PREFACE


COMPETENCE IN ENGLISH GRAMMAR is a comprehensive text encompassing virtually all aspects of English Grammar


This text examines the foundational principals of grammar and builds upon those principles demonstrating the close interrelationship with all the parts of speech in both verbal and written communication


It also provides the reader with adequate specialized exercises for every topic at different levels of competence and integrated exercises with answers at the back for the learners selfevaluation


High school teachers will find this text an indispensable grammar reference book While the book is based on guidelines of the current secondary schools syllabus intermediate colleges and junior level learners at the university may use it as a foundation for further study


The writer a seasoned English teacher examiner and author of several books is greatly indebted to both professor Margaret Muthwii and Dr Kioko both of Kenyatta University who taught him advanced courses in English Grammar and to all the Lecturers at the School of Post Graduate studies who made the writing of this text a success


CONTENTS


NOUNS


1 CATEGORIES OF NOUNS


Countable nouns


Concrete and abstract nouns


Common and proper nouns


Collective nouns


Compound nouns


2 NUMBER IN NOUNS


3 ARTICLES IN ENGLISH


Definite Article The


Indefinite Articles aan


4 GENITIVE CASE IN NOUNS


Possessive form S


Uses of the possessive


of  Noun


5 NOUN DERIVATION


6 GENDER SENSITIVE WORDS


7 FUNCTIONS OF NOUNS IN SENTENCES


Noun clause  definition


Noun phrase  definition


As subject of a sentence


As objects of a sentence


Noun clauses as compliments of a sentence


CHAPTER TWO PRONOUNS


1 CATEGORIES


Personal pronouns


Possessive pronouns


Reflexive pronouns


Interrogative pronouns


Demonstrative pronouns


Relative pronouns


CHAPTER THREE VERBS


1 DEFINITION AND CATEGORIES


Lexical verbs


Auxiliary verbs


2 VERB AND TENSE


3 TRANSITIVE AND INTRANSITIVE VERBS


4 QUESTION TAGS


5 THE PARTICIPLES


6 PHRASAL VERBS AND IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS


CHAPTER FOUR ADJECTIVES


1 DEFINITION AND CLASSIFICATIONS


2 POSITIONS OF ADJECTIVES


3 PARTICIPLES USED AS ADJECTIVES


4 COMPARISONS IN ADJECTIVES


5 FUNCTIONS OF ADJECTIVES


6 TYPICAL ENDINGS OF ADJECTIVES


CHAPTER FIVE ADVERBS


2 COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE FORMS OF ADVERBS


3 POSITIONS AND FUNCTIONS OF ADVERBS


4 ORDER OF ADVERBS IN A SENTENCE


5 TYPICAL ENDINGS OF ADVERBS


CHAPTER SIX PREPOSITIONS


1 DEFINITION


2 POSITION OF PREPOSITIONS


3 SIMPLE PREPOSITIONS


COMPLEX PREPOSITIONS


CHAPTER SEVEN CONJUNCTIONS


1 DEFINITION AND FUNCTIONS CORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS


2 SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS


CHAPTER EIGHT PHRASES


1 DEFINITION OF PHRASES


2 TYPES OF PHRASES AND THEIR USAGE


Adverb phrases


Prepositional phrases


Noun and adjectival phrases


CHAPTER NINE SENTENCES AND CLAUSES


1 DEFINITIONS


2 TYPES OF SENTENCES


Imperatives


Interrogatives


Exclamatory sentences


Declarative  affirmative sentences


Negative sentences


3 CLAUSES


Simple sentences


Compound sentences


Complex sentences


Compound complex sentences


4 ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE


5 CONDITIONAL CLAUSES


6 DIRECT AND INDERECT SPEECH


7 INVERSIONS


8 SENTENCE CONNECTORS


CHAPTER ONE NOUNS


A noun is a naming word Nouns refer to names of things ideas or situations


There are several ways of classifying nouns


Countable and uncountable nouns


Concrete or abstract nouns


Common or proper nouns


Collective nouns


Compound nouns


A Countable and uncountable nouns


Look at the lists below


List A List B


Pen Water


Man Ink


Poem Wool


Son Mud


Pin Darkness


The items in list A can be described using numerals eg one pen five men six poems etc


List B consist of items that would be impossible to quantify numerically


We cannot say one water five muds etc


The items in list A are countable and those in B are uncountable


Nouns for materials such as glass wood etc and those for liquids eg milk oil etc are usually uncountable Other uncountable nouns are the class called abstract nouns These include such nouns as love excitement concern etc


B CONCRETE AND ABSTRACT NOUNS


Concrete nouns are those that are appreciated with any of the five senses These senses are sense of touch sight smell taste and sense of hearing


Below is a table of several nouns and the senses that they appeal to


Nouns 16 can appeal to any of the five senses they are concrete Nouns 710 are abstract


C COMMON AND PROPER NOUNS


Common nouns are names that are shared by common classes of things For instance the term boy is a noun which refers to male youth All male youths share this common term


Proper nouns are specific names of people things or places All abstract nouns are common nouns unless they are given names for certain stylistic purposes


Proper nouns are names given to specific entities For example Peter Monday June English etc


The first letter of all proper nouns is capitalized in writing Proper nouns do not have plural forms but common nouns are pluralized


D COLLECTIVE NOUNS


These nouns are collectively identified as a group


Some collective nouns are Audience Congregation Crowd Swarm Class Group Staff School etc


E COMPOUND NOUNS


These are nouns which are formed by more than one word ie two or more words are compounded to form a noun


Compound nouns may be formed by


Noun  noun


eg Kitchen table riverbank bedroom


Gerund  noun


eg waiting list dining room swimming pool etc


Noun  Gerund


eg name calling weight lifting sight seeing etc


Noun  preposition  noun


eg mother  in  law


Sister  in  law


Noun  preposition  gerund


eg Doctors  in  waiting


NUMBER IN NOUNS


Singular and Plural


In the previous topic we looked at the different ways of classifying nouns We shall now look at ways of deriving plurals from singular nouns


The plural of a noun is usually made by adding S to the singular


eg Book  books


Cow cows


Shoe  shoes


Nouns ending in O ch sh ss or x form their plurals by adding es


eg Singular Plural


Tomato tomatoes


Church churches


Brush brushes


Kiss kisses


Box boxes


iii Nouns ending in y following a consonant from their plural by dropping the y and


adding ies


Singular  Plural


Baby Babies


Country Countries


Fly Flies


iv Nouns ending in f or fe drop the f or fe and add ves


Singular Plural


Half Halves


Life Lives


Shelf Shelves


Wife Wives


v Nouns ending in y following a vowel form their plural by adding s


Boy Boys


Way Ways


Donkey Donkeys


vi A few nouns have irregular plural derivations


a Some form their plural by a vowel change


Foot Feet


Tooth Teeth


Goose Geese


Mouse Mice


Woman Women


b Some nouns remain unchanged for both singular and plural


Singular Plural


Sheep Sheep


Water Water


Fish Fish


vii Collective nouns can take a singular or plural verb


Singular if we consider the word to mean single group or unit


eg The audience is laughing


The audience are laughing


viii Certain words are always plural


These include police clothes trousers pajamas scissors spectacles shears glasses


etc


These take a plural verb


ix Some words of Greek or Latin origin make their plurals according to the rules of


Greek or Latin


eg Phenomenon  Phenomena


Memorandum  Memoranda


Oasis  Oases


x Normally the last word in a compound noun is made plural


eg Boy friend Boyfriends


Lucky winner Lucky winners


xi Where man or woman is prefixed both parts are made plural


eg Man nurse Men nurses


Woman driver Women drivers


xii Compound nouns formed by verb  er or nouns and adverbs have their first word


changed


eg runners up lookers on etc


xiii Compound nouns formed by a noun  preposition  noun have the first word


changed for plural


eg Sister  in  law  Sisters  in  law


Kenyan  at  heart  Kenyans  in  heart


ix Initials can be made plural


eg MOD Master on Duty  MODS


VIP  VIPS


DC  DCS


3 ARTICLES IN ENGLISH


Articles come before nouns or noun clauses


a The indefinite article THE


USES


i When the noun is known to the reader or the hearer


eg The sun cast its golden rays in to the clouds


I gave him a letter He tore the letter into pieces


ii Before known natural physical features


eg The Nile the Amazon the Indian Ocean etc


iii In certain names of countries which may comprise of an adjective and a noun


eg The United Kingdom


The United Arab Emirates etc


iv In proper nouns with a plural form


eg The Chinese


The Philippines


v Before superlatives


eg The best boy


The disciplined girl


vi Before an adjective used as a noun to give the meaning all the


eg the youth the poor the rich etc


vii Before comparatives expressing parallel increase or decrease


eg the older he becomes the wealthier he gets


The higher you go the cooler it becomes


viii Before certain expressions of time


eg the next morning


The day after


ix When the noun is considered unique or of its kind


eg the Equator the Rift valley the Earth etc


x Before proper nouns consisting of noun  of  noun


eg the Cape of good hope


The United States of America


xi In names of people when referring to a whole family


eg the Mwikalis  ie all members of her household


xii Before titles containing of


eg the president of Kenya


the Kabaka of Uganda etc


Omission of the


Before names of people except No xi above


After a noun in the possessive case


eg we say the boys cousin NOT the cousin of the boy


Before names of games


eg we say soccer NOT the soccer


b Definite Articles


a  an


Both these articles are used similarly except that a is used before nouns beginning with a consonant sound and an comes before nouns beginning with a vowel sound


i The two articles are used before singular countable nouns


eg a book


a church


an egg


an hour


ii They are also used in certain expressions of quantity


eg a dozen


a couple


a glass of water etc


They are used with numbers such as a hundred a thousand a million etc


Before expressions of distance Time speed ratio etc


eg a kilometer three times a week three kilometers an hour etc


In exclamation before singular countable nouns


eg such a brilliant boy


such a dirty toilet


Before titles Mr Mrs Miss surname


eg a Miss Mutuku


a Mr Ochieng


This means that the person referred to is a stranger to the speaker


4 GENITIVE CASE IN NOUNS


POSSESSIVE


s form


S is used with singular nouns and plural nouns NO ending in s


eg Mens wear


Girls wear


Teachers key


A simple apostrophe  is used with plural nouns ending inS


eg girls room


Students records


Classical names ending in s usually add only the apostrophe


eg Achimedes principle Pythagoras theorem


Names ending in s can take s or the apostrophe alone


eg James book or Jamess book


Jones job or Joness job


In compound nouns the last word takes the s


eg My sister  in  laws car


b Uses of the possessive


The possessive case is chiefly used of people countries or animals


eg Mutuas Kenyas the elephants tusk etc


It can also be used of planes ships trains cars and other vehicles though the of construction is safer


eg the trains wagons  the wagons of the train preferable


Possessive is also used in time expressions


eg An hours drive


Tomorrows assignment


NB We can have a thirty minutes break or a thirty minute break


The possessive form is also used in expressions of money  worth


eg ten shillings worth of candy


A few expressions such as a stones throw a journeys end etc will use the possessive


