In
English language, just like in other languages, words are classified into
different categories called word classes or parts of speech.
This
classification is based on the use or on the function(s) they perform in
sentences.
Words
belonging to the same word class perform the same range of functions.
For
example, words which name people, places, and things are called nouns
while those which are used to describe actions and states are called verbs.
NB/
Some
words belong to more than one word class.
For
example the word ‘increase’ can be a noun
or a verb depending on usage.
E.g.
a) My employer has increased my salary. (Verb)
b) There has been an increase in my salary. (Noun)
In
this unit, we will see how words are classified in English language. The focus
will be on the nine word classes namely;
1) Nouns
2) Verbs
3) Adverbs
4) Adjective
5) Pronouns
6) Prepositions
7) Conjunctions
8) Articles
9) Interjections
Assignment 1
ü
Research
word which belong to more than one word class and give sentences for each case.
ü
Write
a sentence showing how each of the
following words is used as indicated in the brackets
·
All(adjectives/adverb/pronoun)
·
After(adverb/preposition/adjective/conjunction)
·
Any(noun/
adjective /pronoun)
·
Before
(adverb/preposition/conjunction)
·
Both
(adjective /pronoun/conjunction)
·
But
(adverb/preposition/conjunction)
·
Down
(adverb/preposition /adjective)
1. NOUNS
What is a noun?
Ø
A
noun is a word used to name a person, a place, a thing or even a state of being,
For example;
ü Kikwete
is a good president. (names a person)
ü Mwanza
is a large city. ( names a place)
ü The
flower is red. (names a thing)
ü His
courage won him honour. (names a state of being)
NOTE
- Person-sister,mayor,coach,child
- Place-park,zoo,school,city
- Things –book,pen,car
- State of being –honesty,truth,democracy,pride,
TYPES OF NOUNS
There
are three major types of nouns. They include;
a) Proper nouns
b) Common nouns
c) Collective nouns
ü PROPER NOUNS
A
proper noun names or identifies a particular person, place or thing.
A
proper noun is also known as a proper name.
·
Examples
of proper names of persons include;
Mandela, Kikwete, Nyerere etc.
·
Examples
of proper names of places include;
Mwanza, Tanzania, Musoma, Tarime etc.
NOTE
1.
Sometimes specific names of
animals, ships are included under proper nouns e.g. MV Victoria, Titanic.
2.
Some calendar items, for
example, date and months are also included under proper nouns e.g. May, June
etc.
3.
Historical documents, religions and holy texts
are also examples of proper nouns e.g. Bible, Quran, Roman Catholic etc.
NB/ Proper nouns are always written with capital letters at
the beginning of each word.
ü COMMON NOUNS
Ø
A
common noun names or identifies any person, place or thing.
Ø
A
common noun is a name that applies to objects or persons of the same class or
kind, e.g. students, boys, town, country, building.
Ø
Common
nouns are divided into two major types;
a)
Concrete Nouns
b)
Abstract Nouns
a) Concrete Nouns
Ø
These
are nouns that name physical objects that occupy space and have weight.ie
physical things that can be touched, seen, heard e.g. table, rock etc.
Ø
Concrete
nouns are further divided into;
1. Countable nouns
2. Uncountable nouns
Ø
Countable
nouns are the names of objects, and people that we can count e.g. books, pens,
apples etc. Countable nouns have plural forms.
Ø
Uncountable
nouns are the names of the things that we can’t count e.g. milk, oil, gold,
sugar etc.
Ø
They are mainly names of substances and don’t
have plural forms e.g. one can’t say oils
or sugars.
b) Abstract Nouns
Ø
Abstract
nouns are usually names of quality, state or action.
Ø
Examples
of abstract nouns of quality include goodness, kindness, darkness,
honesty, wisdom etc.
Ø
Abstract
nouns of action include nouns such as; laughter, theft, movement,
hatred.
Ø
Abstract
nouns of state include nouns such as; childhood, boyhood, youth, sleep,
sickness, death.
Abstract nouns may be formed from;
a) Adjective e.g.
Adjective Noun
Kind+ -ness……. .kindness
Good+-ness……. .goodness
Dark+-ness………darkness
b) Verbs
e.g.
Verb Noun
Obey ………… obedience
Grow ………….growth.
c) Other
common nouns e.g.
Noun Noun
Child…………….. Childhood
Slave…………….. Slavery
COLLECTIVE NOUNS
Ø
A
collective noun is the name of a collection (or a group) of persons or things
taken together and spoken of as one unit.
Ø
For
example, band, class, family, jury, team, army etc.
Ø
A
collective noun is considered singular when it refers to a group as an entire
unit and plural when it refers to the individual members within a group.
Ø
They
mostly take indefinite article an/a.
Examples of collective nouns include;
A fleet – a
collection of ships or vessels
An army- a collection of solders
A crowd – a collection of people
|
COLLECTIVE
|
|
PROPER
|
|
COMMON
|
|
CONCRETE
|
|
ABSTRACT
|
|
NOUNS
|
Countable & Uncountable noun
|
A crowd of people
A fleet of ships
A herd of cattle
A flock of sheep
|
|
Mango
Table
Woman
House
Book
Wood
|
|
Mwanza
Uganda
Nyerere
Kikwete
May
Titanic
|
|
Honesty
Love
Corruption
Music
Air
|
Exercise
1. Identify nouns in the following sentences and state
whether they are common (concrete or abstract), proper, or collective.
a)
Mathematics is a useful science
b)
Solomon was famous for his wisdom.
c)
Freedom is our birth-right.
d) The Nile river overflows every September.
e) The girl wrote a letter to mary.
f) The Tanzanian army was won the battle
yesterday.
g) A committee of five was appointed.
h) We love honey.
i) Always speak the truth.
2. Form abstract
nouns from the following adjectives;
·
Cruel
·
Strong
·
Deep
·
Poor
·
Ignorant
3.) Form abstract nouns from the following verbs;
Steal Starve See
Beware Die
Free
4.) Form abstract nouns from the following common nouns;
King Friend Bond
Man Hero Pirate
INFLECTION OF NOUNS
Inflection refers to the changes in spelling that a word undergoes to show that it has changes in its grammatical aspects such as tense, mood, aspect, gender etc
Nouns
inflect for
·
Gender
·
Number
·
Case
1. GENDER
Gender of nouns is a classification of nouns according to
sex of any of the object they represent. English language distinguishes four
genders namely;
i.
Masculine gender
ii.
Feminine gender
iii.
Neuter gender
iv.
Common gender
Ø Masculine Gender
A noun which denotes a male human being or animal is known
as masculine gender e.g. boy, husband, father, cock, stallion etc.
Ø Feminine Gender
A noun which denotes a female human being or an animal is
known as feminine gender e.g. girl, wife, mother, hen, mare etc.
Ø Neuter Gender
This indicates names of objects without sex, that is, they
are neither male nor female. For example fire, air, tree, book, etc.
Ø Common Gender
This denotes either male or a female gender. It names human
beings or animals that may belong to either sex. For example parent, cousin,
fish, bird, baby, servant, person, enemy etc.
SOME FACTS ABOUT
GENDER
1) Ships and countries are
treated as belonging to the feminine gender.
2) Objects noted for strength and
violence are treated as belonging to the masculine gender e.g. sun, summer,
time, death etc.
3) Objects noted for beauty,
grace, gentleness, and admiration are treated as belonging to the feminine
gender e.g. moon, spring, autumn, peace, hope etc.
Ø FEMININE NOUN FORMATION
There are three ways of forming the feminine gender from the
masculine gender.. They include:
i) By using an entirely different word, for example;
Boy………………..Girl
Brother……………Sister
Buck………………Doe
Cock………………Hen
Gander……………Goose
ii) By adding an affix (a suffix) to the masculine noun e.g.
–ess,-ine,-a
Lion…………………Lioness
Prince……………….Princess
Hero………………...Heroine
Sultan………………Sultana
NOTE
iii) By placing a word before or after a masculine noun
Masculine
gender Feminine gender
Male……………………..Female
Grandfather……………..Grandmother
Landlord…………………Landlady
Salesman…………………Saleswoman
2 NUMBER
Number in the noun is the form that shows whether reference
is made to one object or more than one object. A noun that denotes one person
or thing is said to be in singular while a noun that denotes more than one
person or thing is said to be in plural.
