;

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 to habits that hinder reading comprehension. In addition, this References
module has highlighted the importance of summaries in our daily Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. (2003). Essex:
oral and written communication; and also provided five essential Pearson Education Limited.
rules and five relevant skills for effective summary writing. Osoba, G. (2008) (p.96 – 116). Reading Comprehension in
Finally, in order to aid students’ practical understanding of the Oyegoke, Lekan. Ed. Undergraduate Text on Language and
techniques required in answering comprehension and summary Literature. Ibadan: Yoori Books.
examination questions, the module contains a unit on samples of
two past WASSCE comprehension passage questions and Reading List
suggested answers.
Clabough, Casey. (2014). Creative Writing. New York: Penguin.
Unit 10: Assessment on the Module Dare, Samson. (2006). Errors in English Grammar and Usage.
1. Write three purposes of comprehension mentioned in this Ibadan: Spectrum Books Limited.
module. Rubens, Philip. Ed. (2001). Science and Technical Writing: A
2. Elaborate on any 1 (one) prerequisite skill for good Manual of Style. New York: Routledge.
comprehension. Shelton, James H.(1994). Handbook for Technical Writing. Illinois:
3. List the hindrances to good reading comprehension. Can you NTC Business Books.
identify any one of them that you practice?
4. Mention the three features apart from “structural
compactness” required for a good summary as listed in Unit 5.
5. Provide a suitable topic for the first sample passage in Unit 8.
6. Briefly explain why a good knowledge of vocabulary is
relevant for summary writing.
7. Try to provide a succinct one sentence summary of the second
sample passage in Unit 8.

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 MODULE NINE Studying requires reading notes, textbooks, sourcing for
information and understanding the information; not cramming
STUDY SKILLS AND METHODS it. Understanding is the result and proof of a successful study.
’Tayo Agboola
2.2 Skill
Introduction This is the ability to do something well, especially when it has been
The key to becoming an effective student is learning how to study learned and practiced by someone. A skill is usually acquired
appropriately. Knowing the appropriate way to study actually or learned; it is not an innate/natural ability like the senses of
implies studying smart, and this is useful not only for your sight, taste and touch. A skill is a product of consistent practice and
academics, but for other aspects of life such as social interactions, hard work. It requires conscious effort from the student; and like
interpersonal relationships, career development, and spiritual everything acquired, it involves a method.
growth. The knowledge you acquire in this module about study
skills and methods is therefore relevant and important for your 2.3 Method
overall success in life. A method is a planned way of doing something, especially one that
a lot of people know about. To be planned thus implies that it is not
Unit 1: Objectives of the Module haphazardly done.
Study skills and methods can therefore be referred to as the
At the end of this module, students should be able to:
abilities and approaches for taking in new information, retaining
· Explain the meaning of study, methods and skills.
information and dealing with academic assessments. They entail
· Discuss how listening, note taking, and reading skills are
planned and systematic ways of reading, which require consistent
essential for effective study skills (studying smart) and how
practice and hard work by the individual involved. Many students
to enhance each one.
assume that it is not necessary to acquire study skills, thinking
· Recognise and describe in detail, various proven study
such skills are inherent or hereditary. This is, however, not the
methods such as SQ3R, outlining, charting, and mind
case. Studying is not a talent, neither is it a divine ability, or genetic
mapping.
trait. It is a skill that must be acquired and developed to enhance
· Identify good study habits.
effectiveness in learning.
Unit 2: Definitions of Terms
Unit 3: How to Study Smart
2.1 Study You need three major skills if you want to study smart:
The term, ‘study’ refers to an effort made in the pursuit of i. Listening skills
knowledge. However, the question What is studying? seems like a ii. Note taking skills
simple question, but it is not. Some people assume that merely iii. Reading skills
sitting down with a book is studying. You may however sit down
with a book for hours, without necessarily studying, that is, 3.1 Listening Skills
without devoting time and attention to gaining knowledge of an Listening is an important component of learning. It is the conscious
academic topic or subject. Studying thus involves concentration effort to select, understand and retain meaningful sounds. Listening
and diligence. It is beyond reading. as an art is active, and not passive, unlike hearing which is passive

143 144
and not active. Listening involves deliberately paying attention to integrate with their own writings. Also, a good note taking skill
the speaker’s gestures, facial expressions, intonation etc. It reduces the risk of plagiarism. Plagiarism involves copying another
requires paying attention to every aspect of communication being person’s ideas or written work word for word and claiming it as
used by the speaker. original; and it is a punishable offence in the academics. Note taking
For a purposeful and rewarding study, in any learning also helps learners to lay emphasis on the central points in a lecture
situation, a learner must make a conscious effort to follow the in order to aid easy understanding of the course.
lecturer or instructor by listening to the points of the lecture. With
listening, a learner imbibes the skill of hearing too. The different 3.2.1 Note Taking Strategies
listening types identified by scholars include critical, Recognising the main idea the lecturer is passing across, rather
discriminative, appreciative, therapeutic, and courteous listening than putting down everything that the lecturer says.
(Oloruntoba-Oju and Alebiosu, 1998). 1. ii. Putting the information from a lecture in the words of
Having listening skills is vital for a student because without it, the students.
note taking will be difficult, and without notes, studying will in 2. iii. Opting for titles, subtitles, bullet points etc. rather
turn be difficult. than writing long paragraph prose that may prevent
other important points from being taken.
3.1.1 Listening Skill Boosters
iv. Creating/developing abbreviations and symbols that
i. Learners should read their course outlines before hand, and
will make information easier to memorise.
jot some notes which they can expand on, during class.
v. Using proper exercise books, not event souvenir
ii. Learners should note keywords while the lecturer is
jotters with pictures/graphics that create a busy page
speaking.
and make what is written not to be clearly seen.
iii. They should avoid doing other things while listening e.g.
vi. Leaving margins by the side of each page and even a
planning for lunch or scrolling through their phones, as this
line space between subtitles and headings, for the
habit distracts.
possibility of adding more information after a class.
iv. It is advisable not to sit at the back, especially in large classes
vii. Reviewing the notes as soon as the class ends (Akindoyeni,
because noise makers usually sit there.
2008).
v. It is advised that before going for any lecture, students should
eat and rest well because tiredness and hunger can hinder 3.3 Reading Skills
them from listening effectively. Reading skills refer to the ability to read quickly, understand
accurately, and recall much of what has been read. From the
3.2 Note Taking Skills definition, it is evident that reading is a skill that involves
Note taking is the academic practice of writing down pieces of comprehension, retention, and the ability to grasp facts. To
information in a systematic way. As a study skill, it includes taking acquire a successful study skill, it is essential that a student must
notes in a lecture. Essentially, the ability to take notes well depends know the various types of reading, and master the art of reading.
on the ability to listen well. Effective note taking from lectures is
crucial for a purposeful studying time in the university. This is
because good note taking allows for a permanent record for
revision, and it is a register of relevant points that learners can

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3.3.1 Types of Reading v. Study reading
There are different types of reading, mainly: skimming, scanning, This is the mastery of information in a text or document for
rapid reading, study reading, and analytical reading. future recall, using the SQ3R (Survey, Question, Read,
Recall/Recite, Review) technique, which will be discussed
Skimming extensively under study methods in Unit 4.
This is the process of quickly highlighting a section of a text to get a
general impression of the author’s main argument. There is no vi. Analytical/Critical reading
need to read every word when skimming because the essence of This form of reading is often used for puzzling, difficult,
skimming is to encourage speed. Types of skimming include: materials. It requires going over the same text two or three
times to gain full or proper understanding of it by passing
i. Preview skimming: This kind of reading gives a foretaste of judgement about what is being read via reflecting on what
what the text contains. It is not a thorough form of reading. the text says, what it describes and what it possibly means.
Just as the name indicates, it directs readers to skim over a Analytical/Critical reading can neither be speedily done nor
text for information, limiting their attention to the headings be done under pressure. It requires a more devoted and
as well as the relevance of the beginning paragraphs of the efficient reading. Different steps are involved in critical
text. reading. Some of these are:
i. Preview – This involves skimming the text first to be
ii. Overview skimming: This is sometimes called skip-reading, familiar with the title, length, structure, headings or sub-
semi-reading or speed-reading. It involves sampling the headings. This step provides a clue to discovering the
reading material more thoroughly than what obtains in main idea of the text.
review skimming, focusing on the structure and main idea of
ii. Dictionary usage – This has to do with looking up the
the text. However, in this reading skill, the supporting details meaning of difficult or technical words to enhance a
which repetitively elaborate on the main ideas are skipped. better understanding of a text.
iii. Scanning iii. Paraphrase – This step involves rewriting sentences/ideas
This is reading a text quickly to find specific information. It is in the text in a shorter, clearer, and simpler way. It can be
different from skimming, which is reading quickly to get a done by rewriting such structures using other words
general idea of meaning. This form of reading requires different from the ones the author has used.
precision because one little detail missed can create problems iv. Inference – This simply means searching for implied
(unlike skimming) e.g. omitting a digit in a phone number, or meaning in the text. The author may not say everything
missing a detail in the exam question instruction. straightforwardly but leave the reader to draw inferences
from what he has written. In other words, the writer
iv. Rapid reading deliberately leaves some things unsaid and expects that a
Rapid reading is a leisure form of reading. It is used for light reader can intelligently deduce the message based on
texts like newspapers, novels, magazine etc. To read rapidly, observation and background. For example,
all you need is to concentrate on contents and overlook “Let’s go swimming to cool off.”
grammar, concord etc.

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 What season is it? done by turning each heading and sub-heading into a question by
a). Summer b). Winter using one of the following words: ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘where’, ‘when’,
‘why’ or ‘how’. This helps to set a purpose for reading the text in
Without being told, one can infer that the only time to swim more detail.
and cool off is during summer.
STEP III –Read
Unit 4: Study Methods Active reading of the details of the text is required toward
In the previous unit, we looked at three required skills for smart answering the questions the reader has asked him/herself in step
study: listening, note taking, and reading skills. This unit will discuss II. This helps to achieve a well defined purpose for reading and
five of the various study methods available to students, namely: eliminates the mindless staring at the pages of a book.
i. SQ3R
ii. Outline method STEP IV –Recite
iii. Charting method The answer to each question the reader has asked him/herself is
iv. Mind mapping method expected to be recited. That way, what has been read would not be
v. Reading scientific writings. forgotten. A reader should be sure that he/she can recall the answer,
and not just recognise the information as correct. This can be done by
Note: Most of these methods also qualify to be referred to as note speaking the answer out loud or by writing it out on paper as an
making methods. outline, paragraph, formula, chapter etc. The purpose of reciting is to
help a reader think about and understand what he/she has read,
4.1 SQ3R thereby improving his/her retention and comprehension.
This is a reading method named for its five steps – survey, question,
read, recite and review (Nnamani, 2005). It is a proven step by step STEP V –Review
methodological approach to learning and studying of a textbook or This is the stage of preparation. At this point, a reader is expected
any other relevant material. Let us now consider each step in detail. to check if he/she can answer questions correctly without having
to look at the text/ notes for answers. This helps to gauge the
STEP I – Survey extent of assimilation.
The purpose of surveying a chapter or a book is to get a quick
overview of what it is about. Usually, readers should not take more 4.2 Outline Method
than five to ten minutes, even on the longest chapter. While An outline method is an efficient study method, especially when
surveying, attention should be paid to the following aspects of the the source of information is a carefully organized document such
chapter: chapter title, introduction, vocabulary, objectives of the as a textbook. The outline study method uses a system of upper
chapter, the content of the chapter (headings and sub-headings), and lower case letters and numbers to indicate the relative
summary, review questions, bold faced headings etc. importance of different ideas. For example, the major ideas are
labelled with Roman numerals. Below each Roman numeral, the
STEP II – Question sub idea is labelled with capital letters, starting with ‘A’. Once the
While reading, self questioning, with respect to aspects of the topic letters are exhausted, the use of letters and numbers in parenthesis
and content of the material being read, is essential. This can be is usually opted for.

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 For example, a student’s outline of the contents in a textbook than most other study methods. Suppose you are the reader, first,
he/she has read on forms of literature may look like this: divide your page into several columns, label each column at the
I. Oral literature top page with an appropriate category and fill in the information
needed for each column. For example, when listening to a
A. Genres of oral literature grammar lecture, you might label columns: ‘Definition’, ‘Sentence
1. Prose structure’, ‘Sentence type’ and ‘Overall significance’.
i. Folktales
a. Animal tales 4.4 Mind Mapping Method
b. Wonder (fairytales) This study method is a graphic method which unlocks the brain’s
c. .... potentials. It requires students to use their critical thinking skills
ii. Myths by creating a logical map that organises facts, ideas and
a. information. Each fact/information is written on the paper and an
b. arrow is used to connect the fact. This is usually done in such a way
c. that the main idea would appear at the top of the page or at the
centre and arrows would be leading to other ideas. Mapping ideas
d.
in such a way thus creates a logical sequence of information that
iii. Legends
all the ideas connect together. The method helps students to retain
2. Poetry
information better because it creates a visual picture in their
i. Chants
minds. A mapping of information about food is provided below to
ii. Panegyrics show associations between the key words:
3. Drama
i. Festivals
ii. Rituals

B. Characteristics of oral literature

1.....
2....
3....
II. Written literature
A.

