1.

0 Introduction

Linguistics as a science spreads across various areas of human language which are categorized into two
broad areas namely, micro-linguistics and macro-linguistics. Micro-linguistics, which can also be regarded
as theoretical linguistics, entails the basic components or constituents of a language. Theoretical linguistics
is the study of the structural aspects of language under the broad term of grammar. Language helps express
thought through the use of spoken or written words. For humans to fully express their thoughts, they cannot
but make use of words which are signs made with voice that can either be spoken or written down. These
signs have meanings associated with them by custom or tradition. The study of all the contrasts of meaning
that is possible to make within sentences (Crystal 130). Grammar is a set of rules dealing with the
formation of words (morphology) and the construction of sentences (syntax) to bring about meaning
(semantics). Language cannot function without grammar. Grammar is further divided into form and
meaning. Form of grammar can be subcategorized into phonetics, phonology, morphology, and syntax
while meaning into semantics. The grammatical levels of linguistic analysis are related in that each level
develops on the product of the previous level from the production of sound units (phonetics) to the
sentence (syntax).

Previous papers have extensively discussed phonetics and phonology as levels of linguistic analysis.
Advancing in the study of language, we will take a look at word structure and meaning. The names of
items, places and persons are the first things to learn when learning a new language. Each item in every
given language is named using words. In this paper therefore, the concept of morphology and syntax as
grammar of language will be thoroughly examined.

2.0 The Concept of Morphology

The term ‘Morphology’ is derived from the Greek word mophos meaning “form.” Morphology examines
the internal construct and structure of words and the underlying principles of their makeup. This is a branch
of linguistics that studies the internal components of words in a language. Morphology is the level of
linguistic study concerned with the internal structure of words and rules of word formation (Katamba 22).
It is committed to the study of principles guiding the construction of words in language. Morphology
according to Brown and Miller (161) serves as a bridge between the syntax of a language and its
phonology. Like other levels of linguistic analysis, morphology has a basic unit of study, the morpheme.

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3.0 Morpheme

Morpheme, according to Bloomfield (24) is ‘a linguistic form which bears no parallel phonetic-semantic
resemblance to any form.’ It is the minimal meaningful unit of grammatical analysis. Hockett (388) also
defined morpheme as “the smallest individual element in the utterances of a language.” It is the minimal
form with meaning. The morpheme is the basic unit that combines to form words. A word may be “defined
as the minimum independent linguistic unit having an identifiable meaning and grammatical function with
a fairly consistent phonological shape” (Aitchison 1992). Unlike phonology which analyses words in term
of syllable, morphology analyses words in term of morpheme. For example, the words ‘mother’ and
‘singer’ have two syllables each but while mother has one morpheme, singer consists two morphemes, the
main or root word (sing) and the suffix (+er). This example shows that lexemes can either be simple (as the
case with ‘mother’) or complex (as seen in the word ‘singer’).

3.1 Types of Morphemes

Morphemes can be categorized into two types. These are free morphemes (roots) and bound morphemes
(prefixes and suffixes).

3.1.1 Free Morphemes (Roots)

Free morphemes are the type of morphemes that can occur in isolation. Free morphemes do not have to be
attached to any other grammatical units to make sense. They are autonomous and make meaning in
isolation. Free morphemes are all words that can stand on their own. The root constitutes the core of the
word which cannot be divided further. They also have the ability to change in meaning when other
morphemes are added to it. Free morphemes can function as lexical or grammatical morphemes.

3.1.1.1 Lexical Morphemes

Lexical morphemes are free morphemes that have independent dictionary meaning of their own. This
means that the meaning of these words can be looked up in the dictionary. In English language, lexical
morphemes include nouns (such as boy, event, market, artist, among others), verbs (go, fly, assist, bring,
and so on), adjectives (beautiful, dull, tall, etc.) and adverbs, (quietly, sadly, slowly, etc.).

3.1.1.2 Grammatical Morphemes

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Grammatical morphemes are free morphemes that do not have independent dictionary meaning of their
own.

It is difficult to say what the meaning of these words are when looked up in the dictionary. They are merely
used to join the lexical words together in structure. Examples of grammatical morphemes in English
include pronouns (such as she, they, we, etc.), determiners (a, the, some, etc.), prepositions (below, of, on,
and so on)

and conjunction (and, or, but, among others).

3.1.2 Bound Morphemes

Bound morphemes are the type of morphemes that cannot occur in isolation. It always occurs with other
word-building elements attached to it (Katamba 46). They cannot stand on their own and make meaning.
Bound morphemes are attached to free morphemes to make meaning. Examples include -tion in
‘information’, -est in ‘highest’, -ly in ‘slowly’, and so on. Bound morphemes can be further subdivided into
affixes that comprise prefixes, infixes and suffixes.

3.1.2.1 Affixation and Affixes

Affixation is a morphological process of attaching an affix to the root or base of a word (Ndimele 124). An
affix is a type of bound morpheme that is always attached to the base or root of a word. The position or
functions they perform play a major role in the classification of affixes.

3.1.2.1.1 Positional Classification of Affixes

Affixes can be classified based on their positions into prefix and suffix.

Prefix: A prefix is the type of affix that occurs at the initial position of the root or base of a word. Examples
include ‘il- (illegal), in- (insensitive), un- (unattractive), dis- (disloyal), semi- (semicircle), im- (improper),
etc. The word formation pattern which attaches bound morphemes at the front of a base or root word is
known as ‘prefixation.’

Suffix: A suffix is the type of affix that occurs at the final position of the base or root of a word. Examples
of suffixes include –er (teacher), -ful (grateful), -less (helpless), -ish (childish), -hood (neighbourhood), etc.
The term for this word formation pattern which attaches bound morphemes at the end of a base or root
word is ‘suffixation.’ Suffixation is a perfect mirror image of prefixation.

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3.1.2.1.2 Functional Classification of Affixes

Affixes can also be classified based on their functions into inflectional affixes and derivational affixes.

Inflectional Affixes: Inflectional affixes deal with the markers of grammatical categories such as CASE,
NUMBER, TENSE and ASPECT. Inflectional morphemes are attached to base words to create word forms
rather than new words. Inflectional affixes do not change the word class (part of speech) of the word to
which they are attached. Rather, it shows if the noun or pronoun is in subjective, objective, possessive or
vocative form (Case), if the noun is in singular or plural form (Number), if the verb is in present, past or
other tenses (Tense), and if the verb is ongoing, repeated, completed or habitual (Aspect). It also shows if
the adjective is in comparative or superlative form. All the inflectional affixes in English are suffixes. That
is, they occur after base words.

