• demonstrative pronoun points to a particular

thing or a group of things: this, that, these,

those.

1) This car is small, but that one is big.

2) These shoes don’t fit those girls.

• h)A reciprocal pronoun denotes a mutual
relationship: each other, one another. Each other
indicates a relationship between two individuals
while one another denotes a relationship among
more than two people.
1)They were gazing at each other.
2) Chinese and Africans respect each other.
3) The students should respect one another’s
differences.
• i) An indefinite pronoun does not refer to any
particular person or thing thus it does not
require an antecedent. Indefinite pronouns
include: any, anything, something, each, few,
many, nothing, many, most, some, anyone,
one, no one, everyone, everybody, someone,
either, and neither
-The choice between who and whom depends
on whether it is the subject or object of its
own clause.
-Use whom as the object of relative clauses and
preceding prepositions unless you are asked
to make a definite choice between who and
whom.
• Choose the grammatically correct form
• 1)Who/whom was the person responsible?
• 2)Is this the man for who/whom they sacrificed
their lives?
• 3)The eldest son, who/whom they expected to win
a prize, had nothing..
• 4)Who/whom did the minister say he will send?
• 6)Ibrahim, who/whom everybody thought would
be first, was not even in the first three.
• Subjects and objects: Personal pronouns
I we he she they who (subject
cases)

Me us him her them whom (object

cases)
• Each pair can be considered different ways of
saying the same thing or different forms
(cases) of the same word. The pronouns above
are the only words in the English language
which have cases. The cases are not usually
difficult to use e.g. She likes her. We can eat
without them.
• The object case is used for both the objects of
verbs (like) and objects of prepositions
(without). However, a problem is posed when
a pronoun is neither a subject nor an object
and when it is difficult to distinguish what it is.
• The object case is used for both the objects of
verbs (like) and objects of prepositions
(without) However, a problem is posed when
a pronoun is neither a subject nor an object
and when it is difficult to distinguish what it is.
-My mother and I went to see the doctor,
(compound subject)

-I saw her and Mary in the classroom.

(compound object of verb)

-They are doing it instead of John and me.

(compound object of preposition)
• Choose the grammatically correct alternative:
• 1)They compelled he/him and his friends to
stay in class until six o’clock.

• 2)Wives such as she/her bring trouble.

• 3)With the help of my brother and i/me, he

managed to start the engine again.
4)We have seen many others quite as brave as
he/him.

5)My husband and I/me wished all our guests

farewell.

6)It is we/us who should be blamed.

VERBS
Complete this article with the past simple or past
continuous of the verbs in brackets.
A funny thing (happen) while I
(fly)to London last summer. When I (get) on
the plane, I (take off) my jacket and put it
in the overhead locker. When the passenger
next to me (sit) down, I was surprised to
see that she (wear) the same jacket as me.
Anyway, the plane (land) and we went to
pick up our bags at the luggage carousel.
While I (wait) for my bags, I
(decide) to listen to some music. But when I
(look) for my MP3 player in my jacket
pocket, it (not be) there. Then I realized I
had the woman’s jacket-and she had mine.
Definition: A verb may express either an action
(activities, processes)or state of mind and
being. A verb phrase can be a single word or a
group of associated words.

-My father worked hard caring for his family.

-She looked tired and angry this morning.
-I forgot that it was your birthday.
 Groups
Main verbs denote actions and states. Most of
the verbs in English are main or lexical verbs.
Classification of main verbs
1) Verbs of action
a) She agreed to travel to Yaoundé next week.
(mental action)
b) He kicked the ball so hard. (physical action)
c)George is running for the train.
• Other main verbs function as linking verbs. A
linking verb does not show any mental or
physical action. It links the subject to a subject
compliment, a word or phrase that renames
or describes the subject.
• Linking verbs: be, become, seem and verbs
that disunite sensations: look, appear, feel,
taste, smell etc
• -They seemed worried. –It smells bad.
2)Verbs of state
They signify states of being or states of mind.
These include verbs relating:
a)to senses e.g. feel, hear, see, smell, taste
b)to emotions e.g. adore, fear, hate, want, wish
c) to mental activity e.g. believe, expect, mean
-We mean you no harm.
d)to possession e.g. own, belong, possess
• Note: Verbs of state are not usually used in
continuous tenses. Their meanings change if
they are used in this tense.
-I am just feeling to see if the bone is broken.
-Joan is expecting a baby.

NB: be can be used as action or state

-Ken is being silly. - He has been to the hospital.
NB: seem has a limited number of adjectives
that can be used as its complement.
-Guy seems happy. (correct)
--Guy seems tall. (not good)
Auxiliary verbs such as be and have, combine
with main verbs to form verb phrases. The
helping verbs designate tense, voice or mood.
a) My sister is sleeping. (verb phrase)
b) The match has started. (verb phrase)
has=auxiliary, started=main verb
-Modal auxiliaries suggest necessity, possibility,
willingness, obligation or ability. They include:
must, will, would, shall, should, may, might,
can, could, need, need to, ought, and ought
to. (modal auxiliaries below)
-Verbals such as known, running or to go are
forms that act as adjectives, adverbs or nouns.
A verbal cannot serve as a main verb in a
sentence unless it is used with one or more
auxiliary verbs (is going). Verbals include
participles, gerunds and infinitives.
a) Bill Gate is a well known person.

b) Running is an exercise.

c) Everything is going on well. I have to go now.

