THE UNIVERSITY OF BAMENDA FUNCTIONAL ENGLISH UNIT

FUNCTIONAL ENGLISH I
FENG 2101
Course Coordinator: Dr ATOH
Instructors: Lecturers of the Unit

Day: XXXXX Time: 02 hours Lecture hall: XXXXXX

Status: University Requirement Credit Value: 2

Description
This is a level 200 course intended for all students in the university.

Aims / Objectives
The aim of this course is to improve on the communication skills of students. It is meant to initiate
learners to proper means of expression. The core content of this course is speaking.

Outcomes
At the end of the course, students should be able to:
- identify the lexical categories of the English language
- identify some wrong commonly used expressions
- understand how and when to use reported speech and direct speech
- distinguish between the active and passive voice

Teaching and Learning Strategies

This course will be delivered by means of weekly lectures,

Course outline
WEEK SLOT CONTENT L T P
DAY TIME
ONE Revision of sounds of the English alphabet X
NOUNS: Proper, common, collective, abstract, concrete
TWO NOUNS: Compound nouns, X
Noun endings, count nouns, non-count nouns
THREE ADJECTIVES: Definition, position in a sentence, Proper X
adjectives, descriptive adjectives, ordinal adjectives
Punctuation in adjectives, attributive and predicative
adjectives, ordering adjectives
Comparison; regular and irregular adjectives
FOUR VERBS : Action verbs, linking verbs, auxiliary verbs, X
regular and irregular verbs
FIVE Phrasal verbs, prepositions X
Subject verb agreement
SIX Verb forms: past, present, future, progressive X
DETERMINERS: indefinite article, definite article, zero
article, quantifiers
SEVEN CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT X

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EIGHT PRONOUNS: Possessive, reflexive, reciprocal, X
interrogative, indefinite
NINE CONJUNCTIONS : coordinating, subordinating, X
correlative
ADVERBS
TEN Direct vs Reported speech X
Rules and format
Active vs passive voice
Rules and format
ELEVEN Sentence structure: simple, compound, complex, X
compound-complex
Aspects of usage
TWELVE Socializing X
General Revision
Evaluation: Continuous assessment = 30%
End of course exam = 70%

Selected bibliography
Neba, A. F. & Tabah, E. N. (2016). An English grammar and writing course, new edition. Buea:
Anucam Educational Book Plc
Wandji, E. F. (). From ideas to essay: A writing coach for writers. ISBN 978-9956-621-75-7

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SECTION A: GRAMMAR
NOUNS
A noun refers to the name of a person, place, animal, idea, quality or condition. Basically, it performs
the function of “naming”. We have the following types of nouns
- Proper nouns
These are names of specific persons (Ngwa, Julia, Job etc), places (Kumbo, Mbve, Ntaafi,
Washington etc) and things (Mungo bridge, River Mezam etc). They are always capitalized in
sentences.
Examples
Ngwa bought a Samsung Ipad for Lum while on vacation in Limbe.
Kumbo is the capital of Bui division.
Chibuzo’s uncle is a Ghanaian.

- Common nouns
Common nouns are not specific names; they are used for naming in the generic sense e.g man instead
of Mokom, city instead of Bambili etc. other examples include names of professions e.g doctor,
teacher, lawyer, nurse, actor etc. These nouns are not capitalized unless at the beginning of sentences.
Examples
Women have been marginalized over the years.
The fight for the emancipation of women has been ongoing.

- Collective nouns
This is a noun used to name a group of things e.g team, class, batch, group, army, orchestra, collection
etc. Collective nouns are usually used in association with a plural noun which indicates the members
of the group.
Examples
We saw a bevy of girls during the Open Door day.
There was a swarm of bees on that tree yesterday.
Other examples of collective nouns:
Pack of wolves, flight of birds/stairs, herd of cattle,
flock of sheep, nest of ants, pride of lions,
poultry (fowls/ducks), clutch of eggs, troop of monkeys
pillar of fire, board of directors,
gang of thieves, party of friends
shoal of herring, congregation of Christians
harem of wives, college of bishops etc
N.B: When collective nouns are used as the subject of the sentence, they agree with a singular verb.
E.g
The swarm of bees has moved eastwards.
* The swarm of bees have moved eastwards.