Examples of such instances include:

Case: The man has eaten the girl’s food (possessive case)

Number: The boys are playing in the garden (plural)

Tense: The bride is walking down the aisle (present continuous tense)

Aspect: The goat had eaten the yam when I got there (completed action)

Another example include: Ade is shorter than Mary. (comparative adjective)

Derivational Affixes: Derivational affixes are the types of affixes attached to base words to alter the
meaning of the words to which they are attached hereby changing the word class. Some word class
changing derivational affixes in English include: -tion (education, a noun form from the verb educate), -
ment (entertainment, a noun form from the verb entertain), -er (singer, a noun form from the verb sing), etc.

However, there are certain derivational affixes in English language that maintain their class words.
Examples include: ex- (ex-husband, a noun from the noun husband), -hood (neighbourhood, a noun from
the noun neighbourhood), -ship (courtship, a noun from the word court), and so on.

3.2 Variants of Morphemes (Allomorphs)

Morphemes have variants in the same manner as phonemes. Variants of morphemes are known as
allomorphs. Allomorphs are phonetic variant forms of a morpheme. It is a unit of meaning that varies in

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sound and spelling without changing the meaning. Morphemes sometimes change their spellings and
pronunciations but maintain their meanings.

3.2.1 Types of Allomorphs

The most common types of allomorphs in English language are ‘past tense allomorphs’, ‘plural allomorphs’
and ‘negative allomorphs.’ These types of allomorphs will be briefly discussed below.

3.2.1.1 Past Tense Allomorphs

A past tense allomorph is a linguistic term used to describe different forms of the same morpheme that
expresses the past tense of a verb. In English, the bound morpheme ‘-ed’ is attached to the back of a regular
verb to indicate that the action was completed in the past. For instance, begged, talked and defended. The
morpheme ‘-ed’ always have the same function of making a verb past but the phonetic realization is
slightly different depending on the last consonant sound of the verb it is attached to. Examples are listed
below:

a. Morpheme ‘-ed’ is realized as /d/ when it follows a voiced consonant in a regular verb such as
begged, named, probed, measured, dodged, and so on. It is however important to note that ‘-ed’
cannot be realized as /d/ when it follows the voiced alveolar plosive, that is, the /d/ sound itself.
b. Morpheme ‘-ed’ is realized as /t/ when it follows a voiceless consonant in a regular verb. Examples
include talked, stopped, stalked, hatched, washed, puffed, etc. It is also important to note that the
morpheme ‘-ed’ is not realized as /t/ when it comes after the voiceless alveolar plosive, that is, the
/t/ sound itself.
c. Morpheme ‘-ed’ is realized as /Іd/ when it comes after the alveolar plosive sound /t/ and /d/.
Examples include planted, defended, spotted, avoided, exploited, and so on.

The sounds /d/, /t/ and /Іd/ therefore are the allomorphs of the bound morpheme ‘-ed.’

3.2.1.2 Plural Allomorphs

The morphemes ‘-s’ or ‘-es’ are added to nouns to create their plural forms. These plural forms have the
same function but their phonetic realization changes depending on the last consonant sound of the noun it
is attached to. That is, the phonetic realization of the morpheme is dependent on the phoneme that precedes

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it.

Examples are:

a. Morphemes ‘-s’ and ‘-es’ are pronounced as /s/ when it is preceded by a voiceless consonant.
Examples include cats, books, churches, chips, etc.
b. Morphemes ‘-s’ and ‘-es’ are pronounced as /z/ when it is preceded by a voiced consonant or by a
vowel. Examples include dogs, zoos, begs, etc.
c. Morphemes ‘-s’ and ‘-es’ are pronounced as /Іz/ when it is preceded by a sibilant. Examples include
houses, busses, judges, etc.
d. Morphemes ‘-en’, ‘-ren’ and ‘ae’ in ‘oxen’, ‘children’, and ‘antennae’ respectively are other
examples of plural allomorphs. They serve the same function as the more common ‘-s’ and ‘-es’
suffixes.

3.2.1.3 Negative Allomorphs

Negative allomorphs are used to make a negative version of a word. They all serve the same function but
are spelt differently. Examples include ‘in-’ as in informal (meaning not formal), ‘im-’ as in improper
(meaning not proper), ‘un-’ as in unbelievable (meaning not believable), and ‘a-’ in asynchronous (meaning
not synchronous).

4.0 Words

Morphemes make up words. The term ‘word’ has been variously defined by scholars. Some of these
definitions will be examined. A word is a speech sound or a combination of sounds, or its representation in
writing, that symbolizes and communicates a meaning and may consist of a single morpheme or a
combination of morphemes (Crystal 142). He further defines word as “the smallest unit of grammar that
can stand alone as a complete utterance, separated by spaces in written language and potentially by pauses
in speech.” According to Oxford Learner’s Dictionary (2010), a word is ‘a single unit of language which
means something and can be spoken or written.’ It refers to a speech sound, or a mixture of speech sounds
in both written and verbal form of language.

4.1 Structural Classification of Words

The structure of words in a language is determined by the internal structure of morpheme of the various
parts of speech. Words can be classified into four based on their internal structure or their composition.
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These are simple words, compound words, complex words and compound-complex words.

4.1.1 Simple Words

A simple word is a free morpheme consisting only one root word without any bound morpheme attached to
it. Examples of these words include girl, country, mother, cow, etc.

4.1.2 Complex Words

A complex word is a type of word that comprises one root word followed by one or more bound
morphemes. Examples of complex words are girls, unemployment, informal, friendship, etc.

4.1.3 Compound Words

A compound word is a type of word comprising two or more free morphemes. All morphemes in
compound words are capable of independent existence. Examples of compound words include cowboy,
graveyard, father-in-law, suitcase, and so on.

4.1.4 Compound-Complex Words

A compound-complex word is that which consists two or more free morphemes and one or more bound
morphemes. Examples of compound-complex words include playgrounds, underlisted, sidebars, overtaken,
brothers-in-law, sportsmanship, etc.

4.2 Word Formation Processes

Word formation processes simply refer to the processes through which new words are created. This is a
very important branch of morphology that plays a significant role in expanding the vocabulary. In the
process of word formation, several rules are adopted. The processes of word formation include blending,
clipping, affixation, conversion, borrowing, compounding, back formation, acronym and reduplication.