Nouns in certain occupations can have the possessive without the second


noun eg the chemists the bakers the butchers etc


C OF  NOUN


Uses


When the possessor noun is followed by a phrase or a clause


eg I saw the face of a man wearing glasses


In inanimate possessors


eg The roof of the church NOT the churchs roof


NB It is possible to replace these expressions ie of  noun by having the noun possessor coming before the noun possessed


eg The keys of the car  the car keys


The roof of the church  the church roof


5 NOUN DERIVATION


In any language words are formed by morphs


In English these morphs are either prefixes or suffixes


For example from the bare form of the verb act we can derive the following words


React v


Reacted past tense


Reactive adjective


Reaction noun


Reacting present participle etc


Some of the suffixes added to words to derive nouns include  ereenessionshipence etc


We may derive nouns from


i Verbs  Nouns


eg Worship worshiper


Detain detainee


Interview interviewinterviewerinterviewee


Differ difference


Adjective  Noun


Busy business


Lazy laziness


Beautiful beauty


Able ability


Nouns  Nouns


Review reviewer


King kingship


Kin kinship


Statesman statesmanship


6 GENDER SENSITIVE WORDS


Gender refers to the specific roles or duties assigned to different sexes These roles are culture based and they keep changing Roles that were predominantly male dominated are now assigned to women


It is important to develop a gender sensitive language


Chairman Chairlady  Chairperson


Headmaster Headmistress  school head


History hisstory


Manliness


Husbandry


Mankind


Man made etc


There is need to develop gender sensitive language


7 FUNCTIONS OF NOUNS IN SENTENCES


Before we examine the functions of nouns in sentences certain terms must be understood


a Noun phrase


This is a group of words acting as a noun but without a finite verb verb with tense


Noun phrases usually consist of  an article  adjectives  noun


eg The ridiculous incident


article adj Noun


b Noun clause


This is a group of words consisting of a subject and a finite verb The noun clause acts as a noun in a sentence


i NOUNSNOUN PHRASESNOUN CLAUSES AS SUBJECTS OF A SENTENCE


c Subject


This refers to what or whom the sentence refers to


In sentences with transitive verbs the subject is the doer of the action stated by the verb


Nouns noun phrases and noun clauses can act as subjects of sentence


eg The boys n were called in


S


The most improved students were rewarded


S noun phrase


The students who came late were sent away


S noun clause


ii OBJECT


NOUNSNOUN PHRASESNOUN CLAUSES AS DIRECT OBJECTS


The direct object refers to the receiver of the action stated by the verb


A noun noun phrase and noun clause can act as a direct object in a sentence


eg He kicked the ball


DO noun


They received the exercise books


DO noun phrase


He slapped a girl who sat behind the class


DO noun clause


NOUNSNOUNPHRASESNOUN CLAUSES AS INDIRECT OBJECT


The indirect object 10 receives the direct object


eg He gave the card to Juma


n


He gave the card to the brightest boy in class


noun phrase


They gave letters to all who had shouted


Noun clause 10


iii NOUN CLAUSES AS COMPLIMENTS


Look at the sentences below


What they found were broken chairs


n phrase C


Mary is a bellicose student


Noun phrase C


The underlined phrases compliment describe modify the subject


The direct object and indirect object can also be complimented by noun clauses


Kioko gave it to Mary the short brown girl


Compliment of object


In brief nouns noun phrases and noun clauses may act as subjects objects and compliments in sentences


EXERCISES ON NOUNS


EXERCISE 1 A


Distinguish the Common and Proper nouns in the list below


EXERCISE 1B


Below is a list of both concrete and abstract non  concrete nouns Distinguish them


EXERCISE 1C


Distinguish the countable and uncountable nouns from the list below


EXERCISE 1 D


The words below can be countable or uncountable depending on the contexts of their usage Briefly state the contexts


eg


1 dress  Countable  a frock


Uncountable  clothing


2 fire  countable


uncountable


3 glass  countable


4 work  countable


5 youth  countable


6 room  countable


7 iron  countable


8 paper  countable


9 fag  countable


10 hair  countable


11 enterprise  countable


EXERCISE 1 E


Place the most suitable countable nouns before the uncountable nouns below


1 a crate of eggs


2 a of furniture


3 a of dust


4 a of sand


5 a of advice


6 a of jewelry


7 a of land


8 a of soap


9 a of bread


10 a of salt


11 an of news


EXERCISE 1 F


Provide the singular or plural forms of the nouns below


EXERCISE 1G


Fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences using either a an or the where necessary


It was on  third of  month that he died


Sahara is  biggest desert in the world


He bought  pair of trousers and pressed  pair of trousers every day


skirt she is wearing is made of  nylon but she prefers cotton ones


He takes four glasses of water  day


Mikuini School is one of  best schools in Machakos


Indiscipline is  problem which is compounded by  use of drugs in schools


It would be  honour to be invited to stay with such  distinguished person


They were overwhelmed by  poor results that year


Jane was  only girl I saw


Simba  dog barked


This room is very nice Has it got  fan


Can you recommend  good restaurant


How often do you go to  dentist


She visits her parents three times  year


I havent been to  cinema for weeks


sun is a star


Norah is  hospital chaplain of Kenyatta National hospital


She says she is  Canadian but  Canadians living in Kenya have visas


Computer has changed the way we live


EXERCISE 1H


Write the collective nouns of the following words


eg


A pride of lions


Aof dogs


Aof goats


Aof locusts


Aof fish


Aof chicken


Aof ants


Aof birds


Aof bees


Aof cattle


Aof players


EXERCISE 1 I


Provide the compound nouns for the following statements


A ticket for a concert Concert ticket


A chocolate made with milk


Somebody whose job is to inspect factories


The carpet in the dining room


A question that has two parts


A scandal involving a football club


An accident on the road


A race on a horse


A card used to telephone someone


A paper issued on Sundays


Results of examination


EXERCISE 1 J


Distinguish the difference in meaning in the following compound words


a bedroom


b bed room


a horse race


race horse


a card phone


phone card


a garden vegetables


b vegetable garden


a table tennis


b tennis table


EXERCISE 1K


Use the appropriate possessive forms to join the nouns below


eg


The jacket  that man  than mans jacket


The new principal  the school


The child  the toy


Jesus  cross


James  books


Mike  car


The newspaper  yesterday


boys  dormitory


teachers  quarters


the girls  room


the girlroom


sisters  in  law  houses


brothers  in  law  house


form ones  dormitory


two hours  drive


tomorrow  meeting


women  dress


the birds  nest


a stone  throw


a young man  trousers


a teacher  desk


EXERCISE 1M


Use appropriate suffixes to derive nouns from the words below


Words Noun


Demonstrate demonstration


liable


valid


humid


amaze


steal


wide


strong


good


trivial


gullible


honest


easy


keen


kind


laze


active


humble


productive


determine


realize


EXERCISE 1 N


Identify gender sensitive terms which can be used to replace the words below


1 Chairman  Chairperson


2 animal husbandry


house girl


mankind


men


man made


EXERCISE 1 1


Underline the nouns noun phrases or clauses in the sentences below and indicate their functions


eg The man was a con


Subject s Compliment c


The form ones saw all sorts of animals


HIV is a threat to humanity


Amina gave a dress to the street girl


The thief got what he deserved


Mikuini students are very hard working


The boys ate all sorts of wild fruits


Girls do not like tee shirts


A mischievous brat must have started the fire


The new government encourages private investors


The selfish politicians awarded themselves a pay rise


CHAPTER TWO PRONOUNS


1 CATEGORIES


These are words which substitute nouns Pronouns are useful if one wishes to avoid repetition when linking phrases clauses or sentences


Pronouns may be classified as personal possessive reflexive interrogative and relative


A PERSONAL PRONOUNS


The first person refers to the persons speaking


The second person refers to the persons being spoken to


The third person refers to the persons referred to or the one spoken about


B POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS


NB We do not use the apostrophe for the possessive pronouns


Its means it is


Its means belonging to it or of it


Examples


That book is yours Mine is in the library


Theirs is a very serious court case


This is my book Yours is in the library


Mine is a very serious court case


C REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS


Reflexive pronouns are used when the action of the verb returns to the subject


eg I hurt myself


S so


Myself is the object of the sentence and it is actually the subject


Below is a list of reflexive pronouns


The reflexive pronoun oneself is indefinite


As observed above


eg I saw myself in the mirror


I thanked myself for the victory


They branded themselves rogues


Mutua loved himself so much


Reflexive pronouns are also used to emphasize the nouns or pronouns in the subject position


eg The president himself opened parliament


She supervised it herself


D INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS


These are pronouns used while asking questions


Below is a list of interrogative pronouns


eg Who came here


Whichwhat is available Etc


Which is used for persons or things when the choice is restricted


eg Which did you buy


Who wrote the essay and which of the boys wrote the essay are different


In who wrote the essay the speaker may not even know that it was a boy In the second it is specified or restricted to a particular group


E DEMONTSRATIVE PRONOUNS


These pronouns are used to indicate the position of a particular noun


They include


When these words are immediately followed by nouns they act as adjectives


eg This book is mine but this is yours


adj n pronoun


Those in uniform were ushered in to the class


Pronoun


Those students in uniform


Adjective


F RELATIVE PRONOUNS


Relative pronouns are used to introduce clauses


Defining relative pronouns introduce a clause which distinguishes the noun being described from the rest of its class hence they introduce adjectival clauses


eg The boys who sneaked from school were punished


This sentence implies that only those boys who sneaked from school were punished Those who did not sneak from school were not punished


Nondefining relative clauses simply augment or are in apposition to the noun being described


The second sentence implies that all the boys sneaked from school hence they were all punished