- Abstract nouns
These nouns name ideas – freedom, choice; quality – honesty, reputation, beauty; and condition –
shyness, madness, etc. Other abstract nouns such as fear, peace, confidence, disgrace do not fall into
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any of these categories. Most abstract nouns are derived from other words especially verbs and
adjectives. Examples include
Verb Abstract noun Adjective Abstract noun
Confide confidence Free Freedom
Choose choice Happy Happiness
Govern Governance/government Mad Madness
Timid Timidity

- Concrete nouns
Concrete nouns relate to anything that can be perceived by the five senses of feeling and sight – chair,
Eposi, house; taste – salt, sugar; smell – odour, scent; and hearing – sound, noise etc
Examples
The noise was deafening.
It is very cold in Bambili these days.
The garri I ate had no sugar.

- Compound nouns
These nouns are formed by putting more than one noun together. They can be:
a) written as one word; Major General, District Attorney, Commanding Officer, Chief Judge, high
school, rat poison etc
b) hyphenated; cross-roads, mother-in-law, time-bomb etc OR
c) as a single word; deadline, sandpaper, nightclub, blackboard etc
The plural forms of such words are attached to the ‘head word’ i.e the word which carries the meaning
of the word e.g table-knife becomes table-knives and not tables-knife because we are referring to a
specific kind of knife.

- Count nouns
These are nouns which can form a plural. This class of nouns is usually followed by an indefinite
article (a, an) or a number.
Examples
A lecturer is in class.
An orange is missing.
Twenty students are present.

Count nouns take the plural when they name more than one entity. Generally, the plural is obtained
by adding the suffix –s e.g
House – houses
Boy – boys etc
There will result some variation in plural formation because of certain noun endings e.g
Regular nouns
Hat Hats
Pencil Pencils
Key Keys
Change Changes
Page Pages
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Student Students
Albino Albinos
Alto Altos
Studio Studios
Ratio Ratios
Nouns ending in ch, sh, s, x or z
Branch Branches
Pass Passes
Bus Buses
Dish Dishes
Church Churches
Match Matches
Buzz buzzes
Box Boxes
Fox Foxes
Nouns ending in y, preceded by a consonant
Baby Babies
Story Stories
Nouns ending in fe and f
Calf Calves
Half Halves
Leaf Leaves
Knife Knives
Wife Wives
Life Lives
* Chief Chiefs
* Proof Proofs
However, some nouns form their plurals both ways
Hoof Hooves / hoofs
Scarf Scarves / scarfs
Staff Staves / staffs
Wharf Wharves / wharfs
Nouns ending in -o and take -es
Echo Echoes
Volcano Volcanoes
Mosquito Mosquitoes
Hero Heroes
Potato Potatoes
Some nouns ending in -o and take –es/-s
Cargo Cargoes / cargos
Innuendo Innuendoes / innuendos
Tornado Tornadoes / tornados
Archipelago Archipelagoes / archipelagos
Foreign words: these are borrowed from other languages but words of Greek or Latin origin take
the plural forms as in the languages of origin
Analysis Analyses
Axis Axes
Criterion Criteria
Forum Fora
Hypothesis Hypotheses
Stadium Stadia
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Nebula nebulae
Medium Media
Nucleus Nuclei
Phenomenon Phenomena
Stimulus Stimuli
Stratum Strata
Vertebra Vertebrae
Spectrum Spectra
Focus Foci
Locus Loci
For numbers, letters and other symbols, add –’s
3 3’s
g g’s
% %’s
Irregular nouns
Child Children
Man Men
Woman Women
Gentleman Gentlemen
Tooth Teeth
Louse Lice
Goose Geese
Ox Oxen
Some nouns do not change in their plural forms
Deer Deer
Sheep Sheep
Salmon Salmon