4.2.1 Blending

Blending, a morphological process of creating a new word, is done by combining parts of two or more
existing words in the same language. It is carried out by merging two or more words of the same language
or through the overlapping attribute of words in a way that it retains the meaning of the merged or
overlapped words. This is extremely popular in English language as hundreds of words are being produced

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annually with this word formation process. Examples of blends include:

breakfast + lunch = brunch

motor + hotel = motel

television + broadcast = telecast

education + entertainment = edutainment

smog + fog = smog

sex + exploitation = sexploitation

Words formed using the blending word-formation process are often informal. However, some of these
words have found their ways into the standard English.

4.2.2 Clipping

Clipping is a morphological process of creating new words by cutting part(s) of an existing word. Clipping
is a form of abbreviation done to make the original word shorter. It makes the clipped word more informal
and/or appealing. Clipping can be done at the initial position as in motorcar = car, hamburger = burger,
omnibus = bus, and so on; at the final position such as advertisement = ad, zoological garden = zoo,
demonstration = demo, among others; and at both initial and final position as in the case with ‘influenza =
flu.’

4.2.3 Affixation

Affixation is the morphological process of attaching an affix (prefix and/or suffix) to the root or base words
to form new words. This process is done by adding prefix and/or suffix to words. Affixation can maintain
or change the word class as the case may be. Examples include:

un (prefix) + holy (adjective) = unholy (adjective)

ir (prefix) + responsible (adjective) + ly (suffix) = irresponsibly (adverb)

urgent (adjective) + cy (suffix) = urgency (noun)

4.2.4 Conversion

Conversion is a morphological process that occurs when a word undergoes change in category without any

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reduction. Conversion occurs when there is a change in word class. When a word in a word-class is made
to function in the space of another word-class, conversion is said to have occurred. Examples include:

The boy was bullied by his seniors at school (from the noun ‘bully’).

The security manned the gate like his life depends on it (from the noun ‘man’).

Olaide bottled up her emotions (from the noun ‘bottle’).

I had a good read (from the verb ‘read’)

4.2.5 Borrowing

Borrowing as a morphological process is the act of taking words from one or more languages to fit into the
vocabulary of another. As the name implies, words are borrowed from another language into the target
language. Examples of borrowed words into English include person (from the Latin ‘persona’), they/their
(from Old Norse ‘Peir’) alcohol (from Arabic ‘al-kuhl), and so on.

4.2.6 Compounding

Compounding is the morphological process of joining at least two free morphemes to form a new word.
This means creating a word by adding two or more different words. Compound words take on a new
meaning, which is however related to the meaning of the other words merged. Examples include daydream,
bookcase, wallpaper, signpost, graveyard, etc. Also, it is important to note that not all compound words are
written together. While some are hyphenated (ice-cream), others can be spaced (traffic light). Not all
compound words are written together. Sometimes they can be hyphenated or separate.

Compound words can be classified into root compounds and synthetic compounds. Root compounds are
the compound words realized by only two free morphemes. Examples include foot-mat, wristwatch,
tablecloth, and so on. Synthetic compounds on the other hand are the compound words realized by the
addition of bound morpheme(s) to the free ones such as good-looking, firefighter, meeting point, etc.

4.2.6.1 Types of compounding

Nominal compounds: Nominal compound is a grammatical structure in which nouns are linked with
nouns or other class words to form new words that function as nouns. Nominal compounds can be realized
in the following forms:

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 a. N + N: barman, timetable, nutshell, tablecloth, pony tail, food-flask, seat-belt, etc.
b. Adj + N: greenhouse, high-chair, stronghold
c. [V + ing] + N: turning table, racing car, dancing girl, pressing iron, building-block, etc.
d. V + N: cease-fire, copyright, stopwatch, showroom, stopgap, etc.
e. N + [V + ing]: soothsaying, thanksgiving, credit rating, etc.

Adjectival compounds: Adjectival compound is a grammatical structure in which adjectives are linked
with other class words to form new words that function as adjectives. Nominal compounds can be realized
in the following forms:

a. N + Adj: accident-prone, carefree, etc.

b. N + [V + ing]: awe-inspiring, eye-catching, time-consuming, etc.
c. Adj + [V + ing]: good-looking, hard-drinking, etc.

4.2.7 Back formation

Back formation is a morphological process of creating a shorter word by removing an affix which was
thought to be part of the old word. Just like suffixation and conversion, back-formation is a word class
changing process. It is a process whereby the deletion of a morpheme or morpheme-like element result in a
change in word category. Examples include beg (from beggar), televise (from television), edit (from
editor), and so on.

4.2.8 Acronym

Acronym, a process of word-formation is a form of abbreviation in which words are formed through the
use of initials of the words, phrase or sentence. Here, phrase or sentence is reduced to a word. Examples
are: FAQs = frequently asked questions, LOL = laughing out loud, UN = United Nations, brb = be right
back and many other examples. Other forms of acronym include those that can be pronounced as words.
Such as NATO = North Atlantic Treaty Organization, AIDS = Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, PEN
= poets, essayists, novelists, and those that the letters are pronounced separately. These include TV =
television, UK = United Kingdom, BBC = British Broadcasting Corporation, among others. The former are
sometimes labelled as acronyms in a narrow sense, the latter as initialisms (Bauer 223).

4.2.9 Reduplication

This process of word formation involves the repetition in part or in whole of a morpheme to form a new
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word. Reduplication is a minor type of word-formation pattern where an element is repeated in identical
form such as ‘bye-bye’, or there is a vowel change such as ‘hip-hop’, or the two components rhyme as in
the case with ‘walkie-talkie’.

5.0 Syntax

As minimal units of speech form the data for phonetics and phonology and morphemes are the minimal
units for morphology, the sentence (made up of words, phrases or groups and clauses) are the minimal units
of syntax. Syntax can therefore be defined as the study of how words are arranged to form sentences.
Ndimele (77) defines syntax as “the branch of linguistics that is concerned with how words are arranged to
build up longer expressions.” In the words of Aitchison (8), “the term syntax as used in its broadest sense
refers to both the arrangement and the forms of word. It is the part of language which links together the
sound patterns and the meaning.” A syntactical construction is formed when two or more words are
arranged in a certain way. “Syntax is the aspect of grammar of a language which deals with how words are
put together to form sentences and how such sentences are interpreted in natural languages” (Yusuf 1997:
1).