Ø FORMATION OF ENGLISH PLURAL NOUNS
1. Most English singular nouns form their plural forms by
adding the suffix -s to the singular form for example;
Cat +
-s = Cats
Book +
-s = Books
Pen + -s = Pens
Cow + -s = Cows
2. Some nouns ending with –ss,-sh, -ch, or -x form
their plural forms by adding the suffix - es
, to the singular form for example,
Class
+ -es = Classes,
Tax
+ -es = Taxes,
Brush
+ -es = Brushes,
Branch + -es
= Branches
Watch
+ -es = Watches
3. Singular nouns
that end in‘-y’ preceded by a consonant generally form their plural forms by
changing ‘-y’ to ‘-i’ and then adding the ‘-es’ suffix.
Fly -
Fli + -es = Flies
Lady
-Ladi + -es = Ladies
City - Citi
+ -es = Cities
Pony - Poni +
-es = Ponies
Army
–Armi + -es = Armies
NB:
If the ‘-y’ is preceded by a vowel, add an ‘-s’ suffix, for example;
Boy
+ -s = Boys
Day + -s = Days
Key + -s = Keys
Valley + -s = Valleys
4. Singular nouns
ending with letter ‘-o’ preceded by a consonant sound form plural forms by
adding ‘-es’ suffix to the singular noun. For example;
Hero
+ -es= Heroes
Potato + -es= Potatoes
Negro
+ -es= Negroes
Mango + -es= Mangoes
Echo
+ -es= Echoes
NB: There are few
nouns however, that end with letter ‘-o’ and merely add the ‘-s’ suffix.
Examples include;
Piano + -s = Pianos
Kilo
+ -s = Kilos
Solo
+ -s = Solos
Photo + -s = Photos
Log
+ -s = Logs
Ratio
+ -s = Ratios
Most of these words have foreign origin hence they don’t
follow the rules of English which is the host language.
5. Nouns ending with letters ‘-f’ or ‘-fe’ form their plural
forms by changing the ‘-f’/-fe into letter ‘-v’ and then adding ‘-es’
Examples,
Thief –Thiev + -es = Thieves
Wolf – Wolv +-es = Wolves
Loaf -
Loav +-es = Loaves
Leaf – Leav
+ -es= Leaves
Self
-Selv + -es= Selves
NB: The nouns dwarf,
hoof, and scarf take either the
suffix -s or -es in plural
Dwarf- dwarves/dwarfs
Hoof – hooves/hoofs
Scarf – scarves/scarfs
The other exception to the rule includes words such as
chief, gulf, safe, proof, handkerchief which add the suffix ‘-s’ to form the
plural.
6. A few nouns form their plural by mutation, that is, by
changing the inside vowels of the singular noun. For example
Man……………Men
Foot…………....Feet
Tooth………….Teeth
Mouse…………Mice
7. There are few nouns that form their plural forms by
adding the suffix ‘-en’ to the singular e.g.
Ox…………Oxen
Child…….. Children
8. Some nouns have their singular and plural forms alike
–for example, words such as
Swine………Swine
Sheep………Sheep
Deer………..Deer
Cattle………Cattle
9. Some nouns are only used in the plural e.g. trousers,
drawers jeans, shorts, pyramids.
10. Some nouns look plural but in fact are singular e.g. mathematics, physics, news, measles mumps
and rickets.
11. A compound noun generally forms their plural forms by
adding the suffix ‘-s’ to the principle
words, e.g.
Commander- in –chief…………Commanders- in
-chief
Coat –of- mail………………….Coats-of-mail
Son- in law…………………….Sons-in-law
12. Many nouns taken from foreign languages keep their original
plural forms. For example,
Index…………….Indices
Radius…………...Radii
Terminus………...Termini
Formula……........Formulae
Memorandum……Memoranda
Crisis……… Crises
Phenomenon……. Phenomena
Basis……….Base
Criterion…………Criteria
Madame………..Mesdames
Monsieur……….Messieurs
Exercise
1. Change the following sentences into plural.
a) The boy left the biro on the
table.
b) A bird perched on the roof of
the house.
c) The radio and the video are
on.
d) The new dish is on the top
shelf.
e) Harness the ox to the cart.
2. Change the following sentences into singular
a) Flies carry diseases.
b) The babies played on the
rattles.
c) The wolves ate the sheep.
d) The men told the children
stories.
e) The workers loaded the cargo.
Ø FUNCTIONS OF NOUNS IN SENTENCES
A noun may serve several functions in a sentence such as:
a) Subject of the sentence
a) A direct object of the
sentence.
b) An indirect object of the
sentence.
c) Complement of stative verbs.
· A NOUN AS A SUBJECT OF A SENTENCE
A noun functions as the subject of a sentence; when it performs
the action implied in the verb or when it is the topic of that verb, or when it
is the topic that the predicate talks about. For example;
a) Mary went to the market.
b) The river burst its banks due
to heavy rains.
c) Many people are spending their
leisure time on the internet.
· A NOUN AS A DIRECT OBJECT OF THE SENTENCE
A noun functions as an object when it receives the action
implied by the verb. Nouns used as direct objects usually come after the action
verbs. To be able to identify the direct object, one should ask the question
what or whom after the verb. Examples include;
a) The lion
killed the deer.
S V O
· A NOUN AS AN INDIRECT OBJECT OF THE SENTENCE
A noun that functions as an indirect object always comes
before the direct object and it cannot stand on its own. It is also possible to
add ‘to’ or ‘for’ before the indirect object or change its position in the
sentence. For example
1a) Maria bought Juma
a present.
S V IO DO
1b) Maria bought a present for Juma.
S V DO IO
· A NOUN AS COMPLEMENT OF THE VERB
A complement is a word or a phrase that tells us more about
the subject. The question ‘how’ can often be asked to find the complement. A
noun functions as a complement when it follows a linking verb such as forms of
the verb ‘be’ (am, are, was, were, been, being), seems etc. For example,
a) Vivian is a
rich woman.
PRONOUNS
INTRODUCTION
Ø A
pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun or a noun phrase in a
sentence.
Ø A
pronoun is a word used instead of a noun in order to avoid awckwardness that may
occur when there is a repetition of a noun.
Ø Like
nouns, pronouns identify people, places or things (same function as noun). For
example;
i)
Neema is absent, because Neema is ill.
To avoid repetition of the noun Neema we
replace it with the pronoun shei.e.
ii)
Neema is absent because she is ill.
In the following sentences the
underlined word is a pronoun:
1. I
bought an apple and ate it.
2. I
phoned Jane and invited her to dinner.
3. You
should have asked permission.
4. Jack
told Sally all about herself.
5. Is
anyone there?
TYPES OF PRONOUNS
There are eight different types of
pronouns in English language. They include;
a)
Personal Pronoun
b)
Demonstrative Pronouns
c)
Indefinite Pronouns
d)
Relative Pronouns
e)
Interrogative Pronouns
f)
Reflexive Pronouns
g)
Reciprocal Pronouns
h)
Numeral Pronouns
Ø PERSONAL PRONOUNS
These pronouns indicate the
identity of a speaker, the person spoken to, and/ or the person spoken about. For
example I, me, we, you etc.
FORMS OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS
There are three forms of personal
pronouns namely;
·
First person
·
Second person
·
Third person
1. First person
This shows the person or persons
speaking. First person personal pronoun refers to the person who is speaking or
writing when referring to him or herself. Examples include;
First person (Masculine or Feminine)
Singular Plural
Subject of verb I We
Object of verb Me Us
Possessive Mine Ours
2. Second person
This shows the person or persons
spoken to. The second person personal pronoun refers to the person or thing
that is being addressed in the sentence. Examples include;
Second person (Masculine or Feminine)
Singular Plural
Subject of verb You You
Object of verb You You
Possessive Yours
Yours
3. Third person
This form shows the person or
persons or thing being spoken of . The
third person personal pronoun refers to a third party, not to the speaker or
writer of the sentence or to the person being addressed. For example;
Third person (Masculine or Feminine)
Singular Plural
Masculine Feminine Neuter All Genders
Subject He She It They
Object Him Her It Them
Possessive His Her Its Theirs
NB: Take note of the following confusing pairs;
1a) This is my
book (possessive adjective)
b) This book is mine (possessive pronoun)
2a) This is his
cat (Possessive Adjective)
b) This cat is his (possessive pronoun)
Ø DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS
These are pronouns that are used to
indicate or point out things or people. They have the same form as
demonstrative adjectives but these pronouns stand in place of a noun, instead
of accompanying a noun. They include
such words as; this, that, these, and
those. Examples include;
a) These are merely excuses. (Pronoun)
b) Both cars are good: but this
is better than that. (Pronouns)
c)
These
are my favorite flowers. (Pronoun)
e) That is my cousin. (Pronoun)
The demonstrative pronouns this and these are used to refer to something or someone close to the writer
or speaker.
