This document provides an overview of English grammar concepts that will be covered in an upcoming exam, including the format and requirements of the exam. It discusses the key elements of sentences such as subjects, predicates, phrases and clauses. It also outlines the different types of sentences and sentence structures like simple, compound and complex sentences. The goal is to help students understand difficult grammar concepts and prepare for the exam which will follow a similar format to the assignment.

1. English Module 6
(BES-ENG32)
By : Mr. Eben Ezer Kalola
2021

2. • Welcome to the study of Major School Subject: English for the third year:
Semester 2.
• The main focus of this PPT is to guide you on difficult concepts you may
encounter answering the assignment and thus prepare you for the
examinations.
• The assignment is essential in preparation for the examination.
• The format of the examination will follow that of the assignment very
closely.
• Note: This does not, however, mean the questions will be the same! You
are expected to study the module, together with the prescribed book(s),
and to ensure you know your study material before you attempt the
assignment.
• Please pay special attention to the verbs used in the assignment

3. Assessment policy
• One assignment of 130 marks must be submitted for this module. A
pass mark of 5% is required in the assignment to grant you admission
to the examination.
• The examination question paper will have the same format as the
assignment.
• It will count for 130 marks and have a 3-hour duration.
• A final pass mark of 50% is required (60% of the written examination
plus 40% of the assignment/semester mark)

4. Units covered in this PPT
• Unit 1: The components of sentences.
• Unit 2: Different phrases in sentences.
• Unit 3: Different clauses in sentences.
• Unit 5: Features of direct and indirect speech with examples.
• Unit 6: Figures of speech.

5. Basic sentence elements
• The subject of a sentence is the person, place, or thing that is
performing the action of the sentence. The subject represents
what or whom the sentence is about. The simple subject
usually contains a noun or pronoun and can include modifying
words, phrases, or clauses.
• The predicate expresses action or being within the sentence. The
simple predicate contains the verb and can also contain modifying
words, phrases, or clauses.

6. • The man builds a house.
• The subject and predicate make up the two basic structural parts of
any complete sentence. In addition, there are other elements,
contained within the subject or predicate, that add meaning or detail.
These elements include the direct object, indirect object, and subject
complement. All of these elements can be expanded and further
combined into simple, compound, complex, or compound/complex
sentences.

7. Direct and indirect object
• The direct object receives the action of the sentence. The direct
object is usually a noun or pronoun.
• The man builds a house.
• The man builds it.
• The indirect object indicates to whom or for whom the action of the
sentence is being done. The indirect object is usually a noun or
pronoun.
• The man builds his family a house.
• The man builds them a house.

8. Clauses
• A clause is a group of related words that has both a subject and
predicate.
• An independent clause expresses a complete thought and can stand
alone in a sentence, while a dependent clause cannot.
• Example: Sparrows make nests in cattle barns (independent clause)
so that they can stay warm during the winter (dependent clause).

9. Independent clause
• An independent clause (a clause is a group of words that contains at
least one subject and one verb) is one that can stand on its own two
feet, independently. You can join independent clauses if you want to.
This is called coordination.
• An independent clause lacks nothing to stand on its own.
• Jennifer put a new washer in the bathroom faucet before leaving for
the party.
• Mai figured out how to fix the garbage disposal.

10. Dependent clause
• A dependent clause is one that cannot stand on its own two feet--it
needs an independent clause to lean on. You must join a dependent
clause to an independent one. This is called subordination.
• In contrast to an independent clause, a dependent clause is
incomplete; it is a type of sentence fragment. A dependent clause
may contain a subject and a verb, but it begins a thought that it
doesn't finish.
• Because Amy left the iron on.
• When the firemen arrived at the dorm.

11. In the following examples we have added
independent clauses for the dependent clauses to
lean on:
• The dorm's obsolete wiring melted and started a fire because Amy
left the iron on.
• Jennifer and Mai had already put out the fire when the firemen arrive
at the dorm.
• Because Amy left the iron on, the dorm's obsolete wiring melted and
started a fire.
• When the firemen arrived at the dorm, Jennifer and Mai had already
put out the fire.