4.3 Charting Method

This is done by splitting one’s notes into labelled columns, thereby
cutting down on repetition. This method requires more preparation

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4.5 Reading Scientific Writings 4. Always use resources beyond your recommended textbooks
Scientific subjects such as Linguistics, Engineering, Physics, and class notes.
Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry etc. always require putting pieces 5. Always have the right attitude. Enjoy the act of studying.
of facts together step by step. Understanding them therefore requires Study for the acquisition of knowledge; rather than for exam
a special reading method involving specified steps.
purposes alone.
6. Be consistent with your study routine.
4.5.1 Steps to Reading Scientific Texts
STEP I – Understand and master the definition of technical terms.
Unit 6: Summary of the Module
STEP II – Look for examples of technical terms: For instance,
examples of a parasite (an organism that derives nutrition from In this module, we have looked at the various effective study
another organism without contributing anything in return), can be skills and methods that will be needed by a student for
provided as lice, bedbugs, mosquitoes etc. academic success in the university, and in the society at large.
Specifically, we have explained the meaning of study and how it
STEP III –Draw a table to classify the items in the topic you are
is an acquired skill rather than an inherent ability; discussed
studying.
three critical skills for effective study and how to boost each
one; that is listening, note taking and reading skills; identified
FOOD TYPES and elaborated on four (4) well proven general study methods
Carbohydrates Yam, Rice, Bread – SQ3R, outlining, charting, and mind mapping – and one for
Protein Beans, Egg, Fish scientific texts; and identified and listed good study habits.
Vitamins Vegetables, Carrots, Tropical fruits
Unit 7: Assessment on the Module
STEP IV – Look out for comparisons, e.g. moth and butterfly: 1. Explain the meaning of study,
2. Discuss how listening, note taking, and reading skills are
Moth-Nocturnal Butterfly - Daytime essential for studying smart.
- Dull colour - Bright colour 3. Describe in detail, your most preferred study method.
- Short, fat body - Long elongated body 4. List five study habits that you can acquire this semester.

Unit 5: Good Study Habits

Below is an overview of habits that can help students to have a
successful time while studying. Note that as a student, you should
find out what habit works best for you and use it. Do not compare
yourself with others.
1. Be in the right frame of mind.
2. Study in an environment that is conducive.
3. Have and use the right study aids – dictionary, biro, notebook
etc.

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References MODULE TEN
Akindoyeni, Olumide (2008). Effective study skills in Olatunde
Ayodabo and ‘Demola WRITING
In Efurosibina E. Adegbija (Ed.), Effective Communication in ’Ronke Oyeleye
Higher Education: The Use of English. Ilorin: Unilorin Press.
Jolayemi (Eds), Effective Communication skills for Higher Introduction
Education: The Use of English. Oyo: Ajayi Crowther University. Writing is the symbolic representation of language or vocal sounds
Nnamani, Obiangeli. (2005). English is Simple: A use of English for readers’ processing. It is a medium of human communication that
Handbook, Ibadan: Evans represents language through the inscription or recording of signs and
Brothers Limited. symbols. In consonance with Adeyanju (2008), writing is an
Oloruntoba-Oju, Taiwo and Alebiosu, A. Tajudeen. (1998) (p 45- intellectual task guided by specific principles and procedures which
70). Listening communication. assist in achieving the writer’s goal. Writing is very important
because it contributes to knowledge and it helps in preserving
history. The process of writing helps us to organise our thoughts and
Reading List develop our ideas in paragraphs. Motivations for writing include
Muchnick, Cynthia C. (2011). The Everything Guide to Study Skills: publications, storytelling, correspondence, record or diary keeping,
Strategies, Tips and Tools you Need to Succeed in School. Adams and off course, submission of writing assignments and academic
Media. projects for good grades; and all these are necessarily represented in
paragraphs. This chapter therefore first handles the paragraph as a
basic structural element in writing before discussing writing proper,
with consideration for forms of writing such as letters, essays, articles
and report, toward equipping students with the requisite writing
skills and approaches.

Unit 1: Objectives of the Module

At the end of the module, students should be able to:
· Understand the concept of paragraph as a structural
element in writing, its characteristics and types.
· Identify and write formal, informal, and semi-formal letters,
using the appropriate language and format for each type.
· Recognise and write descriptive, expository, narrative, and
argumentative essays with the correct use of paragraphs to
present their information.
· Explain and apply the techniques of writing a good article.
· Describe the purpose, types, and format for report writing.

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Unit 2: The Paragraph as a Basic Structural Element in 2.2 Types of Paragraphs
Writing i. Introductory: This introduces the subject of discussion.
Every form of writing, irrespective of its type or length is made up ii. Defining: This emphasises the meaning of the concept in
of paragraphs. A paragraph is a small prose composition that question.
comprises a group of related sentences developing or expanding a iii. Descriptive: It entails a thorough description of certain
single central idea. There is no stereotypical length for a things. This is used in an expository essay.
paragraph; it may be short or lengthy as long as it keeps the iv. Narrative: This type of paragraph mostly tells stories. It is
development of the central idea in view. often used in literary writings.
v. Explanatory: This simply explains concepts or ideas that have
2.1 Characteristics of Paragraphs
been defined in a defining paragraph.
Topic sentence: This is the key sentence which summarises the vi. Transitional: This is also called a linking paragraph. It
idea in a paragraph; it also indicates the theme of the paragraph. It reminds the reader of previous discussions and prepares him
can be explicit (clear and easy to understand) in some cases or for the next.
implicit (suggested without being directly expressed). Other vii. Concluding: It ends the writing with a review of all that has
sentences in the paragraph contribute to the expansion of the topic been discussed by recapitulating the key ideas, points or
sentence. issues. It reveals the highlight of the essay.
Unity: This has to do with the manner in which all other sentences
in the paragraph contribute something to the central idea. Unity is Following the discussion on the paragraph as a basic
achieved by elucidation (giving a clear explanation to an idea), structural element for good writing, the remaining units in this
amplification (increase in strength), illustration, repetition or any module are focused on writing proper, beginning with letter
other means of buttressing the point in relation to the main idea of writing and then essay, article, and report writing.
the paragraph.
Unit 3: Writing Letters
Coherence: The connection and consistency in a paragraph is
A letter is a written or printed communication, generally longer
the ability to write logically, and the ability to make one thought
and more formal than a note.
lead to another. It is expected of the writer to use appropriate
Your letter is your ambassador. It speaks for you; it goes
transitional words and phrases such as and, therefore, so, but,
where you cannot go. The letter has an edge over other forms of
hence, nevertheless, to link the sentences together.
communication because:
Clarity: This entails precision and vividness. The theme in a i. It is inexpensive.
paragraph must be presented in a clear form without any ii. It provides an opportunity for a personal touch.
ambiguity to aid understanding of the message.
iii. It provides opportunity for diplomacy.
Emphasis: This underlies the continuous prominence given to iv. It gives the writer time to prepare.
the central idea in a paragraph. v. It can be read at the recipient’s pleasure.
vi. It is a permanent record, which can be tendered before a
court of law.

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3.1. Types of Letters letter. The familiarity that exists between relations and intimate
i. Formal letter friends propels the writer to use the language he would ordinarily
A formal letter is required when the relationship between the employ when speaking with them. This is why slang, colloquial
writer and the recipient is formal. Examples of formal letters expressions and abbreviations are freely used in informal letters.
include application letters, letters of protests, letters to banks Language of semi-formal letters: Since the semi-formal
and other corporate organisations, letters to people in letter is more closely associated with a formal letter, Standard
authority e.g Governors, Commissioners, Vice Chancellors, English is preferred in semi-formal letters. In this situation, the
Local government chairmen etc. writer avoids the use of slang, colloquial expressions and
abbreviations. The language of the semi-formal letter is more
ii. Informal Letter formal than the language of the informal letter.
This type of letter is required when the relationship between
the writer and recipient is informal. Informal letters are those Language of salutation and closure: This depends on the
written to relatives and intimate friends. type of letter that is written as follows:

iii. Semi-formal Letter i. The salutation of the informal letter involves intimate first
This is written when the relationship is partly formal and names of the addressees while that of the semi-formal letter
partly informal. It is a mid-way between a formal letter and involves the surnames of the addressees.
an informal one. Semi-formal letters include those written by ii. The expression of gratitude at the end of the semi-formal
pen friends, the secretary of a board or club to his colleagues letter is more formal than in the informal letter.
and those exchanged between professional colleagues. They iii. The closing courtesy of the semi-formal letter does not
are letters written to very distant relations with whom we are display the warmth, love and intimacy expressed in informal
not very close or who are older than us. letters.

3.2 Language of Letters 3.3 Format of Formal, Informal, and Semi-formal Letters
The type of letter is what determines the type of language that will
be used. 3.3.1 Formal Letter Format
A formal letter contains the following parts:
Language of formal letters: The lack of familiarity between the
writer and the recipient of a formal letter compels the writer to use a. The writer/sender’s address and date
Standard English. This explains why abbreviations and colloquial b. The recipient’s title and address
expressions are completely absent from formal letters. Interestingly, c. The salutation
formality is not necessarily synonymous with the use of cold, d. The subject (heading)
impersonal and old-fashioned language. [More recently, the personal
e. The body
touch has become increasingly vital in modern formal letters].
f. The conclusion
Language of informal letters: The common language used g. The complimentary close
during conversations is usually employed when writing an informal
h. The signature

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Example 1: Format of a formal letter Example 3: Format of a semi-formal letter
a. Sender’s address a The writer’s address and date
Date b. Recipient’s address ( some semi-formal letters do not
b. Recipient’s title and address include this section )
c. Salutation
d. Heading/Subject of the Letter
c. The salutation
e. Body and f. Conclusion d. The body
e. The conclusion
g. Subscription/complimentary close f. The complimentary close
h. Signature g. Signature
i. Enclosure
j. Carbon copy (cc.)
Note: Although the semi-formal letter contains almost the same
number of parts, as does the informal letter, it is more closely
3.3.2 Informal Letter Format
associated with the formal letter than with the informal.
An informal letter contains the following:
a. The writer’s address and date
3.4 Paragraph Layout for Letters
b. The salutation
c. The body The basic styles are:
d. The conclusion i. Fully blocked style
e. The complimentary close ii. Modified or semi-blocked style
iii. Indented style
Example 2: Format of an informal letter iv. Semi-indented style
a. The writer’s address and date
- b. The salutation Fully blocked style
- c. The body
Here, the writer’s address, the recipient’s address, the heading, the
-
d. The conclusion salutation and every paragraph is flushed to the left-hand margin.
- To begin a new paragraph, the writer skips a line. Where the writer
e. The complimentary close uses letter-headed paper, the address appears at the centre of the
page.
3.3.3 Semi-formal Letter Format
The format of a semi-formal letter is listed below: Modified or semi-blocked style
a. The writer’s address and date Here, everything aligns at the left-hand margin except the writer’s
b. The recipient’s address address and complimentary close which appear at the right, and
c. The salutation the heading which appears in the middle of the page. Like the fully
d. The body blocked style, all paragraphs are blocked. A line or two are skipped
e. The conclusion between paragraphs.
f. The complimentary close
g. The signature

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Indented style stories of what occasionally occurs, such as festivals, must be
The recipient’s address, the writer’s address and the narrated in present tenses.
complimentary close are indented. The last two appear at the iv. Argumentative Essay – This type of essay argues for or against
right-hand side of the page. Note also for this style that: a subject. In an argumentative essay, the writer has to take a
stand on the subject matter. He attempts to persuade or
i. Punctuation marks are freely used. convince his reader/audience to agree with him by making
ii. The heading appears at the centre of the page. them believe that his own point of view is the most logical and
iii. Each paragraph in the body of the letter is indented (this style sensible.
is considered old fashioned in advanced countries though it is
still commonly used in Nigeria). Unit 5: Writing Articles
The New Oxford Advanced Learners English Dictionary (8 edition),
th