Below is a list of relative pronouns used in defining relative clauses


Examples of relative pronouns used in defining clauses


The boys who play soccer were rewarded


The dog that vomited has disappeared


Men who worship Satan will regret in future


The above sentences have all been used in the subject position


The sentences below have relative pronouns introducing clauses in the object position


He punished the boys who came late


Mwikali dislikes boys who constantly ogle at her


Below is a list of relative pronouns used in non defining relative clauses


Examine the sentences below


The doctor who welcomed us registered his appreciation


The clause who welcomed us is in apposition It simply adds more information that the doctor also welcomed them


Compare


In the second sentence which has a defining clause implies that only the doctor there were other doctors who welcomed us registered his appreciation In the first sentence the relative clause is non defining It implies that there was only one doctor and he is also the one who welcomed us them


Distinguish the meanings in the following pairs of sentences


The girls whose books were taken are complaining


The students who excelled in last years exams were rewarded


The man whom I saw was in a red jacket


2 EXERCISES ON PRONOUNS


2a Use the most appropriate pronouns from the choices given to fill in the gaps below


1 Onyago and  were late I  me


The essay was written by  me I


all wrote essays us  we


went on strike they  them


The house is   theres  theirs  theys


No one told   them  they


told no one they  them


Give it to   they  them


They told  to lie down she  her


are advised to maintain silence you  your


is a very tiring exercise its  its it


No one saw  him  his


very bright in class hes  his


are always late for preps they  there


Nothing scares more than terror movies I  me


was embarrassed by his remarks me  I


His remarks embarrassed  me  I


No one distrusts   I  me


and  are late you  I


Ten of  qualified they  them


2 b Use the possessive forms of the pronouns below to fill the gaps in the following


sentences


eg


The book is mine me yours you is in the library


it tail was cut off


That was  they duty


I have all my texts they are all lost


us is a very demanding task


me is an interesting career


I found my wallet she was never found


I love staying at home Do you love staying at  you


This book is well read All  it pages are underlined


My results were encouraging How about  you


you is a very enjoyable job


EXERCISE 2C


Tick the correct sentences below


a Me myself I like watching movies


b Myself I like watching movies


I myself likes watching movies


I like watching movies


a The president himself attended the function


Himself the president attended the function


He the president himself attended the function


The president attended the function he himself


a I hurt myself on the leg


I hurt me on the leg


I myself hurt on the leg


I hurt me myself on the leg


4 a You spoil yourselves when you smoke cigarettes


You yourselves you spoil when you smoke cigarettes


You yourselves spoil yourselves when you smoke cigarettes


You spoil yourselves when you smoke cigarettes yourselves


5 a They themselves witnessed the accident


Them themselves witnessed the accident


They witnessed themselves the accident


They witnessed the accident themselves


EXERCISE 2 D


Distinguish the difference in meaning in the following pairs of sentences


a The boys who sneaked from school were punished


The boys who sneaked from school were punished


a My brother who is a lawyer is coming today


my brother who is a lawyer is coming today


a The girls who jeered at the new teacher were reprimanded


The girls who jeered at the new teacher were reprimanded


a The boy whom I saw yesterday is unwell


The boy whom I saw yesterday is unwell


a The Isuzu which had an extra large engine won the race


The Isuzu which had an extra large engine won the race


EXERCISE 2 E


Use the most appropriate relative pronoun to join the sentences below


I bought a car last month It has a breakdown


Jane is my sister She is pursuing further studies in Britain


The cook came late He was drunk


The two girls disagreed over the correct answer They were doing an English exercise


Many people voted They cast their ballots for president Kibaki


We ate all the fruits They were kept in the cupboard


The water tank was bought last year It is leaking


I was using a dictionary yesterday It is lost


The policemen searched the building They were looking for stolen property


The girls swept the dormitory They also swept the classroom


EXERCISE 2 F


Distinguish the difference in meaning in the following pairs of sentence


a These were bought by my parents


Those were bought by my parents


a This is mine


That is mine


a The boy that wrote this essay is very creative


The boy that wrote that essay is very creative


a None of these is correct


None of those is correct


a These are the men who shouted at me


Those are the men who shouted at me


EXERCISE 2G


Use the correct form of interrogative pronoun to fill in the blanks below


came here


did you give the Atlas


did you bring


was bought


did they appoint as head girl


CHAPTER THREE VERBS


1 DEFINITION AND CATEGORIES


Verbs are actions in sentences


A verb denotes the action or state of being of the subject in a sentence


eg She dashed into class indicates action


S verb v


Mary is unwell


S verb  indicates state of being


Verbs also carry the tense or the time when a particular action took place or is to take place


eg She went home yesterday


She goes home this evening


Verbs also carry the perfective or the progressive aspect of the action


eg She had eaten the food implies that the action came to completion before another action in the past happened This verb is in the perfective aspect


eg 2 She is writing an essay


The verb in this sentence implies that the action of writing is in progress The verb therefore carries the progressive aspect


There are two main types of verbs


Lexical and auxiliary verbs


A LEXICAL VERBS


These are action words which occur independently and singly in clauses


eg The boy kicked the ball


V


The verb kick is independent and may not need another verb


The boy kicked threw the ball This is wrong because lexical verbs occur singly in clauses or sentences


i Verbs will always agree with the subject of the sentence in relation to number ie


singular or plural


For example


Juma goes to school


S Subject V


The boy goes to school


The boys go to school


Pl subject V


A singular subject has a corresponding singular form of a verb


A plural subject will have a corresponding plural of a verb


ii Verbs will change for tense


eg I see him simple present


I saw him simple past


Below are the different tenses in English and examples of how two verbs may change in the respective tenses


a Simple present tense


He eats rice for supper


He walks to school


b Present continuous


He is eating rice for supper


He is walking to school


c Present perfect


He has eaten rice for supper


He has walked to school


d Present perfect continuous


He has been eating rice for supper


He has been walking to school


e Past simple


He ate rice for supper


He walked to school


f Past continuous


He was eating rice for supper


He was waking to school


g Past perfect


He had eaten rice for supper


He had walked to school


h Past perfect continuous


He had been eating rice for supper


He had been walking to school


i Future Simple


He will  shall eat rice for supper


He will walk to school


j Future continuous


He will be eating rice for supper


He will be walking to school


k Future perfect


He will have eaten rice for supper


He will have walked to school


l Future perfect continuous


He will have been eating rice for supper


He will have been walking to school


Before looking at the way all these tenses and time aspects are derived let us first look at the other category of verbs Auxiliary verbs


B AUXILIARY VERBS


Auxiliary are also called helping verbs They help carry the tense the progressive or perceptive aspect and in the case of modals the mood or mode of the verb


There are two types of auxiliary verbs


Main auxiliary


Modal auxiliary


a Main Auxiliary


There are three primary auxiliaries to be to have and to do


The different forms of these verbs are tabled below


The three primary auxiliaries can be used as ordinary verbs


eg He has a book


He is lazy


He did the job


These three auxiliaries can also unlike lexical verbs occur in the same sentence


eg He has been doing the job


to have to be to do


have


When it occurs independently in a sentence it implies possesses


eg She has a car means she possesses a car


When used as an helping verb it carries the perfective aspect


eg I have returned the book


b Modal auxiliaries


These combine with infinitives to indicate permission possibility obligation deduction etc


They include


Unlike primary auxiliaries a single clause cannot have more than one modal auxiliary


eg We must walk


We could must walk


We shall look at several uses of modal auxiliaries in other chapters


VERB AND TENSE


1 The simple present tense


The Simple Present tense is used for


a Facts


eg The sun rises from East


Dog barks


b Repeated actions customs and habits


People celebrate Christmas on 25th December


Kenyans go for elections every five years


c Abilities


He balances on a rope


He paints walls


When asking questions in this tense the auxiliary must reflect the number


eg Does he walk to school singular subject


Do they walk to school plural subject


B Simple past tense


i This tense is used when the action referred to happened in the past


eg They walked to the police station yesterday


ii Verbs ending in a consonant preceded by a single stressed vowel double the


consonant in the past tense


eg Hop  hopped


Stop  stopped


Fit  fitted


iii Most verbs that end in Y change the Y in to ied


eg Hurry  hurried


Bury  buried


Reply  replied


Worry  worried


iv In regular verbs the past simple ends in ed


eg Walk  walked


Talk  talked


Worship  worshiped


Wash  washed


v Several verbs are irregular


eg Write  wrote


See  saw


Go  went


Throw  threw


Cost  cost


Hit  hit


C Present continuous tense


This tense is used when we want to talk about an action which is still going on


It talks of a continuation or progressiveness


eg I am writing an essay now


Constructions in this tense comprise of an auxiliary verb in the simple present and a present participle verb with ing form


They are walking home


be V  ing


To derive the present participle from the verb


a Most verbs ending in e drop the e and add ing to the stem


eg Come  coming


Wake  waking


Type  typing


b A few verbs with long vowels or diphthongs retain the e and add the ing


eg Flee  fleeing


Dye  dying


Canoe  canoeing


c Some verbs ending in ie drop the ie and replace it with y before the ing can


be replaced


eg Die  dying


Lie  lying


d A verb which ends in a consonant that is preceded by a short vowel sound doubles


that consonant before adding the ing ending


eg Hit  hitting


Slap  slapping


Sit  sitting


Map  mapping


iv Verbs with a long vowel or diphthong before the last consonant do not have the last


consonant doubled


eg Deal  dealing


Steal  stealing


Wail  wailing


D THE PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE


This tense is formed by changing into past auxiliary verb be  verb  ing


She is watching a movie present continuous


She was watching a movie past continuous


The past continuous tense implies that the action which has already been done was happening progressively


eg We are reciting a poem


He was making cookies


They were waiting for the teacher


E THE PRESENT PERFECT


This tense is formed by has  have  past participle


eg She has come


They have sung


The past participle often ends in ed


eg washed talked


However several verbs are irregular


eg Do  done


Write  written


Be  been


Beat  beaten


Bend  bent


The past participle forms do not always directly correspond to the simple past forms


For example


Infinitive Past simple Past participle


Be was were been


Bet bet bet


Catch caught caught


Drink drank drunk


Grow grew grown


Leave left left


Lie lay lain


Sew sewed sewn  sewed


Show showed shown  showed


Write wrote written


Swear swore sworn


Split split split


Most good dictionaries and textbooks provide lists of verbs in their past simple and past participle forms


