THE SUBJECT OF A SENTENCE
Every simple sentence must have two basic elements which are: i. the thing/person we are…
ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
ADVERBIAL CLAUSES
The adverb clause is that part of a sentence which has a finite verb and…
ADJUNCTS
An adjunct is an adverbial, that is, a unit of language that performs the function…
DECLENSION
Declension (otherwise known as the inflection of nouns and pronouns) is the change in form…
ADJECTIVES
Adjectives are words that modify nouns or noun-equivalents and fellow adjectives. The italicised words below…
VOICE
Voice refers to the form which a transitive verb assumes to show whether it acts…
PERSON, MOOD AND NUMBER AS GRAMMATICAL PROPERTIES OF VERBS
PERSON Person is the form of the verb which designates the person speaking (i.e. first…
THE FUTURE PERFECT TENSE
The Future Perfect Tense Form This tense is formed with shall/will + perfect infinitive (without…
THE PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE
The Present Perfect Continuous Tense Form The present perfect continuous tense is formed by adding…
THE FUTURE TENSE AND FUTURE CONTINUOUS TENSE
The Future Tense Form The future tense is formed with shall/will + the bare infinitive:…
THE SIMPLE PAST TENSE AND PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE
The Simple Past Tense Form The past tense of regular verbs is formed by adding…
THE PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE
Form The Present continuous tense is made up of the present tense of the auxiliary…
SEQUENCE OF TENSES
Sequence of Tenses informs us that the tense of a verb in the subordinate clause…
GRAMMATICAL PROPERTIES OF VERBS
Verbs have five grammatical properties: Tense. Person. Mood. Number. Voice. These properties (otherwise known…
ADVERBS
Adverbs are words that describe or modify verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, sentences, and sentence items,…
CONJUNCTIONAL IDIOMS
A conjunctional idiom is an idiom that performs the function of a conjunction. Usually, it…
PREPOSITIONAL IDIOMS
Broadly speaking, prepositional idioms refer to the idiomatic use of prepositions after verbs, adjectives, verbal-nouns,…
ADVERB IDIOMS
These function as adverbs and, as such, many of them can be replaced by simple…
VERB IDIOMS
Verb idioms are variously referred to as group verbs, multi-word verbs or phrasal verbs, or…
NOUN IDIOMS
A noun idiom is a unique noun phrase with a unique meaning. It can be…
NOUNS AND NOMINALS
The word “noun” is derived from the Latin word. “nomen”, which means name. Nouns are…
DEFINITION OF PARTS OF SPEECH
Parts of speech are classes of words that perform different functions in the sentence. They…
SYNTAX
Syntax, a very important branch of grammar, means the ordering or arrangement of words (from…
INTRODUCTION TO IDIOMS
An idiom is a group or sequence of words whose meaning cannot be deciphered logically…
INTRODUCTION TO VERBS AND VERBALS
When we talk of verbs and verbals in English, we loosely refer to finite and…
THE INFINITIVE
(Verb-noun, verb-adjective, and verb-adverb) Form The infinitive, derived from the Latin word infinitus, means…
RULES GOVERNING THE CONVERSION OF DIRECT SPEECH TO INDIRECT SPEECH
Seven cardinal principles (or changes) governing the conversion of direct speech to the indirect speech…
SENTENCE PARTS
THE SUBJECT AND THE PREDICATE Notably, every sentence may be divided grammatically into two broad…
THE GERUND
THE GERUND (a verb-noun: verb in appearance but noun in action) Form The gerund…
PHRASES AND CLAUSES
A Phrase is a group of words that contains neither a subject nor a predicate….
DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH
Direct Speech refers to the actual words that come out of the mouth of the…
FIGURES OF SPEECH
Figures of speech refer to the connotative use of language. When a writer departs from…