Semi-indented style The address and complimentary close are defines an article as a piece of writing about a particular subject in
blocked and appear at the left hand margin but the paragraphs are a newspaper or magazine. As earlier stated in the introduction of
indented. this module, writing is an intellectual task guided by specific
principles and procedures which assist in achieving the writer’s
Unit 4: Writing Essays goal. There are, therefore, basic techniques to writing an
An essay is a logical presentation of a subject matter. It is an acceptable article for the reader to digest.
attempt at expressing one’s observation and experience gained
through life and books. Its uniqueness lies in the manner of saying 5.1 Techniques of Writing a Good Article
a thing of common knowledge and experience as if it were Popoola (2016) explains that a publishable news story is the one
something new. Essays are of different types as discussed below. that emerges from the conscious effort of the reporter to:
i. Use simple language.
4.1 Types of Essays ii. Use the active voice mostly to give shorter and more direct
i. Descriptive Essay – This essay type attempts to give a vivid sentences.
portrayal of either inanimate or animate things. It can be a iii. Match the writing style with the mood of the story.
picturesque description of things, places and people. It gives iv. Inject human interest into the story.
attention to minute details as it brings out all the qualities, v. Avoid slang, clichés and euphemisms.
both seen and unseen. vi. Avoid vague time references and the present tense. The
ii. Expository Essay – This usually expands facts or ideas. It choice of words like “yesterday” “today” and “tomorrow” are
provides information as to how something works by giving a unacceptable in news writing. In order not to confuse your
sequential account of the subject. reader, it is better to write the particular date or day of the
week when a reported event occurred.
iii. Narrative Essay – A narrative essay tells a story of what happens
vii. Make proper attribution in each case whenever necessary. A
or happened. It is a recount of what occurred in the past or
takes place and can be said in the present. The content of a writer of an article or news story must be sure to reference his
narrative essay dictates its style which necessarily subsumes materials with ‘direct, indirect and partial quotations’. For
language use. Past events are narrated in past tenses while example:

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 Mr Alli said, “Students of Mass Communication must acquire iv. Routine Report: This is any report required on a regular
adequate skills of writing before they are allowed to go for basis (hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, annually) to provide
fieldwork.” information about an individual’s or organisation’s ongoing
activities.
Unit 6: Writing Reports v. Special Report: This is a report written to give information
A report is a written statement based on an investigation on a specific occurrence demanding serious attention,
(Nnamani, 2005). It shows how the facts in a piece of information especially to forestall a likely problem.
were discovered, the importance of the facts, the conclusions
reached, and the recommendations made. Reports can be 6.3 Formats for Reports
delivered in two ways: orally and in writing. A report that is i. Letter form: This style of report writing is recommended
delivered verbally is referred to as an oral report while that which when a report is short, simple and straight forward. Such
is given through writing is called a written report. reports are written like formal letters.
ii. Tabular form: This is applicable for reports in large volume
6.1 Purposes of Reports sizes. Its components include the following:
A report can serve various purposes such as:
a. Terms of reference: This simply refers to the areas your
i. To present a solution to a problem.
report will cover.
ii. To help the reader make a sound decision by giving him/her
b. Investigation procedure: At this point the writer of the
the needed facts.
report states how he/she got the information used to
iii. To bring people within an organisation up to date with
prepare the report. Such information may include library
happenings inside and outside the institution.
sources, the office under investigation, questionnaires,
6.2 Types of Reports interviews, and letters.
c. Table of content: This is used to break down the reports
i. Field Report: This is commonly used in the social sciences to into sections. By this, the reader of the report is given
describe the observation of people, places, and/or events and to adequate information on all the areas covered by the
analyse the data got from such observation in order to identify report.
and categorise common themes in relation to the research d. Headings and sub-headings: These help the reader to
problem associated with the the study. The content of the report locate his/her areas of interest without difficulties.
represents the researcher’s interpretation of meaning found in e. Numbering: This helps the reader to know where each
section fits into the entire report.
data that has been gathered during observational events.
f. Summary: This is a short but concise overview of the
ii. Training Report: This type of report is written following
entire report. It contains the most important conclusions
the completion of a training/teaching workshop to give
and urgent recommendations. It also serves as a
account of the skills acquired for improving one’s efficiency reminder which refreshes the mind of the user just before
on what was trained about. a meeting.
iii. Test/Investigation Report: This kind of report is written g. Findings: This part of a report consists of all the facts
to provide information on a test or investigation conducted gathered during investigation.
on something in a professional area.

165 166
 h. Conclusion: This represents the objective assessment of References
all the facts in the report. Adeyanju, Dele. 2008. “Essay and Letter Writing: The Current
i. Recommendation: This is a product of the writer’s Approaches” In Ayodabo,
personal view of the investigation process and how the
facts discovered can be implemented. Nnamani, Obiageli. (2005). English is Simple: A Use of English
j. Date: This captures the date the report process ended. Handbook. Ibadan: Evans Brothers (Nigeria Pulishers)
k. Signature: This is important in a report because it Limited.
authenticates the report and shows that the writer of the Olatunde and Jolayemi, ‘Demola (Eds.), Effective Communication
report can be held responsible for what he has written. Skills for Higher Education: The Use of English. Oyo:
l. Designation: The status of the members of the investigation AjayiCrowther University, Oyo. pp 238-256.
panel should be included at the end of the report.
Popoola, Muyiwa. (2016). Reporting and Newswriting: A
Professional Handbook. Ibadan: Prudent Impression
iii. Numbered paragraphs: This is the third format of report
Publishers.
writing. It is used when the report is not long enough to
accommodate or be grouped under the headings used in the Reading List
tabular format, and when it is longer than what should be
written in a letter. Adebayo, M.O., Jesulowo, ‘Biola, and Oyinlola, Funso. (2004).
Language Skills Reading and Writing in Perspective. Ibadan:
Unit 7: Summary of the Module Adonai Printing Press.

In this module, students have been introduced to the concept of Anko, Paul. 2004. English in Use. Lagos: Free Enterprise Publishers.
the paragraph as a basic structural element in writing; and how to
identify and write formal, informal, and semi-formal letters using
the appropriate language and format for each type. The students
have also been given the features of descriptive, narrative,
expository, and argumentative essays to enable them recognise
and write each type. This module has furthermore exposed the
students to the techniques of writing a good article. It has also
described the purposes, types, and formats for report writing.

Unit 8: Assessment on the Module

1. Explain the features of three types of letters.
2. Describe the four categories of essays.
3. What are the required techniques in writing a good article?
4. Highlight the format for report writing.

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 MODULE ELEVEN Unit 1: Objectives of the Module
At the end of this module, students should be able to:
MECHANICS AND PROBLEMS IN WRITING · Identify and use appropriately, end punctuation in written
Gabriel A. Osoba texts: full stop or period, question mark and exclamation
mark.
Introduction · Know where and how to use internal punctuation in
Writing is one of the four important language/communication sentences: semi colon, colon, dash, parenthesis, especially
skills which any student can only ignore at his/her own academic the problematic ones.
peril. The three other important language skills are reading, · Recognize and apply the special marks – apostrophe,
speaking and listening. The four language skills are related. While hyphen, quotation marks and capitals – where appropriate
speaking and writing are the productive/expressive skills, in written language.
listening and reading are the receptive ones. In other words, we · Understand and master some spelling rules and guides as
express ourselves either by speaking or reading. Reading and well as note the exceptions to some rules.
writing are also interrelated just as speaking and listening are. The
knowledge gained in one skill can enhance performance in Unit 2: End Punctuation
another skill. It is often the case that a good speaker is an effective The marks representing end punctuation are the full stop or period
listener and a good writer is an efficient reader. (.), the question mark (?), and the exclamation mark (!). They
This module deals with ‘Mechanics and problems in writing’. point out that a sentence has come to an end.
Academic performance in educational institutions is mostly
assessed through written tests, assignments and examinations. 2.1 The full stop or Period (.)
Problems in writing can be categorised as errors of mechanics, The full stop – the longest pause in the course of reading – marks
grammar and usage. The primary focus of this module is the end of a sentence. It indicates that there is nothing further to
mechanics of writing which deals with punctuation and spelling. add to a particular sentence, phrase, word or letter.
Error free writing not only requires using good grammar but also Graphologically, it is a visible dot.
applying the correct punctuation mark and spelling.
The full range of punctuation marks is as follows; capitals, Functions:
full stop, question mark, exclamation mark, comma, apostrophe, (a) It signals the end of a grammatically complete (declarative)
quotation marks (Inverted commas), colon, semi-colon, dash, sentence or statement.
hyphen, and brackets. Basically, they are classified into three
groups: (a) End punctuation which comprises the full stop or Examples: i. I am a teacher. ii. Dayo is a hardworking
period (.), the question mark (?), and the exclamation or period student. iii. The plane crash was caused by the bad weather.
(!); (b) Internal punctuation, which consists of the comma (,), the iv. She is beautiful.
semi-colon (;), the colon (:), the dash (–), and the parenthesis
represented as ( ) or {}; and (c) Special marks such as the (b) It marks the end of imperative sentences that issue their
apostrophe (’), the hyphen (-) the quotation marks (“ “) or (‘ ’), and command mildly rather than forcefully.
the capitals (A, B, C…X, Y, Z).
Examples: i. Bring the book. ii. Hold the line. iii. Stand up.

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(c) It is used to indicate the end of an indirect question, i.e. one (g) It is used to differentiate between units of money such as
implying rather than asking a direct question. To do this, the naira and kobo
form of the interrogative sentence is replaced by that of the Examples: i. N5.00 ii. N20.50
declarative sentence. (h) It is also used to mark off decimal fractions.
Examples: i. 0.8 ii. 1.25
Examples: i. Who owns the land? (direct question) ii. We
wanted to know who owns the land. (indirect question) iii. (i) It indicates ellipsis (i.e omission of words from an utterance
How old are you? (direct question) iv. She asked how old you or written text when three of them [full stops] are used.
are. (indirect question) Example: “Yes, but…”. The loud shrill of the telephone cuts
him off before he could finish what he had to say.
Note: the full stop is not to be used after direct questions and Note: The number of full stops becomes four if the ellipsis
exclamations. occurs at the end of a statement which normally attracts a full
stop.
(d) It marks the end of a direct speech within quotation marks.
Example: Professor Ayo Banjo is a renowned scholar,
Examples: i. Seun said, “I won’t go to Lagos, tomorrow.” ii. prolific author, an excellent administrator....
The lady retorted, “Leave me alone”.
2.2 The Question Mark or Interrogation Mark (?)
(e) It indicates abbreviations which may be represented by: The question mark is used in several ways:
i. a combination of single letters drawn from the full words (a) A question mark is used at the end of a direct question; that is,
they represent or from initials of forenames an interrogative sentence that asks for a reply.
Examples: i. B.A. for Bachelor of Arts ii. M.A. for Master Examples: i. Did you see the man? ii. Are the books kept in
of Arts iii. L.O. Osoba for Lawrence Opeyemi Osoba iv. J. the library? iii. Have you seen the lecturer today?
Onabule for Julius Onabule The inversion or reversal rule for making interrogative
or by sentences may also be applied by the use of what could be
ii. part of the whole word regarded as question words. Most of these question words
Examples: i. Mr. for Mister ii. Feb. for February iii. Co. For are, in fact, relative pronouns such as who, whom, whose,
Company iv. Jr. for Junior v. Dr. for Doctor vi. Ltd.for Limited which, and what. Adverbs like when, where, how, and why
vii. St. for Saint or Street viii. Prof. for Professor are also question words.
Examples: i. Where are you going? ii. Who is to blame for
Note: the full stop is optional if the final letter is retained in the misfortune? iii. When is your next class?
the abbreviation. e.g. Ft for feet, Dr for Doctor.
(b) It is applied to imply doubt about certain information or to
indicate the intention of sheer humour.
(f) It is used to separate figures correctly when writing dates.
Examples: i. Her father was born in Calabar? ii. Wole
Soyinka won the Nobel prize for Literature in 1987?
Examples: i. 10.3.86 ii. 6.7.92 iii. 20.11.90 iv. 19.5.95

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(c) It is used (i) to mark a question which occurs within the body Examples: i. He thought that London was in America! ii.
of a sentence and (ii) as a tag question at the end of a She said Chinua Achebe wrote The Man Died!
declarative sentence. (f) It marks the end of an interrogative sentence if the sentence is
Examples: i. Moyo told me or was it Tumininu? that meant to express intense excitement rather than
tomorrow is Bisola’s birthday. ii. This is your final year in the interrogation.
school, isn’t it? Examples: i. Won’t you save me now! ii. Can’t go alone!
Note: Sometimes, two or more question marks may be used (g) It indicates the end of an imperative sentence that is a forceful
within a single sentence to emphasize each of the separate command.
questions or to show the close-linked nature of questions.
Examples: i. Leave me alone! ii. Switch on the light!
However, most of these sentences are products of creative
writers who often lean on their authorial licence. It would be (h) It ends a sentence that expresses good or evil wishes (e.g
safe for students of English to withhold such liberties when blessings or curses).
doing schoolwork and formal writing. Examples: i. May God bless you! ii. May your joy never
Example: Is it the military that will save Nigeria? or the end! iii. Damn it! iv. Woe unto the betrayer!
politicians? or the civilian populace? (i) It is used after certain words imitative of the sounds made by
creatures or objects associated with them. These types of
2.3 The Exclamation Mark (!) words are known as onomatopoeic words.
The exclamation mark is used after an interjection, an Examples: i. Boom! ii. Miaow!
exclamatory sentence, a clause, phrase or a word to express (j) It often occurs at the end of non-interrogative sentences
some feelings.
introduced by How or What.
Functions Examples: i. What a fool! ii. How wonderful! iii. How
(a) It is used to express joy, or excitement. unpatriotic!
Examples: i. Yes! ii. Hello! iii. Hi!
(b) It is used to indicate surprise or shock UNIT 3: Internal Punctuation
Examples: i. Alas! ii. How stupid! iii. So, you killed your 3.1 The Comma (,)
mother! No other punctuation mark is used as frequently as the
(c) It is equally used to express anger. commas. It is important to pay particular attention to this
Examples: i. Never again! ii. Enough is enough! valuable mark of punctuation, as wrong use of it will almost
(d) It indicates great or special emphasis which, usually, has a always alter the sense or intended meaning of a sentence.
thrust of meaning reaching deeper or farther than what it Functions
seems to portend at the surface. (a) It is used to separate words, phrases, clauses or the units in a
Examples: i. I shall never let him go! ii. He will never series (i.e. three or more elements or items sharing common
listen! features) or list.
(e) It functions to express humour, outright absurdity or a mix of Examples: i. A, B, C and D ii. Faith, Joshua and Caleb came
the two. to see us.