• -Participles: Practically, every verb has a
present participle. Which ends in –ing (eating,
studying) and a past participle, which either
ends in –d or –ed (smiled, learned). Some
past participles are formed irregularly (gone,
begun, written). Note that participles may
function as adjectives or nouns in a sentence.
 a) Five brands of swimming pants were on
display. (present participle serves as adjective
modifying pants)
b) The troubled were being comforted. (past
participle serves as the subject)
• Infinitives: An infinitive is the base form of the
verb preceded by to. It may function as an
adjective, an adverb or a noun.
A)Many assert that the University of Buea is a
place to be. (infinitive serves an adjective
modifying place)
b) I went outside to think. (infinitive serves as
adverb modifying went)
c)To become a millionaire was his only dream.
(infinitive serves as subject)
-Gerunds, which like present participles end in –
ing, are always used as nouns.

a)Seeing is believing. (gerunds serve as subject

and subject compliment)

b) Anne loves swimming. (gerund is direct

object of verb loves)
-Modal auxiliaries suggest necessity: must ( a
necessity), have to (an obligation)
-prohibition: must not/mustn’t, cannot/ can’t
- advice: should, ought to (the best or right
thing to do) shouldn’t, be supposed to(normal
or correct way of doing things), had better
(best thing to do in a situation and expect it
will happen)
e.g. The neigbours are complaining. We’d better
turn the music down.

- possibility, willingness, obligation or ability.

They include: must, will, would, shall, should,
may, might, can, could, need, need to, ought,
and ought to.
-permission: can, may, could, be allowed to

- Note: can, could, be allowed to, are used to

talk about rules made by someone else

Present=can, past=could, future=be allowed

to, past= was allowed
 Tenses

• There are three main tenses in the English

language: present, past, future.

• A tense is a verb form which denotes when an

action occurred or when a condition existed.
• 1) Simple Tenses: present, past, future.
• In British English shall is used in the 1st person
singular and plural

• - Present simple: used to talk about situations

or states that are always or usually true.
-We live in a flat.
• -It is also used to talk about habits and events
or actions that happen regularly, often with
adverbs of frequency (e.g always, often,
usually) and other time expressions (e.g on
Mondays, everyday, in the morning).
-We usually get up at six o’clock.
-He goes to the gym every week.
• Past simple: used to talk about actions that
finished in the past.

-She lived in London.

-He bought a new bike last month.

2) Perfect tenses:
-Present perfect- ) Present perfect: used to
talk about an action that happened in the past
and has a result in the present:
-I have forgotten her name. (I can’t remember it
now)

-He has not washed the car. (it isn’t clean now)
• Formation: has/have plus past participle

• Note: This tense can be used with-just,

already, yet, ever, never, for, since

-Have you done your homework yet?

 - Past perfect: used to talk about an action that
happened before a particular time in the past.
-This tense is often used with: before, earlier
and by + time reference.
- It is also used with: just, already, ever, never
(come after had), yet (usually comes at the
end of the sentence) and because.
 -I’d had three cups of tea.
-The guests had left by eleven o’clock.
-I wanted to go home but I hadn’t finished my
work yet.

• Formation: use had (‘d)/hadn’t + past

participle.
-Future perfect e.g. He will have built a house
by 2020.

3) Progressive/continuous tenses
a) Present continuous: used to talk about:
something that is happening now e.g.
- Wait a minute. I’m texting my friend.
 -It is also used to talk about temporary
situations: She’s from Gabon, but she’s
studying in Cameroon this year.
• Note: We often use this tense with the
following time words and phrases: now, right
now, at the moment, today:
- We’re getting ready to go out now.
b) Past progressive e.g She was speaking
Spanish.

c) Future progressive e.g I will be speaking

English by the time I leave CATUC.
d)Present perfect progressive e.g She has been
speaking English.

e) Past perfect progressive e.g You had been

speaking English.

f) Future perfect continuous e.g They will have

been speaking English.
• State Verbs
• These verbs, which describe states not
actions, are usually in the present simple, not
the present continuous. Here with some
common state verbs:

• -attitude verbs: like, love, hate, want, prefer,

need, wish
-mental /thinking verbs: believe, think, know,
remember, understand

-sense/perception verbs: hear, see, smell, taste

-others: be, have (= ‘possess ‘), belong, own,

cost, mean
• Adjectives and Adverbs

• Definition: Adjectives describe, limit, qualify,

or in some other way modify nouns and
pronouns.

• Descriptive adjectives name a quality of the

noun or pronoun they modify. For instance:
1) After the match, the players were exhausted.

2) They are American computer designers.