12. • When you join a dependent clause to an independent clause, you are
not joining equals. One side of the resulting sentence (the
independent clause) is stronger, and the other side (the dependent
clause) is weaker, or subordinate.
• The words used to join unequal pairs of clauses are
called subordinating conjunctions.
• The important thing to remember about subordination is that the
punctuation differs depending on whether the independent or the
dependent clause "enters" first. If the dependent clause is first it is
followed by a comma If the independent clause comes first, no
punctuation separates the two.

13. Phrases
• A sentence can include phrases, clauses or both. A phrase is a group
of related words that function as a single part of speech. A phrase
lacks a subject, a predicate, or both.
• Consider this sentence: Finishing the race will require running down
several steep slopes.
• Three phrases make up the sentence:
• Finishing the race, which lacks a predicate;
• will require, which lacks a subject; and
• running down several steep slopes, which lacks both a subject and a
predicate.

14. Types of phrases
• Absolute phrase
• An absolute phrase is a modifying parenthetical or subordinate phrase of a
root sentence that includes a subject but does not have an acting verb so
cannot stand on its own as sentence.
• Adjective phrase
• Comprised of an adjective and works as a single adjective in the sentence.
• Adverb phrase
• Modifies the verb or the adjective and works as an adverb in the sentence.
• Gerund phrase
• Consists of a gerund and any modifiers or objects associated with it.
• ).

15. • Infinitive phrase
• An infinitive phrase includes the word to and a verb as the basis of a modification of a root
sentence.
• Noun phrase
• Consists of a person, place, or thing and any modifiers.
• Participial phrase
• A participial phrase consists of verbal ending in -ing or -ed, or another irregular form of a verb,
and serves as an adjective.
• Prepositional phrase
• A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition and a noun or pronoun that serves as the
preposition’s object, and often one or more adjectives.
• Verb phrase
• The portion of a sentence that contains both the verb and either a direct or indirect object (the
verb's dependents

16. Types of Sentences

17. Declarative sentence
• A declarative sentence makes a statement.
• It is punctuated by a period.
Example: The dog in the neighbor’s yard is barking.

18. Imperative sentence
• An imperative sentence is a command or polite request.
• It ends in a period or exclamation mark.
Examples: Close the door. (command)
Please be quiet. (polite request)

19. Exclamatory sentence
• An exclamatory sentence expresses great emotion or excitement.
• It ends in an exclamation mark.
Example: The house is on fire!

20. Interrogative sentence
• An interrogative sentence asks a question.
• It ends in a question mark (?)
Example: Is it raining?

21. Sentence structures

22. Simple sentences
• A simple sentence contains a subject and a verb.
• It expresses a single complete thought that can stand on its own.

23. Examples
• The baby cried for food.
^There is a subject and a verb that expresses a complete thought.
• Professor Maple’s intelligent students completed and turned in their
homework.
^ A simple sentence does not necessarily have to be short. It can have
adjectives. In this case, there are two verbs “completed” and “turned in.”
However, the sentence expresses one complete thought and therefore is a
simple sentence.
• Megan and Ron ate too much and felt sick.
Although there are two subjects and two verbs, it is still a simple sentence
because both verbs share the same subjects and express one complete
thought

24. Compound Sentence
• A compound sentence has two independent clauses.
• An independent clause is a part of a sentence that can stand alone
because it contains a subject and a verb and expresses a complete
thought.
• Basically, a compound contains two simple sentences.
• These independent clauses are joined by a conjunction (for, and, nor,
but, or, yet, so).

