“Grammar: Parts of Speech”

🟢 Lite — Quick Review (1h–1d)

Rapid summary for last-minute revision before your exam.

Grammar: Parts of Speech — Quick Facts 8 parts of speech: noun, pronoun, adjective, verb, adverb, preposition, conjunction, interjection Noun types: proper (names), common (general), collective (group), abstract (ideas), countable vs uncountable Pronoun types: personal (I, you, he), possessive (my, your), reflexive (myself), demonstrative (this, that), relative (who, which), indefinite (someone, nobody) Verb types: transitive (needs object), intransitive (no object), linking (connects subject to complement), auxiliary/helping (is, have, can) ⚡ Exam tip: “It is I” is formally correct (pronoun after linking verb); “It’s me” is acceptable in informal English

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🟡 Standard — Regular Study (2d–2mo)

Standard content for students with a few days to months.

Grammar: Parts of Speech — JAMB English Study Guide

Nouns — detailed classification:

• Proper nouns: names of specific places, people, days — always capitalised (Lagos, Monday, Nigeria)
• Common nouns: general terms (city, student, country)
• Collective nouns: group names (team, jury, flock, swarm)
• Abstract nouns: intangible concepts (happiness, freedom, democracy)
• Countable nouns: can be counted (apple → apples)
• Uncountable nouns: cannot be counted (water, information, advice) — use singular verb

Adjectives — types and order:

1. Determiner (a, the, my, three)
2. Opinion/observation (beautiful, expensive)
3. Size (big, small, tall)
4. Shape (round, square)
5. Age (old, young)
6. Colour (red, blue)
7. Origin (Nigerian, French)
8. Material (wooden, cotton) Example: “a beautiful small round old brown wooden box”

Adverbs — types:

• Manner: how (slowly, carefully)
• Time: when (yesterday, now)
• Place: where (here, abroad)
• Frequency: how often (always, never)
• Degree: how much (very, extremely)
• Reason: why (therefore, consequently)

Prepositions — common ones and their uses:

• Position: in (container), on (surface), at (point)
• Direction: to, from, toward
• Time: at (9 o’clock), in (the morning, June), on (Monday)
• Origin: from (made in Nigeria) ⚡ Exam tip: Some verbs take fixed prepositions (dream OF something, listen TO something, consist OF something) — memorise these.

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🔴 Extended — Deep Study (3mo+)

Comprehensive coverage for students on a longer study timeline.

Grammar: Parts of Speech — Comprehensive Notes

Verb tenses — comprehensive review:

Tense	Simple	Continuous	Perfect	Perfect Continuous
Present	works	is working	has worked	has been working
Past	worked	was working	had worked	had been working
Future	will work	will be working	will have worked	will have been working

Uses:

• Present simple: habits, facts, state, instructions
• Present continuous: happening now, temporary situations, future arrangements
• Present perfect: completed action with present relevance, experience, unfinished time
• Present perfect continuous: action started in past, continuing to now, emphasising duration

Modal verbs: Can, could (ability, past possibility); may, might (possibility); will, would (future, polite); shall, should (obligation, suggestion); must, have to (obligation).

Differentiating similar words:

• to, too, two: “to” (prep), “too” (also/excessive), “two” (number)
• their, there, they’re: “their” (possessive), “there” (place), “they’re” (they are)
• affect, effect: “affect” (verb = influence; noun = feeling), “effect” (noun = result; verb = bring about)
• sit, set: “sit” (intransitive — you sit), “set” (transitive — you set the table)
• lie, lay: “lie” (intransitive — lay has lain), “lay” (transitive — lay has laid)
• who, whom: “who” (subject), “whom” (object) — test: try replacing with he/him; if him fits, use whom

Gerunds vs Infinitives: Gerund (verb + -ing): “I enjoy reading” (the -ing form acts as noun) Infinitive (to + verb): “I want to read” Verbs followed by gerund: enjoy, mind, suggest, finish, avoid, keep, appreciate Verbs followed by infinitive: want, decide, hope, promise, refuse Verbs followed by either (same meaning): like, love, prefer, hate, begin, start Verbs followed by either (different meaning): remember/forget (gerund = past experience, infinitive = future obligation), stop (gerund = cessation, infinitive = purpose)

JAMB exam patterns:

• 2023 JAMB: Choose the correct option: “He has lived in Lagos ____ 2015”
• 2022 JAMB: Identify the adjective in the sentence: “The exhausted runner collapsed”
• 2021 JAMB: Select the correct pronoun: “Between you and ___”
• 2020 JAMB: Which word is a collective noun?

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📊 JAMB Exam Essentials

Detail	Value
Questions	180 MCQs (UTME)
Subjects	4 subjects (language + 3 for course)
Time	2 hours
Marking	+1 per correct answer
Score	400 max (used for university admission)
Registration	January – February each year

🎯 High-Yield Topics for JAMB

• Use of English (Grammar + Comprehension) — 60 marks
• Biology for Science students — 40 marks
• Chemistry (Organic + Physical) — 40 marks
• Physics (Mechanics + Optics) — 35 marks
• Mathematics (Algebra + Geometry) — 40 marks

📝 Previous Year Question Patterns

• Q: “The process of photosynthesis requires…” [2024 Biology]
• Q: “The electronic configuration of Fe is…” [2024 Chemistry]
• Q: “Find the value of x if 2x + 5 = 15…” [2024 Mathematics]

💡 Pro Tips

• Use of English carries the most weight — master grammar rules and comprehension strategies
• JAMB syllabus is your Bible — questions come directly from it. Download and use it.
• Past questions are highly predictive — repeat patterns appear every year
• For Science students, Biology and Chemistry are high-scoring if you study NCERT-level content

🔗 Official Resources

• JAMB Official
• JAMB Syllabus

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