The demonstrative pronouns that and those are used to refer to something or someone that is far away
from the speaker or writer.
Ø INDEFINITE PRONOUNS
These are pronouns which refer to a
person or a thing in a general way without referring to any person or thing in
particular. Examples of indefinite pronouns includes words such as; all, any, anybody, anyone, both, each,
everybody, none, no one, nothing, somebody, nobody, etc. Examples include;
1)
Somebody has stolen my watch.
2)
Nobody saw the thieves.
3)
Can anybody help her?
4)
Nobody was awake.
5)
Everybody knows at least one other person
here.
NB: Indefinite pronouns were
traditionally known as distributive
pronouns or universal pronouns.
Ø INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS
Interrogative pronouns are pronouns
which are used for asking questions. They include words such as; who, what,
whose, whom, which. These among the words sometimes referred to as WH-words
because they all begin with the letters ‘wh-‘ the
following are examples in sentences;
1)
What is your name?
2)
Which of the two is better?
3)
Who stole our bike?
4)
Whom did you see?
5)
Whose is the blue car?
NB: ‘who’ is used as the subject of an interrogative sentence, while the
object in formal or written English is ‘whom’.
NB: ‘Who’ is used only
for persons and is used as the subject of the verb while ‘whom’ is also used for
persons but as the object of the verb. ‘What’
is used for non-human beings. ‘Which’
on the other hand, is used for both persons & things.
Ø REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS
They are called reflexive pronouns
since the action done by the subject turns back upon the subject, that is, the
subject and the object of a sentence are the same person or thing.
Reflexive pronouns end in –self or
–selves and refer back to a noun or pronoun that has been mentioned earlier in
the sentence. The following is a list of reflexive pronouns in English: myself,
ourselves, yourself, yourselves, himself, herself, itself, and themselves.
For example;
a) I
hurt myself.
b) He
hurt himself.
c) We
hurt ourselves.
d) You
will have to wash yourself in cold
water.
e) Several
of the soldiers killed themselves.
Reflexive pronouns are formed when
the suffix ‘-self’ is added to my, your, him, her, it, for singular
pronouns and ‘-selves’ to our, your, them for the plural pronouns.
When the reflexive pronouns are
used for emphasis, they are called emphatic
or intensive pronouns. For example;
a) I
will do it myself.
b) I, myself, saw him do it.
c) But
you, yourself said it is a good idea.
(yourself means you and nobody else)
d) The
restaurant, itself, is a pleasant
place but the food is horrible.
e) The
town,itself, is not very attractive.
Ø RECIPROCAL PRONOUNS
Reciprocal pronouns are pronouns
which are used to indicate a two-way relationship or to convey the idea of
reciprocity. These pronouns represent two or more persons or things in an
interactive manner, that is, they interchange the action denoted by the verb.
For example,
a) They
cheated each other.
b) Sometimes
couples lie to one another.
c) They
beat each other/ one another.
d) The
two sisters have hated each other
from childhood.
e) The
family members blame one another for
their mother’s death.
Ø NUMERICAL PRONOUNS
These pronouns cite numbers which
could be cardinal or ordinal. Cardinal numbers include one, two, three, etc.
while ordinal numbers includes first, second, third etc.
They qualify as pronouns when they
take the place of a noun of a sentence. For example;
a) The
opposing team cut him off as one of
the members.
b) She
came third in the exams.
Ø RELATIVE PRONOUNS
Relative pronouns are pronouns that
introduce a relative clause. If a word relates
two statements about the same person
or thing, we call it a relative
pronoun. A relative pronoun is used to introduce a subordinate clause. These
are pronouns that refer to or that relate to same nouns mentioned before them.
Examples include such words as; who,
whose, whom, which, and that.
1a) I met Gerald.
Gerald had just returned.
b) I met Gerald who had just returned.
2a)
I found the pen. I had lost the pen.
b) I found the pen which I had lost.
From the above examples, it is
clear that relative pronouns act as pronouns and connective device at the same
time. They also act as subject or objects in the subordinate part of sentences,
while as connectives, they join the subordinate to the main clause.
3) The American who became president is Obama..
NB: To avoid ambiguity in sentences, place the relative pronoun as
near as possible to the noun it relates.
Uses of relative pronouns
1. Who
– used for persons in subject position -The boy who was crying is my
brother.
2. Whom
– used for persons in object position -She
is the woman whom I chose to marry.
3. Which
and that – used for things without life -This
is the gift which I chose for you. Or-Take
anything that you like.
4. Whose
– used to show possession -The man whose
car was stolen is crying.
5. Where
– shows place -This
is where I lost my wallet.
INFLECTION OF PRONOUNS
Pronouns usually inflect for
·
Person,
·
Gender,
·
Number
·
Case.
The above can be summarized as
follows;
CASE PERSON AND NUMBER
First person (Common Gender)
Singular Plural
Nominative (subject) I We
Accusative (object) Me Us
Genitive (possession) Mine Ours
Second person (Common Gender)
Singular Plural
Nominative (subject) You You
Accusative (object) You You
Genitive (possession) Yours Yours
Third person (Common Gender)
Singular Plural
Masculine FeminineNeuter All Genders
Nominative (subject) He She It They
Accusative (object) Him Her It Them
Genitive (possession)His Her Its Theirs
NB: The pronouns I, we, me, us,
you, your, they, them, theirs are said to have common gender since they can
refer to either male or a female.
Exercise1
1. Complete these sentences with the correct personal pronoun.
- I remembered the English book but Mary forgot--------------
- That dog barks all night. _____________ is a nuisance
- That is Stella. ___she______ is my sister.
- The Titanic was a new ship_____that__ People thought would never sink but __it___did.
- This is my brother. ___he______ is taller than___me_______.
2. Choose the correct pronoun(s) for each sentence.
1. She/her
went to the market.
2.
It was she/her.
3.
I talked to he/him.
4.
Can you come with we/us?
5. If you were I/me,
would you accept the job?
3. Fill the blanks with suitable relative pronouns.
- People love boys ______who___respect their parents.
- I don’t know _______what__________ he wants.
- He ______who_______ does his best shall be praised.
- It is an ill wind ____that/which________ blows no body good.
- No man canlose_____what_______ he never had.
4. Join together each of the
following pairs of sentences using an appropriate relative pronoun.
- I know Moses .The man has been to Iceland
- The thief stole a watch .The thief was punished.
- I met the boy. He was very cruel.
- Here is the pencil. You lost it yesterday.
- Here is the book. You were asking for the book.
5. Identify the pronoun and state its type
1. Many
of the streets were crowded. (indefinite)
2. He
cut himself with a kitchen knife. (personal-2ndperson,reflexive)
3. This
looks better with your blue suit. (demonstrative)
4. We
,ourselves decorated the rooms.(personal-1st
person,reflexive)
5. The
record that John bought was original. (relative)
6. Passengers
were asked to return to their seats. (No pronoun)
7. The
girl who won the award is my neighbour.(relative)
8. Only
one of the answers was correct. (numerical)
9. He
deserves what he got.(personal-3rd
person, relative)
10. All
the children brought their own lunch.(indefinate)
6. Choose the suitable personal pronoun
1. Either
you or ---- -------- (they, them) will win the prize.
2. On
the table were letters of John and (he,him).
3. They
play tennis better than (we, us).
4. Between
you and (I, me),
Jane is likely to win.
5. She
told us and (they, them) to work together.
6. (She, her) and I were rewarded for the work.
7. My
sister acts on impulse more than (I, me).
8. The
winner of the contest was (she, her).
9. She
forgot (her, hers) book at the library.
ADJECTIVES
INTRODUCTION
An adjective is a word that
describes or gives more information about a noun or a pronoun. An adjective is
said to qualify a noun or a pronoun because it limits the word it describes in
some way by making it more specific. An adjective usually comes before the word
it describes. For example;
1. Old
man
2.
That
house
3.
Two
cows
4.