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 Note: Commas should not precede or follow the last item of Examples: i. Joshua, come here. ii. Sir, I think you are
a series. Nonetheless, an optional comma could be inserted mistaken. iii. Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your
before the last item and in each of the two examples above if ears. iv. I haven’t eaten since yesterday, Ngozi. v. Don’t come
its omission would make the sentence ambiguous. to my office dressed like that, Aina.
(b) It sets off elements or interrupting words that are not part of (j) It is used to mark off words or phrases in apposition to a
the grammatical structure of the sentence. noun.
Examples: i. Darling, you look cute. ii. The Vice- Example: Mr. Taye, the Principal of Best College, was the
Chancellor will see you now, Dr. Ajijepepa. Chairman of the ceremony.
(c) It marks off words like Yes, No, and Well at the beginning of a Note: A single comma is adequate if the word or phrase in
sentence when such a sentence consists of more than just one apposition is at the end of the sentence.
word. Example: The man who granted the interview is Bash Ali,
Examples: i. No, they can’t go on break today. ii. Yes, he’ll the boxer.
bring the book. iii. Oh, I don’t think so. (k) It is used to separate a participial adjunct from the main
(d) It separates introductory elements from the rest of the clause.
sentence. Examples: i. Having waited in vain for an hour, he decided
Examples: i. Please, can we have some quiet? ii. Above all, to go home. ii. Beaten beyond recognition, she had to be
be true to yourself always. hospitalized.
(e) It is used to set off terminal elements in a sentence. (l) It separates a dependent clause at the beginning of a
Examples: i. Christians are not perfect, just forgiven. ii. sentence from the main clause which follows it.
The road is very long, not just rough. Examples: i. If it rains, we shall stay at home. ii. Although
(f) It replaces ‘and’ in emphasizing the second element of a pair we arrived early, we did not meet the bus.
in a sentence. (m) It is used to separate a question tag from a preceding
Examples: i. He is a born-again Christian, a child of God. ii. statement in the same sentence.
She is very wicked, a devil incarnate. Examples: i. She can’t come with us now, can she? ii.
(g) It separates identical or repeated words following one another. You’re a rogue, right?
Examples: i. Those who fail to plan, plan to fail. ii. (n) It is used to make the contrasting parts of a sentence stand
Whatever he gives you, you take. out clearly.
(h) It marks off conjunctive adverbs and parenthetic words and Examples: i. He was last seen on Tuesday, not Monday. ii.
phrases such as therefore, too, for instance, no doubt, in fact, of She is tall, definitely not short.
course, consequently, besides, accordingly, nevertheless, etc. iii. Although his father is gentle, his mother is tough.
Examples: i. He was, in fact, the right person for the job. ii. Examples: i. The commission, which probed the Central
Indeed, she is a true partner. bank officials, urged restraint. ii. The Professor, who wrote
(I) It is used to mark off nouns in a direct address. This is known the book, is a genius.
as the vocative case. Note: In the two sentences above, the pieces of information
in the non-defining relative clauses may be left out without

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 their constituting any loss to the main ideas expressed. Note: No additional comma is used after the last item.
(o) It is used to indicate the omission of a predicate. Example: He weighed 70 pounds, 40 ounces on the scale.
Examples: i. I studied at Unical, my brother, at Unilorin. ii. Examples: i. Book IV, chapter 6 ii. Volume 6, page 63, line 2
Achebe is well-known as a novelist, Wole Soyinka, as a
playwright. When Not to use a Comma
Note: In the first example (above), studied, which may be Indiscriminate, superfluous use of the comma is a common fault in
said to be understood is replaced by a comma after my the writing of many students. The following examples illustrate
improper use of the comma and their corrected versions.
brother.
(a) A comma must not be used to separate an adjective from the
In the second example, is well-known, which may also be said
noun it modifies in a sentence.
to be understood is similarly replaced by a comma placed
Examples:
after Wole Soyinka. Incorrect He wore a pair of black, shoes.
(p) It precedes or follows a quotation. Correct He wore a pair of black shoes.
Examples: i. “Don’t go there yet,” he said. ii. He remarked, Incorrect Wole Soyinka is a prominent, playwright.
“the proposal is ridiculous”. Correct Wole Soyinka is a prominent playwright.
iii. “The proposal is ridiculous”, he remarked. iv. “The
proposal”, he remarked, “is ridiculous”. (b) Commas must not be used to separate subjects from their verbs.
(q) It separates the geographical name of a place, town or city Examples:
from that of the region, state or country. Incorrect She, went to the market, yesterday.
Examples: i. Ajayi Crowther University, P.M.B 1066, Oyo, Correct She went to the market yesterday.
Oyo State, Nigeria. Incorrect The road, is long and tortuous.
Correct The road is long and tortuous.
(r) It is used after abbreviations denoting titles, degrees,
honours, etc when they are in a series.
(c) Commas must not be used to separate verbs from their objects.
Example: Joseph Balarabe B.A., M.A., Ph.D., D.SC
Example:
(s) It separates the year from any of its divisions. Incorrect The man killed, the goat.
Examples: i. December 25, 2016. ii. 25 December, 2016.
th

Correct The man killed the goat.

In situations where only the month and year have relevance,
there is no need for the comma to be used at all. (d) The comma should not be used between two words or
Example: April 2017 phrases joined by and, or, and nor when the joined words
(t) It is used to break groups of figures into thousands and make one continuous sense.
millions. Examples:
Examples: i. 6,550 ii. 1,000,000 Incorrect Politics should not, be a do or die affair.
(u) It is used to separate measurements with two or more parts. Correct Politics should not be a do or die affair.
Examples: i. 6 feet, 2 inches ii. 7 Kilometres, 28metres Incorrect Neither Onyeka, nor Amaka, came to my
birthday party.

177 178
 Correct Neither Onyeka nor Amaka came to my as he was ambitious, I slew him” Julius Caesar by Shakespeare
birthday party. (d) It is used to mark two antithetical statements (i.e. statements
expressing contrasts) without the use of conjunction.
Note: (i) Except for few exceptional cases where their rare semantic Examples: i. Divided we fall; united we stand. ii. Speech is
thrusts allow it, you may not use the comma after any of the silver; silence is golden.
following subordinators: although, while, as, once, unless,
Note: The two sentences above, depending on their
whereas, and provided since the principal function of these
semantic contexts, could have and or but substituted for the
words in sentences is, typically, to introduce or inject
subordinate clauses.(ii) The usage of commas is optional after semicolon in each case.
words and expressions like generally, obviously, as a rule, in the (e) It marks a clear separation between phrases.
first place, and unfortunately while they are compulsory after Example: Mr. S.A Odaibo, the Principal, Model High
sentence connectors like however, moreover, and nevertheless. School; Mr. O. Ajav, the Manager, State Bank Ltd; and Mrs. O.
O. Abimbola, the Secretary, Atiba Local Government Council
3.2 The Semicolon (;) were present at the ceremony.
The semicolon occupies the area between the comma and the full
stop in the punctuation hierarchy. Though the semicolon provides 3.3 The Colon (:)
a more deliberate pause than the comma gives, its pause is not as The colon, primarily a mark of anticipation, announces that
decisive as that of the full stop. In form, it is marked by a full stop something connected to an earlier statement is about to follow. That
standing separately and vertically on a comma. “something” could be an explanation, a contrast or an enumeration.
Functions Functions
(a) It separates two or more closely connected independent a. It introduces a list or series of items.
clauses not linked by a coordinating conjunction. Examples: i. The commission found that they had to deal
Examples: i. Writing is an acquired skill; it has to be with three main problems: disease, famine and illiteracy. ii.
learned. ii. I went for an interview with the Manager
There are three periods in a day: morning, afternoon, and
yesterday; I didn’t see him.
night.
(b) It divides main clauses joined with conjunctive adverbs such
b. It is used to stress a word, a phrase or a claim that illustrates,
as however, hence, consequently, therefore, moreover,
nevertheless, then, and namely. explains or confirms a statement.
Examples: i. The people regarded him with suspicion and Example: He attributed the lady’s fall to one single cause:
continued to be hostile; consequently, he found it impossible pride.
to enlist their cooperation. ii. The boy is brilliant and well- Note: A capital letter can sometimes be used after a colon is
behaved; hence, he was elected Senior Prefect of the school. used, particularly when the mark introduces an independent
(c) It marks off separate terms or statements which are internally clause.
punctuated with commas. c. It is used to introduce a quotation or direct speech.
Example: “As Caesar loved me, I weep for him; as he was Examples: i. The preacher stressed the biblical statement:
fortunate, I rejoice at it; as he was valiant, I honour him; but

179 180
 “Love your neighbour as yourself”. ii. The Vice-Chancellor told sentences or thought.
the students: “You must not disappoint your parents or Examples: i. He made those comments – that was long ago
guardians.” – when he had not become the Governor. ii. The wife of Dr.
d. It sometimes introduces a direct statement beginning with Emeka – he married her last week – was not sympathetic with
thus and as follows. the patient.
Examples: i. The elected Chairman of the Local (b) It is also used to repeat or give prominence to a word or
Government addressed his people thus: “I thank you all phrase in a sentence.
for…” ii. The offices to be contested for are as follows: Examples: i. Ask not what your country can do for you – ask
Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and Publicity Secretary. what you can do for your country. ii. Yes, I want – I want it
e. It comes after a speaker’s name in a dialogue. cold.
Example: Bature: Why did you return early? (c) Instead of a comma, the dash can be used to indicate that an
Esther: Because I didn’t see the woman. interesting point or something unexpected follows.
f. It is applied between the title and subtitle of a book. Examples: i. Attach the photocopy of your certificate to the
Example: Reading to Remember: A Guide to Efficient Reading application – not the original. ii. The wise builds his house
g. It is used for referencing. on the rocky ground – not on the sandy one. iii. He who
Examples: i. Romans 13:1-2 ii. Genesis 41:15 iii. Crystal laughs last – laughs best.
D. {1992:10} (d) It comes before a summarizing statement after a number of
Note: while the biblical references indicate chapters and items previously mentioned.
verses respectively, the third reference above gives the name Examples: i. My wife is clever, hardworking and steady – in
of the author of a given book, the year of the book’s short, she has admirable qualities. ii. Narrow, dusty, long,
publication, and the page on which the relevant text being winding – all these are features of Oyo/Ogbomoso Road.
referenced is to be found. (e) In a sentence, it brings together several subjects depending
Do not use the colon to supplement a word or words that on the same verb.
adequately introduce a list of items or an explanation. Examples: i. His books, certificates, notes and files – all
Example: were lost to the fire disaster. ii. Cats, dogs, goats – all are
Incorrect He honoured: the brave, the wise and the domestic animals.
wealthy.
Correct He honoured the brave, the wise and the wealthy. 3.5 The Parenthesis (Plural: Parentheses) or Bracket ( )
& {}
3.4 The Dash (–) Parenthesis (what is known as brackets in British English) can –
The dash, a minus sign, has the pause of a colon. However, its use is like the comma and the dash – be used to isolate a comment aside
informal unlike the colon that is more formal or official. from the main stream of thought or text. Brackets, like inverted
commas, go in pairs. They occur in two shapes – the curve ( ) and
Functions
the straight or square [ ] brackets. Generally, the curve ones are
(a) It is used to introduce parenthetical expressions (e.g. an
more commonly used than the square ones.
afterthought) or to indicate interruptions in the flow of