25. Examples
• The shoplifter had stolen clothes, so he ran once he saw the police.
^Both sides of the conjunction “so” are complete sentences. “The
shoplifter had stolen clothes” can stand alone and so can “he ran
once he saw the police.” Therefore, this is a compound sentence.
• They spoke to him in Spanish, but he responded in English.
This is also a compound sentence that uses a conjunction to separate
two individual clause

26. Complex Sentences
• A complex sentence is an independent clause joined by one or more
dependent clauses. A dependent clause either lacks a subject or a
verb or has both a subject and a verb that does not express a
complete thought.
• A complex sentence always has a subordinator (as, because, since,
after, although, when) or relative pronouns (who, that, which).

27. Examples
• After eating lunch at The Cheesecake Factory, Tim went to the gym to exercise.
^ The independent clause is ‘Tim went to the gym to exercise.” The subordinating clause
before it is dependent on the main, independent clause. If one were to say “after eating
lunch at The Cheesecake Factory,” it would be an incomplete thought.
• Opinionated women are given disadvantages in societies that privilege male
accomplishments.
^ The subject is “opinionated women” and the verb is “are given.” The first part of the
sentence “opinionated women are given disadvantages in societies” is an independent
clause that expresses a complete thought. The following “that privilege male
accomplishments” is a relative clause that describes which types of societies.
• The woman who taught Art History 210 was fired for stealing school supplies.
^ The dependent clause in this sentence is “who taught Art History 210” because if
removed, the rest of the sentence would stand as an independent clause. “Who taught Art
History 210” is an adjective clause that provides necessary details about the subject,
woman.

28. Compound Complex sentence
• A compound-complex sentence has two independent clauses and at
least one dependent clause.
• After the two soccer players lost their game, they joined their other
teammates for lunch, and they went to the movies.
^ If we remove the dependent clause “after the two soccer players lost
their game,” we have a compound sentence. The dependent clause
makes this sentence compound-complex.
• The man believed in the system, and he knew that justice would
prevail after the murderer was sent to jail.

29. What is a paragraph?
A paragraph is a collection of related sentences organised together
because they share the same argument focused on one main idea. A
paragraph is made up of a minimum of three sentences and a
maximum of five sentences.

30. Paragraphs are helpful as they:
• help us to organise our ideas in longer texts such as letters and
essays.
• make it easier for the reader to follow our ideas.
• show where one topic or idea ends and another one begins.

31. Generally, paragraphs in English, have three principal parts. These
three parts are the topic sentence, supporting sentences, and the
concluding sentence.
• The topic sentence is often at or near the start of the paragraph and
sets out what the paragraph is about.
• The supporting or developing sentences expand the topic sentence.
This is the main body of the paragraph.
• The concluding sentence, at the end of the paragraph summarizes
the information that has been presented. You can think of a
concluding sentence as a sort of topic sentence in reverse.

32. Paragraph structure
• A paragraph consists of three different parts:
• - the topic sentence, which contains the main idea
• - the supporting sentences / body
• - a concluding sentence.
• Each of these sections has a significant role to play in writing
meaningful, focused paragraphs.

33. Thus the topic sentence:
• introduces the focus of the paragraph,
• contains the key information.
• is a complete sentence
• is most likely the first or second sentence in the paragraph (although
it may also appear in the middle of the paragraph or towards the end
of it.)
• consists of a topic and a controlling idea. The topic can be one word
only, or a group of words. The controlling idea states the focus of
your paragraph. There is no fixed place in a sentence for the topic or
the controlling idea.

34. Unity and coherence in paragraph writing
Unity means that all the sentences refer to the main idea, or the topic
of the paragraph.
Coherence means that the sentences should be organized in a logical
manner and should follow a definite plan of development.

35. Example of a paragraph
Canada is one of the best countries in the world to live in. First, Canada
has an excellent health care system. All Canadians have access to medical
services at a reasonable price. Second, Canada has a high standard of
education. Students are taught by well‐trained teachers and are
encouraged to continue studying at university. Finally, Canada's cities are
clean and efficiently managed. Canadian cities have many parks and lots
of space for people to live. As a result, Canada is a desirable place to live.