Red
book
5. Tiny
dog
An adjective may, however, come
after the form of the verb ‘be’, or ‘stative, verbs, for
example,
a) The
speech was boring.
b) The
food is delicious.
c) The
weather is hot.
d) The
weather seems cold.
e) The
food feels hot.
Adjectives usually tell us
something about the colour, size, quantity, quality or classification of a noun
or pronoun. In the following sentences the underlined words are adjectives:
1.
She wore a white
dress.
2.
It was a huge
dog.
3.
They had five
children.
4.
They were sad
people.
5. It
was a Victorian house.
TYPES OF ADJECTIVES
The following are the types of
adjectives based on their meanings:
Adjectives of Quantity
These adjectives show how much of a
thing is meant. They answer to the questions how much of a thing? For example,
a) I
ate some rice.
b) He
was little intelligence.
c) You
have no sense.
d) He
paid the whole some as expected.
e)
She ate half
of her meal.
Adjective of Quality
These adjectives are also called descriptive adjective and they shows the
kind or quality of a person or thing. For example,
a) Mwanza
is a large city.
b) Goodluck
is an honest man.
c) The
foolish old man tried to steal.
d) Amina
is in sound health.
e) I
had a pleasant journey.
Adjectives of quality answer the
question; of what kind or what sort of a person or thing.
Adjective of number
These adjectives are also called numeral or limiting adjectives and they show how many persons or things are
meant. For example;
a) The hand has five fingers.
b) I have taught many things today.
c) Sunday is the first day of the week.
d) All men must die.
e) Most boys like football.
Adjectives of number answer the
question how many?
Demonstrative adjectives
These adjectives points out which
person or thing is meant. For example
a) This boy is strong than Martin.
b) That boy is stronger than Charles.
c) Those mangoes are sour.
d) I hate such things.
Demonstrative adjectives answer the
question which?
Possessive adjectives
These adjectives show possession
and also modify the meaning of the noun they accompany. For example,
a) My
house is near the hill.
b) Her dad was taken ill yesterday.
c) Its tail is broken.
d) Our desk is not here.
f) His pen has been stolen.
Interrogative adjectives
These are adjectives used with the
nouns to ask questions. English language has three interrogative
adjectives. They are; which, whose, and what. For example,
a. Whose
pen did Mosses use?
b. Which
way shall we go?
c.
What
book will Catherine use to teach?
Emphatic adjectives
Emphatic adjectives are adjectives
which you place in front of a noun to emphasize your feelings about something
or to emphasize the degree of something, as absolute, pure etc.
ü The
play was an utter disaster.
ü It
was pure magic
ü He
is an utter idiot.
ü She
is a complete fool.
ü The
campaign was a total failure.
Exercise 1
Identify the adjective in the
following sentences and state whether they are adjectives of quality /
quantity/number/ or demonstrative.
1.
These pens were bought yesterday. (demonstrative)
2.
I need that list by noon.(demonstrative)
3.
Thirty exercise books were on the teacher’s
desk.(number)
4.
Which dog bit the man?(interrogative)
5.
Every cloud has its silver lining.(limiting)
6.
My father lives in Dodoma.(possesive)
7.
He died a glorious death(quality)
8. She comes here
every day.(limiting)
4.3 FORMATION OF ADJECTIVES
a) Many adjectives are formed from
nouns using suffixes;
Noun Adjective
Nation national
Option optional
Hope hopeful
Mercy merciful
Hope
hopeless
Child childless
Friend friendly
Time timely
b) Some adjectives are formed from
verbs by use of suffixes such as; -able,
-ive, -less etc.
Verb Adjective
Break breakable
Remark remarkable
Act active
React reactive
Tire tireless
Move movable
d) Some adjectives are formed from
other adjectives. For example;
Adjective Adjective
Tragic tragical
Three threefold
Black blackish
White whitish
Sick sickly
Exercise 2
1 Form adjectives from the
following nouns
·
TimelyHealthly
·
Easly Boyish
·
PardonableOutrageous
2. Form adjective from the
following verbs;
·
Like(able)Suit(able)
·
Please(able)Create(ive)
·
Explore- exploratory
3. Form adjective from the
following adjectives
Whole/some/sale/hearted/meal
White-whitish
Black-blackish
4.4 COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES
Some adjectives can change in form
to show comparison. For example,
Tall-taller-tallest
These varying forms are called
degrees of comparison tall being
positive degree, taller comparative
degree and tallest being superlative
degree.
NB Absolute adjectives, for example, round, square etc. are not
capable of realistic comparison.
4.4.1 KINDS OF DEGREES
4.4.1.1Positive Degree
This is the base form of the
adjective that is used to describe one person, place or thing without reference
to any other .e.g.
i.
A large room
ii.
A wide
selection
iii. A
heavy load
iv. A
good student
4.4.1.2Comparative Degree
This is used to compare two people,
places, ideas, quantities or things of the same kind or class. The comparative
degree marker is –erfor regular
adjectives or the word more for
irregular adjectives. The comparative
degree is usually followed by the word than
e.g.
a)
She is older
than I.
b)
She is more
beautiful than I.
4.4.1.3Superlative degree
This degree shows the highest
degree of a quantity and is used when one object is compared with all other
things of the same class.ie comparison of more than two things of the same
class. The morpheme –estfor regular
adjectives or the word most for
irregular adjectives.
The article ‘the’ must always come before the superlative form of the
adjective. Examples
a) She is the
oldest of all.
b) He is thefastest
of them all.
4.4.2 FORMATION OF COMPARATIVES & SUPERLATIVES
1. Most adjectives of one syllable
form the comparative degree by adding ‘-er’ and the superlative by adding
‘-est’ to the positive degree. For
example;
Positive Comparative Superlative
New newer newest
Rich richer richest
Old older oldest
Black
blacker blackest
Long longer longest
2. If the positive degree ends in
the letters ‘-e’ only the suffixes ‘-r’ and ‘-st’ are added to form their comparatives and superlatives
respectively. For example;
Positive Comparative Superlative
Brave, braver bravest
Fine finer finest,
Large larger largest
Late later latest
3. If the positive degree ends in letter ‘-y’ preceded by a consonant sound, then the letter ‘-y’ changes to
‘-i’ while adding the suffixes -er or -est. For example;
Positive Comparative Superlative
Busy
busier busiest
Dry drier driest
Easy easier easiest
Heavy
heavier heaviest
Noisy noisier noisiest
4. If the positive ends in letter ‘-y’
preceded by a vowel, then the letter ‘-y’
doesn’t change while adding the suffixes ‘-er’
or ‘-est’. For example,
Positive Comparative Superlative
Gay
gayer gayest
Grey greyer greyest
5. If the positive degree ends in one consonant preceded by a short
vowel, then the final consonant is
doubled while adding the suffixes ‘-er’
or ‘-est’ . For example,
Positive
Comparative Superlative
Big bigger biggest
Fat fatter
fattest
Hot hotter
hottest
Mad madder maddest
Red redder reddest
6. All adjectives of more than two syllables and some of two syllables
also form their comparatives by adding more
and superlatives by adding most
before the positive degree. For example,
Positive
Comparative Superlative
Beautiful more beautiful most
beautiful
Courageous more courageous most
courageous
Difficult more
difficult most difficult
Proper more proper most proper
Useful more
useful most useful
7. Some adjective are compared irregularly i.e. they change to different
forms when comparatives and
superlatives are formed. For example;
Positive Comparative Superlative
Bad worse worst
Good better best
Evil worse worst
Hind hinder hindmost
Far farther farthest
Bad
worse worst
NB
- Double comparatives and superlatives are not used e.g.
*a) This book is more better than that.
*b) This book is more best of all.
- When two qualities of the same person or thing are compared, the comparative must be formed by using ‘more’ with the positive not ‘er’. For example,
c) He is more
honest than industrious
- The positive and the superlative degrees cannot be mixed up in the sentences. For example;
*d) Lucy is the
best and wise of all the girls.
4. There are a
number of adjectives that make their comparative forms with either ‘-er’ or more and their
superlative forms with - est or most. For example;
Positive
Comparative superlative
Pretty
prettier/more pretty
prettiest/ most pretty
Fierce fiercer/more fierce
fiercest/most fierce
Exercise 3
1) Write the comparative and
superlative forms of the following adjectives.