3) This beautiful wooden picture frame is

evidence of African craft.
• NB: a) Adjectives that modify and qualify
proper nouns begin with a capital letter e.g

• Elizabethan theatre, Shakespearean English,

African-American citizenship or nationality.
b) Articles, numbers, pronouns etc that function
as adjectives, limiting or qualifying nouns or
pronouns are referred to as determiners, for
instance:

the Senate, an orange tree, a busy street

• c) Adjectives are normally ordered according
to their meanings:

-Opinion (how good?- nice, beautiful, great,

terrible, awesome)

-Size (how big?-large, small, short, long, tall)

- Quality (famous, lazy, important, prominent,
warm, dry, wet, fast, angry)
-Age (how old?-new, old, recent, ancient)
-Shape (square, round, rectangle)
-Colour (pink, blue, black)
-Origin (where from?-(African, French, Chinese,
Shakespearean)
-Material (made of?-wood, silver, steel, leather)

-Type (what kind?-psychological illness, political

crisis, road accidents, flowing gown)

-Purpose (what for?-a party dress, a school

uniform, a night dress)
• Beri is a beautiful tall lazy young dark African
girl.

• It was a long boring and painful train journey.

• Adverbs

• Adverbs describe the action of verbs or modify

adjectives and other adverbs. They also
complete phrases, clauses or sentences. The
questions: “How, Why, Where, When, under
what conditions and To what extent, are
answered by adverbs.
 -The prince walked rather majestically into the
hall.
-See the teller next week for your remuneration.
• Note: Adverbs that modify adjectives or other
adverbs limit or qualify the words they modify.
-Susan wrote an almost perfect essay during the
competition.
• Types of adverbs

• 1) Interrogative Adverbs introduce questions

(how, when, why, and where)

Where did you study last year?

Why was he after you?

• Conjunctive adverbs act as transitional words
joining and relating independent clauses. Here
with frequently used conjunctive adverbs:
accordingly, meanwhile, also, moreover,
anyway, nevertheless, besides, next,
certainly, next, consequently, now, finally,
nowadays, furthermore, otherwise, hence,
similarly, however, still, incidentally, then,
indeed, thereafter, instead, therefore,
likewise, thus, and undoubtedly.
• Adverbs of manner: slowly, well, fast, hard,
early, late. Do not put the adverb between the
verb and the object.
-She does her homework quickly. not She does
quickly her homework.
• Comparative and Superlative forms:
more slowly, the most imaginatively, harder
than, the least fluently, less efficiently
Adverbs of manner are used to describe how
someone or something does something.
• Comparative and superlative forms of adverbs
Slowly more slowly the most slowly

Hard harder than the hardest

Well better the best

Badly worse the worst

Efficiently less efficiently the least

efficiently
• Modifying comparatives
I work a lot harder than Sandra, but her results
are much better than mine. ( big
difference=far/ a lot/much+comparative
adjective/adverb)

His computer is slightly more expensive, but the

battery lasts a little longer.
• ( small difference=a little/a little bit/a
bit/slightly + comparative adjective/adverb)
-If there is a noun after the comparative
adjective, we can only use much, far or
slightly:
a/an+much/far/slightly+comparative
adjective+singular noun:
We need a much larger classroom.
• Adverbs of frequency: never, hardly ever,
rarely, seldom, almost, occasionally, sometimes,
often, usually, almost always, nearly always,
always
• Usage

-These adverbs are used to say how often

somebody does something or how often
something happens.
-They come after the verb be, but before other
verbs.
-They come before the main verb in negative
sentences and questions.

-occassionally, often, sometimes and usually

can be put at the beginning or the end of a
sentence.
• These expressions can be used to talk about
frequency: every day/week/month/year,
once /twice/three times a day/week/month/
year. They usually come at the end of a
sentence.
-a lot and much can also be used to talk about
frequency.
Some young people go out a lot/much.
5) Adverbs of degree: very, really, extremely,
quite, fairly, a bit
-They are used to make adjectives and adverbs
stronger or weaker.
-really or very put before an adjective or adverb
makes it stronger while extremely makes it
very strong.
-We can use quite, fairly and a bit before an
adjective or adverb to make it weaker.
A bit is used with a negative adjective or adverb.
-The film is quite interesting, but I don’t want to
watch it. I feel a bit tired.
-Quite comes before a/an, but very, really,
extremely and fairly come after a/an:

-We live in quite a small house, but it’s got an

extremely big garden.
• Prepositions, Conjunctions, Interjections

• A preposition introduces a noun, pronoun,

phrase or a clause that functions as a noun in
a sentence. Its object is the word or group that
it introduces:
-We received a letter from Neba talking about
his trip to South Africa.

Prep object prep object prep object

• Prepositions that express position or place:
in, inside, out, outside, of, off, on, under,
against, for, among, between, behind, in front,
opposite, by, next, at
-The Catholic Church is against abortion.

-Angeline is in college/at the theatre/on

campus.

-He is in prison/at prison.

• Movement or direction: from, to, towards,
away, away from, past.
-The mad man is going past our house.

• Time: in, on, at, for, since, ago, before, during,

by, until
-Samson first came to Bamenda in 1990.
• -I have been teaching for ten years. (duration ,
how long something has or will continue)

-She has been studying since 1999. (when

exactly something began)

-Paul finished eating one hour ago. ( a past time

measured from the present)
-We use before not ago with the past perfect to
talk about a past time measured from the
past:
Susan had passed her exam ten years before.
Mary applied for a job three months before.
-We often use for and since with the present
perfect to talk about something continuing up
to the present.
• Comparison: like, as, as if, more than

-as if is used to say how something seems.

He looks as if he’s been working throughout the

night.