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Functions: 4.1 The Quotation Marks (‘’) or (“”)
(a) It is used to enclose non-essential comments or statements. The quotation marks are also known as inverted commas. The
Example: Mr. Danladi asked for a cup of tea (without British model of it ‘’ is the single pair while the double type “” is the
sugar). American version. The choice of which of these two special marks
(b) It is used to enclose supplementary or explanatory material. one writer makes over the other would be just a matter of
Examples: i. Principal House (the Red House) came preference. What is important is for one to know that both marks
second in the inter-house athletic competition. ii. Akebaje indicate the beginning and end of quoted texts.
(the last child of the parents) is a rogue. Functions
(c) It is used to repeat sums of money in either words or figures. (a) To enclose a direct quotation or speech (i.e. someone’s exact
Examples: i. I pay an annual house rent of N200, 000 (two words).
hundred thousand naira) for a two-bedroom flat. ii. I Examples: i. The Vice-Chancellor said in his address, “The
obtained a loan of fifty thousand naira (N50, 000.00) to buy welfare of both staff and students shall be my concern”. ii.
a washing machine. Dayo told Moyo: “Your food is ready”. iii. “My mother”, said
(d) It is used to enclose numbers or letters used in itemization (or Bibi, “lives in Lagos”.
Note: Quotation marks must not be used to enclose indirect
enumeration).
speech. Reported speech is not the exact words of the speaker
Examples: or writer. It only gives the gist without repeating the speaker’s
(1) Opening Prayer or writer’s exact statement. An indirect speech is usually
(2) Chairman’s Opening Remark introduced by that (stated or implied) or by how, why, and
(3) Matters arising from the previous meeting. where.
(4) Business of the Day Examples: i. The student said that he didn’t remember the
question. ii. Obinna asked me why I went to the party.
(5) A.O.B
(b) They are used to enclose a quotation within a quotation.
(6) Date of next meeting Examples: i. He asked me, “Did the chairman say ‘The
(7) Adjournment/Closing meeting is adjourned’ or not?” ii. Peter told him, ‘I’m going to
(A) The Morpheme the library to read the short story, “Girls at War”.’
Note: In the first example (above), the main quotation is
(B) The Word
enclosed with double quotation marks while the quotation
(C) The Phrase/Group within the main one employs the single quotation marks.
(D) The Clause Nevertheless, it could be the other way round where single
(E) The Sentence quotation marks are used to enclose the main quotation
within it. This second option is already illustrated with the
Unit 4: Special Marks second example (above).
The special marks of punctuation that are discussed in this section (c) They enclose quoted titles of short stories, poems, essays,
include the quotation marks, the hyphen, the apostrophe, the articles, songs, chapters, etc. The titles of books or publications
ellipsis and capitalization. are usually underlined or printed in italics. Even then, some

183 184
 writers still prefer to use the quotation marks for book titles. Examples: i. Up-to-date dictionary ii. Well-documented
However, this practice could be misleading as it carries the speech iii. Heart-to-heart talk
risk of being mistaken for a quoted text when the context of iv. Person-to-person call
usage does not suggest that they refer to books. Note: If the first part of the modifier is an adverb ending in –
Examples: i. I enjoy reading Achebe’s ‘The Voter’. ii. The ly, the hyphen is not used: e.g. badly damaged houses, neatly
title of this chapter is ‘Mechanics and Problems in Writing’. dressed girls, and superbly acted plays. In fact, adverbs are not
(d) They are used to enclose technical terms and words, slang usually hyphenated with adjectives. However, there are a few
and coinages. exceptional cases in which adverbs are fused with adjectives
Examples: i. “Cardiac arrest” is the medical term for heart and placed before nouns.
failure. ii. He is suffering from too much “gariosis”. iii. She Examples: i. A well-known actor. ii. A wide-open door. iii.
went to the lecturer’s house “nicodemously”. A fast-flowing river.
(e) They indicate strange or foreign words and expressions. (d) It comes after certain prefixes such as anti, co, all, post, self,
Examples: i. “Tanwiji” is the Yoruba word for mosquito and ex (when it means former).
larvae. ii. Okonkwo always slept in his “obi”. Examples: i. Anti-Christ ii. co-writer iii. co-terrorist iv. all-
(f) They draw attention to special meanings of words. knowing v. post-independence vi. self-employed vii. ex-
Example: She is a “man” in her handling of tasks. champion
(e) It is used between compound numbers from twenty-one to
4.2 The Hyphen (–) ninety-nine.
Even though the hyphen is shorter than the dash, the two Examples: i. forty-eight ii. sixty-two,
punctuation marks sometimes look alike when seen in print or (f) It is used to link numbers indicating a range.
writing. In spite of their similarity, however, the two marks differ in Examples: i. pp 50-100, 75-88, 92-125 ii. Verses 4-8
their functions. This point is illustrated by the following:
(a) The hyphen is used to join two or more words to form a 4.3 The Apostrophe ( ’ )
compound word, especially a compound adjective or The apostrophe is used for many purposes:
compound noun. (a) It is used to indicate the omission of one or more letters in
Examples: i. Father-in-law ii. Court-martial iii. Sit-in iv. contractions.
Hocus-pocus v. First-aid Examples:
(b) It is used to split a word between one line and the next. I’m for I am
You’re for you are
Examples: i. adjec-tive ii. non-essential iii. un-stable
It’s for it is
Note: Splitting words is not arbitrary. Words should be split
I’ll for I will/I shall
at the end of a syllable.
O’clock for of the clock
(c) It comes between words or a group of words taking the place
of a single adjective before a noun.
(b) It indicates the possessive case of nouns.

185 186
 I. For singular nouns, add an apostrophe before the letter s noun is made up of more than one word – e.g. Oba of Benin,
Examples: i. Ekaete’s book ii. Chief’s daughter iii. The Oni of Ife – only the first letters of the significant words in the
king’s palace name are capitalized.
ii. For singular nouns already ending in letter‘s’, just add an (d) Capitals are used for the first letter of the word God. Capitals
apostrophe. are used also for all allied words referring to the Creator,
Examples: i. St. James’ Primary School ii. My boss’ car including the personal pronouns referring to God such as His,
iii. For plural nouns ending in‘s’, add only the apostrophe. He, Him, Thy, Thine, Thou, etc.
Examples: i. Girls’ hostel ii. Two months’ income Examples: i. God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost ii.
(c) It indicates the possessive case of indefinite pronouns. the Lord iii. the Lamb of God
Examples: i. Nobody’s business. ii. Everybody’s task.
iv. the Bible v. the Quran
iii. Someone’s book.
(e) Capitals are used to indicate the first person pronoun,
Note: The rules governing the use of the apostrophe to
Examples: i. I am going to Ibadan tomorrow. ii. Dauda,
indicate possession do not apply to possessive pronouns
Okeke and I are friends.
since they are absolute possessives. So, words like his,
iii. Others may, I dare not.
hers, its, yours, theirs and ours must not carry the
apostrophe in any form. (f) Capitals are used for adjectives derived from proper nouns.
Examples: i. Parisian wine ii. Nigerian dress
4.4 Capitals (g) Capitals are used for the names of all languages.
Capital letters are used as follows: Examples: Yoruba, English, French, Hausa, Igbo, Efik
(a) They are used to indicate the beginning of the first word in a (h) Capitals are used for trade names of all kinds. It is not used,
sentence or direct quotation. however, for the word or words following trade names except
Examples: i. This is a car. ii. They went to Uyo yesterday. such word or words is/are part of it.
iii. The teacher said, “Let’s have some quiet in the class”. Examples: i. Cocoa-Cola ii. Lipton tea iii. Sanyo fan
(b) Capital letters are used to begin the first word of titles of (i) Capitals are used after full stops, question marks, and
books, movies, poems, plays, articles, journals, newspapers, exclamation marks.
songs, television shows, etc. They are also used for the names Examples: i. I love my children. They are God’s gifts. ii.
of countries, states, cities, towns, streets, rivers, mountains How are you? Fine?
and other geographical features. (j) Capitals are used for the first letters of all interjections.
Examples: i. Things Fall Apart ii. River Niger iii. Lake Chad Examples: i. Ha! ii. Hi! iii. Oh!
iv. Nigeria (k) Capitals are used for the first letters of days, weeks, months,
(c) Capital letters are used to begin the initial letters of proper holidays, festivals, etc.
nouns (not common nouns). (A proper noun is a noun that Examples: i. Monday ii. December iii. Christmas Holiday
names a person, place or thing). In a case where a proper iv. Agemo Festival v. New Yam Festival and Olojo Festival

187 188
 Exceptions: In some cases e precedes i even when e occurs
(l) Capitals are used for the initial letter of the first word (and for
after c. In others e precedes i when there is no c. at all; and i
the nouns) on the salutation and complimentary close of a
comes before e even when the e comes after c. The following
letter.
are examples: their, neither, weird, seize, counterfeit, leisure,
Examples: i. Dear Dr. Okon ii. Dear Daniel iii. Yours
either, financier, and species.
faithfully,
Note: ie is more common than ei
Note: Among other functions, capital letters can convert
common nouns into proper nouns. For instance, “The iii. Change final ie to y before adding the – ing suffix
house…” is one thing, but “The House” (e.g. The House of Examples:
Representatives) is very much another. Similarly, “father” in vie vying
the family sense is different from “Father” which refers to die dying
God. Thus, the usage or omission of a capital letter can affect lie lying
the meaning of a word. tie tying

Unit 5: Spelling 4.2 The Final e Rule

Spelling is a significant aspect of writing mechanics. Thus, there is The Final e Rule is applied to words ending in silent e to which
the need to cultivate good spelling habits. This is not always an suffixes are to be added.
easy task because English spelling is anomalous – the spelling of i. Drop the final e when the suffix begins with a vowel sound.
words cannot always be predicted. Examples:
drive driving
Some Spelling Rules and Guides care caring
What follows are some basic spelling rules and guides to help you love lovable
achieve spelling accuracy. By learning one rule after the other, you explore exploration
will know how to spell many words. fame famous
Osoba (2005) identifies the following spelling rules and guides. persuade persuading
ride riding
4.1 The ie or ei Rule
i. When choosing between ie and ei for the long ‘ee’ (i.e./i:/) ii. Retain the final e if the word ending in e has either the letter
sound, write i before e except after c. c or g or where the suffix begins with a consonant sound.
Examples: achieve, belief, piece, hygiene, chief, grief, thief, Examples:
pierce, niece, cashier, priest, shriek, siege, besiege, fierce, peace peaceable
relief, shield, yield, reprieve, retrieve. courage courageous
ii. Write e before i when e occurs after c. advantage advantageous
Examples: ceiling, conceive, receive, perceive, receipt, change changeable
deceive, conceit. notice noticeable
engage engagement

189 190
 bore boredom valley valleys
state statement play plays
fate fateful way ways
pure purely Exceptions:
Exceptions: carry carrying
argue argument copy copying
awe awful hurry hurrying
mile mileage try trying
true truly study studying
whole wholly
wise wisdom 4.4 Doubling Final Consonants
due duly This rule applies to final consonants with affixation – prefix or
suffix.
Note: Judgement may be spelt with or without the first e.
ii. Practicable has no e before a because c is pronounced like /k/. Examples:
dis-, d-, mis-, re-, un-, ir-, etc.
4.3 The Final y Rule: The Final y rule is important, especially for i. With prefixes: Double the consonant where the same letter or
plural formation of nouns and 3 Person Singular or verbs.
rd

consonant that ends the prefix begins the word to which it is

i. Change y to ie before –s or –d suffixies.
added.
carry carried
cry cried Examples:
baby babies in- + numerable = innumerable
sixty sixties mis + spell = misspell
city cities il- + logical = illogical
ir- + regular = irregular
ii. Change y to i before most other endings or suffixes. im + moral = immoral
Examples: un- + natural = unnatural
happy happiness
easy easily Thus, the consonant doubling is as a result of absorbed prefixes.
merry merriment Generally, the spelling of a word remains unchanged when a prefix
deny denial is added to it. The important thing is to know the spelling of these
prefixes.
iii. Retain the final y before –s or a few other suffixes preceded dis + appoint = disappoint
by vowels. im + prove = improve
Examples: in + accessible = inaccessible
day days re + store = restore
delay delays un + aware = unaware