·
Black(more/most)
·
Evil(worse/worst)
·
Mad (madder/maddest)
·
Far(farther
/farthest)
·
In(inner/innermost)
·
Out(outter/utter
outmost/uttermost)
·
Perfect(same)
·
Universal(same)
4.5 ORDER OF THE ADJECTIVES
The preferred order of adjective in
a sentence is based on whether the adjectives are either opinion or fact
adjectives.
Opinion
adjectives give an opinion on something or somebody e.g. wise, nice,
beautiful etc. Different people hold different opinions.
Fact
adjectives on the other hand give us factual information that is not
debatable about the noun e.g. British, small, wooden, digital etc. When we use
an opinion and a fact adjective together in a sentences opinion adjectives come
before fact adjectives i.e. fact adjectives are closer to nouns. For example,
a)
A beautiful, round table not *A round, beautiful table.
b)
A lovely, long hair not * A long, lovely hair.
Sometimes we use more than one fact
adjectives in a sentence. In this case, the following order is preferred;
|
Size/shape
|
Age
|
Color
|
Origin
|
Make
|
|
How big? short, huge
|
How old? young, new, old
|
Of what color? Green, blue, red
|
Where from? Kenyan, Japanese
|
What is it made of? Leather,
wooden, woolen
|
For example;
1) She bought a huge, old, yellow, Japanese, wooden bed.
Size Age
Color Origin Make
Exercise 4
Fill in the blanks with the correct order of the adjectives in the
brackets
- Mine is the------------------------- handbag(blue, leather, small)(small blue letha)
- I live in a ---------------------------- house (furnished, old, large)(large,old,furn)
- East Africa has ----------------- force (combined military, powerful)(powa,comb,mila)
- There is a --------------- rug in the room ((soft, wonderful, woolen )(wonda,soft,wooln)
- I have just finished reading a------------- novel (long, American, boring)bori,long,ame
- She has a ------ clock ( useful, alarm, digital)(useful,digital.alarm)
ADVERBS
INTRODUCTION
Ø An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another
adverb.
Ø An adverb answers the questions how? When? Where? and to what extent? something is or was done.
Examine the following examples;
a) The dog followed Jane everywhere.
(modifies a verb)
b) Martin is fairly handsome.
(modifies an adjective)
c) I have been to Mwanza twice now. (modifies an adverb)
Ø Sometimes adverbs modify phrases, for example;
a) Gerald was truly in love.
b) Martin cried loudly the
whole night.
Ø Occasionally, an adverb may modify the whole sentence, for example;
a) Unfortunately, this has
happened.
b) Perhaps she is ill.
c) Truly, he is a rogue.
TYPES OF ADVERBS
Ø Adverbs may be divided into the following classes, according their
functions within the sentences they occur.
ADVERBS OF TIME
Ø Adverbs of time tell us when an
action took place.
Ø They include such words as; today, yesterday, tomorrow, now, then before,
late, early etc. For example,
1.
I have heard this before/ now/ lately.
2.
He arrived late.
3.
The end soon came.
4.
I hurt my knee yesterday.
ADVERBS OF FREQUENCY
Ø These adverbs tell us about the frequency
of an action, that is, how often, or frequently it takes place.
Ø They include words such as; once,
often, frequently, seldom, always etc. For example;
a)
I have seen you twice.
b)
He often makes mistakes.
c)
Mary called in again.
d)
He always tries to do his best.
ADVERBS OF PLACE
Ø Adverbs of place tell us where
an action took place.
Ø They also tell us where something or somebody is.
Ø This group includes such words as;
here, there, inside, outside, eastwards etc. For example,
a) She left the ball here.
b) They went South to look for
jobs.
c) What were you doing here?
d) They were traveling west.
ADVERBS OF MANNER
Ø Adverbs of manner tell us how
the action of a verb took place or was done.
Ø This group includes such words as; slowly, quietly, quickly etc. for
example,
a) Don’t walk too fast, I can’t keep up.
b) Mary reads clearly.
c) The warrior fought bravely.
d) The child slept soundly.
ADVERBS OF DEGREE/QUANTITY
Ø These adverbs show how much or
to what degree or to what extent an adjective is.
Ø Notice that they modify adjectives.
Ø Examples include such words as; enough, too, so, completely, altogether,
quite, rather, etc.
a)
The mangoes are almost ripe.
b)
I am rather busy today.
c)
The new business is fairly successful.
d)
Martin is far more polite than his brother.
ADVERBS OF CAUSE/ REASON
Ø These are adverbs that relate to the cause
or reason for an action.
Ø Examples include such words as; hence, therefore etc. for example,
a)
He is hence unable to refute the charges.
b)
I therefore
resigned and started looking for a new job
ADVERBS OF AFFIRMATION AND NEGATION
Ø These adverbs underline the affirmative or negative meaning of sentences,
phrases or clauses.
Ø For example,
a) Surely he won’t be sent to prison.
b) She certainly sings
beautifully.
c) I will not allow you to go with
him.
NB: An adverb may
belong to different classes depending on the context in which it is used. For
example,
1a) Don’t go far from here. (Adverb of place)
b) Wawira is far clever than she looks. (Adverb of degree)
2a) Mercy sings delightfully. (Adverb of manner)
b) The weather is delightfully cool. (Adverb of degree)
Exercises 1
Underline the adverbs in the following
sentences and state their types.
a)
The car drove swiftly down the
hill. manner
b)
You are completely mistaken. Affirmative
c)
Have you been here before?place/time
d)
John and I meet quite often.(degree/frequency
e)
They all moved forward. place
f)
Try again. frequency
g)
Where is Abdul? place
h)
The son is out
in Iran. place
i)
Why are you that late? Int adv of reason
FORMATION OF ADVERBS
Ø Some adverbs are formed from nouns by use of suffixes for example -wise, -ward .
Noun Adverb
Length Lengthwise
Clock Clockwise
Other Otherwise
Up Upwards
Back Backwards
Down Downwards
Ø Many adverbs, especially the adverbs of manner, can be formed from
adjectives by adding the suffix –ly.
Adjective Adverb
Wise wisely
Quick quickly
Bad badly
Wise wisely
Sad sadly
Ø When the adjectives ends in letter ‘-y’
preceded by a consonant, then the letter ‘y’
changes to ‘-i’ before adding the
suffix ‘-ly’. For example;
Happy- happily
Ready Readily
Heavy Heavily
Ø Some adverbs are made up of adjective
+ noun. For example;
Adjective Noun Adverb
Mid way Midway
Short hand Shorthand
Side ways Sideways
Some times Sometimes
Mean while Meanwhile
Ø Some adverbs are made up of preposition
+ noun. For example;
Preposition Noun Adverb
Over board overboard
Off guard off-guard
In side inside
By pass bypass
Up hill uphill
On line online
COMPARISON OF ADVERBS
Ø Some adverbs, like adjectives have three degrees of comparison i.e.
positive, comparative and superlative while some other adverbs cannot be
compared.
Ø For example, adverbs such as here, there, then, now, always etc .cannot
be compared.
1) Some adverbs form their comparative degree by adding the suffix -er and superlative degree by adding -est to the positive degree.
Positive Comparative Superlative
Hard harder hardest
Soon sooner soonest
Early earlier earliest
High higher highest
2) Other adverbs form their comparative degrees by adding the word more and superlatives by adding the word
most before the positive degree.
Positive Comparative Superlative
Quickly more quickly most quickly
Easily more easily most easily
Loudly more loudly most loudly
Happily more happily most happily
3) Some adverbs have irregular comparatives and superlatives forms. For
example;
Positive Comparative Superlative
Badly/ill worse worst
Well better
best
Much more
most
Little less
least
POSITION OF ADVERBS IN SENTENCES
There are three main
positions for adverbs in sentences;
AT THE BEGINNING OF A SENTENCE
a) Tomorrow we shall meet at the chief’s camp.
b) Perhaps Mary should pursue a master degree before getting married.
AT THE MIDDLE OF A SENTENCE
a) I was very hungry by lunch
time.
b) Our teacher rarely comes to
class late.
AT THE END OF A SENTENCE
a) I will meet you there.
b)
My motto is work hard.
c)
The church is cleaned daily.
Exercise 2
1. Put the comparative
form of the adverbs in brackets in the spaces provided.
1.
Jane works--------- than her sister
and brother. (hard)er
2.
She sings---- than anyone else in
class. (beautifully)more
3.