-We use like to talk about things being similar.

You look like your father. (you resemble your
father)

She works like a professional.( she works just

the way professionals do)

He behaves like a medical doctor. (he behaves

just the way medical doctors do)
• Purpose: working for money, dieting to lose
weight

• Association: working with something, the top

of the building
• Frequently used prepositions
about, above, across, after, against, along,
among, around, as, at, before, behind, below,
beneath, beside, between, beyond, by,
concerning, despite, down, during, except, for,
from, in, inside, into, like, near, of, off, on,
onto, out, outside, over, past, regarding,
through, throughout, to, under, underneath,
until, up, upon, with, within, without, since
 Conjunctions
• They are also linking words. They connect
words, phrases, clauses or sentences.
• Types
a)Coordinating conjunctions: and, or , but, nor,
for, so, yet (fanboys)
These words connect words, phrases, or clauses
of equal weight.
dying by hanging or by gunshot (or links two
phrases)

The singer made several mistakes but he was

never discouraged in his career. (but links two
independent clauses)
b) Correlative conjunctions are always used in
pairs and they also link items of equal weight:
both…and, neither…nor, either…or, not
only…but also, just as…so, whether…or
They also link independent clauses and nouns.
-Not only did Johnson go to school but he also
studied hard. -Both Martin Luther King Jr. and
Malcolm X were civil rights activists.
• Subordinating conjunctions: since, even
though, because, although, albeit, before

• They introduce adverb clauses hence connect

the sentence’s independent (main) clause to a
dependent (subordinate) clause to form a
complex sentence.
-Although life may not be easy from the start,
those who persevere succeed at the end.
-Before she opened the door, the thief had
escaped.
-He accepted the job, albeit with some
hesitation. (albeit adds information that
reduces the force or importance of what has
just been said)
• Interjections
• These are words used as exclamations to
express strong feelings or emotions.

• Interjections may be set off by commas or

exclamation mark for greater emphasis.
•
• They include: Oh! Wow! Alas! Hey!
-Wow! This house is so big.
-Oh! Dear me! How long the bridge is!
-How strange!
-alas (a) adverb: used when mentioning a fact
that you wish was not true. Donald alas died
last year.
b)Interjection: used to express sadness, shame
or fear
 Word Formation
• Word Formation-from other word class
-blending, affixation etc
-Adverbs can be formed from adjectives e.g.
slow-slowly, happy-happily
-Nouns can be formed from other nouns e.g.
science-scientist, philosophy-philosopher
-Nouns from verbs e.g. sing-singer, laugh-
laughter
-Nouns from adjectives e.g. creative-creativity,
English-Englishman, accountant-accountability

Affixation-prefixes and suffixes used in word

formation

New words can be formed by using affixes i.e. a

prefix or suffix for instance:
Phil (philo) means loving, fund of

-philanthropy: the love of mankind

-philosopher: lover of wisdom

-philology: the study or love for a language

• Mis means hate

-misogyny: hatred of women

-misogamy: hatred of marriage
-misanthrope: hater of mankind
-misology: hatred of argument
-misoneism: hatred of anything new
• Dys means bad, ill, difficult
-dyspepsia: difficult digestion
-dysphasia: speech difficulty

• Eu means good, well, advantageous

-eupepsia: good digestion
-eulogize: write or speak in praise of someone
-euthanasia: merciful or good killing (literal,
advantageous death)
-euphemism: substitution of an unpleasant
expression for a good one
-euphonious: pleasant in sound
-euthenics: science dealing with improving
living conditions
-euphoria: a sense of well being
• A/AN means not, without

-amoral: without any sense of moral

responsibilty
-amorphous: shapeless
-anomaly: deviation from the common rule
-anoxia: deprivation of oxygen
• Macro means large, long
-macrocosm: a representation of the great
world or universe
-macroscopic: something large enough to be
perceived by the naked eyes
• Micro means very small
-microfilm: a film of very small size
-microwave: very short electromagnetic waves
• Mono refers to one, single, alone

-monochromatic: of one colour

-monomaniac: the derangement of the mind

on one subject, fanatic: one tract mind
• Poly means many
-polyglot: ability to speak several languages

-polytechnic: dealing with many arts or

sciences

-polyandry: the ability of a woman to have

many husbands
• Homo means one and the same, like

-homogeneous: of the same kind, being

similar

-homochromatic: having the same colour

• Hetero means different
-heterogeneous: depicts differences and
dissimilarity
-heterochromatic: having different colours

-heteronyms: words with the same spellings

but different sounds e.g. bass /beis/=tone,
bass /bas/ =fish
• Phobia refers to fear, dislike, aversion
-acrophobia: fear of being at a great height

-Anglophobia: dislike for England or the

English

-xenophobia: aversion to foreigners

• Phile means one who loves or supports
-Anglophile: a supporter of England or
English
-bibliophile: a lover of books

• Phobe: refers to one who dislikes or fears

-Francophobe: one who dislikes France or
French, Russophobe, pidginphobe etc
• Dom: means quality, condition, domain e.g
chiefdom, kingdom, officialdom, wisdom

• Tude: means state of condition e.g. certitude,

multitude

• -ate, ite: mean being, possessing e.g. delicate,

ornate( elaborate), finite, definite
• -ar: means like, pertaining to, belonging to
e.g. insular (narrow-minded), circular

• -A prefix and suffix can be used to form a new

word, for instance: biweekly, uncomfortable,
post-independently, transformable,
untruthfulness, enjoyable
• Phrasal verbs
1)Verb +Adverb
-The adverb is usually a short adverb of place
or motion, called an adverb particle, e.g. in,
on, off, up, down, away, out, over, through,
across.