- Non-count nouns
This class is better known as the class of uncountable nouns. These are nouns that cannot take a
plural form i.e they cannot be preceded by an indefinite article or a number. Such nouns include all
abstract nouns and a few concrete nouns like rice, bread, coffee etc
NB: Non count nouns cannot take a plural form but may when used with some words/expressions of
measurement.
Examples
Three loaves of bread, five cups of rice, a bucket of milt
Four types of freedom,

Gender
English has a weak gender system but we should be sensitive to gender specification where
appropriate especially in the case of animals. However, in public speaking today, the language is
opting for more neutral words because of gender equality e.g
Word preferred Instead of
Chairperson Chairman
Salesperson/ clerk Salesman
Police officer Policeman
Head teacher Head master
Handmade / artificial Manmade
Personnel / staff Man power etc

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DETERMINERS
This is a word that makes specific the identification of a noun. The class of determiners includes:
- Articles; a, an, the
- Quantifiers; many, more, most, any, some, several, a few, little etc
- Demonstratives; this, that, these, those,
- Possessives; my, your, his, her, its, our, their
- Numerals; first, second, third, one, two, three etc

Articles
Refers to the words (a, an, the) to limit the application of a noun i.e give some definiteness. Generally,
we have;

a) Definite article
It is used to refer to indicate that a noun has been previously mentioned in context.
Example
Student A: There is a lecturer in class
Student B: What is the lecturer doing in class at 7am?

Other situations that warrant the use of the definite article include
- Familiarity of context; Put the cat away.
- When the noun is unique in its class; We met the Vice Chancellor yesterday.
- Before well-known phenomena; the night was cold.
- Before names of magazines; the Post, the New York Times etc

b) The Zero article

The definite article can be left out so that the noun appears alone especially before plural nouns and
singular uncountable nouns used in a general sense.
Examples
Handouts are an essential part of university life (general)
The handout is quite interesting (specific)
Man is a rational/political being (general)
The man tried to be rational/political in his argument (specific)

The Zero article can also be used;

- With some proper nouns: I am going to Bafut after class.
- With hospital, bed, work, , university, church, prison, etc; We have been in class since 7am
- With BY + means of transport; the VC travelled to Ngaoundere by plane.

c) Indefinite article
This is used when the noun is unspecified. An is used before nouns beginning with vowels while a
is used before nouns beginning with consonants.
Examples
1 - Gossip is a human weakness that cannot be wiped out.
2 - I heard a noise in the next room.
3 - It is an honour to teach this class of students.
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4 - It was a/an historic event that marked the life of our community.
5 - Julia gave me an orange.
We frequently use a before h but some h initial words are stressed and only take a as in (1) while
some are unstressed and take only an as in (3).

d) Quantifiers
These are words which denote quantity. They combine with both countable and uncountable nouns.
Examples include:

Quantifiers that combine with countable nouns

Each All (of) the
Both (a) Few
Any/some (of the) Fewer
Either Every
a/the majority A minority
Most of the Neither
None of the Several
Every child was given a toy (singular countable)
Several women were wounded in the attack (plural countable)
Quantifiers that combine with plural countable and uncountable nouns
Some/most (of the) Any of the
Enough A lot of / lots of
Hardly any More
None of the Plenty

ADJECTIVES
Adjectives modify nouns generally.

Formation of Adjectives
Apart from qualitative adjectives (big, small, strong, blue, red, large etc), many adjectives related to
verbs and nouns are formed by adding a suffix.
-able; (capable of being) laughable, transferable, approachable etc
-ible; (capable of being) permissible
-ic; egoistic, energetic, phlegmatic, emblematic, problematic
-ive; attractive, abusive, responsive, derisive, palliative
-ish; (having the quality of) reddish, childish, babyish, girlish, foolish, sheepish, bluish
-ant; hesitant, reluctant, vibrant
-(i)an; (historical) Victorian, Elizabethan
-ing; disappointing, shocking, boring, horrifying, embarrassing,
-en; (made of) wooden, frozen, broken,
N.B To be sure that they are adjectives, use them before nouns.