Examining the above definitions critically, it is vivid that words are the building blocks syntax use to
produce phrase, clauses and sentences. Words in isolation make meaning but more meaning is attached to
them when used in conjunction with other words. The arrangements of words in an unsystematic and
disorganized way can also make words lose meaning. This explains why a native speaker of a language will
immediately sense when words are not properly arranged in line with the rules of sentence formation.
These rules are internalized and constitute the knowledge that a native speaker has of his or her language. It
is assumed in syntax that every native speaker of a language has the underlying competence to produce and
as well comprehend unlimited number of sentences in his language including sentences that he has never
said or heard before.

Examples: (a) English: The beautiful house collapsed

(b) Yoruba: Ile to rewa naa wo

It is evident in the examples given above that the syntactic rules of both languages differ. In example ‘a’
above, the order of arrangement is article + adjective + noun + verb whereas the order in example ‘b’ above
is noun + adjective + article + verb. While article and adjective precede noun in English language, they

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come after noun in Yoruba language. Each language and its rule of grammar and words in a language have
to be arranged according to the rules of that language to make meaning. Imagine a Yoruba sentence being
arranged in the syntactic order of English rule (naa rewa ile wo) or the English sentence arranged according
to the syntactic rule of Yoruba language (house beautiful the collapse).

6.0 Word Classes

For most scholars, the study of the arrangement of words to build up longer expressions starts with the
identification of word classes also known as ‘parts of speech.’ The parts of speech are classified into nine
types according to the grammarians, namely, noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition,
conjunction, interjection and determiners. According to the structural linguists, word classes can be
categorized into two broad groups, content words (nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs) and function
words (prepositions, conjunctions, intensifiers, determiners, quantifiers).

6.1 Content Words

Content words are words that possess semantic content such that they contribute to the meaning of the
sentence in which they occur. They have precise lexical meanings. The meanings of content words can be
found in the dictionary and they also have meaning when found in isolation. Content words include nouns,
verbs, adjectives and adverbs. They are also referred to as the ‘open class words.’ All of which will be
examined below.

6.1.1 Noun

Nouns are the bedrock of language, serving as identifiers for people, places, objects, or abstract concepts. A
noun is a naming word. Nouns are lexical items that refer to persons (John, man, Cynthia), places (market,
school, Abuja), things (chair, cup, umbrella), animals (cat, horse, goat) and concepts. They provide the
essential components necessary for constructing meaningful sentences and communication. Nouns
encompass a broad spectrum of entities, ranging from tangible objects to intangible ideas. Anything that
can be named can be regarded as a noun. Nouns, not always though, are often used with an article (the, a,
an). Nouns can be singular or plural and can function in different roles within a sentence. For instance, it
can function as a subject, direct object, indirect object, subject complement or object of a preposition.

Nouns can be further classified according to certain aspects. This means a type of noun can fall into more
than one category of noun depending on its attributes. Types of nouns include:

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6.1.1.1 Proper Nouns

A proper noun is the specific name given to a person, object, place, occasion or thing such as Joy, Ogunpa,
Imo, Lexus, Christmas, etc. Proper nouns always start with capital letters. All days of the week
(Wednesday, Friday, etc.) and months of the year (May, June, December, etc.) are also examples of proper
noun and they all start with capital letters.

6.1.1.2 Common Nouns

Common nouns are general names or group names. Common nouns do not start with capital letters unless
they start the sentence. Examples of common noun include woman, boy, table, river, and so on.

6.1.1.3 Concrete Nouns

Concrete nouns are the names of things we can see and touch. They are also regarded as material nouns.
Examples include pen, tree, chair, book, box, etc. The nouns in this category can be counted.

6.1.1.4 Abstract Noun

Abstract nouns are names of things that cannot be seen or touched but can be felt, perceived. Abstract
nouns do not have physical existence. Some nouns in this category are difficult to identify and are
sometimes mixed up with adjectives. Abilities and emotions are abstract nouns. Examples include joy,
love, bravely, strength, wisdom, determination, etc.

6.1.1.5 Collective Noun

Collective nouns are words that denote groups’ collection. These nouns are used as singular in British
English and can either be used as singular or plural in American English. Examples of collective nouns
include flock, troop, army, team, among others.

6.1.1.6 Countable Nouns

A countable or count noun is a noun that can be counted in numbers. For instance, we can have one bottle,
two bottles, three bottles and so on. Count nouns are separable and countable. All concrete nouns fall into
this category e.g. book, plate, man, etc. Count nouns also have singular and plural forms such as
book/books, plate/plates, man/men.

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6.1.1.7 Uncountable Nouns

Uncountable nouns also known as non-counts are the type of noun that cannot be counted except when
they are measured in units. They are without plural forms. All abstract nouns fall into the category of
uncountable nouns. Examples of non-counts include water, oil, sand, salt, sugar, hatred, greed, among
others.

6.1.1.8 Compound Nouns

Compound nouns are nouns made up of more than one word. These are compound or complex words that
function as nouns. Examples include water bottle, show-off, eye-opener, etc. Some compound nouns form
their plural by adding ‘s’ to the principal word e.g. sisters-in-law.

6.1.1.9 Gerund Nouns

Gerunds are verbs that end with ‘ing’ and represent actions. They have verb-like attributes though they
function differently from verbs. For instance:

(a) Sola is dancing

(b) Sola is fond of dancing

In the sentences above, dancing is used to function in different ways. In sentence (a) for instance, it
functions as a verb. It is the action being performed by Sola in this sentence. Whereas, it functions as a
gerund noun in sentence (b) above. ‘dancing’ here signifies the entity that Sola is fond of.

6.1.1.10 Gender-Specific Nouns

These are the types of nouns that are definitely male or female. Examples include vixen, actor, blonde,
king, princess, etc.

6.1.1.11 Verbal Nouns

Verbal nouns are the forms of nouns derived from verbs. They do not have verb-like attributes. Examples
of verbal nouns include building, drawing, attack.

6.1.2 Verbs

The verb in a sentence expresses action or being. It shows the happening or state of something. Verbs are
fundamental components of language that express actions, states, or occurrences within a sentence. They
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serve as the central elements driving the meaning and structure of sentences, conveying information about
what is happening, has happened, or will happen. Verbs are indispensable for articulating various
grammatical functions, including indicating tense, aspect, mood, and voice. A verb must agree with its
subject in number. It is either both are singular or both are plural. Verbs also take different forms to express
tense. Verb is the most important part of any sentence.