-I can’t make the teacher out. (i.e. understand)

-My application was turned down. (i.e. rejected)

-This old car will have to be written off.

(declared a complete loss)

-Peter told him a funny story to cheer him up.

(make him more cheerful)
-Her work has fallen off considerably.(become
less good)

-What you say isn’t true-you made it up.

(composed it from your imagination)

-A dog has just been run over. (crushed by a

vehicle)
2) Verb + Preposition

a) The monkey jumped up and made for the

trees. (try to reach)
b) What do you make of it? (understand by it)

c) The students took to the lecturer at once.

(conceived a liking for him)
 d)The two German shepherds went for each
other.
e) The Prime Minister will go into it.
f) My father is very upset, but he will get over
it.
• Note: the stress falls on the verb in all these
cases, except the last two where it falls on the
preposition.
3)Verb + Adverb + Preposition

• The following phrasal verbs contain both an

adverb and a preposition:

a)Never look down on your family. (despise)

b)I cannot put up with insults. (endure)

c)Nfor has made up for his bad behavior.
(compensated for it by changing his ways)

d) Children should not be given in to.

(submissively granted what they want)

• Note that the adverb is stressed in all these

cases.
• For further reading:
1) General Certificate English (1994), New
Edition by Alan Etherton (pg 219-230)

2)Practical English 3 (1980) by P.A. Ogundipe

and P.S. Tregidgo
 Euphemism
• This has to do with the use of placid words in
place of those considered disgusting or
distasteful thereby indirectly presenting ideas
with an intention to sound more pleasant in
order not to hurt anyone’s feelings.
Euphemism can also be used as a sign of
respect.
Euphemism can also play a consolatory role
sustain a cordial relationship among people.
Some examples include:
-God-Yaweh, Almighty
-old person: elderly person, senior citizen
-fat/obese person: corpulent, portly, chubby,
buxom, plump, podgy
-breast: curves, bosom, bust
-stupid person: slow learner, not bright
-cripple: disabled, underprivileged,
handicapped, disadvantaged
-to fart: mess the air, a smell of gun powder
-toilet: powder room, small house
-retirement: longest holiday
-menstruation: period, monthly, flying the flag,
our country cousins, the Russian red army has
occupied the territory
-to be pregnant: to be in a family way, to be
expecting
-coffin: slumber chamber
-die: breathe his last, go to one’s maker, depart
this life
-cemetery: memorial park, garden of
remembrance
-sexual intercourse: intimate relation
-Homosexual: gay person
-rape: moral crime, statutory crime

-male prostitute: sugar daddy

-female prostitute: a pavement or underground
princess, wench, strumpet
-gonorrhea, syphilis: social diseases
-girl friend: small thing
-female genital organ: private part, little
kingdom, downstairs, cape of good hope
-male genital organ: do Jonny, pencil, banana,
peacemaker, merry maker
-buttocks: rear end, derriere
-panties, brassiere: unmentionables
-intestine: spaghetti
-housewife: home maker
-a used car: a second hand or reconditioned
-waiter: hostess
-lawyer: solicitor
-second class: standard class
-rat catcher: rodent control officer

-soothsayer: Claire voyant reader

-coffin dealer: an under taker, mortician

-under writer: co-lateral, surety, concrete

guarantee
-God: Gad
-girl: gal

National Water Corporation: SNEC

-Human immunodeficiency Virus: HIV
-tuberculosis:TB
 Some Confusable Words
• lend/borrow /loan
-lend: give someone permission to use
something of yours.
Can you lend me your book?
-borrow: to use something that belongs to
someone else and that you must give back to
them later.
Also to take or copy someone’s ideas, words etc
and use them in your own work.
- Can I borrow your pen for a minute?
- She borrowed her ideas from Achebe’s
famous novel, Things Fall Apart.
• Loan: to lend someone something especially
money.
- Can you loan me five thousand francs?
 - The book I wanted was out on loan.
• Complement/compliment
-Complement: match, set of , balance, go
together, add to
-Compliment: praise, flattery remark, kind word

Consul/council/counsel/cancel
-Consul: government representative in a foreign
country
-Council: an assembly, a meeting, a convention,
a board
-Counsel: advice, a lawyer
-Cancel: stop, abandon, call off, revoke, annul,
terminate
• Cite/site/sight
-cite: to allude to, to mention, to quote, name
-site: place, spot, location
-sight: view, spectacle, scène, vista
• Affect/effect
-affect: to influence
-effect: an influence, a result, to accomplish, to
bring about
• Adopt/adapt/adept
-adopt: to make one’s own, to assume
-adapt: to get used to circumstances
-adept: skilled, proficient, clever
• correspondence/correspondent
-correspondence: mails, association,
connection
• -correspondents: those who write letters, the
media, journalists, newspapers, reporters