The present perfect implies that an action has just been completed We can sense the effects of the action


eg Who has banged the door the noise is disturbing


The bell has gone students can be seen running


F PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS


This tense is formed by has  have  been  verb in the present participle


eg She has been singing


I have been reading A Man of the People


This tense implies that the action has been happening progressively for its perfective completion


G PAST PERFECT


It is formed by had  past participle


eg They had eaten the food


She had seen him


We had finished the examination


H PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS


It is formed by had  been  present participle


eg She had been washing clothes


They had been swimming


The tense implies that before a particular action took place something was going on continually to completion


eg She had been singing when we arrived


This means that when they arrived


She had just stopped singing


She was singing continuously


All the events took place in the past


i WAYS OF EXPRESSING FUTURE TIME


There are several forms of expressing the future


a Simple present  time aspect


eg They start school on Monday


We go to the museum next Tuesday


b Present continuous  time aspect


I am going to Nairobi next week


They are opening school next Monday


The simple present is more impersonal than the present continuous form


I go home tomorrow


I am going home tomorrow


The first sentence may imply that it is not part of my decision to go home whereas the second one implies that I have actually decided


The simple present form can also sound more formal than the continuous


eg Learners sit for the exam next week is more formal than Learners are sitting for exams next week


c Will  shall  infinitive


Will  infinitive expresses intention at the moment of decision


eg The bell has gone Ill dash to class


d Be  going to form


eg I am going to buy a dictionary


This form is used to express subjects intention to perform a certain future action


This intention is always premeditated


It means I have decided


eg I am going to draw a timetable


f The future continuous


This is expressed by


Will  shall  present participle


eg I will be singing


Mutua will be running round the field


g Future Perfect


It is expressed by


Will  have  past participle


eg I will have done my exams by 2010


They will have laid the trap


h Future perfect continuous


Will  shall  have  been  present participle


eg I will have been doing the paper


They shall have been singing


3 TRANSITIVE AND INTRANSITIVE VERBS


All verbs that take an object after them are called transitive verbs


eg James prepared buns


vt


Intransitive verbs do not accept an object after them


Most of the intransitive verbs are followed by adverbs adjectives or descriptive phrases


eg We arrived in the morning


vi


He yawned twice


He shouted


Some verbs can be used both transitively and intransitively


eg I fought him transitively


I fought courageously intransitively


The good dictionaries will indicate whether a verb is used transitively or not


4 QUESTION TAGS


A question tag is a phrase added at the end of a statement to make the statement a question


Question tags may also be defined as short additions to sentences asking for agreement or confirmation


Rules of forming question tags


a After negative statements we use the ordinary interrogative


eg You didnt see him did you


He wasnt there was he


b After affirmative positive statements we use the negative the negative interrogative


Peter saw you didnt he


Mary was there wasnt she


c Neither no adj none no one nobody nothing scarcely barely hardly hardly


ever and seldom are treated as negative hence the statements containing them are


followed by an ordinary interrogative tag


eg He hardly ever goes to school does he


No one saw him did they


Nothing was said was it


No salt is allowed is it


d When the subjects of the sentence is anyone anybody no one nobody none and


neither we use the pronoun they as subject of the tag


eg Neither of them complained did they


Any one is welcome are they


No one would object would they


e If the statement does not have any auxiliary verb we use do as the auxiliary verb


eg Edward lives here doesnt he


She baked cakes didnt she


No one came in time did they


f In statements with everybody everyone somebody and someone we use they as the


subject of the tag


eg Everyone was excited werent they


Someone made away with my book didnt they


Somebody had seen him hadnt they


NOTE


When question tags are used the speaker doesnt normally need information but


merely expects agreement


Tags are therefore usually said with a falling intonation as in statements


Sometimes however the speaker does want information He is not quite sure that the statement he has made is true and wants to be reassured In this case the question tag is said with a rising tone as in ordinary interrogatives and the important word in the first sentence is stressed


5 THE PARTICIPLES


A The present participle


It is formed by the bare form of the verb infinitive  ing


The present participle has several uses


i To form continuous tenses


eg He is singing


ii As adjectives


eg Leaking pipes


Running water


Boiling pot etc


iii After have  object


eg We have many people registering for this course


Object


We have few students coming late


iv It can sometimes replace a relative pronoun  verb


eg A line that cuts across two points


A line cutting across two points


A map that shows Lake Victoria


A map showing Lake Victoria


v To introduce statements in indirect speech


eg He told me to avoid the route reminding me that several people had been


recently mugged


vi After verbs of sensation ie see hear feel smell listen to and watch


eg I see him crouching under the table


I heard them singing a hymn


I listened to him shouting to the girl


vii After catch  find  leave  object


eg I caught him stealing from the school farm


I left her sitting on a rock


He found him reading in the library


viii After go  come  spend  waste  be busy


eg They came shouting


They are going swimming


Jane was busy reading


He spend ten thousand shillings furnishing the room


NB


The present participle after verbs of sensation may express both complete and incomplete actions


I saw him digging the grave


This sentence may imply that the action is still going on


It may also mean that he was found doing that digging the grave and the action is complete


If these verbs are followed by a bare infinitive we may imply that the action is complete


eg I saw him dig the grave


Compare the meaning in the two pairs of sentences below


Maria was seen running round the field


Maria was seen run round the field


I watched the actors performing the play


I watched the actors perform the play


Catch  find  object  present participle


The action expressed by the participle is one that displeases the subject


eg I caught him jumping over the fence


She was found writing a love letter


Leave


This verb can be used with a participle


eg I left him shouting in the dormitory


A present participle replacing a main clause


i When two actions by the same subject occur simultaneously it is usually possible to


express one of them by a present participle


The participle can be before or after the finite verb


eg He ran away He shouted as he ran  He ran away shouting


ii When one action is immediately followed by another of the same subject the first


action can often be expressed by a present participle


The participle must be placed first


eg He opened the door and threw the keys inside


Opening the door he threw the keys inside


iii When the second action forms part of the first or is as a result of it we can express


the second action by a present participle


eg She went out banging the door


The police fired shooting a suspect


Present participle replacing a subordinate clause


The present participle can replace as  since  because  subject  verb


It can help to explain the action which follows


eg Knowing that the examinations would be tough he studied hard


Since he knew


Or because  as he knew


These constructions are chiefly found in written English


B The perfect participle


i It is formed by having  past participle


It can be used in place of present participle in sentences where the action is immediately followed by another with the same object


Bolting one tyre firmly in its place he threw the other in the back cabin  Having bolted one tyre firmly in its place he threw the other in the back cabin


ii The perfect participle is necessary where there is an interval of time between two


actions


eg Having failed twice he didnt want to try again


iii It is also used when the first action covered a period of time


eg Having been a prefect for three years he found his stay in school as a common


student difficult


iv The perfect participle may be used where the present participle mighty lead to


ambiguity


Eating his lunch he went out of the hall


This statement has two meanings


It can be disambiguated by using the perfect participle having eaten his lunch he went out of the hall


C Past participle passive


The past participle of regular verbs is formed by adding ed or d to the infinitive


These constructions are in the passive


The passed participle can be used


i As an adjective


eg Broken glass


Written report


Torn dress etc


ii To form the perfect tenses  infinitives  the passive voice and participles


eg He has seen


It was broken


iii To replace a subject  passive verb


eg She enters  Shes accompanied by her sister


She enters accompanied by her sister


The roof had been worn out over the years and was no longer useful


Worn out over the years the roof was no longer useful


The perfect passive


It is formed by having been  past participle


It is used when it is necessary to emphasize that the action expressed by the participle happened before the action expressed by the next verb


eg Having been informed about him I gave him no money


NB


A participle is believed to belong to the noun or pronoun which precedes it


eg James troubled by what he had seen went to the police station


If there is no noun  pronoun in this position the participle is considered to belong to the


subject of the following main verb


eg Troubled by what he had seen James went to the police station


If this principle is disregarded confusion results


eg Waiting for a taxi at the kerb a mouse passed by


This may imply that the mouse was waiting for the bus


A participle linked in this way to the wrong noun or pronoun is said to be misrelated


The above sentence should be rewritten


I was waiting for a taxi at the kerb when a mouse passed by


6 PHRASAL VERBS


These are formed by verb  preposition or verb  adverb


eg Look after  means to take care of


Note that phrasal verbs are considered as independent and they have quite different meanings from the verbs which form them


Phrasal verbs like all other verbs will change for tense and number


eg He gave in Simple past


He gives in Simple present


He has given in present perfect etc


Like lexical verbs phrasal verbs can be used transitively or intransitively


eg They have to look after the babies


vt


They took off when the police arrived


vi


Below is a list of phrasal verbs


Good dictionaries will provide the phrasal verbs formed from verbs


Answer back vi


Answer a reproof imprudently


Ask after  for vt  ask for news of


Ask for  vt ask to speak to


request demand


Back away vi move back slowly  retreat


Back out vi  discontinue or refuse to provide previously promised help or support


Back somebody up  support morally or verbally


Close down vt vi


Shut permanently eg a business


Close in vi  approach from all sides  come nearer


Close up vi come nearer together  of people in a line


Do away with vt abolish


Do up vt redecorate


Do without vt manage in the absence of a person or thing


Enter for vt become a competitor  candidate eg for a contest Examination


Fade away vi disappear become gradually fainter usually of sounds


Grow out of vt  abandon on becoming older


Grow up intr become an adult


Hang about  around vt  vi loiter or wait near


Hang back vi show unwillingness to act


Hang on to vt retain keep in ones possession


Join up vi enlist eg in the army


Knock off vt vi stop work for the day informal


Knock out vt hit someone so hard that he falls unconscious


Look for vt search for or seek


Miss out vt leave out


Order somebody about  give a lot of orders


Point out vt indicate show


Rub out vt erase pencil or ink marks


Rub up vt revise ones knowledge of subject


Sell of vt sell cheaply what is left as stock


Sell out vi sell all that you have of a certain type of article


Think over vt  consider


Wipe out vt destroy completely


IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS


An idiomatic is a phrase or clause whose meaning like that of the phrasal verb is different from the words that constitute it Therefore one has to know the meaning of the idiom


The more one learns the use of idioms in conversation the more he becomes proficient in their usage


Idioms can be used as adjectives nouns and as verbs


Below are a few idioms used as verbs


Layput ones cards on the table  to be honest and open about ones resources and intentions


eg The warring factions can only reach a consensus if they put their cards on the table


