PREPOSITIONAL IDIOMS
Broadly speaking, prepositional idioms refer to the idiomatic use of prepositions after verbs, adjectives, verbal-nouns, etc, and with idiomatic phrases introduced by a preposition. Three striking differences exist between the idiomatic (prepositional idioms) and the unidiomatic uses of prepositions. The…
ADVERB IDIOMS
These function as adverbs and, as such, many of them can be replaced by simple adverbs. Some examples appear below: From the foregoing, it is evident that many adverb idioms begin with prepositions and end with nouns. But there are…
VERB IDIOMS
Verb idioms are variously referred to as group verbs, multi-word verbs or phrasal verbs, or action/being referent idioms. Some begin with verbs and end with adverb particles or prepositions [e.g. get at (reach), get off (escape), get through (succeed), hails…
NOUN IDIOMS
A noun idiom is a unique noun phrase with a unique meaning. It can be replaced by another noun phrase, usually a noun and its modifier(s), with a corresponding meaning. It normally begins with an article and ends with a…
NOUNS AND NOMINALS
The word “noun” is derived from the Latin word. “nomen”, which means name. Nouns are traditionally defined as names of persons, places, things, animals, days, months, associations, ideas, qualities, states, or actions. Examples Persons: John, Stephen, Innocent, Walter, Ngozi, Obi,…
DEFINITION OF PARTS OF SPEECH
Parts of speech are classes of words that perform different functions in the sentence. They are like members of a family, each member performing his assigned function for the smooth running of the entire family. And as every family has…
SYNTAX
Syntax, a very important branch of grammar, means the ordering or arrangement of words (from Greek syn “together” and taxis “arranging”) in a sentence and the grammatical rules governing this arrangement, the classification of sentences according to the class structure…
INTRODUCTION TO IDIOMS
An idiom is a group or sequence of words whose meaning cannot be deciphered logically through our knowledge of the constituent words in the group. It possesses a unique meaning and must be learnt as a whole. For instance, when…
INTRODUCTION TO VERBS AND VERBALS
When we talk of verbs and verbals in English, we loosely refer to finite and nonfinite verbs respectively. FINITE VERBS are of three kinds – transitive, intransitive and auxiliary. NON-FINITE (or INFINITE) VERBS are also of three kinds – gerunds,…
THE INFINITIVE
(Verb-noun, verb-adjective, and verb-adverb) Form The infinitive, derived from the Latin word infinitus, means infinity, unlimited, without end. It is, therefore, the form of the verb which is not limited by number or person. Although the infinitive form is…
Study Guide