• Eminent/imminent
-eminent: well known, renowned, famous,
distinguished
-imminent: coming up, about to happen,
pending, forth coming
• Formally/ formerly
• Funny/strange
• Guanrantee/guaranty
-guarantee (noun and verb) : assurance,
agreement, pledge
Guaranty: a financial security, warranty, service
contract, permit
• Its/it’s
• Later/latter/ letter
• Legible/eligible/illegible
-legible: clear, readable, understandable,
intelligible
-eligible: qualified, suitable, (antonym-ineligible)
-Illegible: antonym of legible
• Lose/loose/loss
• Passed/past
-passed:past tense of pass
-past: precedent, what went before, history
• Precede/proceed
Precede:come first
Proceed: go on, carry on , continue
• Prophesy/prophecy
-Prophesy: to predict, to forecast
-Prophecy: inspired, prediction
• Statue/stature/statute/status
-statue: effigy, an image in sculpture
-stature: a person’s height, quality or greatness
• -statute: a written law examined by a law
making body especially the parliament
• -status: a person’s place in society, or relation
to others
• Tend/turn
-tend: have a tendency or propensity
-turn: to twist, rotate, spin
• Wrong usage
• Deadline/deathline/dateline : time limit,
closing date, cut off date
• Invitees/ invities/invited guests/guest
• Subject- Verb Agreement
• The subject of a sentence answers the
question who? or what? about the predicate
or the verb.
-Mother is cooking beans. (mother=subject,
is cooking rice=predicate)
-Talking politics is much fun. (talking
politics=subject, is much fun=predicate)
• Some useful hints
• a)Compound subjects joined by and
-Use a plural verb when the subject of a
sentence is composed of two or more nouns
or pronouns linked by and.
- Ngwa and Eno are good friends.
-Sam and his friends are at the exhibition.
• b)Use a singular verb when two or more
singular nouns or pronouns are connected by
or, either…or. or neither…nor.

-Either the husband or the wife is at home.

-Neither the cup nor spoon is in the cupboard.
• c)The verb should agree with the part of the
subject nearer the verb when a compound
subject contains either a singular noun or
pronoun joined by or, either…or, or
neither..nor.
-John or his friends run every morning.
-Either Susan or her friends are guilty.
-Neither Paul nor I am hungry.
 - Either Peter or I have passed the test.
• d)doesn’t should be used only with a singular
subject while don’t should be used only with
a plural
• subject. Exception: don’t is used for 1st and
2nd person singular.
• e)Do not be misled by a phrase that comes
between the subject and the verb. Note that
the agrees with the subject, not with a noun
or pronoun in the phrase.
One of the bags is open.
- The team coach as well as his players is
anxious.
- The games won by the Indomitable Lions are
few.
- The sound of the drumbeats makes beautiful
melody.
• The following words are singular and
therefore require singular verbs: each, each
one, either, neither,everybody, anybody,
anyone, nobody, nothing, somebody and no
one.
- Neither of the twins is brilliant.
-Either one is correct.
• On the other hand both, many, few, several,
others are always plural and thus take plural
verbs: - Both of them were in church
yesterday.
- Several boxes were opened by custom
officers.
• These indefinite pronouns: some, all, any,
more, most, none can be singular or plural
depending on the noun they refer to.
• Nouns such as civics, mathematics, measles,
statistics, means, dollars, species and news
require singular verbs. Exceptions: dollars,
statistics
-Two hundred dollars is a lot of money.
- In America dollars are used instead of pounds.
- The statistics prove him wrong.
- The statistics is faulty.
• Nouns such as scissors, tweezers, trousers,
lenses, eye glasses and shears (clippers,
cutters) require plural verbs because there are
two parts to these things. However, the afore
mentioned words take a singular verb with
the use of “a pair of”.
- John used the shears to shape the hedge.
- A pair of shears is used by John.
• The subject follows the verb in a sentence that
begins with there is or there are. Since there
is not the subject, the verb agrees with what
follows. For instance:
- There is a question to ask.
-There are many people inside the house.
-The problem was the termites.
- Termites are the problem.
• Collective nouns such as congregation, family,
staff, class, committee and team, take a
singular verb because they are considered
singular.
-The staff is present.
-The congregation meets every Sunday.
-Her family resides in London.
• Note that a plural verb is used when referring
to individuals in the group.
-The family have never been able to agree.
• A phrase that names a fixed amount e.g three
quarters, ten dollars, the majority, takes a
singular verb when it is considered as a unit
but takes a plural verb when it denotes parts
of a whole.
- The majority of the students is in support of
the opposition candidate. (the majority as a
unit)

- The majority of the students were in support

of the opposition candidate. (the majority as
part of the whole)
• Note that the number is always singular while
a number is always plural.

-The number of teachers has increased.

-A number of students have left for an

expedition.
• Expressions such as: with, together with,
accompanied by, in addition to, along with,
as well as do not change the number of the
subject. If the subject is singular, the verb
follows suit.

-The lecturer, accompanied by his students, is

travelling to the Italy.
 -All the books, including yours are missing.
-Heavy rain, along with high winds, causes
hazardous conditions.

• Subject-verb agreement with foreign plurals

• Some nouns retain their Latin plural forms
which do not look like English plural forms.
Make sure you use the correct verbs with such
words.