Give somebody his cards  dismiss somebody


The corrupt officials were given cards by the new government


To be at sixes and sevens  to be confused


I have a lot of work and I am at all sixes and sevens about what to do first


Skin somebody alive said as a threat  punish somebody severely


Be on the look out for somebody something  Be somebodys concern or responsibility


Throwflingsling mud at somebody  try to damage somebodys reputation by slander libel etc


Lay down office  resign a position of authority


Come to harm usually negative be injured physically mentally or morally


eg Ill escort her to the bus station to ensure that she comes to no harm


Earn turn an honest penny  earn money by working hard and fairly


Be in the red  get somebody in to the red  Have more liabilities than assets


Get out of the red  get out of debt


Careful use of idioms is important Some of them are used in formal contexts and others are used informally A good dictionary indicates the usage of common idioms in the English language


Using idioms wrongly is not only a sign of ignorance but it is also irritating


UNIT 3 VERBS


EXERCISE 3 A


Use the correct form of the verb in brackets to fill in the gaps in the sentences below


He  begin writing his exams yesterday


We had  begin the exercise


They have choose their subjects


The news  be very disturbing


The police  have arrest the suspects


We  go to the hostel and found that all the clothes had


steal


Have you ever go to the Kenya National Theatre


The patient had  lie on the bed


Would you mind to  lend me a thousand shillings


The news was  broadcast all over the country


The warders  shoot the jumbo this morning


The students  shout at the teacher yesterday


No one has  write a good article


They  lead the police where they had hidden the stolen goods


River Athi is not know to  burst its banks


They  sing the song which they had just sang when the minister arrived


I bought a new dress and it shrunk after one week


We  seek the answer in books


You have  grow very fast


No one  know where it was hidden


EXERCISE 3B


Change the sentences below in the tenses as directed


They saw the man everyday


Simple present


Future perfect continuous


He cries like a small baby


Present continuous


Present perfect


Present perfect continuous


Past perfect continuous


Past continuous tense


f Past perfect tense


Hard working students performed well


Simple future


c Present perfect


No one knows him


Past perfect


Future perfect


Simple past


The prisoners were spanked


I dont entertain nonsense


Future perfect continuous


EXERCISE 3C


Rewrite the following sentences according to the instructions given in brackets


I am unable to speak in French use a modal auxiliary


Jim can come tomorrow write two possible meaning of this sentence


I looked everywhere for the book but I  find it use suitable modal


That restaurant  be very good Its always empty


Use either must or cant


That restaurant  be very good Its always full of people


Use must or cant


Perhaps Jane is in her office Begin Jane


a Do you think she saw you


No she was too far away she


Weve got a lot of money We  worry about what to eat


Use an appropriate modal


They could walk for ten kilometers


They had to walk for ten kilometers


Distinguish the difference in meaning


We can fish Identify two possible meanings of this sentence


EXERCISE 3 D


Supply the statements below with appropriate question tag


No one came


They have been praying


We must wait for them


Lets go home


Any one is allowed


Edward saw her


No one saw her


We neednt shout


They ought to be quite


Someone helped her


Someone hadnt recognized him


They tell all sorts of lies


Nothing was seen


Let them in


Tim hasnt been well for weeks


No one was seen


I am here


They must abide by school rules


She hardly ever goes to church


EXERCISE 3 E


Identify the transitive on intransitive verbs in the list below


EXERCISE 3 F


Use the verbs in brackets to form appropriate phrasal verbs to replace the underlined words


The bomb exploded on the 7th August go


He accepted the job offer enthusiastically jump


One of the questions has been omitted left


It is unlikely that Tyson will be hit so hard to become unconscious knock


The escaped prisoner traveled towards the forest make


He was able to recover from the illness pull


I will telephone her this evening ring


The principal was very annoyed with the late comers put


Many job seekers have applied for this job put


The staff is discussing the issue talk


He abandoned the job the job suddenly throw


We must find by calculation the answer to this sum work


The minister has not paid all the money owed settle


I have to examine the list carefully go


The government abolished corporal punishment do


When I redecorate this house Ill live here do


This new evidence confirms my statement bear


When the robber took out the gun the police retreated back


She gave birth to a son bring


My name is not in the list leave


EXERCISE 3G


Explain briefly the meaning of the idiomatic explanations in the sentences below


He was recently given his cards by the management


I have a lot of work I am at all sixes and sevens about what to do first


He threatened to skin him alive


The children are full of beans this morning


All her talk was aimed at throwing mud on him


She was pouring oil on the flames when she reported the case


Abolition of caning in schools puts a premium on guidance and counseling


They caught him red handed


Are you going to sit on your hands as Maria washes the clothes


He is no stranger to illness


The workers have to strike a bargain with their employers


Well have to dismiss him he never does a stroke of work


Judith was tickled pink by his remark


He doesnt care for his family and goes out painting the town red


Abortion may soon be legalized perish the thought


A few students have been playing truant


He may not be the right man for the job He has a yellow streak


I dont want to sow the wind and reap the whirlwind Let the issue of relationships wait


She was a devout Christian and has now reverted to type


The girl wont cry she has a hide like a rhinoceros


EXERCISE 3 H


Rewrite the following sentences according to the instructions given in brackets


He eats use a participle to form the present continuous


We saw a float wreckage at the sea


Use a participle to form an objective


I want a map that shows the rivers of East Africa


Rewrite without using that


He made me till the farm for a week


Begin he had


He told me to work hard He reminded me that only those who worked hard


Performed well Join the two sentences using a participle


She told them to run faster and added that the winner would be rewarded


Join the two sentences using a participle


I saw him breaking the door Give two possible meanings of this statement


I saw him walk out of class Use a present participle


I am going to shop this afternoon Use a participle


He walked away He whistled as he went


Join into one sentence without using and


He closed the door and lay on the bed Begin Closing


Eating his lunch he rushed out of the hall


Give two possible meanings of this sentence


Eating his lunch he rushed out of the hall Begin Having


The police fired They shot a suspect


Join into one sentence without using a coordinate conjunction


Since she knew she was weak in Mathematics she did more practice


Begin Knowing


He had been a prefect for two years He felt humiliated after the demotion


Join into one sentence using a participle


a The bored learners were drowsy


The boring learners were drowsy


Distinguish the difference in meaning


He had been advised to be cautious He survived the tragedy Begin Having


Waiting for my car to be repaired a street boy came to me Correct the sentence


He repairs pipes that leak Reunite to end inpipes


CHAPTER 4  ADJECTIVES


1 DEFINITION AND CLASSFICATION


Adjectives are words which describe or modify nouns or pronouns


There are six main kinds of adjectives


Demonstrative  This that these those


Distributive  Each every either neither


Quantitative  Littlea little few a few some many much six etc


Interrogative  Which what whose


Possessive  My your his her its our your their


Qualitative eg clever dry fat good heavy etc


We shall closely look at each of these when examining the functions of adjectives


2 POSITIONS OF ADJECTIVES


The normal position of an adjective is directly before the noun it modifies


eg The dirty worn out book was thrown out


However for stylistic reasons adjectives may come after the noun they modify


eg The book dirty and worn out was thrown out


When an adjective comes before the subject of the sentence or immediately after the subject and before the verb we say it is attributive


An attributive adjective comes at the subject position


A predicative adjective is separated form the word it modifies by a verb


eg The girl is fast and meticulous


Adj adj


Predicative adjectives occur at the predicate position


As observed in chapter one nouns some words may be used as both adjectives and pronouns


These include all the relative pronouns ie who that whose those which all another any both each either many more neither one other several some these this those what etc


eg Which pen do you want


Adj


Which do you want


Pronoun


I want more food


I want more


3 PARTICIPLES USED AS ADJECTIVES


Both present participle verb  ing and past participles verb  ed can be used as adjectives


eg Amusing incident


Tiring exercise


When they are used they mean having this effect


Past participle adjectives eg amused audience tired students etc are passive and means affected in this way


Agreement of adjectives


Adjectives in English have the same form for singular and plural masculine and feminine


eg A good boy good boys


A good girl good girls


The only exceptions are demonstrative adjectives this and that which take these and those in plural nouns


4 COMPARISON IN ADJECTIVES


Adjectives in English have three degree of comparison


Positive Comparative Superlative


Dark darker darkest


Short shorter shortest


Good better best


Beautiful more beautiful most beautiful


Onesyllable adjectives form their comparative and superlative by adding er and est to the positive form


eg Dark darker darkest


One syllable adjectives ending in e add r and st to the comparative and superlative respectively Eg brave  braver  bravest


Adjectives of three or more syllables put more and most before positive for comparative and superlative respectively


eg Interested more interested most interested


Cunning more cunning most cunning


Adjectives of two syllables follow one or other of the above rules


Those ending in ful or re usually take more or most


eg Useful more useful most useful


Obscure more obscure most obscure


Those ending in er y or ly usually add er or est


eg Clever cleverer cleverest


Pretty prettier prettiest


Some adjectives have irregular comparisons


eg Bad worse worst


Good better best


Many more most


Little less least


Old elder eldest


older oldest


NB eldereldest implies seniority rather than age


Elder is not used with than


Constructions with comparisons


Positive


With the positive form we use as as in the affirmative and not as  not so as in the negative


eg He was as gracious as Mother Teresa


Coffee is not as expensive as tea


Coffee is not so expensive as tea


Comparative


With comparative form we use than


eg Kioko is faster than Kiprono affirmative


Kioko is not faster than Kiprono negative


Superlatives


For both affirmative and negative constructions the inof is used


eg Kioko is the fastest runner in the team affirmative


Kioko is not the fastest runner in the team negative


Jumba is the most disgusting character in the play


Or of all the characters Jumba is the most disgusting


Parallel increase is expressed by


the  comparativethe  comparative


eg The faster he ran the more tired he become


The higher you go the cooler it becomes


The shorter a van is the more stable it is


Gradual increase or decrease is expressed by two comparatives expressed by and


eg He became more and more embarrassed


The audience became less and less amused


The weather was getting hotter and hotter


FUNCTIONS OF ADJECTIVES


a Demonstrative adjectives


These adjectives indicate the position of a particular noun in relation to the speaker