King Solomon is said to have ruled
------ than any other king before or after him. (wisely) more
2. Use superlative
forms of the adverbs in brackets to fill in the blanks.
a)
He who runs-------------wins the
race. (fast)est
b)
She is the
----------------intelligent girl in her class. (much)most
c) Who arrived ----------- at school this
morning? (early)earliest
PREPOSITIONS
INTRODUCTION
A preposition is a word placed
before a noun or pronoun to show how it relates with some other nouns within a
sentence. For example;
- I put my bag on the table.
- The goat is in the field.
If the prepositions ‘in’ and ‘on’
are left out the above sentences, they would not have clear or specific
meanings. For example, in sentence (1) above, the bag could be on the table, under the table, or besides
the table and the meaning is made clearer when the preposition is included.
6.1 Types of Prepositions
Prepositions can be divided into
two major groups, namely;
6.1.1 Simple prepositions
These are one word prepositions,
such as;out, in, after, off, down, past,
etc. for example;
1) Maryanne is at the airport.
2) Tanzania is
praised for her beauty.
3) Edward received
a letter from his mother.
4) The president
talked on corruption.
5) He is fond of poetry.
6.1.2 Complex prepositions
These are preposition which contain two or
more words e.g. according to, with effect
from, out of, in the event of, in spite of, opposite to, exclusive of etc.
For example;
1) A word used instead of a noun is called a pronoun.
2) He came out of the house.
3) The wedding was
cancelled due to lack of venue.
4) I stay away from home.
5) We increase our
knowledge by means of books.
6.2 CONCEPTS EXPRESSED BY PREPOSITIONS
6.2.1 PLACE
These prepositions tell us where a
person or thing is in relation to another, e.g.
a) The
cups are above the shelf.
b) Maria
is at the cafeteria.
c) The
water is in the drum.
d) The
seat is along the wall.
6.2.2TIME
These prepositions are used to express time or
to refer to a specified duration of time. For example,
a) The
doctor arrived at noon.
b) The
film ends at 1600hrs.
c) You
must return before evening.
d) I
worked in the bank for six years.
e) Janet
taught the class till 4pm.
NOTE:
At
in the above sentences is used to refer to a specific time.
The preposition in is used to express a specified
duration of time. For example,
a) Martin
was born in July.
b) The
schools will open in two weeks’ time.
c) The
building will be complete in six
months.
The preposition on is mostly used to indicate days and dates for example;
a) The
exams start on Friday.
b) The
conference will start on 10th
July, 2010.
6.2.3 MANNER
These are prepositions that show the way someone did something. Examples
include;
a) Juma
fought with courage.
b) Gerald
worked with earnest.
c) He
missed death by inches.
d) I
earn money by teaching.
6.2.4 CAUSE/REASON/ PURPOSE-
These prepositions indicate the
reason why something happened or why someone did something. Examples include;
a) He
labored for a good reason.
b) Education is meant for character formation.
c) She died
of heart attack.
d) Mushi lost the purse through negligence.
e) Moses shivered with fever.
6.2.5 POSSESSION
These prepositions show ownership
between two nouns i.e. something belonging to someone. Examples include;
a) She
loved the girl with blue eyes.
b) Catherine
is a lady of noble character.
c) Dodoma
is the capital of Tanzania.
d) Crispin
is a man of means.
6.2.6 DIRECTION
Prepositions of direction show the direction towards or from which
someone or something moves, for example;
a) He
walked into the class.
b) Mary
ran towards the police station.
c) The
moon moves round the earth.
d) The
bus moved down the hill.
6.2.7 CONTRAST
These prepositions mark contrast between two
clauses in a complex sentence. Examples include;
a) For
his faults I admire him.
b) In spite of all her wealth, she is not
contented.
c) For one enemy, he has hundred friends
d) Not withstanding my efforts, I failed in
the exams.
6.3 POSITION OF PREPOSITIONS IN SENTENCES
Prepositions can be placed:
6.3.1 IMMEDIATELY BEFORE A NOUN. FOR EXAMPLE
a) He
went to school.
b) They
traveled by bus.
c) Mary
is resting in bed.
6.3.2PREPOSITION CAN ALSO BE PLACED IMMEDIATELY AFTER A VERB, OR AN ADJECTIVE
a) The
nurse attended to the patient. (after
a verb)
b) I
do believe in a higher being. (after
a verb)
c) Most
people are afraid of darkness. (after
an adjective)
d) It
was kind of you to invite me to you
party. (after an adjective)
6.3.3PREPOSITION CAN ALSO COME AT THE END OF A SENTENCE ESPECIALLY IN QUESTIONS CONTAINING WORDS SUCH AS: WHO? WHAT? OR WHICH?, IN SOME PASSIVE CONSTRUCTIONS, AND IN RELATIVE CLAUSES.
a) Who
does she live with?
b)
Which box is the book in?
c) All
feasible ideas were brought in. (passive)
d) I
don’t know where they are going to.
(relative clauses)
e) What
are you talking about?
6.3.4 PREPOSITIONS ARE PLACED AT THE END OF SENTENCES WHEN THE OBJECT IS A RELATIVE PRONOUN ‘THAT’.
a) It
is the train that I am waiting for.
b) This
is the resort that I spent in
c) This
is the novel that I have been talking about.
Exercise
Insert the correct preposition in the following
1.
We should not rely_____ somebody.
2.
His uncle died ______ lung-cancer
3.
Why are you so jealous ____ your brother
4.
I don’t like to part _____ my book.
5.
The man is guilty____ his lying
6.
I am senior ____him in service
7.
Have you any comment____ this proposal.
8.
Woolen clothes are not appropriate____a hot summer day.
9.
She is proud ____her new car
VERBS
WHAT IS A VERB?
A verb is a word that is used to express or describe an activity,
a feeling or an experience.
Put in other words, a verb is a word that is used to describe
an action, whether active or passive.
A verb tells us what someone is or was doing
and a verb can tell us about being (state of being) or even possession.
For example;
1. Anna exercises daily. (The verb
‘exercises’ expresses an activity)
2. President
Kikwete is a humble person.
(The verb ‘is’ expresses a state of being)
3. Vicky feels sad. (The verb ‘feel’´
expresses a feeling)
4. Maria has blue eyes (The verb ‘has’´
expresses possession)
PRINCIPLE PARTS OF A VERB
Generally each verb has three
principle parts namely:
1.Present
2.The past
3.The past participle
These principle parts are
used to show time in a sentence and they occur in two forms of a verb i.e. the regular and the irregular form.
TYPES OF VERBS
Verbs are classified into various types by use of various
parameters, they include:
i)
tense formation
ii)
Number of objects
following the verb
iii) whether
they are main verbs or helping verbs
iv) Whether
they are action verbs or stative verbs
1. TENSE FORMATION
Here verbs are classified based on whether a verb takes on
the suffix ‘–ed’ /-d or not to form its past simple and past participle tenses.
Under this criterion, verbs are classified into;
1. Regular Verbs
2. Irregular verbs
a. Regular Verbs
Regular verbs form their simple past tense and past
participle forms through the addition of the suffix ‘–ed’ or ‘-d’. For example,
Verb Simple past tense Past participle
Jump Jumped Jumped
Dazzle dazzled dazzled
Walk walked Walked
Laugh Laughed
Laughed
Arrive arrived arrived
NB
ü If a one-syllable verb ends in a
single vowel and a consonant, we double the final consonant then we add the suffix ‘–ed/-d’. For example,
Stop……… stopped
Hop………..hopped
Fit………….fitted
Hug………..hugged
Tap………...tapped
Pat…………patted
Exceptions: We never double the letter –w,-x,-y as shown below;
Bow……….bowed
Fix…………fixed
Play………..played
If a one-syllable verb already ends in –e, we just add the suffix ‘–d’.
This is shown below;
Hope………hope
Stare………stared
If a one-syllable verb ends in two vowels and a consonant, we
do not double the final consonant.
Steer……..steered
Peer………peered
Fear………feared
Pour………poured
If a verb has more than one syllable and ends in a single
vowel and a consonant, we usually double the final consonant if the last
syllable is stressed.
Admit………admitted
Prefer……….preferred
Occur……….occurred
But;
Offer………..offered
Open………..opened
Happen……..happened
Visit………..visited
Tamper……..tampered
NB:
Even though the last syllable is not stressed, we always double the letter ‘–l’ when adding the suffix ‘-ed/-d’ to words ending in one vowel
and ‘–l’.
Travel……..travelled
Control……controlled
If a verb ends in a consonant, -y, we change the letter -y
to -i when we add the suffix ‘–ed/-d’.