Singular form Plural form

Criterion is criteria are
Medium is media are
 Basis is bases are
Datum is data are
Memorandum is memoranda are
Stimulus is stimuli are
Phenomenon is phenomena are

Agreement with relative pronouns

• The verb in a dependent clause agrees with
the pronoun’s antecedent (the word to which
the pronoun refers) when you use a relative
pronoun to introduce the clause.
-The student is among the ones who suffer
during a strike.
-The student is among the one who suffers
during a strike.
• Pronoun –Antecedent Agreement
• Singular pronouns: he, him, she, her, it me,
myself, oneself should refer to singular
antecedents while plural pronouns: we, us,
they, them, their should refer to plural
antecedents.
• a)Use a plural pronoun to refer to two or
more antecedents connected by and in most
cases.
 -Teaching and learning were similar in their
beginnings.
• But use a singular pronoun to refer to a
compound antecedent and a single verb to
agree with it because the compound
antecedent represents a singular unit.
-The President and Chief of the armed forces is
travelling to France with his family.
-Neither of the men had his proposal ready by
the deadline.

-Every programming language and software

package has its limitations.

- Neither Shakespeare nor Plato lived to see

his work read widely.
• b)Many people use the plural pronoun they or
their in speech and popular writing, with
singular indefinite pronouns that refer to
people such as : someone, everyone and
nobody.
-Everyone should present their own point of
view.
-Neither Mary nor John lived to see their
grandchildren.
• Avoid using a plural pronoun with a singular
subject in formal writing. Rather use both the
masculine and the feminine pronoun.
-Everyone should present his or her own point
of view.
-All participants should present their own
points of view. (make the sentence’s subject
plural)
• Conditionals
• a)The Zero Conditional
• This conditional is used to talk about
something that is always true as a result of a
possible action or situation.
-I don’t sleep well if I have dinner late.

-If I have dinner late, I don’t sleep well.

 -When she gets home early, she prepares a
delicious meal.
• Note: The if/when clause can come at the
beginning of the sentence or after the main
clause. When it comes at the beginning, a
comma is put after it.
• Formation: If/when + present simple+ present
simple
• b)The First Conditional
• This is used to talk about something that may
happen in the future, as a result of a possible
action or situation.
-He will light a fire if it gets colder.
-If it gets colder, he will light a fire.
-If you see Diane, tell her to ring me.
• Note: same as for zero conditional
• Formation: if +present simple +will/modal
verb/the imperative
• We can use unless in first conditional
sentences to mean if not.
-Your English won’t get better if you don’t
study more.
• We usually use unless with an affirmative
verb.
-They won’t let you into the club unless
you wear a tie.
c)The Second Conditional
This conditional is used to talk about:
1)the result of an action or a situation that is
imaginary or impossible.
• -If he was younger, he would get the job.

2)an action that is not likely to happen in

the present or future.
-If I won the lottery, I’d buy a house.
• Note: same
• Formation: If + past simple +would
• In formal English, we use were after if instead
of was:
-If he were younger, he would get the job.

• We can use if I were you to give advice:

-If I were you, I would tell the truth.
d) Type three
-If I had studied hard, I would have passed
my exam.
-I would have been a better person if I had
finished my university studies.

Syllables
• Grammatical Categories of Gender

• Gender imbalance occurs at the level of lexis,

syntax, semantics and symmetry (equilibrium,
proportion) Representation of both sexes is
therefore important through the use of
neutral gender. The female gender is relegated
in religion, politics, education etc.
• Fishers of men people, humans,
God’s supreme creatures

• Holy Trinity
• Man does not live….
• ‘Craddle of our Fathers cradle of our
ancestors
• Peace, work, Fatherland
• Fraternal welcome
• Housemanship (internship)
• Bachelor’s night
• Bachelor’s Degree
• Master’s Degree
• Widower widow

widowhood(oppression)
• All these male attributes are sexist inclined
and are at the level of lexis.
• At the level of syntax we usually have: Adam
and Eve, boy and girl, men and women, John
and Mary etc
• Exceptions: bride and groom, ladies and
gentlemen
• Gender is also affected semantically. King and
queen for instance do not carry the same
meaning.
-a king’s wife is automatically a queen but the
case is not the same with a man who marries
a queen.
-kingdom and king-size, which are symbols of
authority and power, are derived from the
word king but
queen simply represents what is beautiful and
attractive in most cases.
• Exceptions: actor/actress, duke/duchess (are
similar in meaning)

Symmetry or equilibrium in meaning is

ignored. The feminine gender is also
disfavoured in the
naming process. When the female gender
slightly recognized, it seems to be
metaphorical (figurative, symbolic).
-governor (power, authority) governess
(tutor, baby sitter, private home teacher)
• -poet poetess

(writes bad poetry)

 -Paul Pauline (
shadow, looks like, imitation)
-figure (object) figurine
(something that looks like the object)
-lecture lecturette
(something that imitates the other)
-super superette
-launder launderette
• -major majorette
• -usher usherette

• Some discriminatory words and their neutral

forms
Discriminatory Word Neutral Gender
• mailman mail carrier,

letter carrier, mail agent

• policeman police officer
• man-made synthetic,
• businessman business person/agent
• man and wife man and woman,
husband and wife
• men and girls boys and girls, men
and women
• John Ngu and Ms Arrey John Ngu and
Julian Arrey

• Mr Ngu and Arrey Mr Ngu and Ms Arrey

• Negress black woman/girl
• Jewess Jewish woman/girl
• Miss, Mrs, Madam Ms
 Number
• Numbers are words that express singular and
plural nouns.