191 192
 However, drop one I when –all is added to the beginning of a label labeling labelled
word. jewel jeweler
Examples: always, also, almost, already, although rebel rebellion
ii. With suffixes: The suffix – a counterpart of the prefix – is a wool woolen
morpheme that is added to the end of a word.
Examples: -full, -ness, -ly, -ring, -er, etc Note: (i) This feature is a characteristic of British spelling. American
Double the consonant before a suffix that begins with a English generally adopts a single I. For the sake of consistency, stick
vowel is added to a word with a single final consonant. to whichever spelling (British or American) you prefer.
Examples: In British spelling, use a single I when the suffix –full is
refer referring referred added to a word.
big bigger biggest Examples:
win winner winning Revenge + -full = revengeful
plan planning planned Hope + -full = hopeful
infer inferred
equip equipped 5.5 Leaving the Final Consonant Single
bid bidding Do not double the final consonant
vet vetted i. When the vowel is unstressed
drag dragging dragged Examples: suffer suffered suffering
occur occurred occurrence offer offered offering
drop dropping dropped visit visited visiting
sin sinner sinned deposit deposited depositing
prefer preferring preferred develop developed developing
hot hotter hottest ballot balloted balloting

Exception: reference Exceptions:

Double the I when an adverbial suffix –ly is added to an Worship worshipping (British English)
adjective ending in I ii. If the word has a final syllable with a double vowel (oo, oa,
ea, etc).
Examples: hopeful hopefully Examples:
awful awfully heat heated heating
careful carefully fail failed failing
eventual eventually break breaking
Double the I before adding a suffix to certain words ending in rain rained raining rainy
I. mail mailed mailing
Example: marvel marvelous marveled honour honoured
travel traveling traveler doom doomed
metal metallic repair repaired repairing

193 194
 tear tearing 5.6 The c or s Rule
read reading reader This rule has to do with words that are verbs and their
sleep sleeping sleeper corresponding noun forms. These words are usually spelt with s
neat neater in the verb form and c in the noun form.

Exceptions: Examples:
worship worshipper Verb Noun
kidnap kidnapped {to}advise advice
handicap handicapped {to}practise practice
{to}devise device
iii. If the final syllable of the word has a silent e sound:
5.7 –sede, -ceed or –cede –sede
Examples:
Example: supersede (the only verb with –sede)
hate hated hating
Examples: proceed, succeed and exceed (the three verbs
hope hoped hoping
with –ceed)
love loved loving
Examples: recede, precede, concede, intercede, accede,
secede, (the seven verbs with –cede).
iv. When the base word ends with two consonants preceded by a
vowel: 5.8 Letter q
Examples: q must always be followed by u
elect elected Examples: quart, query, equate, quick
predict predicted
boast boasted 5.9 One Word or Two Written as One Word
descend descended While some words are outright fresh expressions with
test tested independent identities, others are made up by fusing existing
words.
v. If the suffix begins with a consonant.
Examples: sad sadness Examples (one word): another, anything, anywhere, cannot,
equip equipment everything, everyone, nobody, indeed, inside, into, something,
sin sinful sometimes, someone, nevertheless, despite
allot allotment
vi. For words ending in a short vowel plus c, add k instead of Examples (two-words): no one, in fact, in spite, every day,
doubling. (except when used as an adjective e.g everyday activity).
Examples:
picnic picnicking 5.10 American and British Spellings
panic panicky Both forms of spellings are acceptable. What is important is for the
user to stick to one and be consistent.

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Examples: Unit 6: Summary of the Module
American Spelling British Spelling
In this module, using ample examples, we have discussed the
i. –or -our
appropriate use of end punctuation – full stop, question mark
favor favour
and exclamation mark; as well as where and how to use
color colour
internal punctuation, that is, the comma, semi colon, colon,
honor honour
dash and parenthesis, in sentences. We have also discussed and
neighbor neighbour
used abundant examples to demonstrate how to recognise and
vigor vigour
apply the special marks such as apostrophe, hyphen, quotation
ii. –er -re
marks and capitals in written language. Finally, in this module,
kilometer kilometre
we also examined some English spelling rules, noting
theater theatre
exceptions to the rules and providing spelling guides with
center centre
detailed illustrations.
fiber fibre
iii. –s- -c-
offense offence Unit 7: Assessment on the Module
defense defence A. Apply the correct punctuation marks to the following:
iv. –z- -s- 1. The reporter asked the minister many questions
organizer organise 2. How are the mighty fallen
patronize patronise 3. The man is well-behaved, his wife is ill mannered
analyze analyse 4. Professor Ayo Banjo is an effective teacher respected linguist
prominent author and an excellent administrator
Note: In spite of the above, the same spelling is used for the 5. Brother in law
words, advertise and exercise in the American and British models. 6. My brothers name is opeyemi
v. –e- -ae- 7. buchi emecheta wrote the second class citizen
anesthesia anesthesia
esthetic aesthetic B. Correct any spelling error in the following:
medieval mediaeval Profesor (b) occurence (c) accomodation (d) acros (e) lenght
vi. –m- -me- (f) acumulate (g) counterfiet (h) reciept (i) concieve (j)
program programme pronounciation
kilogram kilogramme
vii. –o- -ou-
mold mould
plow plough
viii. Single consonant double consonant
traveler traveller
wagon waggon

197 198
Works Consulted MODULE TWELVE
Olaoye, Bukola. (2008). “Punctuation Marks and Mechanical
Accuracy” in Effective Communication Skills for Higher LITERARY APPRECIATION
Education. Lagos: Adesan Graphic Press Ltd. ’Tayo Agboola and ’Ronke Oyeleye
Osoba, Gabriel. (2005). Mastering Punctuation and Spelling in
English. Lagos: Black house Publishers Introduction
Online Sources This module introduces students to the literary appreciation of
Catalogue.pearsoned.co.uk/samplechapter/0131428993.pdf works of fiction, that is, poetry, prose and drama. Literary
retrieved on 12/4/2017 appreciation refers to the understanding of a work of literature and
www.Irbusinessed.com/bcp/texbookfiles/chapter05.pdf being able to recognise and evaluate (judge) various aspects of its
retrieves on 12-4-2017 form and content according to generally agreed principles and
www.statistik.tuwien.ac.at/...Oxford%20Essential20Guide% criteria in literature. In other words, in literary appreciation, the
20Essential%20Guide%20To%20writting.pdf 12/4/2017 reader interprets, and evaluates a literary work with a view to
determining the artistic merits or demerits of such a work. The
Reading List need for knowledge about literary appreciation is not limited to
Dukiya, Funmilayo (2008). Use of punctuation. In Oyegoke, Lekan students of English Literature or those in the Humanities; it is in
(ed.) Undergraduate Text on English Language and fact imperative for every university student, who intends to use
Literature. Ibadan: Yoori Books. English as the language of communication, to master the art of
Kolln, Martha and Funk, Robert (2009). Understanding English literary appreciation irrespective of his or her field of study.
Grammar. New York: Longman.
Komolafe, O.E. and Anurudu, S. (2005). Mechanics of writing. In Unit 1: Objectives of the Module
Alo, Moses and Ayo Ogunsuji (eds.). English Language
At the end of this module, students should be able to:
Communication Skills for Academic Purposes. Ibadan: GSP
· Define literature and explain its importance for every
Unit, University of Ibadan.
student.
· Identify and explain the major features of poetry and
associated literary devices such as simile, metaphor,
synecdoche, pun, etc.
· Identify the five elements of prose (plot, point of view,
characters, theme, and setting) and explain the various
forms of prose.
· Identify and explain the forms and elements of drama.

UNIT 2: Definition and Importance of Literature

2.1 What is Literature?
Literature generally means anything written about a subject. More
explicitly, literature refers to written works with artistic value or

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creative worth such as poetry, prose fiction, and drama. Unlike the events captured in literature are realistic, the lessons learnt
writer in scientific writing whose focus is on precision in the from their study are wise commentaries on human nature.
presentation of facts, the creative writer or literary artist does not v. Literature enhances good moral conduct: The manner in
usually present his work in a direct, straight forward manner. His which morality is taught in literature is usually different
words do not have one meaning and are not subject to one when compared to religious preaching. In literature,
interpretation. For instance, while the writer of basic literature morality is presented in a more subtle and creative form.
about the computer sets out to trace the origin, make-up, use, vi. Good reading of literature inspires to greater ideals like
advantages, disadvantages, problems and prospects of the patriotism, sacrifice, commitment etc.
computer, what a literary artist does is to deliberately add ornaments
to his writing. To achieve this, the writer of literature uses special Unit 3: Poetry
devices in language such as proverbs, transliterations, figurative Poetry is one of the genres of literature. The word ‘poetry’ is
expressions, ambiguity, and parallelism to mention just a few. derived from the Greek word Poesis, which means, ‘making’ or
‘creating’. It is an art form with elevated language in verse,
2.2 Importance of Literature expressing deep feelings or noble thoughts in a rhythmic manner
The importance of literature is manifold. Some of them are with the aim of communicating an experience.
provided below:
i. Literature entertains: Ogunsiji (2003) asserts that the form 3.1 Features of Poetry
of entertainment offered by literature affords the mind the The major features that distinguish poetry from the other two
opportunity of overcoming psychological tensions and literary genres– prose and drama – are:
conflicts. To achieve this, the writer draws from important i. Imagery
events in real life and arranges them in such a way that they ii. Rhythm
have a beginning, middle and an end. iii. Sound
ii. Literature educates its readers: To develop the linguistic iv. Diction
competence of the reader, literature arouses in him the zeal
to read more. It helps the reader to develop fluency and the 3.1.1 Imagery
ability to comprehend what is read. Literature also helps to This is the use of figurative language to represent objects, actions
sharpen the reader’s intellect and broaden his educational and ideas in such a way that it appeals to the reader’s physical
senses. Imagery is used by poets to arouse specific emotions in the
outlook. It enhances the reader’s appreciation of words and
reader, and to create beauty, which is an important quality of
draws him closer to the writer’s style of writing.
poetry. Imagery is associated with mental pictures, and it employs
iii. The study of literature involves making character judgments
the aid of the following specific literary devices to appeal to the
and analysing situations; it helps one to think critically and reader’s sense organs (Section 3.2 contains a discussion of some
write analytically. other literary devices):
iv. The cultural importance of literature is immense; it helps to
preserve, enliven and enrich people’s culture. Literature i. Simile
deepens ones understanding of other people. It gives one an This is a figure of speech in which comparison is made between
opportunity to see things through other people’s eyes. Because two unlike things with the use of ‘like’ or ‘as’. For example:

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 From the West “In those days when civilisation kicked us in the face”
Clouds come hungry with the wind David Diop, ‘The Vultures’
Turning
Sharply 3.1.2 Rhythm
Here and there As an element of poetry, rhythm is considered the most important
Like a plague of locusts of a poet’s technical resources because it has to do with the flow of
Whirling words or thoughts, which helps to convey mood and meaning in
Tossing up things on its tail poetry. According to Egudu (1979):
Like a madman chasing nothing
Rhythm can be compared with a beat or pulse, and as a
David Rubadiri
beat or pulse (it) implies the presence of movement in
‘An African Thunderstorm’
which there is a recurrence of identical points. Rhythm
can also be said to mean movement. Any action in which
Rubadiri likens the thunderstorm to a plague of locusts and a motion is involved therefore has some rhythm. A moving
madman chasing nothing. This indicates the uproar the storm vehicle shows rhythm and a flowing stream exhibits
causes, and the menace it causes too. rhythm. Also, the rise and fall of the water in the ocean is
rhythmical. (34)
ii. Metaphor
Unlike the simile, a metaphor’s comparison is implied. It is a figure From the above definition, rhythm follows a patterned
of speech that is used to make a comparison between two things arrangement of sounds which are either stressed or unstressed, to
that are not alike but have something in common. For example: follow the equivalent intervals between specific sounds in poetry
Your eyes are doves behind your veil. (Songs of Solomon 4:1b) (music).

iii. Personification 3.1.3 Sound

This figure of speech enables the reader to endow human This is one of the features that give satisfaction in a poem. Sound in
attributes to inanimate objects and non-human beings. In other poetry is identical to melody in music, and this melody can be well
words, human attributes such as walking, talking, eating, sleeping appreciated if the poem is read aloud. However, this does not mean
etc. are transferred to non-humans. For instance, that one still cannot enjoy the melodious feel of the poem if read
silently. Sound in poetry is used to convey meaning, emotions and
Then I hear a wailing piano
pleasure, and it employs the help of literary devices such as
Solo speaking of complex ways
onomatopoeia, assonance, alliteration, consonance, repetition,
In tear furrowed concerto
and refrains as expatiated below.
Of far away lands…
Gabriel Okara, ‘Piano and Drums’ i. Alliteration
This is a literary device in which two or more words in a row have
“until the day breathes…” the same first consonant sound. An important point to note is that
Holy Bible, Songs of Solomon 4:6 alliteration does not depend on letters but on sounds.