Position of adjectives
- Attributive adjectives
These adjectives appear before the noun
Examples
I met an intelligent, young and beautiful girl at the fair.
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Vernyuy is the future course delegate.
The neighbor is the prime suspect in this case.
He speaks with a heavy Northern accent.

- Predicative adjectives
These adjectives are separated from the noun and appear after the verb. When the noun or pronoun
which an adjective qualifies is in subject or object position in a sentence, it is referred to as the subject
or object complement respectively.
Examples
She looks good in her new gown. (subject complement, refers to SHE)
Alcohol makes me tired (object complement, refers to ME)
Modifiers
When two or more words combine to form adjectives, they are usually hyphenated. These are mostly
expressions which measure distance, time or cost.
Examples
A thirty-year old man
A five-hour journey
A ten-thousand watch
When used in these expressions, the noun is usually in the singular.
When more than one adjective precedes a noun, there is a general order
- Determiners or cardinal numbers; some, both, another, three
- How big (what size); small, large, thin, fat
- What is it like (opinion); boring, beautiful, old-fashioned, clever, excited
- How old (age); old, young, twelve-year old, new
- What shape; round, square, oval, rectangular
- What colour; yellow, blue, red
- Where was it made; Bafut, Cameroonian, British, Ugandan
- What is it made from (material); leather, silk, bronze, gold
Examples
Four large old Chinese bronze masks
Some slim beautiful young eight-shaped Bafut girls

Proper adjectives
Proper adjectives are derived from proper nouns i.e like the nouns from which they are taken from.
They begin with a capital letter and are often irregular
America American Canada Canadian
Germany German Mexico Mexican
Georgia Georgian Puerto Rico Puerto Rican
Peru Peruvian Victoria Victorian
Zimbabwe Zimbabwean Shakespeare Shakespearean
Saussure Saussurean Marx Marxist
Machiavelli Machiavellian England English
France French China Chinese
Sudan Sudanese Pakistan Pakistani

Comparison of Adjectives

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Adjectives inflect to show comparison i.e the same adjective takes different forms to show that the
noun it describes is actually compared to another.
Regular adjectives, especially one-syllable adjectives take –er and –est to show comparison.
Positive Comparative Superlative
Big Bigger Biggest
Hot Hotter Hottest
Light Lighter Lightest
Heavy Heavier Heaviest
Most adjectives with more than one syllable take more and most added to their positives.
Positive Comparative Superlative
Ferocious More ferocious Most ferocious
Extravagant More extravagant Most extravagant
Annoyed More annoyed Most annoyed
Obvious More obvious Most obvious
Beautiful More beautiful Most beautiful

Irregular adjectives
Positive Comparative Superlative
Good/well Better Best
Little Less Least
Bad Worse Worst
Many/much More Most
Up Upper Uppermost
Fore Former Foremost

Usage
Farther and further are used with distance but further equally means “in addition”.
Elder and eldest are used when referring to people in the same family while older and oldest are used
with unrelated people and things.
Examples
My eldest son is in high school (the oldest son of mine)
Lesser is formed from less but cannot be used as its comparative because lesser usually means “not
so great”.

ADVERBS
Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives or other adverbs. Some adverbs stretch their influence on the entire
sentence i.e conjunctive adverbs. This is because they function like conjunctions.
Examples
Tatah spoke rudely to the teacher. (modifies the verb, spoke)
The University of Bamenda is so beautiful. (modifies the adjective, beautiful)
Fomo behaves very calmly. (modifies calmly)
Che did not prepare well for the exams, so he failed again. (well, so is conjunctive adverb)