Singular Plural
• One, a two, some
• She/he they
• Igloo igloos
• Ego egos
• Embargo embargoes
• Memento (souvenir, keepsake, relic)
memetos/memetoes
• Soprano sopranos
• tariff tariffs
• alley alleys
• ally allies
• When a singular noun ends in s, w, z, x, ch, sh,
add es
• Some words ending I “f” form their plurals
regularly by adding “s” e.g belief, brief, chief,
gulf, serf, chef, proof, roof.
• When anoun ends in “o” and the “o” is
preceded by a vowel simply add “s” eg tattoo,
taboo, radio, cameo (character part, small
part)

• -Most nouns ending in “o” preceded by a

consonant take “es” eg echo, tomato, hero,
veto ( rejection), cargo etc
-Some nouns take ‘s’ especially those of foreign
origins eg piano, magneto, sombrero, banjo

-Some words however take the two forms eg

domino, cargo

-The plurals of nouns ending in “I” are formed by

adding “s” eg ski
-The plurals of words ending in “y” preceded by
a vowel are formed by adding “s” eg journey,
survey, turkey (failure, fiasco)

-The plurals of nouns ending in “y” preceded by

a consonant are formed by changing “y” to “I”
and adding “es” eg copy, courtesy, army
-The plural forms of irregular nouns change
completely eg goose, mouse, louse, ox
Exception: German-Germans
Ottoman-Ottomans
Some nouns of foreign origins will retain their
foreign plurals, use English plurals or use both:

• alumnus alumni
• alumna alumnae
• vertebra vertebrae/vertebras
• formula formulae/formulas
• criterion criteria/ criterions
• medium media/mediums
• memorandum memoranda/memorandums
• syllabus syllabi/syllabuses
• appendix appendices/appendixes
• diagnosis diagnoses
 Compound nouns

• Write the plural of the most important word

of the hyphenated compounds and open
compounds to form the plural of this category
of words eg
• mother-in-law mothers-in-law
• editor-in-chief editors-in-chief
• secretary general secretaries general
• postmaster general postmasters general

• But the plurals of close compounds are

formed by adding “s” eg handful handfuls.
• A few compound nouns have both parts
pluralized eg manservant –menservants and
the plurals of a few compound nouns are
formed irregularly eg
• eight-year-old eight-year-olds
• drive in drive ins
• tie-up tie-ups
 Differences between RP and
GenAm
-About 340 million people speak American
English (GenAm) in North America or USA.
-This forms almost half the number of English
speakers in the world.

-Differences between RP and GenAm

a)British speech has more tension with the
organs of speech than the Americans.
 Word RP GenAm
glass / gla:s/ /gl s/
dance /da:ns/ /d ns/
cast /ka:st/ /k st/
fast /fa:st/ /f st/
blast /bla:st/ /bl st/
half /ha:lf/ /h lf/
b) RP flattens the tongue on the final /r/
therefore making it an ‘r’ less kind of
pronunciation whereas GenAm retains it. ( a
rhotic accent)

Word RP GenAm
bar /ba:/ /b r/
cards /ka:ts/ /k rts/
c) RP retains the inter-vocalic /t/ and /d/
whereas GenAm realizes an /r/
Word RP GenAm
ladder
latter
writer
rider
winter
 Word RP GenAm
intercity
innercity
d)Rp will normally reduce tertiary stress
whereas GenAm will retain it.
Word Rp GenAm
observatory
sanitary
e)RP speech patterns are described as glissando
(sharp jump downwards) while GenAm’s
speech pattern is described as crescendo (
RP GenAm
‘detail de’tail
re’search ‘research
ad’vertisement advertisement
la’boratory labora’tory
f) RP realizes a more open back / / in words like
hot, top, job and pot but in GenAm it
unrounded, lower and flat.

g) GenAm does nor stress the /a:/ element but

maintains / / elements of er in words such
as: sergeant, clerk, Berkeley.
h) RP uses more tense vowels in diphthongs that
end like /ail/ whereas GenAm renders them
as / l/ in words such as: hostile, puerile
(fearful), gentile, fertile, missile, and futile.

i)The yod /j/ is deleted in GenAm just like it is

the case in Cameroon typical speech e.g.
tune, ambulance, dew and population.
However, population and duty are pronounced
with the yod in GenAm so all the yods are not
deleted in GenAm.
Other patterns in English where GenAm
distinguishes itself include:
coercion
cursion
Persia
Tunisia
merry
Mary
marry
GenAm pronounces the last three words almost
in the same way.
hurry
worry
curry
flurry
vase
anti
semi
lever
leisure
mayor
-Differences in stress patterns
RP GenAm
‘cliché cli’che
‘address ad’dress
‘brochure bro’chure
‘ballet ba’llet
‘chagrin cha’grin
skedule
sure
started
their
alimony