6.1.2.1 Types of Verbs

Verbs exhibit diverse characteristics and can be classified into several types, each serving specific
functions. The types of verbs include lexical verbs, auxiliary verbs, transitive verbs, intransitive verbs,
regular verbs and irregular verbs.

6.1.2.1.1 Lexical (main) Verbs

These verbs denote physical or mental actions performed by a subject. They have independent dictionary
meaning. Examples include run, eat, write, think, sleep, etc.

6.1.2.1.2 Auxiliary (helping) Verbs

Auxiliary verbs connect the subject of a sentence with a subject complement, typically describing a state or
condition. These verbs cannot occur alone in a sentence unless they are followed by lexical or main verbs.
Helping verbs do not have independent dictionary meaning. Rather, they are used to express how the
lexical verb is perceived.

In English, there are two types of auxiliary verbs. These are the primary auxiliary and the modal auxiliary.
The primary auxiliaries are HAVE and its variants (have, has and had), DO and its variants (do, does and
did) and BE and its variants (be, am, is, was, are, were, been and being). Instances of primary auxiliary
verbs can be found in the following sentences:

(a) John has eaten the food.

(b) John does eat food.

(c) John is eating rice.

However, it is important to note that a primary auxiliary verb can also function as the main verb of a
sentence. For instance:

15
(d) David has a book

Modal verbs express possibility, necessity, permission, or obligation, often indicating the attitude or stance
of the speaker. These include can, must, should, might, will, shall, etc. They are normally used to reflect the
mood of the speaker.

(e) Stacy must leave the room now [Obligation]

(f) May I see you? [Permission]

6.1.2.1.3 Transitive Verbs

Transitive verbs are those verbs that obligatorily cooccur with object complements. They require a direct
object to complete their meaning. A transitive verb may be monotransitive or ditransitive. A monotransitive
verb requires only one object complement (e.g. He killed the rat) while a ditransitive verb can take two
object complements (e.g. John gave Mary a book).

6.1.2.1.4 Intransitive Verbs

Intransitive verbs do not require a direct object to complete their meaning. For instance, run (as in – He
runs). Other examples include fall, shine, decay, etc.

6.1.2.1.5 Regular Verbs

Regular verbs follow standard conjugation patterns to indicate tense and aspect. Example: walk (infinitive),
walked (past tense), walking (present participle).

6.1.2.1.5 Irregular Verbs

Irregular verbs do not adhere to typical conjugation patterns and often undergo unpredictable changes in
form. Example: go (infinitive), went (past tense), gone (past participle).

6.1.3 Adjectives

An adjective is a word used to modify or describe a noun or a pronoun. It usually answers the question of
which one, what kind, or how many. Adjectives denote qualities. Examples are happy, bad, big, small,
white, dark, etc. Also, they are gradable. Thus, can admit degree modifiers (e.g. very happy, too bad, very
dark). An adjective can be used attributively or predicatively. Adjectives can also be classified into
16
variables and invariables.

6.1.3.1 Attributive Adjectives

An adjective is used attributively when it follows or precedes the noun it modifies. In English, attributive
adjectives follow the nouns they modify as seen in the examples below.

(a) A happy man

(b) A bad wife

6.1.3.2 Predicative Adjective

A predicative adjective occurs as part of the predicate of a sentence after a linking verb. Examples are as
follows:

(a) He is happy

(b) She is bad.

6.1.3.3 Variable Adjectives

Some adjectives in English have comparative and superlative forms. To mark the comparative form, some
adjectives admit the ‘-er’ suffix while the superlative form is marked by the ‘-est’ suffix (e.g. short - shorter
- shortest). These adjectives that take the ‘-er’ and ‘-est’ suffixes are referred to as variable adjectives.

6.1.3.4 Invariable Adjectives

Some other adjectives admit the words more and most to mark their comparative and superlative degrees
respectively and they are referred to as invariable adjectives. Examples of invariable adjectives include
important (as in important - more important - most important), beautiful (as in beautiful - more beautiful -
most beautiful).

6.1.4 Adverbs

Adverbs are words that provide specific information about place, time, or manner to the meaning of a verb,
an adjective or even a whole sentence (Ndimele 1999). An adverb describes or modifies a verb, an
adjective, or another adverb, but never a noun. It usually answers the questions of when (adverb of time),

17
where (adverb of place), how (adverb of manner), why (adverb of reason), how often (adverb of
frequency), or to what degree (adverb of degree). Adverbs often end in’ -ly.’ Examples of adverbs include
slowly, quickly, suddenly, etc. In most languages including English, adverbs are very mobile and can occur
initially, medially or at the final position in a sentence. For instance:

(a) Quickly, Mercy ate the food.

(b) Mercy quickly ate the food.

(c) Mercy ate the food quickly.

Some adverbs are also gradable and can be modified by intensifiers (e.g. very quickly) while others can
admit the ‘-er’ and ‘-est’ suffixes to indicate comparative and superlative degrees respectively (e.g. soon -
sooner - soonest). Adverbs can also be irregular in marking their comparative and superlative degrees (such
as little - less - least).

6.2 Function Words

Function words do not have clear lexical meaning. For instance, ‘of’ may mean possession (e.g. The house
of my father) and it may also mean the relationship of an action and its object (e.g. The running of the
thief). Function words include pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, determiners and intensifiers. They are
also referred to as the ‘closed class words.’ A closed class of item is one of fixed and usually small
membership (Lyons 436). The membership of items in this category cannot be extended to accommodate
new members and words that belong to this closed class set do not have very significant dictionary
meaning.

6.2.1 Pronouns

Pronouns are words, which serve as substitutes to nouns (Noun Phrases). They are used in place of nouns.
A pronoun is usually substituted for a specific noun, which is called its antecedent. It is used as a substitute
for a noun to avoid repetition of the noun.

6.2.1.1 Types of Pronouns

Pronouns are categorized into many types. These include personal pronoun, possessive pronoun, indefinite
pronoun, relative pronoun, demonstrative pronoun, interrogative pronoun, reflexive pronoun, and
reciprocal pronoun.

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6.2.1.1.1 Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns refer to specific persons or things. They can either be subjective (replace the subject) or
objective (replace the object). Personal pronouns include I, you, we, they, he, she, me us, and it.

6.2.1.1.2 Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns indicate ownership and possession. Possessive pronouns can be further categorized
into strong or absolute possessive pronouns and weak possessive pronouns. Strong possessive pronouns
refer to a noun or noun phrase already used, replacing it to avoid repetition. Examples include mine, yours,
hers, his, theirs and ours. Weak possessive pronouns, on the other hand, function as a determiner in front of
a noun to express whom something belongs to. Examples are my, your, her, his, their and our.