Adverbs which modify verbs tell us when (time), how (manner) and where (place).
Examples
Time; yesterday, now, tomorrow etc
Manner; beautifully, calmly, respectfully etc
Place; here, there, etc
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We equally have:
- Expectation adverbs
Show the connection between events and when they are expected to happen
e.g already, still, not….any longer/anymore, no longer
- Degree adverbs
Express to what extent something is done or felt.
e.g completely, totally, partially, quite, rather, very, really,
- Frequency adverbs
These normally answer the question “How often?”
e.g often, normally, frequently, hardly ever, rarely
- Focus adverbs
Similar to frequency adverbs but have greater flexibility i.e they can fit almost anywhere in the
sentence.
e.g only, specially, mainly, just etc

PRONOUNS
A pronoun replaces a noun in a sentence. The noun referred to by the pronoun is the antecedent. A
pronoun and its antecedent may be in the same sentence.
Example
Fungwa has a dog by name bimbo. He always takes it for a walk.

Using the pronoun prevents us from repeating the noun every time.

- Subject pronouns
These are personal pronouns which can occupy the subject position in a sentence i.e I, you, he/she/it,
we, they. The subject is the doer/performer of the action.
He visits the hospital often.
It belongs to Chesiri.

- Object pronouns
The pronoun occupies the object position i.e it is the receiver of the action.
Example
They asked us to come home.
Person Singular Plural
Subject Object Subject Object
st
1 person I Me We Us
2nd person You You You You
3rd person He Him They Them
She Her They Them
It It They them

- Possessive pronouns
These pronouns show possession/ownership ie mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours and theirs.
Note that we have possessive adjectives too i.e my, your, his, her, its, our, and their. They occupy the
same position in the sentence as determiners.
Example
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Musonge’s handwriting is horrible but ……..(mine, yours, his, hers) is worse than hers.

- Reflexive pronouns
This is used when the subject is affected by its own action. They are formed by adding –self or –
selves to a possessive adjective i.e myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves,
themselves. There exists the reflexive pronoun “oneself” formed from the indefinite pronoun “one”.
Examples
Manka’a blamed herself for the delay.
We introduced ourselves to the godfather.

- Reciprocal pronouns
These are used when two subjects are mutually affected by the action.
Examples
Ngwa and Sirri love each other. (not themselves and we have two subjects)
The members of the team embraced one another. (not themselves, and we have more than two)
The students of FENG group A1 love one another. (not themselves, not each other)

- Indefinite pronouns
Do not refer to specific pronouns i.e everybody, somebody, someone, anybody, one, etc

- Demonstrative pronouns
Used to indicate specific persons or things i.e this, that, these, those

VERBS
These are words used to express an action or a state of being. Verbs are generally classified as action,
auxiliary or linking verbs.
a) Action verbs
An action verb is used to express a physical or mental activity.
Examples
Funwi ran across the park. (physical activity)
Sirri thought of something good. (mental activity)
Action verbs are equally classified into:
- Transitive verbs
Require a compulsory object to complete their meanings.
e.g We saw the boys. Ngwa met Manka’a.
- Intransitive verbs
Do not require a direct object to complete their meanings.
e.g The campaign backfired.
* You lied me yesterday.
This is a transfer from pidgin English which uses some intransitive verbs in an intransitive manner.
You lied to me yesterday.

b) Linking verbs
These are used to express a condition or state of being. They connect the subject of a clause/sentence
to a predicate noun or adjective in a parallel relationship.
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Examples
Cho is the best player in the team.
Are the animals healthy?

Linking verbs are generally not used in the progressive form. The simple present tense is preferred.
Examples
The meat is smelling - - - The meat smells
You are seeming tired - - - You seem tired
Ngum is looking good - - - Ngum looks good
We are being told that - - - We are told that - - -

c) Auxiliary verbs
These are verbs that ‘assist’ the main verbs in a sentence. There are two classes of auxiliaries:
- Primary auxiliaries (have, be, do)
These can also function as main verbs i.e
Ngwa is happy.
Tatah has yams
When used with a main verb, they indicate tense and aspect i.e
Fube was eating when she came. (was shows progressive aspect ie action was in progress)
Sirri had eaten the yams. (had shows perfective aspect ie action was completed at that time)
The auxiliary do is used for emphatic purposes in the sentence.
Examples
Did Nyuysemo travel to Bamkikay? (interrogative sentence)
Nsen did not travel to Benakuma. (negative sentence)
Sama did travel to Oshie. (declarative sentence)