These are the only adjectives which change for number


These adjectives can also be used as pronouns if the adjective that they describe is omitted


eg This car is hers adjective


This is hers pronoun


Demonstrative adjectives usually come before the nouns that they modify


These students were all late


Adj n


b Distributive adjectives


These include each every either neither etc


They are used to indicate the distribution of the specific nouns


eg Every boy came  implies that all boys came


Each boy got a fruit  this implies that there were many fruits and all the boys got at


least a fruit


c Quantitative adjectives


These adjectives specify quantities or amounts of a particular noun or nouns


They include


little a little few a few some many any much one three no etc


i A Little  Little


These are used for uncountable nouns


A little implies enough


eg There is a little tea in the kettle  implies that one may take it


I had a little sugar so I did not buy more


Little


It implies hardly any


eg There is little sugar so Ill buy some at the shop


ii A few  few


These two adjectives are used for countable nouns


A few implies several or enough


eg There were few good books in the library so I did not go there


NB little and a little can also be used as adverbs Eg It rained a little last week


We shall examine adverbs in the next unit


iii Some any much many


a Some


i This adjective is used in affirmative sentences


eg There is some water in the jug


There are some girls in the dormitory


ii Some is used for both countable and uncountable nouns


eg Put some soil in the bag uncountable


Call some boys from the hostel countable


iii It is used in questions expecting the answers yes


eg Would you like some coffee


Did you say there are some girls in the dormitory


iv It is also used to mean not all


eg Some girls bought the school uniform


ie Not all girls bought the school uniform


b Any


i It is used in negative sentences


eg There arent any girls in the hostel


ii It is used for both countable and uncountable nouns


eg Dont carry any books out of the library


iii It is used in conditional clauses


eg If there had been any student in the hostel he would have been harmed


iv It is used to mean no matter which


You can send any student to the canteen


Please bring any book from the library


NB The adjective no does not precede any in statement as  there are no any boys in the


hostel


v In spoken language the form nt is normal after be and have forms


eg There arent any keys in the room


They havent any milk at the dairy


c Much and many


Much is used before uncountable nouns and many before countable nouns


Both these words mean a lot of


eg I gave him much water


I gave him a lot of water


There are many books in class  there are a lot of books in class


These words can also be used with the words too and so to express emphasis


eg I drunk too much water


I have so much home work


She has too many books


Much and many can also be used with as for positive degree in adjectives


eg She has as much work as John


vi Enough


a The word enough can be followed by a clause indicating possibility


eg He is big enough to ride a bicycle


b If enough is preceded by a negative verb then the following idea is negative


eg He isnt big enough to drive


Jane isnt big enough to get married


c Enough usually follows the adjective or adverb that it modifies


When it comes before the noun it means  satisfactory number right amount or


quantity


eg There are enough books in the library


5 TYPICAL ENDINGS OF ADJECTIVES


Like nouns adjectives have morphs that are characteristics of them Some suffixes which are used to derive adjectives from other parts of speech include


ful  les  ous  ing  ly  sy  cal


Below is a list of words and their corresponding adjective derivatives


Noun  Adjective


Man manly


Beauty beautiful


Ambition ambitions


State stately


Topic topical


Verb Adjective


Amaze amazing


Use useful


Dare daring


Ease easy


Most adjectives are lexical items they occur in their bare form and are therefore not derived from other words


eg Humid


Trivial


Humble etc


To have mastery of the good use of adjectives the learners will be required to practice English read widely and listen keenly to correct use of adjectives


UNIT FOUR ADJECTIVES


EXERCISE 4 A


Fill in the blank spaces with appropriate adjectives


EXERCISE 4 B


Study the information given below and answer the questions that follow


Onyango is 13 meters in height


Mutua is 2 meters in height


Jane is 15 meters in height


Jane is  than Onyango


Jane is not  as Onyango


Mutua is  as Jane


Mutua is  of them all


Between Mutua and Jane Mutua is


Onyango is the  them all


Judith is 15 meters in height


Judith is  Jane


None of the two girls is


The two girls are not  Onyango


Onyango is not  as the two girls


Mondays temperature 40 0 C


Tuesdays temperature 16 0 C


Todays Wednesdays temperature 20 0 C


The temperature is getting  and over the days


Monday was  than today


Today is  than yesterday


The more we stay  the temperature get


Juma drove at 100 kmhour


Alex drove at 120 Kmhour


Alex drove  than Juma


EXERCISE 4C


Rewrite the sentences below according to the instructions given in brackets


a She found the farmer was small


She found he was a small farmer


Give the difference in meaning


He brought a plastic yellow old big barrel Rewrite the sentence correctly


It was a yellow Kenyan made large bucket Rewrite the sentence correctly


a Shes is a pretty decent girl


Shes a pretty decent girl


Choose the correct sentence from the choices provided in questions 5  10 below


a We ate round big yellow Mombasa mangoes


We ate yellow big round Mombasa mangoes


We ate big Mombasa yellow round mangoes


We ate big yellow round Mombasa mangoes


a Odera is a tall inquisitive brown man


Odera is a tall brown inquisitive man


Odera is an inquisitive tall brown man


Odera is a tall inquisitive brown man


a She held a China made long sharp knife


She held a sharp China made long knife


She held a long sharp China made knife


She held a China made sharp long knife


8 a She brought an elegant French golden yellow clock


She brought an elegant golden yellow French clock


She brought a golden yellow French elegant clock


She brought a French golden yellow elegant clock


9 a They are required to bring big wooden brown boxes


They are required to bring big brown wooden boxes


They are required to bring big wooden brown boxes


They are required to bring brown big wooden boxes


10 a Whoever saw a little black washing machine


Whoever saw a washing little black machine


Whoever saw a black washing little machine


Whoever saw a black little washing machine


CHAPTER FIVE ADVERBS


DEFINITION AND CATEGORIES OF ADVERBS


Adverbs describe the action of the verb


There are several kinds of adverbs


i Adverbs of manner


These explain how a particular action took place


eg He quickly ran to class


The ball slowly rolled from the roof Etc


ii Adverbs of place


These adverbs give information about where a particular action took place


They sat here


They went inside


He was thrown up etc


iii Adverbs of time


These give information about time that a particular action took place They answer the question when


eg I have seen him now


He soon found out the truth


iv Adverbs of frequency


These adverbs explain how often a particular action took place


They include such adverbs as always often seldom never ever etc


eg She seldom goes to hospital


Jane always shouts in class


vi Adverbs of degree


These adverbs explain the extend of a particular action


Adverbs of degree include fairly rather too etc


eg I was too exhausted to go to class


2 COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE FORMS OF ADVERBS


a Adverbs like adjectives have comparative and superlative forms


The rules of forming these are more or less the same as those of adjectives


Positive Comparative Superlative


Hard harder hardest


Quickly more quickly most quickly


Well better best


Badly worse worst


Little less least


Much more most


b Constructions with comparisons


i With positive form we use as as with an affirmative verb and asso as with a


negative


eg He ran as fast as a deer


He doesnt sing so well as you do


ii With comparative form we use than


eg He washes more quickly than I do


She arrived earlier than mi expected


The comparative the  comparative is also possible


eg The faster you run the sooner youll get there


iii With superlatives we use of  noun or of  all


He went the farthest of the scouts or


He went the farthest of all


c Positions and functions of adverbs


i Adverbs of manner come after the verb


eg She shouted angrily


He withdrew the statement reluctantly


ii When we have verb  preposition  object


The adverb can be either before the preposition or after the object


eg He looked at me suspiciously or


He suspiciously looked at me


iii If the object is short we have verb  object  adverb but if the object is long


comprising of many words we usually put the adverbs before the verb


eg She carefully picked all the bits of broken glass


He angrily denied that he had sneaked away from school


iv Adverbs concerned with character intelligence etc when placed before a verb


indicate that the action was  that particular character


eg They foolishly stormed into the police station


We could say it was foolish of them to storm into the police station


Adverbs of time are usually placed at the beginning or at the end of the clauseie


In the front position or at the end position


eg Then we walked home  we walked home then


v Hardly ever never and rarely


These adverbs can also be put at the beginning of a sentence but inversion of the


following verb becomes necessary


eg Never did they find the lost money


vi Never  affirmative


Can replace the ordinary interrogative


He does not eat meat


He never eats meat


vii Never  interrogative can be used to express surprise


eg Have they never seen a computer


Has she never been to Nairobi


viii Ever means at any time and is chiefly used in the interrogative


eg Has she ever been to Nairobi


D POSITIONS ORDER OF ADVERBS IN A SENTENCE


i Expressions of manner usually come before expressions of place


eg He lazily went into the room


Manner Place


Hed stay happily anywhere


ii The adverbs away back down forward home in off on out round and up


usually precede come before adverbs of manner


eg She went away disappeared


Place Manner


They looked back anxiously


iii Time expressions can follow expressions of manner and place


eg They lived here happily for six years


E TYPICAL ENDINGS OF ADVERBS


Common suffixes that are added to words to form adverbs include


lywards and wise


Adjective adverb


Short shortly


Quick quickly


Lazy lazily


Humble humbly


Posthumous post humorously


Kind kindly


Verb Adverb


Hurry hurriedly


Tire tiredly


Steal stealthily


Noun Adverb


Humour humorously


Fore forwards


Back back wards


Clock clockwise


Prepositions Adverbs


In inwards


Down down wards


To towards


UNIT 5 ADVERBS


EXERCISE 5 A


Rewrite the following sentences according to the instructions given in brackets


a They secretly decided to leave school


They decided to leave school secretly


Give the difference in meaning


I foolishly forgot to carry my ID card Begin It was


He has never been to Nairobi Begin Never


a Has he ever been to Nairobi


Has he never been to Nairobi


Distinguish the difference in meaning


a He awkwardly climbed out of the window


He climbed out of the window awkwardly


He climbed out of the awkwardly window


Identify the wrong sentence


He scarcely doesnt smoke Rewrite the sentence correctly


He ever is late Rewrite the sentence correctly


Use the information given below to answer the questions that follow


Bus car arrives at 600 am


Kenya bus arrives at 700 am


Coast bus arrives at 715 am


Use a form of the adverb early or late to complete the following sentences


Coast bus is the  bus of them all


Kenya bus arrives  Coast bus


Comparing Kenya bus and bus car the former is the  of the two


EXERCISE 5B


Use appropriate suffixes to derive adverbs from the words below


WORD ADVERB


loud


quick


lazy


love


down


up


clock


humour


quiet


decent


father


truth


man


short


brief


CHAPTER SIX PREPOSITIONS


1 DEFINITION


Prepositions are words or short phrases placed before nouns or pronouns Prepositions convey a meaning of position direction or time


We have simple prepositions which consist of one word and complex prepositions which comprise of two or more words