36. Direct speech
• Direct speech quotes the speaker’s direct (own) words and is written as follows:
• She told her mother, “I do not know at what time we will finish with the test, but I
will call you.”
• The sentence contains two parts:
• She told her mother
• These words are introductory. They introduce to us whose words we are going
retell. This clause is always introduced by an introductory verb, in this case told.
The first part of the sentence is separated from the actual words by a comma.
• “I do not know what time we will finish the test, but I will call you.”
• The second part gives the words which she actually spoke or her direct words. For
this reason these words are placed in inverted commas {“ …”). These inverted
commas indicate the speakers own words.

37. • Direct speech is usually placed inside quotation marks and
accompanied by a reporting verb, signal phrase or quotative frame.
• Alex said, “I will be there in five minutes.”
• The teacher said to Peter, “If you don’t complete your homework, I
will make a call to your parents.”
• Paul said to me, “What are you looking at?”
• Joseph said, “You should give him a second chance.”

38. Indirect speech
• Indirect Speech or otherwise called as reported speech is one in
which a person reports on what someone else said or wrote to him,
not using the actual words. The indirect speech stresses on the
content, i.e. what someone stated, instead of the words that are used
for stating it.
• The formation of the reported clause in an indirect speech is mainly
based on whether the speaker is just reporting something, or
ordering, commanding, requesting, etc.

39. Examples of indirect speech
• Alex said that he would be here in five minutes.
• The teacher scolded Peter that if he does not complete his
homework, she would call his parents.
• Paul asked me what am I looking at.
• Joseph advised that I should give him a second chance.

40. Key Differences Between Direct and Indirect
Speech
• In a direct speech, we use inverted commas to highlight the exact words of
the speaker while reporting them. On the other hand, in an indirect
speech, as its name suggests, it involves reporting what a person said,
without exactly quoting them. So, in an indirect speech we do not use
inverted commas to highlight the original statement of the speaker;
instead, it is just reported using own words.
• Direct Speech refers to the literal repetition of the words spoken by
someone, using a quotative frame. On the other hand, indirect speech is
one that reports something said or written by another person, without
making the use of exact words.
• Direct Speech is also called a quoted speech, as it uses the exact words of
the speaker. As against, the indirect speech is termed as reported speech,
as it narrates what is said by the speaker.

41. • Direct Speech is from the speaker’s standpoint, whereas indirect
speech is from the listener’s standpoint.
• Direct speech is when we use the exact rendition of the words of the
speaker. Conversely, in an indirect speech own words are used to
report the speaker’s statement.
• The inverted comma is used in direct speech, but not in indirect
speech.

42. Difference between connotation and
denotation
• Denotation is generally defined as literal or dictionary meanings of a word
in contrast to its connotative or associated meanings. Let us try to
understand this term with the help of an example. If you search for
meaning of the word “dove” in a dictionary, you will see that its meaning is
“a type of pigeon, a wild and domesticated bird having a heavy body and
short legs.” In literature, however, you frequently see “dove” referred to as
a symbol of peace.
• Readers are familiar with denotations of words but denotations are
generally restricted meanings. Writers, therefore, deviate from the
denotative meanings of words to create fresh ideas and images that add
deeper levels of meaning to common and ordinary words. Readers find it
convenient to grasp the connotative meanings of words because of the fact
that they are familiar with their literal meanings.

43. • In literary works, we find it a common practice with writers to deviate
from the dictionary meanings of words to create fresher ideas and
images. Such deviations from the literal meanings are called the use
of figurative language or literary devices e.g. metaphors, similes,
personifications, hyperboles, understatements, paradoxes and puns
etc. Even in our daily conversation, we diverge from the dictionary
meanings of words and prefer connotative or associated meanings of
words in order to accurately convey our message

44. Figures of speech
• any intentional deviation from literal statement or common usage
that emphasizes, clarifies, or embellishes both written and spoken
language. Forming an integral part of language, figures of speech are
found in oral literatures as well as in polished poetry and prose and in
everyday speech. Greeting-card rhymes, advertising slogans,
newspaper headlines, the captions of cartoons, and the mottoes of
families and institutions often use figures of speech, generally for
humorous, mnemonic, or eye-catching purposes. The argots
of sports, jazz, business, politics, or any specialized groups abound in
figurative language.