- Modal auxiliaries (will, can, may)

Modal auxiliaries are used with main verbs to mark various shades of meaning.
Examples
- Possibility, permission, certainty; can, could, may, might
- obligation, necessity; must, have (got) to, need to, etc

Parts of the verb

Verbs in English have 03 main parts i.e the infinitive, past tense and past participle. Regular verbs
form their past tense and past participle by adding –ed or –d to the infinitive form.
Regular verbs
Infinitive Past tense Past participle
Jump Jumped Jumped
Hang (to execute) Hanged Hanged
Cook Cooked Cooked
Dance Danced Danced
Select Selected Selected
Fry Fried Fried
Soak Soaked Soaked
Kiss Kissed Kissed
Kill Killed Killed
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Some irregular verbs
Be was/were Been
Bear Bore Borne
Beat Beat Beaten
Become Became Become
Cast Cast Cast
Broadcast Broadcast Broadcast
Begin Began Begun
Bind Bound Bound
Bite Bit Bitten
Burst Burst Burst
Wind Wound Wound
Run Ran Run
Build Built Built
Buy Bought Bought
Creep Crept Crept
Cost Cost Cost
Find Found Found
Fly Flew Flown
Forgive Forgave Forgiven
Give Gave given

CONJUNCTIONS
Conjunctions join parts of sentences i.e they link or connect words or group of words
e.g The board chairman and the managing director are here.
I came to school but did not teach.

Coordinating conjunctions
Bring together structures having the same weight i.e words, phrases clauses etc. We have for, and,
nor, but, or, yet, so (FANBOYS).
Manka’a and Lum enjoyed the outing
Nkemleke packed her bag and dashed to school.
Some computers have been retained but others have been given out.
The students came unprepared so the test was postponed.
He did not have the money yet he came for the rendez-vous.

Coordinating conjunctions
Link two groups of words or clauses by making one subordinate to the other. See the table below
Time Cause/effect Condition Contrast
After Because As long as Although
Before So Unless Even though
When Now that Provided Though
Since In order that So long as Whereas
Until As if While Even if
As soon as So that, given that If, unless Whenever
Examples
Wiysanyuy was happy because he had made it at the semester exams
Although students were required to pay fees, they ended up not paying.
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The state should subsidise higher education, so that some of us can have a chance.
Manchester City will win the league, so long as they win their next three fixtures.

PREPOSITIONS
This class generally relate to nouns, pronouns or groups of words functioning as nouns. Knowing the
specific preposition to use is never easy especially with verbs and adjectives (when combined).

Verb + preposition
The match resulted in a draw The club consists of retired public servants
I apologise for coming late. He has persisted in disobeying his teachers
We insist on hearing the complete My duty consists in helping you improve your language
story.

Verb + Noun+ preposition

Accuse (someone) of (an offence) Prefer (one thing) to (another)
Charge (someone) with (an Blame (someone) for (a wrong)
offence/crime)
Suspect (someone) of (an offence/crime) Congratulate (someone) on (some achievement)

Noun+ preposition
Around the corner At great pain Within hearing At full speed
distance
At great length Beside the point During the vacation For four days
Through Of one’s own making Over the weekend Since last week
carelessness

Noun before preposition

Discussion on Familiarity with Argument about Knowledge of
Pride in Elections into Preference for Belief in
A pat on A view from An expert on
Usage: between vs among
We shared it between us (two of us)
We shared it among us (more than two of us)

SENTENCES
A sentence has at least ONE clause. English has an S V O word order i.e Subject-Verb-Object
Declarative function: states a fact and ends with a full stop.
e.g Smoking is a bad habit / She asked me to go with her

Imperative function: gives orders, makes demands, requests and ends with an exclamation mark.
Sometimes the exclamation mark is left out but notice that there is NO SUBJECT. The speaker gives
an order and expects that it will be executed
e.g Stop noise! Call me once you are through. Close the main door.