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Examples: Examples:
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes. You can’t save money by spending it.
Peter piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others”
George Orwell, Animal Farm
ii. Onomatopoeia
The literary artist uses this poetic device to create words by imitating ii. Hyperbole
or mimicking the sound of the thing it describes. For example, the This is the deliberate use of exaggeration or overstatement by the
words we use to describe the noises that animals make are all poet that must not be taken literally, with the aim of heightening
onomatopoetic, such as dog’s “bark”, and cat’s “meow”. the effect of his/her work on the reader.
Example: Examples:
Three fields to cross till a farm appears An hundred years should go to praise
A tap at the pane, the quick sharp scratch Thine eyes and on thy forehead gaze
And blue spurt of a lighted match Two hundred to adore each breast
Robert Browning, ‘Meeting at night’ Andrew Marvel, ‘To his coy mistress’

3.1.4 Diction I’ll love you, dear, I’ll love you till China and Africa meet
This is how words are used in oral or written discourse. It has to do And the river jumps over the mountain
with the peculiar choice of words used by the poet to convey his And the salmon sing in the street
message to his/her audience. To write well, the poet must use the W.H. Auden, ‘As I walked out one evening’
correct and accurate vocabulary to convey meaning so that his/her
work will not be verbose or ambiguous. Sometimes the choice of
iii. Metonymy
words of the poet can make his/her work plain, homely, exotic,
It involves the use of an object or idea to stand for or signify some
cryptic, contemporary etc. so it is left to the reader to decipher or
other thing with which it is closely associated, but not an integral
analyse the dominant pattern of the diction employed by a poet in
part. In other words, the idea or object is not called by its original
his work.
name but by the name of something intimately close to it or
associated with it.
3.2 More Literary Devices
Examples:
Literary devices are narrative techniques that writers use to
The pen is mightier than the sword.
produce special effects in their writing particularly to provoke a
In this case the pen might stand for a writer while the sword might
particular response from the reader. There is a large volume of
stand for a soldier.
them but only a few of the basic ones are mentioned here.
Jide goes after any skirt in school.
i. Paradox The skirt in this sentence stands for females.
It is a form of speech which seems contradictory at first but on
closer examination contains a lot of truth. As a literary device often iv. Synecdoche
used in poetry, the truth contained in paradoxical expressions is This is similar to metonymy because both work on the basis of
often realised against a religious or philosophical background. association. Synecdoche is however different in that a part of an

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object, person, or place for example, is made to stand for the Edgar Allan Poe often used irony in his work to contrast life
whole. For instance, if your parents buy you a car and you say that and death. In the opening stanza of the above poem, he uses irony
you just got a new set of wheels, you are using synecdoche- you are to challenge the readers’ assumption of what life is. At the end of
using “wheels”, which are parts of a car, to refer to the whole car. the stanza, readers will be surprised that death brings a welcome
Another example is: end to the fever of living.
“All hands on deck”
viii. Litotes
In this case, the hand, which is a part of the body, is used to This device consists of an understatement that uses a negation to
represent the whole ship crew. express a positive. It is a form of verbal irony.
Examples:
v. Apostrophe “Not too bad a singer” (A good singer)
This is when the persona (poetic voice) directly addresses an animate It was not unlike expected. (It was just as expected)
object or idea as one would address a living person. The apostrophe is
sometimes represented by the exclamation, “oh”. Examples are: ix. Pun
Oh, Christmas tree, oh, Christmas tree, how lovely are your branches. This is a play on words. It is the humorous use of a word to suggest
Oh! How the mighty has fallen. its different meaning or use. It adds profound meaning to a text
O holy virgin! Clad in purest white. and shapes the way the text is interpreted.
Example:
vi. Oxymoron “Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana”.
This literary device combines two opposite words together in a
sentence. The sentence is self contradictory in nature to reveal a 3.3 Other Features of Poetry
paradox. Aside paying attention to the poetic or literary devices employed
Examples: in a poem, another essential means of appreciating a poem is to
Why is my world upside down? pay attention to the theme, subject matter, mood, tone and
The edifice in your office is beautiful nonsense. style/technique. These features are discussed below.

vii. Irony i. Theme

Irony is the use of words in such a way that their intended meaning This is the central meaning or message in a poem. The idea might
is different from the actual meaning. be war, love, death, unhappiness etc. In identifying the theme of a
Example: poem, one must pay close attention to the intention of the poet,
Thank Heaven! the crises, which may be vaguely spelt out or directly used. One fundamental
The danger is past, point to take note of is that the theme of a poem is informed by the
And the lingering illness poet’s social, philosophical, religious, moral, and political
Is over at last, background. Therefore, to find meaning in a poem, one must put
And the fever called “Living” oneself in the poet’s universe and efface part of oneself (Dasylva
Is conquered at last. and Jegede, 2005).
Edgar Allan Poe, ‘For Annie’

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ii. Subject Matter 4.1 Elements of Prose Fiction
This is the content summary of a poem that gives a clue to the There are five basic aspects of prose fiction to watch out for in
central idea. In other words, subject matter makes the theme literary appreciation. These are plot, point of view,
conclusive. In inferring a subject matter, the topic stages of the characterisation, theme, and setting.
poem must be recognised.
4.1.1 Plot
iii. Mood
The plot refers to the series of events that form the story in a
This is also known as atmosphere. It is a literary device that
literary text. Structurally, these events or occurrences are
invokes certain feelings and emotions in the readers through the
poet’s use of words and description. Mood is developed in a poem logically and sequentially arranged. The arrangement may be
through various means like setting, theme, tone and diction. spatial (from one place to another) or chronological (from cause
to effect or from effect to cause). It is important to note that
iv. Tone descriptions and analyses of happenings are not part of the plot.
This is the poet’s attitude towards the poem persona, reader, and The elements of plot structure to watch out for are: exposition,
subject matter as interpreted by the reader. Elements such as complication, crisis, climax, and resolution.
diction, imagery, and figurative language can be used by poets to i. Exposition: This is the introductory part of the sequence of
create tone in a work of poetry. Also, there may be more than one events. It gives a description of the background of the story;
tone that a poet takes towards his/her work at the same time. For and reveals basic information about the characters and the
instance, the tone of a poem can be humorous and dark at the setting of the story.
same time. ii. Complication: In this part of the plot structure, an event or
character that causes difficulty is introduced into the story.
v. Style/technique iii. Crisis: This is the critical moment in the story, the point when
This is the method which a poet uses to convey meaning, tone, and the conflicting forces meet and the difficult situation
emotion in his/her poem. The poet might decide to convey his/her becomes most intense.
meaning through one of the various forms of poetry like sonnet, iv. Climax: It is the outcome of the crisis. The climax is the
lyric, ode, etc. or through musical devices like rhythm, rhyme etc. turning point when a major positive or negative change
happens in the life of the main characters in the story.
UNIT 4: Prose Fiction v. Resolution: This is also referred to as denouement. It is the
Prose fiction is like a written down story as opposed to a poem. It is final part of the story; the conclusion of all the actions when
called fiction because the stories describe imaginary people and there are no more questions to be answered and no more
events. Non-Fiction prose on the other hand is generally a work
surprises to expect.
that has literary qualities, but lays claim to being factual. Non-
fiction prose is usually truthful accounts of real men. Under the
4.1.2 Point of View
non-fiction category, there are the diary, autobiography and
The point of view refers to the narrator or character’s perspective
biography (Oriola and Olaoye, 2008).
about events and situations in the story. Different points of view
The prose fiction has certain characteristic elements, and
may be expressed in the same story, such as the following:
may be written in different forms.

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i. First person point of view: In this case, the story is being 4.2. 1 Short Story
narrated by one of the characters in the story who can reveal The short story is shorter than the novel in volume (size). The
only what he or she sees or hears directly from other name is derived from the length of the story. The consensus is that
characters. Also, the First Person narrator can share only a reader should be able to start and complete the reading of a short
his/her personal opinions and emotions, not that of other story within one or two hours without missing any part of the story.
characters in the story. The plot of the short story is not complicated as that of the novel; it
is concise and has no room for subplots. (Afolayan and Owoeye:
ii. Omniscient point of view: Here, the narrator has an
2004). Just like the novel, it has a theme, plot, point of view,
unlimited knowledge of the events. He/she can reveal the
setting and characters; however, the characters are few and not
thoughts in the mind of each of the characters.
fully developed like in the novel. An example of a short story is
Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea.
4.1.3 Characters
The people portrayed in the story are referred to as characters.
4.2.2 Novella
Again, different types of characters may exist in a story.
This is a form of prose fiction that is normally longer than a short
i. Round or dynamic characters: These appear in realistic
story but shorter than a novel. As a rule of thumb, the novella is
stories and have good and bad qualities which change or
more than 20,000 but fewer than 50,000 words in length.
grow as the story progresses.
Structurally, the novella has fewer subplots and conflicts than a
ii. Flat or static characters: These kinds of characters often have
full length novel. Unlike the novel, the novella, most times does
only one or two outstanding traits. Flat characters do not not have chapters. It concerns itself with the emotional and
change in the story. personal development of the characters rather than dealing with
the society at large. George Orwell’s Animal Farm, and Franz
4.1.4 Theme Kafka’s The Metamorphosis are examples of novellas.
The theme of a story is the central message or dominant idea.. It
should be noted that the theme of a literary work is not the same as 4.2.3 Novel
the topic or subject. A theme makes a statement or expresses an The novel is a narrative work of prose with an extended scope,
opinion about the subject or topic of the story. There may be more length and plot. Due to its length, it has ability to accommodate a
than one theme in a story and these may be categorised as major greater number of characteristics, and a complication of plots
and minor (or sub-) themes. (NOUN, 2006). Thematically, the novel is based on human
experiences and how these experiences affect the society at large.
4.1.5 Setting The novel is often said to have emerged with the appearance of
The physical environment in which the action takes place is called Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe (1719), and Moll Flanders (1722).
the setting. It also includes the era or period in time and the place
in which the events of the story occur. Types of Novels
There are numerous kinds of novels but just a few of them will be
4.2 Forms of Prose Fiction mentioned here.
In this module, three major forms of prose fiction will be I. Bildungsroman: This type of novel deals with the
discussed, namely, the short story, novella, and novel.
psychological development and moral education of the main

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 character from the formative years. E.g. Seffi Atta’s, 5.1. Elements of Drama
Everything Good Will Come. Aspects of the novel such as the plot, setting, characters and
ii. Satirical novel: The aim of satirical novel is to improve characterisation, subject matter, theme and language are equally
humanity through criticising its follies. This type of novel obtainable in drama but with slight differences as discussed below.
exposes and criticises the ills and foolishness of an individual
or a society by using irony, humour and exaggeration. E.g. i. Plot Structure
Mark Twain’s, Huckleberry Finn. The structural divisions of the action are more obvious in drama
iii. Historical novel: This type of novel depends heavily on than in the novel, and they are divided into Acts and subdivided
historical events, dates and time to develop its plot and into Scenes. As an essential part of a good plot, the events must be
setting, although its characters are often fictional. It is set linked in a chain-like form, usually tagged “unity of plot”, while
against a background of real conflicts and issues. E.g. Charles irrelevances are excluded. The plot structure of the play
Dickens’, A Tale of Two Cities; Ayi Kwei Armah’s, Two conventionally begins with an exposition, followed by a rising
Thousand Seasons. action, climax, anagorisis (popular in plots for tragic plays), falling
iv. Psychological novel: It explains the motivation of the action, resolution and denouement.
action of the characters in a novel. This type of novel focuses a. Exposition: This is the beginning of the play. It serves the
on the internal life of the character, whether mental, audience with some background information and sets the scene
emotional etc. to explore the various levels of mental activity. for subsequent events. At this level, characters are identified
E.g. Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote. and introduced. The prologue is connected with the exposition
v. Sociological novel: A novel of this type focuses on the social which also forms the background to the whole story.
problem such as gender issues, racism, prejudice etc. affecting b. Rising Action: This is also known as complication; it projects
the character or society. E.g. Charles Dickens’ Hard Times. the problems or conflicts in the story. As the situation begins
to change, tension sets in and a problem builds up from the
Unit 5: Drama original situation in the story.
Drama is a work of art which describes human life and activities c. Climax: The highest point of all the forces constituting the
through the presentation of actions by means of dialogue between conflict in a story is called the climax.
groups of characters. It is a story devised to be presented by actors d. Anagnorisis: It is a moment of realisation in the plot. At this
on a stage before an audience. The word drama originated from point, the tragic hero recognises the reality about his self and
the Greek word, dran, which means to do or to act. It encompasses realises his own responsibility for his actions. For example, in
all written plays irrespective of form or genre. The story told by Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Oedipus the protagonist realises
drama through action and dialogue is conventionally divided into his own responsibility for his actions – his sins of incest and
acts and scenes, unlike prose, which is divided into chapters. The patricide. Though committed unconsciously, the reality of the
actions of the characters developed in drama are usually situation is cruelly and sharply revealed to him.
exaggerated or made larger than life. The person who writes plays
e. Falling action: also known as reversal of fortune.
for the stage is known as a dramatist or playwright while an actor
or actress impersonates characters developed by a playwright on f. Resolution: This refers to the level at which the protagonist
the stage before an audience. makes certain decisions that are capable of determining the
outcome of the crisis.