6.2.1.1.3 Indefinite Pronouns

Indefinite pronouns refer to something that is not definite in a sentence. They do not refer to a particular
person or thing. Indefinite pronouns are used when an object does not need to be specifically identified.
They can be further classified into singular indefinite pronouns (such as somebody, something, anybody,
another, either, neither, no one, among others) and plural indefinite pronouns (many, several, both,
everybody, few and others).

6.2.1.1.4 Relative Pronouns

A relative pronoun is a pronoun that relates the relative clause to another clause within a sentence. Relative
pronouns introduce the relative or adjectival clause. These include who, which, that, whichever, whose,
what, whoever, whomever and whom.

6.2.1.1.5 Demonstrative Pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns identify, point to, or refer to nouns. They can be singular or plural. The main
demonstrative pronouns are this, that, those, these, and such.

6.2.1.1.6 Interrogative Pronoun

Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions about things we are not yet aware of. Examples of
interrogative pronouns are what, which, where, when, who, how, whatsoever, etc. Interrogative pronouns
do not have antecedents because you are not yet sure that they really are!

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6.2.1.1.7 Reflexive Pronouns

Reflexive pronouns are used when the subject and the object of a sentence refer to the same person or
thing. They are used to emphasize another noun or pronoun and end in ‘-self’ or ‘-selves.’ Examples
include yourself, himself, myself, herself, themselves, ourselves, yourselves and itself.

6.2.1.1.8 Reciprocal Pronouns

A reciprocal pronoun is a pronoun that we use to identify a feeling or any kind of action that is reciprocated
between two people or more. The two reciprocal pronouns are each other and one another. They are used to
indicate that two or more people are involved in the same action. For instance, if Jane is teasing Lizzy and
Lizzy is teasing Jane, we say:

“Jane and Lizzy are teasing each other.”

6.2.2 Prepositions

Prepositions are words that express some kind of relation with respect to time or space between things and
events (Hurford 1994). A preposition is a word placed before a noun or pronoun to form a phrase
modifying another word in the sentence. Prepositions denote in what relation the person or thing indicated
by it exists in relation to something else. Examples include: on the table; in the house; with John, across
the road, etc.

6.2.2.1 Classifications of Prepositions

Prepositions can be classified into the following categories: simple prepositions, double prepositions,
compound prepositions, phrasal prepositions, particle prepositions, and detached prepositions. All which
will be extensively discussed.

6.2.2.1.1 Simple (Single) Prepositions

Simple prepositions are used to denote a relation between nouns or pronouns. They can also be used to join
different parts of sentences and clauses. Simple prepositions are one-word prepositions. Examples of
simple prepositions include in, out, on, up, at, for, from, by, of, off, through, till, etc.

6.2.2.1.2 Double Prepositions

Double Prepositions are made by putting together two single prepositions. That is why they are called

20
double prepositions. Examples of double prepositions are onto, into, throughout, up till, up to, within,
without, upon, etc.

6.2.2.1.3 Compound Prepositions

Compound Prepositions are usually formed by prefixing a Preposition to Nouns, Adjectives or Adverbs.
They are different from double prepositions because they are not formed by two single prepositions.
Examples include above, about, across, along, before, behind, beside, inside, outside, etc.

6.2.2.1.4 Phrasal Prepositions

Phrasal Prepositions are groups of words or phrases that join the noun or pronoun in a sentence, to the
remainder of the sentence. These groups of words express a single idea by coming together as a unit. Words
that come under the category of phrasal prepositions are as follows: in addition to, by means of, in spite of,
according to, owing to, in favor of, etc.

6.2.2.1.5 Particle Prepositions

Participle Prepositions, indicating from their name, are the Present Participle forms of Verbs. These are
used without any noun or pronoun attached with them. Particle prepositions include: concerning,
considering, barring, notwithstanding, touching, pending, during, etc.

6.2.2.1.6 Detached Prepositions

A preposition is called a detached preposition when it does not come before its object. It is detached from
its object. When the object of a preposition is an interrogative pronoun or a relative pronoun, the
preposition comes at the end of the sentence. For example:

(a) She is the woman whom I was talking about.

(b) Here are the books that you asked for.
6.2.3 Conjunctions

A conjunction joins words, phrases, or clauses, and indicates the relationship between the elements joined.
There are two kinds of conjunction, the correlative conjunction and compound conjunction. Correlative
conjunctions (such as Either -or, neither -nor, both -and, though-yet, whether -or, not only -but also) are
used as pairs. While compound conjunction include: in order that, as if, as soon as, as well as, inasmuch as,
provided that, even if, etc.

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6.2.3.1 Classification of Conjunction

Conjunctions can be classified into two broad categories: a coordinating conjunction and a subordinating
conjunction.

6.2.3.1.1 Coordinating Conjunction

The word Co-coordinating means 'of equal rank'. The conjunctions which join together two sentences or
clauses or equal rank or significance are known as Co-coordinating Conjunctions. They connect two
independent clauses together. Coordinating conjunctions are as follows: and, but, for, nor, or, also,
neither/nor, either/or.

Coordinating conjunctions can be further classified into cumulative conjunctions, adversative conjunctions,
disjunctive conjunction and illative conjunction. Cumulative (copulative) conjunctions simply add one
clause to another e.g. The cat got up and ran very fast.

Adversative conjunctions are used to indicate opposition or contrast between two statements or clauses e.g.
He is ill, but he is getting better. Disjunctive (alternative) conjunctions are used to present two sentences
which provide two alternatives e.g. You must quit smoking, or you will get seriously ill. Illative
conjunctions denote inferences. They make an assumption in one statement based on the condition in the
other statement e.g. I have been applying for colleges everywhere, so I will definitely get in one.

6.2.3.1.2 Subordinating Conjunction

The conjunctions which join together an independent clause to a dependent clause are called Subordinating
Conjunctions. Examples of subordinating conjunctions include after, before, because, if, till, as, that,
though, although, unless, etc.

Subordinating conjunction can be further classified according to their meanings into subordinating
conjunctions of time, subordinating conjunctions of cause, subordinating conjunctions of purpose,
subordinating conjunctions of consequence, subordinating conjunctions of condition, subordinating
conjunctions of concession, and subordinating conjunctions of comparison.