Interrogative function: It asks a question and ends with a question mark.

Yes/No question i.e Have you fetched water?
Wh-question i.e Who came in my absence? What happened yesterday? Where did he find you?
Alternative question i.e Do you prefer butter or cheese? Shall I use MoMo or Express Union?
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Exclamatory function: expresses emotion and ends with an exclamation mark.
This is terrible! What a beautiful match!

Usage:
We sell phones at considerable considerate price.
I belief believe that everyone will obtain his/her degree.
Your handwriting is eligible illegible.

ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE

The Active Voice of a verb is used when the subject of the verb refers to the person or thing
performing the action described by the verb. The Passive Voice of a verb is used when the subject of
the verb refers to the person or thing receiving/benefitting/suffering the action described by the verb.
Only a verb which can take an object (transitive verb) can be put into the Passive Voice. Transitive
verbs are verbs which need a direct object in sentences, whereas intransitive verbs do not take an
object.
Voice can be considered as the relationship between the subject of a sentence and the actor (entity
responsible for the action). Consider the examples below:
1. Ade heartily congratulated Sirri on her appointment.
2. Ngwalum prepared the meal.
3. The antelope was killed by the hunter.
4. My phone was taken by robbers.

Sentences 1 and 2 are Active sentences. Notice that the subject is responsible for the action in these
cases i.e the subject is also the actor.
Sentences 3 and 4 are Passive Sentences. The subject is the receiver of the action.
NB. In the passive voice, the actor is not important as focus is laid on the action. In the short passive,
the doer of the action is not mentioned whereas in the long passive, the doer of the action is introduced
by the preposition by (see sentences 3 and 4).

We use the passive voice when:

- The actor is not known
- The actor is not important
- We seek to emphasise the action and not the actor
To form the passive, we use a form of the verb “to be” and the past participle of the verb.
See book for exercises

DIRECT AND REPORTED SPEECH

Reported Speech
Reported speech is the act of recounting what one has heard. It is telling someone and/at a different
place and/or time something that happened or was said before the time of reporting. It is also known
as indirect speech. When this happens, we notice a change in the use of pronouns, tenses (except
conditionals and past perfect) as well as words referring to particular places or time.
1) When reporting statements, the following changes take place
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- Insert that before the statement
He said, “I am going to Vekovi.”
He said that he was going to Vekovi.
- Verbs of reporting (tell, explain, report, agree, claim, confirm, inform, comment, remark,
assure, mention, boast etc) can be substituted by say
He said to me, “I have seen Sirri”…….He told/claimed/confirmed that he had seen Sirri.

2) When reporting questions, the following changes take place

a) For Yes/No questions, we should insert if/whether before the statement
She asked “Is Anoma travelling?”
She asked if/whether Anoma was travelling.

b) For Wh- questions;

a) the Wh-word that introduces the question is maintained
The teacher said, “Who did not write the test?”… The teacher asked who had not written the test.
Andem told Lum, “Is there enough cornfufu?”…..Andem asked Lum if there was enough cornfufu.

b) the auxiliary is made to follow the noun or pronoun as the case maybe
Bissona asked Eyong, “How is your father?”…….Bissona asked Eyong how his father was.

CHANGES TO NOTE
Tense sequence
Change Direct speech Reported speech
Simple present…..Simple past “I am hungry”, Paul said. He/Paul said that he was hungry
Simple past…..Past perfect Ngwa told Arrey, “The match was Ngwa told Arrey that the match had
interesting” been interesting.
Present perfect…..past perfect “You have won,” Neba told AtangaNeba told Atanga that he had won.
Present progressive………… “We can’t travel because it is raining”,
The driver explained that they
Past progressive the driver said. couldn’t travel because was
raining.
Past progressive………… Shu said, “I was reading in the Shu explained that he had been
Past perfect progressive library.” reading in the library.