45. • Most figures in everyday speech are formed by extending the vocabulary of
what is already familiar and better known to what is less well known.
• Thus metaphors (implied resemblances) derived from human physiology
are commonly extended to nature or inanimate objects as in the
expressions “the mouth of a river,” “the snout of a glacier,” “the bowels of
the earth,” or “the eye of a needle.” Conversely, resemblances to natural
phenomena are frequently applied to other areas, as in the expressions “a
wave of enthusiasm,” “a ripple of excitement,” or “a storm of abuse.”
• Use of simile (a comparison, usually indicated by “like” or “as”) is
exemplified in “We were packed in the room like sardines.”
• Personification (speaking of an abstract quality or inanimate object as if it
were a person) is exemplified in “Money talks”;

46. • hyperbole (deliberate exaggeration for the sake of effect), as in “I’m so mad
I could chew nails”;
• the rhetorical question (asked for effect, with no answer expected), as in
“How can I express my thanks to you?”;
• litotes (an emphasis by negation), as in “It’s no fun to be sick”; and
• onomatopoeia (imitation of natural sounds by words), in such words as
“crunch,” “gurgle,” “plunk,” and “splash.”
• metonymy (using the name of one thing for another closely related to it), in
“How would the Pentagon react?”;
• synecdoche (use of a part to imply the whole), in expressions such as
“brass” for high-ranking military officers or “hard hats” for construction
workers.

47. Sound devices
• Alliteration
• This involves using words that begin with the same sound. For
instance, “Sally sells sea shells by the seashore” is alliteration – and
try saying it fast to see how difficult it is! It is often used in advertising
slogans to create something catchy that more people will remember
• Assonance
• This is a figure of speech that focuses on the vowel sounds in a
phrase, repeating them over and over to great effect.

48. • Anaphora
• This one uses a specific clause at the beginning of each sentence or
point to make a statement.
• For instance: “Good night and good luck” is an example of the
beginning word being the same. The more it is used, the more of an
emotional effect is can evoke among those who are listening. Another
example is "Mad world! Mad kings! Mad composition!" from King
John, II, I by William Shakespeare.

49. • Pun
• This play on words uses different senses of the word, or different sounds
that make up the word, to create something fun and interesting. For
instance: “I would like to go to Holland some day. Wooden shoe?” is a pun
that actually means “wouldn’t you?” Sometimes puns are so subtle that
they can be tough to pick up unless you are really listening for them.
• Onomatopoeia
• This is the use of a word that actually sounds like what it means. Good
examples include “hiss” or “ding-dong” or “fizz.” These words are meant to
describe something that actually sounds very much like the word itself. This
is a trick often used in advertising to help convey what something is really
like.

50. Climax of a plot
• Climax is a structural part of a plot and is at times referred to as a crisis. It is a decisive
moment or a turning point in a storyline at which the rising action turns around into a
falling action. Thus, a climax is the point at which a conflict or crisis reaches its peak that
calls for a resolution or denouement (conclusion).
• As a stylistic device, the term climax refers to a literary device in which words, phrases
and clauses are arranged in an order to increase their importance within the sentence.
The following are examples of climax as a stylistic device.
• A climax, when used as a plot device, helps readers understand the significance of the
rising action earlier to the point in the plot where the conflict reaches its peak. The
climax of the story makes readers mentally prepared for the resolution of the conflict.
Hence, climax is important to the plot structure of a story. Moreover, climax is used as a
stylistic device or a figure of speech to render balance and brevity to speech or writing.
Being properly employed, it qualifies itself as a powerful tool that can instantly capture
the undivided attention of listeners and readers alike. Hence, its importance cannot be
underestimated.