2 POSITIONS OF PREPOSITIONS


Before examining a few of these prepositions Let us first see the position of prepositions


Prepositions normally precede nouns or pronouns


eg It is under the table


He had in the house


She stood beside her mother


In some constructions it is possible to move the preposition to the end of the sentence


eg In questions beginning with a preposition  whomwhichwhatwhosewhere


To whom were you talking  who were you talking to


In relative clauses a preposition placed before whomwhich can be moved to the end of the clause The relative pronoun is then omitted


eg The people with whom I was travelling screamed


The people I was travelling with screamed


3 SIMPLE PREPOSITIONS


A Prepositions of time


at


eg at dawn


at six


at midnight


at sixteen


at is used at an exact point in time


eg The bell rang at ten oclock everyday


Exception at Christmas at Easter


At may be used to imply the period not the day only


eg My father comes at Christmas every year  ie during Christmas season


Compare my father comes on Christmas


on


eg on Monday


on 4th June


on Christmas


This preposition does not specify the exact time


eg He came on Monday at noon


By


By three oclock


By midnight


By 27th august etc


This preposition implies before the time mentioned


On timein time


On time implies the time arranged Not earlier not later


In time means not late or in good time


eg She came on time at the exact hour arranged


She came in time in good time


From


Usually used to indicate time


From is normally used with to or till until


eg Most people work from dawn to dusk


this means during that span of time


Since


This also means from that time to the time referred to


eg He left in June I havent seen him since then


For


It is used for a period of time


eg I was jobless for three years


During and for


These two prepositions may be used to indicate known periods of time or seasons


eg I will be at home for Easter


She will come during Christmas


Till  until


We can use from to or from till  until


eg I waited for her from six until eight in the evening


I waited for her from six to eight in the evening


If we have from now we use till  until and not to


eg Lets start from now and work till dark


B Prepositions of travel and movement


fromto


We travel from our starting place to our destination


eg We moved from Nairobi to Thika


Arrive at  in


We arrive in a town or country


We arrive at or in a village


We arrive at any other destination


Get to  reach


Get to can be used with any destination And so can reach


eg I want to get to Nairobi by noon


C Prepositions of transport


Byonget inintoontooffout of


We can travel by bus  car but in Janes car


We can also travel by a certain route via is more usual eg I went via Thika  Nairobi highway


We can walk or go on foot or on horse back


We get in  into a private vehicle


We go on board a plane ship etc


We get on  on to a horse  camel  bicycle


at in into on onto


At


To express place


We can be at home at work at the office at school at university


In


We can be in a country in a town in a village in street in a room in a forest in a field in a desert or any place which has boundaries or which is enclosed


We can be in a building meaning inside


We could be at a place  eg cooperative housemeaning inside or in the grounds or just out side


In  into


In  indicates position


Into  indicates movement or entrance


eg They climbed into the truck


They were in the truck


On  onto


On is used for both position and movement


eg His name was on the board position


The raindrops fell on the roofs


Onto  It is chiefly used for people and animals when there is a movement involving


change


We went onto the next stage


4 COMPLEX PREPOSITIONS


Certain preposition will only collocate or combine with certain words


We have already examined the way several verbs combine with prepositions to form phrasal verbs


Below are other possible combinations


a Noun  for


A reason for


eg No one knows the reason for his dismissal


b Noun  of


A cause of  an advantage of


eg One advantage of boarding schools is that


A map of eg a map of East Africa


c Noun  in


An increase in


A fall in eg A fall in coffee prices


d Noun  to


A damage to


A solution to


An attitude to or towards


eg He has a negative attitude to English


e Noun  with


A connection with


A relationship with


eg He has a good relationship with his parents


f Adjective  of


Kind of


Nice of


eg It was kind of you to pay my college fees


g Adjective  about  with


Angry with  angry about


Excited about


Worried about


Upset about etc


i Adjective  atbywith


Surprised at by eg bad news


Impressed with by


j Adjective  about for


Sorry about


eg She was sorry about the printing error


k Adjective  of


Afraid of


Frightened of


Terrified of


Aware  conscious of


Full of


Short of typical of tired of sure of etc


l Adjective  at


Good at bad at eg chemistry hopeless at


m Adjective  to


eg similar to married to engaged to etc


Other possible combinations of adjectives  prepositions are


Different from interested in keen on dependent on independent of crowded with famous for responsible for


5 DISTNGUISHING PREPOSITIONS FROM CONNECTORS AND ADVERB


PARTICLES


Depending on the usage certain words which are used as prepositions are also used as


Connectors or adverbs


eg I saw him before going to class  I saw him and went to class


Conjunction


The usage of the word before here is different from He stood before everybody


which is an adverb answering the question when


He sat before me in front of meBefore is used as a preposition it is asking where  in relation to the subject


Since


Since can be used as an adverb


It can also be used as a conjunction


I am not going since there isnt any food remaining


Conjunction  to mean because


Since you are unwell you will be required to stay home Adverb of reason


In conclusion it is important to learn the correct use of prepositions by reading speaking listening and writing


UNIT 6 EXERCISES ON PREPOSITIONS


EXERCISE 6 A


Supply for since at in on by where required in the following sentences


We dont work a lot  afternoon


The terrorist attach was  11th September


They lived in Kenya  two years


She went into his house  last evening


They got married  June


I havent seen him  then


We have been waiting  over half an hour


Most animals eat  night and sleep during the day


I studied  two hours last night


He lives  Nairobi


EXERCISE 6 B


Supply the sentences below with the most appropriate prepositions


He lent his power saw  a man he hardly knew


That noise is preventing me  working


He was knocked  as he crossed the road


She brought  by her aunt


She is jealous  my success


Juma applied the company  a job


Have you found the solution  the problem


The teacher was angry  the students who came late


He wrote the essay  ink


Ouma is well qualified  the job


I am very concerned  my unemployed brother


The soldier was punished neglect of duty


He dived  the river to rescue his drowning brother


He was saved  the buffalo by a game warder


The plane touched  at six oclock


The surgeon operated  injured man


We mistook him  robber


They were amazed  what was happening


It was very kind  you to help me


The tourist was robbed  all his property


EXERCISE 6C


Use the most appropriate prepositions to fill the gaps in the sentences below


We got  the public bus


I got  the public toilet


There is a bridge  river Athi


She cut it  a knife


I have no money  with me


They were involved the robbery


No one is interested  phonographs


We were frightened  lions


I am sorry  you


I didnt believe  ghosts


He deals  gold


I object  her argument


He dreamt  building a mansion


They persisted  selling the plot of land


The thief climbed  the wall


The customers complained  stale food


He said nothing  his parents


She has served the company  1980


I bought a jacket  Kioko


The students climbed  the school truck


EXERCISE 6D


Study the table below and answer the questions that follow


Kioko satJuma


Juma sat Kioko and Amos


Jane sat  Onyango


Ruth sat away  Onyango


Judith sat  the center


EXERCISE 6E


Write the prepositions which collocate go with the following adjectives


eg nervous of


bad


ashamed


afraid


aware


involved


responsible


proud


owing


keen


sorry


liable


capable


confident


exposed


good


fit


accused


accustomed


skilled


EXERCISE 6 F


Complete the sentences below with the most appropriate prepositions


Please take a photograph  me


I was delighted to receive a cheque  ten thousand shillings


What was Kiokos reaction  the news


No one knows the answer  question three


Money isnt the panacea  every problem


It was very nice  you to invite me


I am worried  Tinas health


Dont get annoyed  little things


The essay was full  mistakes


The girl said she was bored  the lesson


No one has a house similar  ours


Jumas problem is different  Njugunas


We got to school so that we wont be dependent  anybody


The family is now short  money


They are incapable  acting the play


The teacher got angry and started shouting  us


We were a bit far so he had to shout  us


Regina wasnt accustomed  the diet at school


We have to rely  Land Rovers because no other vehicle can use that route


Spoilt children are usually exposed  phonographs


EXERCISE 6 G


Distinguish the difference in meaning in the following pairs of sentences


a We arrived in time


We arrived on time


a He shouted to us


He shouted at us


a He looked at me


He looked after me


a It was kind of you


It was kind to you


a They threw stones at him


They threw stones to him


a Would you care for a cup of coffee


Would you take care of a cup of coffee


a He was looking after his younger brother


He was looking for his younger brother


a He dreamt about building a mansion


He dreamt of building a mansion


a We were reminded of the meeting


We were reminded about the meeting


a I did not hear about him


b I did not hear from him


CHAPTER SEVENCONJUNCTIONS


1 Coordinating conjunctions and their functions


Conjunctions are words which are used to link clauses or sentences


Below is a summary the common coordinating conjunctions in English and their functions


a


eg She went to the bar She took beer


Not only did she go to the bar but she also took beer


She went to the bar and took beer


Jane likes football Judith likes football


Jane likes football Judith as well


d


Other coordinating conjunctions includeBeside however nevertheless so therefore notwithstanding and still


2 Subordinating conjunctions introduce subordinate adverb or noun clauses


For instance conditional clauses are introduced by subordinate conjunctions


They include


Even if whetheror but for otherwise unless etc


eg You must sit for the exams even if youve not revised for them


You must go to church unless you are unwell


I would have passed my exams but for the bout of malaria


UNIT 7 CONJUNCTIONS


EXERCISE 7 A


Use the most appropriate conjunctions in the sentences below


He is small  strong


She can  read nor write


Not only girls also boys were involved


Our bags were heavy  we took a taxi


He plays soccer  volleyball


EXRCISE 7B


Rewrite the following sentences according to the instructions given


Beside Besides washing she cooks for the family


Choose the correct alternative


I couldnt improve  hard I tried Use an appropriate conjunction


Inspite of the poor testimonials he got the job Begin Despite


We ate the food it had a horrible taste Combine into one sentence using despite


Although it was dangerous we walked on Rewrite using inspite of


Though she is inexperienced she works very well Begin Despite


She did it for she was angry Correct the sentence


a Mutua hasnt eaten the fruits


John hasnt eaten the fruits


Combine into one sentence without using and


Either Kioko or Oduor have eaten the food Rewrite the sentence correctly


She is arrogant She is also lazy Begin Not only


CHAPTER EIGHT


PHRASES


1 The term phrase refers to a meaningful segment of words which is larger than a word


and smaller than a clause


2 TYPES OF PHRASES


Phrases are classified according to their functions within a sentence


We have adverbial phrases adjectival phrases noun phrases and prepositional phrases


a Adverbial phrases


Like adverbs we have adverbial phrases of manner contrast condition purpose


reason degree and result


Below are two examples


He kept the cup in the cupboard


In the cupboard is an adverbial phrase of place


She woke up at 8 Oclock


Adverbial phrase of time


He saw her running very fast


Adv Manner


b Prepositional phrases


These phrases play the role of prepositions We have already examined various


examples of these under complex prepositions


eg He is good at Chemistry


She is responsible for the girls dormitory


c Noun phrases and adjectival phrases


These consist of a group of words that function as nouns


They may consist of an article and one or several adjectives and the noun that the


preceding words modify


eg The short young man came to class


Adjective phrase noun


Noun phrase


A brilliantly lit lamp was in the house


noun


Adjectival phrase


Functions of noun phrases


As subject


eg The shortest girl in the class ran out


S


As object


He gave the books to a boy in a blue trouser


O


They saw the wounded stray dog


AS COMPLIMENT


eg That is the girl with a tattoo on her chest


C


The underlined phrase acts as a compliment of the pronoun that


Mutua is a hard working boy


SENTENCES AND CLAUSES


1 DEFINITIONS


The term sentence can be defined as a meaningful segment bigger than a phrase and smaller than a paragraph