Pronouns
A change in pronoun could be obvious if the reporting phrase clearly identifies the person(s) affected
by the report. E.g
“Do you know me?” he said to Ngwa……..He asked Ngwa if he knew him.
“Do you know me?” he said to us………....He asked us if we knew him.
She said, “I want to bring my children”……….She said that she wanted to bring her children.

Others
Some qualifying words and words referring to time and place are changed so that they become less
near in the reported expression. E.g
Word Changes to Word Changes to
This That Now Then
These Those Today That day

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Here There Tomorrow The next day
Yesterday The previous day
See textbook for exercises

SOCIALISING
 Greetings
Good morning Sir/Madam: When we are not familiar with the interlocutor and we need to be formal
Good morning Mr/Mrs/Dr Neba: When we are familiar with the person, use the family name.
Hello: When someone uses “hello” we respond with “hello”
Hi: When someone uses “hi” we respond with “hi”
How do you do?: When a stranger is introduced to us and s/he uses “how do you do?” we respond
with “how do you do”
 Making introductions
Introduce people who haven’t met before, acknowledge an introduction when you are introduced, it
is polite to repeat someone’s name when s/he is introduced to you
1 - When introducing a lady to a gentleman, even if the lady is younger, mention her name
Sirri, meet Prof Diangha
2 – Introducing people of the same sex, mention the older person’s name first
Uncle Ngwa, meet Tanyi my classmate
 To acknowledge an introduction, we can say
It’s a pleasure to meet you John (R/: It’s a pleasure, Paul)
I’m glad to meet you, Nora (R/: So am I, Annette)
Nice to meet you
Pleased to meet you
How do you do?

 When leaving a friend

I fear I must go now. I have to ….
I’ll be on my way, still got … (it is polite to give a reason for your departure)
 When parting with a friend
Remember me to your wife/husband/parents (R/: I will)
My regards to X / Y (R/: Thanks, I will)
 When playing host to someone who is leaving
Thanks for calling by/having called (R/: Don’t mention, it was a pleasure)
Thanks for coming, I really enjoyed your company (R/: It was my pleasure / So did I?)
 When someone says “thank you”
Not at all / Don’t mention / You’re welcome / It’s a pleasure / The pleasure is mine

SECTION D: VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT

Noises made by animals and machines
Barking of dogs Bleating of calves Braying of donkeys Whinnying of Zebras
Cackling of chickens Cackling of geese Gibbering of apes Chirping/tweeting/whistling/singing of birds
Gobbling of turkeys Growling of bears Grunting of camels Croaking of toads/geckos
Hissing of snakes Mewing of cats Grunting of pigs/hogs Howling of dogs/wolves
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Neighing of horses Peals of laughter Roaring of lions Grunting of crocodiles and alligators
Quacking of ducks Trumpeting of Mooing/bellowing of Screeching of cars/brakes
elephants cattle
Wailing of sirens Buzzing of flies Growling of badgers Hooting/shrieking of owls

How to spell:
- Spelling is a visual process so look for patterns to always remember
- Learn difficult words by the look-cover-write-check method
- Test doubtful spellings by writing them down and looking them up in a good dictionary

EXERCISES
Tick the correct expression in the columns below:
A B
You’re taking it personally You’re taking it personal
Excuse my right Excuse my left
He is matured He is mature
What is your name? What are your names?
I was for a night vigil I was for a vigil
Rest assured Be rest assured
We sell phones at considerable prices We sell phones at considerate prices
You should not repeat this same mistake again You should not repeat this same mistake
The deadline for the payment of fees is close The dateline for the payment of fees is close
I have came to invigilate the exam I have come to invigilate the exam
all invited guests were visibly satisfied All guests were visibly satisfied

Bibliography
Neba, A. F. & Tabah, E. N. (2016). An English grammar and writing course, new edition. Buea:
Anucam Educational Book Plc
Wandji, E. F. (). From ideas to essay: A writing coach for writers. ISBN 978-9956-621-75-7

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