Subordinating conjunctions of time are used to indicate time of happening of something e.g. I went home
after the sunset. Subordinating conjunctions of cause also called conjunctions of reason are used to show
the cause and effect of something. They give the reason behind the happening of something e.g. She baked

22
a cake because it was her birthday. Subordinating conjunctions of purpose denote the purpose of things,
that is, why something was done or why something happened e.g. He ate, so that he won't be hungry.
Subordinating conjunctions of consequence show the result of some happening. For this reason, they are
also Conjunctions of Result. Example include ‘She worked so many hours that she could barely sit.’
Subordinating conjunctions of condition are used to express that something will happen if some other thing
is done. Or what will happen if the condition of one clause is fulfilled e.g. She will work if she gets paid
handsomely. Subordinating conjunctions of concession concede or state a fact or idea regardless of what
claim is made in the main clause e.g. Even though he was rich, he never looked down upon anyone.
Finally, Subordinating conjunctions of comparison are used to show comparison between two things, in
two statements e.g. She is stronger than her friend.

6.2.4 Determiners

Determiners are words that are placed before nouns or adjectives to signal the presence of nouns, noun
phrases or adjective in a sentence. A determiner limits or modifies the reference of a noun or noun phrase.
The word ‘determiner’ has become a cover term for a group of words that include articles (a, an, the),
demonstratives (this, that, these, those), possessive pronouns (my, your, his, her), quantifiers (all, some,
most) cardinals (one, two, etc.) and ordinals (first, second, third, etc.). They are also known as
determinatives.

6.2.4.1 Article

The adjectives 'a', 'an' and 'the' are usually called Articles. Articles are function words. There are two kinds
of articles: definite article and indefinite article. An article that is used to point some specific person or
thing is called a definite article. 'The' is the only definite article. The articles 'a' and an 'are' called Indefinite
Articles because the place or thing talked about is not particular and is left indefinite.

6.2.4.2 Demonstrative Determiners

These determiners are used to demonstrate a specific thing or identity of that thing. The words that come
under the category of demonstrative determiners are this, that, these and those. Examples include:

 I like to paint these pictures.

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  She patted that dog yesterday.
6.2.4.3 Possessive Determiners

Possessive determiners are functions words that are used before a noun to show possession or ownership of
something. The words that come under the category of possessive determiners are my, your, our, her, his,
their and its. Examples include:

 My apartment keys were lost.

 His shop has all kinds of crafts in it.
6.2.4.4 Quantifiers

Quantifiers are the function words that are used before nouns to tell about the quantity of something. These
include all, no, any, many, some, few, a little, a lot, etc.

 I only have some papers left.

 There is a little sausage on the pizza.
6.2.4.5 Interrogative Determiners

Interrogative determiners are the function words which are used to pose questions. They are also called
‘wh’ determiners because they all have 'wh' at the start. These include what, which, whatever, whichever,
whoever, whose etc.

 Whose papers were not signed?

 Which college are you going to apply for this summer?

6.2.4.6 Distributive Determiner

Distributive Determiners are the type of function words that refer to things or people of a group or the
whole group. The words that come under the category of Distributive determiners include every, each, all,
both, either, neither, half, etc. Examples include:

 Each employee was given a raise in salary.

 All drinks were spilled.
6.2.4.7 Cardinal Numbers

Cardinal Numbers are also used to indicate quantity. However, they show it using numbers and counting.

24
These include: one, two, three, twelve, a hundred, two thousand, etc. For example:

 There are six people in the car.

6.2.4.8 Ordinal Numbers

Ordinal Numbers are the function words that are used to indicate order or position of
people, things or events. These include first, second, third, etc.
 The third person on the front row is his brother.
6.2.5 Intensifiers

Intensifiers also known as degree modifiers refer to the class of words that modify adverbs and adjectives,
expressing the degree to which a particular quality is found in an entity. Examples of intensifiers are too,
very, quite, extremely.

7.0 Phrases

A phrase is a word or group of words joined together according to rules of the grammar of a language and
functions as a noun. Normally a phrase has a head and every phrase type derives its name from the head.
This means that the head of a phrase is the obligatory element in a phrase. Other words that can occur with
the head word within a phrase are mere modifiers to the head.

7.1 Types of Phrases

There are different types of phrases according to the function they perform. They are noun phrase (NP)
verb phrase (VP), adjective phrase (AdjP), adverb phrase (AdvP), and prepositional phrase (PP).

7.1.1 Noun Phrase (NP)

The obligatory element within the NP is the noun. The NP can function as the subject of a sentence, the
direct or indirect object of a verb or the object of a preposition. Examples include:

(a) The book is mine. (subject)

(b) James ate one fish (direct object)
(c) He gave the beautiful lady a ride (indirect object)
(d) She puts the blanket on the bed (object of preposition)

7.1.2 Verb Phrase (VP)

25
The obligatory element in the verb phrase is a verb and the verb phrase traditionally functions as the
predicate in a sentence. The predicate is the part of the sentence that says something about the subject.
Examples are:

(a) The dog died.

(b) The dog played at the park.

7.1.3 Adjectival Phrase (AdjP)

In the adjective phrase the head is also the adjective. Examples of adjectival phrase include:

(a) The man is tall.

(b) He is fond of her.

7.1.4 Adverbial Phrase (AdvP)

Adverbs function as the most important word in adverbial phrases. Within the adverb phrase, there may be
other elements that function as mere modifiers and these may occur before or after the head adverb.
Examples include:

(a) He ate the food quickly.

(b) He ate the food very quickly.

7.1.5 Prepositional Phrase (PP)

The prepositional phrase obligatorily comprises its head, a preposition and a complement. Examples of
prepositional phrase include:

(a) He is in the house.

(b) He is not sure of what they will do today.
(c) He came after eating.

8.0 Clauses

A clause is the basic unit of grammar. A clause is a group of words that can form part of a larger sentence.
Some clauses can stand on their own having a subject, a predicate and a finite verb. In this sense, a clause
can also be seen as a simple sentence.