Try………..tried
Cry……….cried
Carry……..carried
Hurry…….hurried
If a verb ends in the letters ‘–ic’, we add letter ‘-k’
before the suffix ‘–ed/-d’.
Picnic……picnicked
Panic…….panicked
b. Irregular Verbs
As the name suggests, irregular verbs have no pattern
/formulae in past tense or past participle tense formation. Some irregular
verbs change in various forms while some do not change at all.
Some one-syllable verbs do not have a separate past form. The
verb remains the same in the past as it is in the present as the following
examples show;
Set…………..set
Bet………….bet
Bid………….bid
Cast…………cast
Burst………...burst
The majority of irregular verbs can be broken down into
particular groups with their own pattern(s).
This is demonstrated below;
|
Present tense form
|
Simple past tense
|
Past participle form
|
|
Cling
|
Clung
|
Clung
|
|
Fling
|
Flung
|
Flung
|
|
Sting
|
Stung
|
Stung
|
|
Swing
|
Swung
|
Swung
|
|
Wring
|
Wrung
|
Wrung
|
|
Present tense form
|
Simple past tense
form
|
Past participle form
|
|
Drink
|
Drank
|
Drunk
|
|
Ring
|
Rang
|
Rung
|
|
Sing
|
Sang
|
Sung
|
|
Spring
|
Sprang
|
Sprung
|
|
Stink
|
Stank
|
Stunk
|
|
Present form
|
Past simple form
|
Past participle form
|
|
Bleed
|
Bled
|
Bled
|
|
Breed
|
Bred
|
Bred
|
|
Feed
|
Fed
|
Fed
|
|
Flee
|
Fled
|
Fled
|
|
Lead
|
Led
|
Led
|
|
Present form
|
Past simple form
|
Past participle form
|
|
Pay
|
Paid
|
Paid
|
|
Lay
|
Laid
|
Laid
|
|
Say
|
Said
|
Said
|
.
|
Present form
|
Past simple form
|
Past participle form
|
|
Catch
|
Caught
|
Caught
|
|
Teach
|
Taught
|
Taught
|
|
Present form
|
Past simple form
|
Past participle form
|
|
Bring
|
brought
|
Brought
|
|
Buy
|
Bought
|
Bought
|
|
Fight
|
Fought
|
Fought
|
|
Seek
|
Sought
|
Sought
|
|
Think
|
Thought
|
Thought
|
|
Present form
|
Past simple form
|
Past participle form
|
|
Bind
|
Bound
|
Bound
|
|
Find
|
Found
|
Found
|
|
Grind
|
Ground
|
Ground
|
|
Wind
|
Wound
|
Wound
|
|
Present form
|
Past simple form
|
Past participle form
|
|
Draw
|
Drew
|
Drawn
|
|
Know
|
Knew
|
Known
|
|
Throw
|
Threw
|
Thrown
|
INFLECTIONS OF VERBS
Inflection refers to the process by which affixes are
attached to words or stems so as to mark various grammatical categories.
English verbs typically inflect for tense, voice, aspect and
mood and to a lesser degree person. This module will only concern itself with
tense and voice. Students are advised to read the others from relevant books.
1. TENSE
Tense is a form which a verb takes to show the time of action and its degree of completeness. There are
three types of tenses namely:
1.Present
tense
2.Past
tense
3.Future
tense
Each of the above tenses can be further divided into four
parts to show the degree of completeness of an action.
ü Present tense
Present tense is the tense that expresses activities that
happen concurrently with the time of speaking or writing. It can be divided
into four parts namely; present simple,
present continuous, present perfect, and present perfect continuous.
a) Present simple tense
Present simple tense expresses activities, actions or events
taking place at the moment of speaking.
ü He
reads a book.
ü I
read a book.
ü Musa
reads a book.
Uses of the present
simple tense
The present simple tense is used to;
ü
To express habitual
actions; as
·
Alex yawns when bored.
ü
To express general
truths ; as
·
The sun rises in
the east.
ü
To discuss hobbies; as
·
Edgar plays
computer games during his free time.
ü
To show the condition
in which a person or object is in; as
·
The weather is/seems
cloudy/sunny.
ü
To state a person’s
occupation
·
Gerald is a
lecturer.
ü
To indicate a
relationship
·
Omutiti and Ocham are
business partners.
Rule of formation:
Subject+ Verb+ Object
NB: one is supposed to add
–s to the form of the verb with subject he, she, it and proper nouns (third
person singular).
b) Present Continuous
tense
Present continuous
tense is used to show an action that is
in progress and is incomplete at the moment of speaking or writing. For
example;
ü I
am reading the book.
ü He
is eating matoke.
Uses of the present
continuous tense
The present continuous tense is used to;
ü
To express an action
going on at the time of speaking;
·
The boys are trapping
birds by the river.
ü
To express the future
in arrangements that have already been made;
·
I am going to visit
Dodoma next week
Rule of
formation: Subject+ is/am/ are+ Verb+ -ing (Object)
c) Present Perfect
tense
This tense is used to express acts that have just been completed in the immediate past but their effects/
impacts can still be felt at the time of speaking. For example;
ü I
have read the book.
ü He
has eaten matoke.
Uses of the present
perfect
The present perfect tense is used to;
ü
To indicate activities
which were completed in the immediate past.
·
He has just gone home.
ü
To describe past events
whose effects are felt in the present.
·
I have cut my finger
and it is bleeding now.
Rule of
formation: Subject + has/ have Verb + past participle+ Object
d) Present Perfect
Continuous
This tense is used to express activities which began in the past but is still going on.
For example
ü
John has been playing football
for two hours.
The above sentence means that John is playing now and he
started two hours ago and still going on.
Uses of the present
perfect continuous tense
Present Perfect
continuous is used
ü
For an action which
began at sometime in the past and is still going on
• I
have been learning Spanish since last year (I am still learning)
Rule of formation
Subject: + has/ have + been + Verb + -ing (Object)
ü Past tense
Past tense is used to
indicate an action completed sometime prior(before) to the time of speaking.
It can be divided into four parts namely; simple past, past continuous, past
perfect, and past perfect continuous.
a) Simple Past Tense
This expresses actions
that took place sometimes in the past. For example;
ü Mary
ate a meal.
ü I
lost my book.
Uses of the past simple
tense
The simple past tense is used to;
ü
Indicate a completed
action in the past.
·
Joshua passed his national exams with flying
colors.
ü
To express past habits.
·
He always carried a bible.
Rule of
formation Subject +Verb (past) + (Object)
b) Past Continuous
Tense
This tense is used to show
actions, activities or events going on for some time in the past. For
example;
ü They
were reading the book.
Uses of the past
continuous tense
The past continuous tense is used to;
ü To
express an action going on at sometime in the past
·
They were watching television / football yesterday
evening
ü To
express a persistent habit in the past
·
Alan was always telling
us about his wife.
Rule of
formation: Subject+ was/were +Verb+ -ing + (Object)
c) Past Perfect tense
Past perfect tense shows
activities, actions or events that had been completed before a given time in
the past. For example
ü Mary
had eaten a meal when I arrived.
ü I
had played a match before you
arrived
Uses of the past
perfect tense
The past perfect tense is used to;
ü
To express one of the two past actions which had been completed earlier
·
When we reached the
theatre, the booking counter had been closed
Rule of formation
Subject+ had + Verb + past particle + (Object)
d) Past Perfect
Continuous
This tense is used to
show an action which had been going on before another action in the past.
For example
ü I
had been eating a meal when she arrived
ü Mary
had been waiting for her when she come
Uses of the past perfect continuous
The past perfect continuous tense is
used to;
ü
To express an action
which began and had been in progress before another action started
·
Munga had been teaching
at the university for more than a year before she left for Tanzania.
Rule of
formation Subject+ had been +Verb +-ing+ (Object)
ü Future Tense
Future tense is used to express activities, events or actions
that will take place in the future or have been planned to take place in the
future or at some point after the time of speaking or writing.
Future tense can be divided into four parts namely; simple
future, future continuous, future perfect, and future perfect continuous.
a) Simple Future
This tense shows an action that has still to take place. For
example,
ü Mary
will eat a meal tomorrow.
ü I
will go back to Dodoma next week.