A sentence must comprise of at least one clause


A sentence may consist of two main parts the subject part and the predicate


eg The boy washed the dishes


Subject predicate


In this sentence the predicate consists of the verb and the object


The subject is usually the doer of the action stated by the verb In the above sentence


The boy is the subject


2 TYPES OF SENTENCES


Sentences may be classified as


Imperatives


Interrogatives


Exclamatory


Declarativeaffirmative and


Negative


a IMPERATIVES


Most commands requests invitations and suggestions are expressed by the imperatives


i Commands


The second person imperatives has the same form as the bare infinitive


eg you  hurry


Wait run  etc


The person addressed is often not mentioned but can be expressed by a noun at the end of the phrase


eg Shut up Kioko


do can be placed before the affirmative imperative


eg Do shut up  shut up


Do be quick  be quick


The first person imperative is expressed by let us lets  bare infinitive


eg Lets go home


The third person imperative is expressed by let himheritthem  bare infinitive


eg Let him shut up


Let him go home ie He is to go home he must go home


NB The negative imperative is not in common usage eg Let him not go home


Instead we use must not isare not to


eg He must not go home


Commands are expressed by subject  shall


This is often in official language and written English


eg A student shall be required to speak in English whilst in school


Subject  will


eg She will arrive at noon The person giving this type of order or command is sure that


it will be obeyed


Commands are often expressed as obligations by must


eg You must not smoke cigarettes within the school compound


Instructions or orders can be expressed by be  infinitive


eg You are to come to school on Monday


Prohibitions may be expressed in written instructions by may not


eg You may not keep food in the dormitory


ii REQUESTS


These can be expressed with can  could  may  might  might I  we  have  noun  Pronoun


Can


It is informal


eg Can I play outside said the boy


Could I  we


This is the most generally used form


eg could I have a cup of tea


Maymight


These modal auxiliaries are more informal than could


They are possible with both spoken and written English


eg May I have an exercise book


Might I have a copy of the letter


Cancouldmaymight I met  verb


eg Could I speak to Mr Ouko please


Modal subject V


Could you


This is a very common request form


eg could you please close the door


Couldnt


This is used when the speaker hopes for a more favourable answer than has just been indicated


eg Couldnt you bring me four litres of milk


Will  would you


Would you please has the same meaning as could you


Will you is more authoritative and therefore less polite Eg will you sit down


Would you mind  gerund


eg would you mind washing my car


Or would you mind buying a cup of tea


You might


This can express a very casual request


eg You might throw these in the bin for me


iii INVITATIONS


These can be expressed in the following ways


Will you have  would you like  noun


eg Will you have coffee


Would you like coffee


Will  would  could you would you like


eg Could you have lunch with me


Would you like to have lunch with me


When the speaker doesnt really expect his offer  invitation to be accepted he can


say


You wouldnt like to have lunch with me would you


iv ADVICE FORMS


Must ought to should


These can be used for advice


eg The weather is cold You should  must  ought to wear a woolen sweater


You had better  bare infinitive


eg You had better wear school uniform


You had better be in a woolen sweater


If I were you


It I were you Id wear a woolen sweater


Why dont


eg Why dont you trim your hair  I suggest advice you to that you trim your hair


Why dont you wear a woolen sweater


Its time you  past tense


eg Its time you wore a woolen sweater


Its time you trimmed you hair


e EXPRESSION SUGGESTIONS


Lets or shall I  we  infinitive


eg Lets do the exercise


Shall we do the exercise


Dont lets  lets not


eg Dont lets attempt sneaking out of school


Lets not attempt sneaking out of school


Why dont we  you  infinitive


eg Why dont we draw a timetable


Why dont we go to the filed


Why not  infinitive


eg Why not meet for lunch at sunset


What  how about  gerund  noun


How about borrowing money


What about meeting for lunch at sunset hotel


Suppose I  we  you  present or past tense


eg Suppose we borrowed money


Suppose we have lunch at sunset


b INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES


These are question forms


In English questions are introduced by


a Relative pronoun


eg Who came to school


Whom did you see


b Auxiliary verbs


eg Did he come to school


Have they found the bag


Is she in school


C EXCLAMATORY SENTENCES


These may be expressed using inversion


eg i I will never take beer  Never will I take beer


This is a very beautiful piece of art  The speaker uses inversion and the


compliment comes before the noun


In the first example the subject I comes after the auxiliary will and before the main verb take


D DECLERATIVE SENTENCES


These are the commonest type of sentence constructions


These sentences are stative and they do not carry an exclamation an interrogative a negative aspect or even an Imperative


They are positive statements


eg He came by bus


She mopped the room


E NEGATIVE SENTENCES


Negative sentences can be formed in the following ways


i Adjective NO


We may add the adjectives no to the declarative


eg There were books in the library declarative


There were no books in the library negative


I had money for shopping Declarative


I had no money for shopping negative


ii Pronoun none


eg Do you have any money with you Interrogative


No I have none negative


All  some boys came to class affirmative


None of the boys came to class negative


iii Adverb Not  Any


eg I got some money from him affirmative


I did not get any money from him negative


iv Coordinate conjunction neither nor


eg Either Jane or Mary is in class affirmative


Neither Jane nor Mary is in class negative


NB Neither nor and Either or have a singular meaning The verb that follows them is


therefore singular


eg Neither Wekesa nor Onyango has arrived


CLAUSES


A clause is a segment of speech larger than a phrase and having a finite verb verb with tense


Sentences are comprised of clauses Sentences may be classified according to the clauses that form them


a Simple sentences


These are sentences with only one clause


eg John bought a book


S V O


eg Odera came


S V


She is here


S V A


The above sentences consist of only one clause


b Compound sentences


These sentences comprise of two independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction


An independent clause is able to stand on its own meaningfully in a sentence


eg Kioko came Kioko sat down


S V S V A


The above sentences can be considered to have two independent clauses


We can join the two sentences using a coordinating conjunction


Kioko came and sat down


In the second clause the subject Kioko is not to be unnecessarily repeated


c COMPLEX SENTENCES


These sentences consist of a main clause and one or more dependent subordinate clauses


eg Nelly sat where the books had been kept


Independent subordinate c


He saw the man who abducted the girl


Main clause dependent clause


If you work hard you will pass in exams


Dependent subordinate independent


The first example has the subordinate clause acting as an adverb


In the second sentence the dependent clause is introduced by a relative pronoun and it is an adjectival clause


In the third sentence the subordinate clause is a conditional if clause


d COMPOUND  COMPLEX SENTENCES


These sentences consist of two or more main independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses


eg He came sat down and smiled at the girls who stared at him


1 2 3 4


In the above sentence clause 1 2 and 3 are independent and clause 4 is dependent subordinate


4 ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE


In the chapter on verbs it was observed that some verbs are transitive ie They allow objects after them


eg They opened the door


S V O


He kicked the ball


The above sentences are in active form Active sentences have the subject coming before the verb


Sometimes however a speaker or writer may not wish to focus on the subject but on the object of the sentence


eg The ball was kicked by him


The door was opened by them


When sentences are inverted in this manner we say they are in the passive voice


There are several reasons why writers may use the passive voice as opposed to the active voice


i When it is not necessary to mention who the doer of the action is


eg My shoes were stolen by a thief


He was arrested by the police


ii When the doer of the action is not exactly known


eg The house was built ten years ago


Streetlights in Nairobi have been improved


iii When we are more interested in the action than the one who does it


eg A new hostel is being put up


Students are required to buy books


iv In official documents eg minutes reports official letters etc


eg It was agreed that every member contributes a hundred shillings


v When describing a process or procedure


When the water boils four handfuls of flour are added to it The flour is stirred three times after the temperature has risen


More four is added


The above example could be an excerpt in the procedure for cooking porridge


5 CONDITIONAL CLAUSES


In the subtopic on complex sentences it was observed that conditional clauses are subordinate clauses Let us focus on conditional clauses in detail


Conditional sentences have two parts


The if clause and the main clause


eg If it rains I shall stay indoors


There are several types of conditional clauses


TYPE 1 CONSTRUCTIONS IN PRESENT FORM


1 The verb in the if clause is in the present tense and the verb in the main clause is in


the future simple


It doesnt matter which clause comes first


This type of conditional sentence implies that the action in the if  clause is quite


probable


Instead of if  present  future we may have a if  present  may might


This construction expresses possibility


eg If my mother pays I might go for the trip


b If  present  may permission


eg If it rains we may go out We are allowed to go out


c If  present  must  should or any other imperative expression ie To express


command request or advice


eg If you want to pass you must work hard


d If  present  present


This construction is used to express automatic or habitual results


eg If you immerse litmus into acid it changes colour


If you heat ice it melts into water


Variation of if  clause


Instead of if  present tense we can have


a If  present continuous


This construction is used to indicate a present action or a future arrangement


If you are making noise please keep quiet


If you are waiting for her youd better go home


b If  present perfect


eg If you have lost money check with the accounts clerk


TYPE TWO CONSTRUCTIONS IN PAST FORM


The verb in the if clause is in the past tense and the verb in the main clause is in the conditional tense


eg If I had money I would buy a loaf of bread