8.1 Types of Clauses

26
There are two types of clauses. These are main clause and subordinate clause. They will be discussed
below.

8.1.1 Main Clause

A main clause (also known as independent clause) is not dependent on any other structure but stands on its
own as an independent structure. A main clause can be a simple sentence. They are always finite. A main
clause is made up of a subject (S) (a noun phrase) and a verb phrase (V). Sometimes, the verb phrase is
accompanied by other elements such as objects (O), complements (C), and adjuncts (Ad). These other
elements are essential to complete the meaning of the clause. Adjuncts are not necessarily essential but they
give more meaning to the main clause. Examples are underlisted:

(a) Jolene smiled

(S) (V)
(b) They have posted all the invitations
(S) (V) (O)
(c) Sarah does not feel well
(S) (V) (C)
(d) I will call you later
(S) (V) (O) (Ad)

8.1.2 Subordinate Clause

A subordinate clause (also known as dependent clause) does not stand on its own but must be subordinated
within a main clause where it normally functions as the equivalent of a part of a word class. They cannot
form sentences on their own. They can be finite or non-finite. There are different types of subordinate
clauses and they include the noun clause, the adjectival clause, and the adverbial clause.

8.1.2.1 Noun Clause

A noun clause is a type of subordinate clause that typically functions as a noun. Noun clauses replace
individual nouns in a sentence no matter how long the noun clause might be and can be used as a subject, a
direct object, an indirect object, a prepositional object or a predicate nominative. Noun clauses contain
extra verbs for more details. They can begin with relative pronouns, indefinite relative pronouns and
subordinating conjunctions. Examples are as follows:

27
 (a) That John came to the party surprised everybody. (subject)
(b) I couldn’t see whether it was day or night (direct object)
(c) She told whoever would listen to her sad story (indirect object)
(d) The citizens want to hear about why you are running for president (prepositional object)
(e) Is this what you wanted? (predicate nominative)
8.1.2.2 Adjectival Clause

An adjectival clause functions as an adjective by modifying a nominal element. They allow the
combination of two sentences into one by using relative pronouns as connectors. Examples include:

(a) The man who came here is my uncle.

(b) The candidate whom many people admire won by a landslide
(c) I don’t know why my cousin ran away.
8.1.2.3 Adverbial Clause

An adverbial clause functions like an adverb. It normally gives information about how, when, where and to
what extent an action is performed. They give the reader the description of an adjective and an adverb.
Adverbial clause can occur at the initial position, the medial position or the final position. The types of
adverbial clause include adverbial clause of time, adverbial clause of place, adverbial clause of manner,
adverbial clause of degree, adverbial clause of reason, adverbial clause of condition and adverbial clause of
concession.

8.1.2.3.1 Types and Examples of Adverbial Clause

All the types of adverbial clauses mentioned above function as their names implies. Here are some
examples:

(a) Keep hitting the gong until I tell you to stop. (adverbial clause of time)
(b) I will tell the good news wherever I go (adverbial clause of place)
(c) He acts like it is a joke (adverbial clause of manner)
(d) He is as smart as he is tall (adverbial clause of degree)
(e) I do not have any business there since you are going (adverbial clause of reason)
(f) If your words don’t add up, you are going to prison (adverbial clause of condition)
(g) Although golf was originally restricted to wealthy, overweight Protestants, today it is open to
anybody who owns hideous clothing (adverbial clause of concession).
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9.0 Sentences

A sentence is the largest grammatical unit and it consists a group of words related to each other. A sentence
is used to express a complete thought. Grammatically, a sentence is complete only when it has a subject
and a predicate. However, the subject of a sentence can be a noun, a pronoun or any other nominal
expression about which something is being said. The predicate, on the other hand, is the part of the
sentence that gives information about the subject. Sentences can be broadly categorized based on their
structure and function.

9.1 Structural Classification of Sentence

Sentence structures are how sentences are formed. Based on the structural criterion, sentences are classified
into simple sentence, compound sentence, complex sentence and compound-complex sentence.

9.1.1 Simple Sentence

A simple sentence comprises a subject and a predicate (that contains a finite verb). It contains only one
main clause. Example: (a) The man is a teacher. (b) She wrote.

9.1.2 Compound Sentence

A compound sentence contains two (or more) independent simple sentences that may be linked with a
comma, coordinating conjunction or a semicolon. Examples: (a) John swept the house and Mary cooked
the food. (b) He organized his sources by theme; then, he updated his reference list.

9.1.3 Complex Sentence

A complex sentence contains a main clause with one or more subordinate clauses. Subordinate clauses can
refer to the subject, the time or the casual element of the main clause. If a sentence begins with a
subordinate clause, it will be followed by a comma but if the sentence begins with a main clause, there is
no comma separating the two clauses. For instance: (a) John believed the story that Mary married Peter.
(b) Because he organized his sources by theme, it was easier for his readers to follow (c) They studied
APA rules for many hours as they were so interesting.

9.1.4 Compound-Complex Sentence

A compound-complex sentence is the combination of a compound and a complex sentence just as the name

29
implies. This type of sentence contains at least two main clauses and at least one subordinate clause.
Examples include: (a) Although I haven’t been to England, I have traveled the whole of Africa and I plan
to visit Asia. (b) We will pick the ticket, since it is not costly, and contest for political posts, even if we
won’t win.

9.2 Functional Classification of Sentence

The function of a sentence lets us know the purpose of the sentence. Based on functional criterion,
sentences are classified into declarative sentence, interrogative sentence, imperative sentence and
exclamatory sentence.

9.2.1 Declarative Sentence

A declarative sentence states a fact or a proposition. It usually makes a statement and ends with a full stop.
Declarative sentences also give opinion and provide information. Examples: (a) The man is a teacher. (b) It
is warm in Thailand.

9.2.2 Interrogative Sentence

An interrogative sentence is used in asking questions. It demands a verbal response from the addressee. It
ends with a question mark. Types of interrogative sentences are ‘Yes/No interrogatives, alternative
interrogatives, WH interrogatives, Negative interrogatives and tag questions.’ Examples: (a) What is your
name? (b) Where did you go?

9.2.3 Imperative Sentence

Imperative sentences give commands or make requests. Examples are: (a) Bring the cup! (b) Stop talking
about the job! (c) Buy them some gifts!

9.2.4 Exclamatory Sentence

Exclamatory sentences express strong feelings and emotions such as surprise, excitement, etc. They make
exclamations and therefore end with exclamation marks. For instance: (a) What a wicked world! (b) Oh,
how lovely!

10.0 Conclusion

Grammar is a set of rules that explain how words are used in a language. Before a speaker can efficiently

30
 use a language, he/she must have the basic knowledge of how words are formed (this is the area of
morphology), after which the speaker then employs the rules of sentence formation in that language (this is
the area of syntax). Morphemes are the building blocks of words while syntax is very central to human
communication. We can relate the relationship between the levels of linguistic analysis to ‘division of
labour.’ One level is important to the other to form the grammar of any given language.

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