Uses of the simple
future tense
The simple future tense is used to;
ü
To express future
action
·
I shall meet her
tomorrow
Rule of formation
Subject+ will/shall +be+ verb+ Object
b)Future Continuous
Tense
This tense shows an action as going on for sometime in the
future. For example;
ü Mary
will be eating a meal.
ü They
will be playing football.
Uses of the future
continuous tense
The future continuous tense is used to;
ü
To express an action
going on in future
·
When I go home she will
be waiting for me.
ü
For future planned
action
·
Mushi will be opening a beauty shop next week
Rule of formation
Subject+ will/shall +be +Verb+ -ing+ Object
c) Future Perfect Tense
This
tense is used to show an action that will have been completed at a future time.
For example;
ü
I will have finished my
paper tomorrow by this time.
ü
Mary will have eaten a
meal.
Use of the future
Perfect tense
The future perfect tense is used to;
ü
To express future
completed action
·
I shall have written
the letter by tomorrow
·
By next November, I
will have received my promotion.
Rule of formation
Subject+ will/shall +have+ Verb+ past particle+ Object
d) Future Perfect
continuous
This tense is used to show
an action that will be going on over a period of time and will end in the
future. For example
ü She
will have been working since Monday.
ü Mary
will have been eating a meal.
Uses of the future
perfect continuous tense
The future perfect continuous tense is used to;
ü
For an action going on
in future and it will continue to a certain time in future
·
By next September, she
will have been working in SAUT for five years.
ü
Using the Future
Perfect Continuous before another action in the future is a good way to show
cause and effect.
·
Kamau will be tired
when he gets home because he will have been jogging for over an hour
Rule of formation
Subject+ will/ shall +have been +Verb+- ing+ (Object)
CONJUNCTIONS
INTRODUCTION
A conjunction is a word which joins
together clauses, sentences and sometimes words or phrases. Examples include;
1.
God made the country and man-made
the town. (Two sentences)
2.
Two and Two make four. (two
words)
3.
Halima and Rama are brothers.
(Two words)
CLASSES OF CONJUNCTIONS
Conjunctions can be divided into two
major classes. These are;
·
Coordinating conjunctions
·
Subordinating
conjunctions
COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS
These are conjunctions which join
together two sentences, clauses or phrases of equal rank or grammatical weight.
Kinds of coordinating conjunction
i.
Cumulative/copulative or additive
conjunctions
These add one statement
to another. For example; and, no less than, so, also, both, as well as etc. as
shown below;
a) As well as
writing the letter for me, he posted it.
b) He is my lecturer so I respect him.
c) He cooked ‘matoke’ and ate them.
d) They not only invited me to dinner, but
also sent a car to pick me.
ii.
Adversative/ contrastive conjunctions
These are conjunctions
that express opposition or contrast between two statements. They include; but,
nevertheless, still, whereas, only, yet etc.
a) Collins is poor but he is honest.
b) She was late, still she was not punished.
c) Peter beats his wife yet he loves her.
d) My sister is lazy where as my brother is intelligent.
iii.
Disjunctive/ Alternative conjunctions
These conjunctions
express a choice between two alternatives. Included here are; or, nor,
either-or, neither-nor, else, etc. For
example;
a) She must repent or she will die.
b) Agnes is neither a teacher nor a nurse.
c) Would you like some tea or soda?
d) Either he is
mad or he feigns madness.
iv.
Inferential or illative conjunctions
These are conjunctions
which express an inference or conclusion. In this list are; for, therefore,
since, consequently, so, etc. examples in sentences include;
a) I loved Nancy for she is very brilliant.
b) Maina is poor so he cannot visit Malaika Resort.
c) Gadhafi is my enemy therefore I dislike him.
d) His father died last year consequently; he is facing financial
hardships.
SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS
These conjunctions join one clause to
another, one of the clauses being dependent on (or subordinate to) the main
clause to express a full meaning.
Types of subordinating conjunctions
Subordinating conjunctions are
divided into seven classes:
i.
Those Expressing time-
For example, before, since, when,
till, while, etc. eg
a) Mary had left before I spoke to her.
b) I began my lesson after they had left.
c) She promised to wait for him till he comes back.
ii.
Those
Expressing cause or reason;
They include words such as; because,
since, as etc.
a) She was punished because she was late.
b) As she is my
sister, I love her
c) Since it is
dark, take the torch with you.
iii.
Those Expressing purpose
Examples here include;
a) She put the money in a safe place so that it would not be stolen.
b) Strong measures were taken in order that the rule of law be
re-established.
c) Eat carefully lest you choke.
d) We eat that we may live.
iv.
Those Expressing results or consequence
These conjunctions
express or show the end result of some action. They include; so…that, that etc
a) It was so hot that he could not
go out.
b) Mwalimu is so weak that he cannot
walk.
v.
Those Expressing conditions
They include; if, unless,
on condition that, provided (that) etc.
a) If she comes
here I will talk to her
b) Unless you
pay, you won’t go.
c) I will help u on condition that you give up drugs.
d) You can take that book provided you return it by tomorrow.
vi.
Those Expressing contrast
For example; although, even
if, though, however etc.
a) Although he
has a lot of money, he doesn’t spend it.
b) However hard
he tried, he failed in the exam.
c) Though he is
poor, he is honest
d) I shall not forgive him even if he falls on my knees.
vii.
Those Expressing comparison or degree
For example; than, as-as,
so-as
a) She respected me more than I thought.
b) He is as healthy as you.
c) He came later than you.
d) He is not as intelligent as he
seems.
FUNCTIONS OF CONJUNCTIONS IN SENTENCES
Conjunctions perform
different functions in sentences as shown below;
a)
To show addition
We use coordinating conjunctions
to show addition. For example;
i) Maria and Lucia are sisters.
ii) People work and also attend professional courses.
b)
To express alternatives
We use conjunctions to express alternatives
or choices. The alternatives can be positive alternatives or negative
alternatives. For example;
i) You can take a bus or go by train. (Positive)
ii) Either she is sick or she
is pretending. (Positive)
iii) She could neither stand nor walk.
(Negative)
iv) He is not a genius nor is he a fool. (Negative)
c)
To express concession
Conjunctions can also be used to
express concession. Clauses expressing concession present a result that is
different from what is expected. For example,
i.
Moses
is ninety years old, but he plays
golf.
ii.
Though he woke up late, he got there in
time for the meeting.
iii.
Ann
went to work despite being unwell.
d)
To express emphasis
Conjunctions can also be used to show
emphasis. For example
i.
Not only is he a singer but he is also a talented
dancer.
ii.
The
storm not only destroyed buildings but also killed three people.
iii.
Both her mother and her father are pilots.
e)
To express condition
Some conjunctions join clauses that
express condition. For example;
i.
Unless the price of ARVs is lowered, many
people will die of AIDS.
ii.
Provided that the weather is fine, we shall go for
holiday.
iii.
You
can go out with your friends as long as
you come back by six O’clock.
f)
To express contrast
Conjunctions can also express
contrast. For example; whereas, while,
i.
September
is a hot month in Mwanza whereas July
is cold.
ii.
French is taught as an
elective subject while English is
compulsory for all students.
Exercise
Fill each blank in the following
sentence with appropriate
conjunction.
a.
Mother
paid the butcher _______ put the meat in her basket.
b.
The
wind is cold _______ it was the month of March.
c.
Susan
boiled the eggs ______ Jane cut the bread
d.
The
match was postponed ______ of the heavy rains.
f.
He
visited all his friends ………. he left for America.
g.
I
haven’t flown a kite………….. I was a little boy.
h.
…………
you read you will pass.
i.
Is
this book yours …….. mine.
j.
The
students shall fail………… they work hard.
INTERJECTIONS
INTRODUCTION
Interjections are words used to
express sudden feelings or emotions. The emotion can be that of joy, anger,
grief, surprise, approval, excitement etc.
They are mostly not grammatically
related to the other words in the sentence.
They can be one word or a group of
words. Examples of one word injections include;
ü Wow!
ü Ugh!
ü Bravo!
ü Wow!
ü Oh!
ü Alas!
ü Ouch!
ü Hey!
ü Hurrah!
Examples of interjection made up of
a group of words include;
ü My God!
ü Well done!
ü Good Lord!
ü Holy cow!
ü Good grief!
Assignment: construct sentences using
interjections
Examples in a sentence
ü
Alas! He is dead.
ü
Hurrah! we have won the game.
ü
Oh! I got such a fright
ü
Hush! Don’t make noise.
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