213 214
g. Denouement: this refers to the end of a play in which 5.2.1 Tragedy
everything is explained or settled. It is the end result of the Tragedy is a play with a serious purpose in which the main character
conflicting occurrences in the play. experiences a fatal ending. It contains one central character but it
uses other characters to develop its theme, and it ends sorrowfully.
ii. Setting The protagonist of a classical tragic play, according to Aristotle, must
This refers to the social background of the play. be a character of a noble background as it was believed that only
such people could take part in serious matters, which makes their
iii. Characterisation fall from grace to grass a pitiable one. Aristotle further qualifies
This is also known as character development. Actions in a play can tragedy as that play which must bring about the emotions of pity and
be given their form, meaning and interpretation only through fear in the audience; the audience should pity the tragic hero and
characters. Therefore, the playwright must present his characters fear for themselves as human beings. The tragic character is a person
simply and directly. who suffers psychological conflict within himself and takes a
resolution which determines the outcome of the event. Examples of
iv. Subject Matter tragic characters are Oedipus in Oedipus Rexby Sophocles, Odewale
This simply means the subject of the play; that is, what the play is in The gods are not to Blame by Ola Rotimi, Macbethin Macbeth by
talking about. William Shakespeare.
It is good to note that not all tragic heroes are developed from
v. Theme noble births. Playwrights and critics after Aristotle have improved
This refers to the lesson learnt from a work of art. From the play on the character development of a tragic hero. He can be an
Oedipus the king by Sophocles, the audience learns that temper ordinary citizen, but must possess traits which place him head and
that is uncontrolled can destroy its victim. shoulders above other characters in the text. Othello, the Moor of
Venice, in Shakespeare’s Othello excelled by sheer merit of the
vi. Dialogue excellent qualities he displayed.
It is similar to the point of view or narrative technique in prose.
Dialogue is the conversation that occurs between or among 5.2.2 Comedy
characters in a play. It can serve as a clue to character development Unlike the tragedy, a comedy is a play with a happy beginning and
in that the attitude and idiosyncrasies of a character are assessed a happy ending. The characters are involved in a state of confusion
by what he says of himself and what others say about him. as events unfold but the situation returns to normalcy and the play
ends happily. Types of comedy include: comedy of errors, comedy
5.2. Forms of Drama of manners, romantic comedy, and satiric comedy. The major
The form of a drama is the way that the story is told, the way the characteristics of comedy are:
characters play their parts, and the way the themes are explored. i. A happy ending with less serious but complex intrigues.
There are five major forms of drama by convention, namely:
ii. Ordinary characters with no extra-ordinary problems.
tragedy, comedy, tragi-comedy, melo-drama, and farce.
iii. Enrichment with spectacles.
iv. Misrepresentations, disguise in terms of physical appearance,
names, sex etc.,which generate mistaken identity, and humour

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 e.g. She Stoops to Conquer by OliverGoldsmith; Our Husband 2) Write short notes on the following:
Has Gone Mad Again by Ola Rotimi. · Personification
· Alliteration
5.2.3 Tragi-comedy · Mood
This refers to a play with a serious beginning but which ends happily. · Theme
Guarini (1601) in his book, Compendium of Tragi-comic Poetry, quoted · Oxymoron
by Ogunjimi (2003) asserts that “Tragi-comedy… takes from tragedy
its great persons, but not its great actions, its movement of the feeling 3) Explain in detail, the difference between a novella and a novel.
but not its disturbances of them, its pleasure but not its sadness, its 4) a. Highlight four elements of drama.
danger but not its death; from comedy, it takes laughter that is not b. Explain three forms of drama.
excessive, modest amusement, feigned difficulty and happy reversal”.
From the above definition, tragi-comedy in essence is made up of References and Works Consulted
characters of high and low degrees. Its actions are of serious Afolayan, Sola and Owoeye, Lara. (2004).Writers and the Art of
magnitude, sometimes threatening a tragic disaster to the writing. Lagos: Adel Press.
protagonist but ends happily. Comic and crude situations including
surprises, coincidences and exaggerations are part of tragi-comedy. Dasylva, A.O. and Jegede, O.B. (2005). Studies in Poetry. Ibadan:
Stirling-Horden Publishers.
5.2.4 Melodrama Dasylva, Ademola O. (2004). Studies in Drama. Ibadan: Stirling-
Melodrama is a play that is full of exciting events and in which the HordenPulishers (Nig.) Ltd.
characters and emotions seem too exaggerated to be real. The
Egudu, R.N. (1979). The Study of Poetry. Ibadan: University Press.
protagonists are flat characters and the plot revolves around
malevolent intrigue and violence. National Open University of Nigeria. (2006). ENG 172:
Introduction to Poetry.
Unit 6: Summary of the Module Nnamani, Obiageli. (2005). English is Simple: A Use of English
In this module, we have explained what literature is, and Handbook. Ibadan: Evans Brothers (Nigerian Publishers)
highlighted why the basic knowledge of literary appreciation of Limited.
poetry, prose and drama is important for every student Obafemi, O. and Bodunde, C. (eds). (2003). Criticism, Theory and
irrespective of his or her field of study. The defining features, Ideology in African Literature. Ilorin: Haytee Press.
basic characteristics, types, literary devices, and elements of
each of the three genres of fiction – poetry, prose, and drama – Ogunjimi, Bayo. (2003).What is Literature? In OluObafemi and
have also been discussed, supported with ample illustrations Charles Bodunde (Eds,) Criticism, Theory and Ideology in
taken from a rich variety of literary texts to help the reader. African Literature. Ilorin: Haytee Press and Publishing
Company Nigeria Ltd.
Unit 7: Assessment on the Module Ogunsiji, Ayo. (2003). Developing EL2 Learners’ Communicative
1) Explain any three reasons why the knowledge of literary Competence through Literature in English. In Oyeleye, L and
appreciation is important for even students studying science Olateju, M. (Eds.). Readings in Language and Literature. Ile-
in the university. Ife: ObafemiAwolowo University Press. 127 – 136.

217 218
Oriola, Stanley and Olaoye, Bukola. (2008). “Forms and functions INDEX
of literature: Extending the canons of communication skills”
A Derivational morpheme, 65
in OlatundeAyodabo and DemolaJolayemi (Eds.) Effective Adjective, 7, 34, 36, 37, 54, 66, 72, 73, Determiners, 42
Communication Skills for Higher Education; The Use of 74, 76, 78, 179, 186, 194, 197 Diction, 205
English. Oyo: Ajayi Crowther University. Adverbs, 19, 20, 34, 35, 36-41, 47, 67, Diphthongs, 11
72-75, 176, 180, 187 Direct speech, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121,
Rotimi, Ola. (1975). The gods are not to Blame. London: Oxford Affective Meaning, 54 123, 124
University Press. Alliteration, 204 Drama, 152, 213,214, 215, 216, 219
American spelling, 196-197
Sophocles. (1975). Oedipus Rex in The Theban Plays. Antonym, 59 E
Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. Ltd. Apostrophe, 156, 207 End punctuation, 170
Aspect, 65, 91, 92, 94, 95, 96, 97 English as a second language (ESL), 1, 2,
Associative meaning, 50 10
Reading List Auxiliary verb, 31 English consonant sounds, 17
Essays, 163
Jesulowo, B., Oyinlola, F., Adebayo, K. (2004). Language Skills: B Exclamation mark, 173
Reading and Writing in Perspectives. Ibadan: Adonia Printing Backshift, 119 Exposition, 211, 215
Base form, 30
Press. Bound morpheme, 64 F
Oyeleye, A.L. and Olateju, M. (Eds.) (2003). Readings in Language British spelling, 196-197 Finite verb, 32
Formal letter, 159
and Literature. Ile Ife: ObafemiAwolowo University Press
C Free direct speech, 124
Ltd. Nigeria. Capitals, 187-189 Free indirect speech, 125
Charting method, 151
Clause, 42, 63, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 184 G
Climax, 211, 215 Grammatical features, 20
Collective noun, 24 Grammatical functions,63
Colon, 181 Grammatical unit, 63
Comedy, 216
Comma, 178 H
Common nouns, 23 Habits, 154
Communicative dynamism, 57 Homonym, 58
Complement, 71, 78, 105 Hyperbole,155-206
Comprehension skills,127-131 Hyphen, 186
Conceptual meaning, 50, 51 Hyponym,60
Concord, 98, 100, 102, 103, 104, 105,
106, 107 I
Concord of person,104 Imagery, 202
Conjunctions, 45-46 Indirect speech, 112, 113, 116, 117,
Connotative meaning, 52, 53 118, 119, 120, 121, 123, 124
Consonants,192-194 Inference, 149
Inflectional morpheme,65
D Informal letter, 159-162
Dash, 181 Interjections, 47
Denouement, 216 Internal punctuation, 174
Dialogue, 216 International Phonetic Alphabet, 5

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Intonation, 13, 14 Phrase, 63, 69, 70, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, SQ3R, 144, 149, 150, 155 Theme, 208, 211
Inversion, 114 184 Standard British English, 3, 5 Traditional gramma tone, 209
Irony, 207 Phrases, 70, 71 Stress, 13 Tragedy, 216
Plot, 210 Studying, 144, 145 Types of Essays, 164
L Plot structure, 214 Style, 143, 209 Types of Paragraphs, 158
Letters, 4, 159, 160, 161, 163 Poetry, 152, 203, 209, 218, 219 Stylistic/social meaning, 53 Types of Report, 166
Listening, 74,144, 145, 146, 156 Polyseme,58 Subject, 25, 30, 71, 77, 78, 100, 102,
Literary appreciation, 200 Prepositional phrase, 73 105, 161, 210, 216 V
Literary devices, 206 Prepositions, 43-44 Summary, 131-135 Verbs, 30-34
Lototes, 205 Progressive tense, 91 92, 93, 95 Synecdode, 206
Prose fiction, 210,211 Synonym, 59 W
M Punctuation, 163, 171, 175, 200 Writing, 2, 74, 134, 135, 142, 143, 156,
Meaning, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 58, T 157, 159, 164, 165, 168, 169, 170,
63, 67, 128, 132 Q Tense, 86-96 180, 186, 220
Meaning relations, 57 Question/interrogation mark, 172 Thematic meaning, 56
Melodrama, 217 Quotation marks, 184
Metaphor, 203
Methods, 149 R
Metonymy, 206 Rapid reading, 147
Mind mapping, 152 Reading skills, 18, 49, 62, 84, 85, 97,
Modals, 89 111, 127, 131, 142, 145, 147, 150,
Mood, 210, 219 153, 156, 169, 170, 182, 200, 220
Morpheme, 63, 64, 65, 66, 184 Reflected meaning, 55
Reported speech, 112
N Reporting, 113, 116, 124, 126, 169
Nigerian English, 1,10 Reporting clause, 126
Non-fiction, 210 Reports, 165, 166, 167
Note-taking, 145, 146 Resolution, 211, 216
Notional concord, 102 Rhythm, 204
Nouns, 20-25, 70 Rules, 100, 107, 134, 135, 190
Novel, 212
Novella, 213 S
Number, 21, 26, 40, 41, 65 Scanning, 147
Semantics, 62, 63
O Semicolon, 179
Object, 25, 71, 78, 105 Semi-formal letter, 160
Onomatpoeic words, 175, 205 Sentence, 63, 79, 81, 82, 83, 130, 134,
Oxymoron, 207 152, 184
Sentences, 48, 97
P Simile, 202
Paragraph, 157, 162 Sitting, 211
Paraphrase, 149 Skills, 85, 111, 129, 135, 145, 146, 147,
Parenthesis/bracket, 182 156, 169, 200, 220
Passive verb, 195 Skimming, 145
Perfective, 96 Speech, 4, 66, 113, 116, 117, 119, 124,
Person, 27, 104, 187, 192, 212 127, 181
Phonology, 18 Spelling, 2, 3, 4, 189, 198, 200

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