Lexis and Structure

🟢 Lite — Quick Review (1h–1d)

Rapid summary for last-minute revision before your exam.

Lexis and Structure — Quick Facts Lexis: vocabulary/word level of language; includes word formation, collocation, register Structure: grammar/sentence level; includes syntax, sentence patterns, agreement Collocation: words that naturally go together (heavy rain NOT strong rain, make a decision NOT do a decision) Register: level of formality (formal, informal, colloquial) ⚡ Exam tip: JAMB tests whether words naturally collocate — learn common collocations rather than just word meanings

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🟡 Standard — Regular Study (2d–2mo)

Standard content for students with a few days to months.

Lexis and Structure — JAMB English Study Guide

Common collocations in Nigerian English:

Correct collocation	Incorrect
make a decision	do a decision
take a decision	make a decision
pay attention	give attention
catch a cold	have a cold
do research	make research
provide an answer	give an answer
keep a promise	hold a promise
take responsibility	make responsibility

Word formation — prefixes:

• un-: reverse (unhappy, unreal, untie)
• dis-: reverse, lack (dishonest, disappear, disagree)
• re-: again, back (rewrite, rebuild, reconsider)
• pre-: before (preview, prepay, predict)
• mis-: wrongly (misunderstand, misplace, mistake)
• over-: too much (overcook, oversleep, overeat)
• under-: too little (undercook, underdeveloped)

Word formation — suffixes:

• -er/or: person/thing (teacher, actor, computer)
• -tion/sion: process/state (education, decision)
• -ment: result/state (development, argument)
• -ness: state/quality (happiness, kindness)
• -able/ible: capable of (readable, visible)
• -ful: full of (careful, beautiful)
• -less: without (careless, homeless)

Sentence patterns (basic structures): S + V: “Birds fly” S + V + O: “She reads books” S + V + IO + DO: “She gave me a book” / “She gave a book to me” S + V + O + C: “They elected him president” S + Link + C: “She is kind” / “She became a doctor”

Subject-verb agreement rules:

• Singular subject → singular verb: “He runs”
• Plural subject → plural verb: “They run”
• Compound subject with AND → plural: “John and Mary are here”
• Compound subject with OR/NOR → verb agrees with nearer: “Neither the teacher nor the students are happy”
• Collective noun → usually singular: “The jury has reached its verdict”
• Indefinite pronouns → each, every, either, neither + singular: “Everyone has a right”

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🔴 Extended — Deep Study (3mo+)

Comprehensive coverage for students on a longer study timeline.

Lexis and Structure — Comprehensive Notes

Lexical ambiguity and how to resolve it:

• Homonymy: words with multiple meanings (bank = river bank or financial institution)
• Polysemy: same word, related meanings (head = body part or leader)
• Context determines meaning: “The bat flew into the window” vs “The baseball player hit the bat”

Register levels:

• Formal: academic writing, job applications, official letters — no contractions, complex sentences, technical vocabulary
• Informal: personal letters, friendly emails — contractions allowed, simpler structures
• Colloquial: spoken English, informal writing — slang, idioms, abbreviations
• Vulgar: offensive language — not appropriate for JAMB

Fixed expressions and idioms:

• “by and large” = generally
• “at large” = free (the criminal is at large)
• “take issue with” = disagree with
• “take exception to” = object to
• “come to terms with” = accept
• “in terms of” = regarding
• “to all intents and purposes” = practically speaking

Phrasal verbs (verb + particle):

Phrasal verb	Meaning
look after	take care of
look into	investigate
look up to	admire
look down on	despise
put off	postpone
put up with	tolerate
turn down	reject
turn out	result in
break down	stop functioning
break up	end relationship
carry on	continue
carry out	perform

Spelling rules:

• i before e except after c: believe, but receive, ceiling
• Drop final e before -ing: make → making, love → loving
• Double final consonant before -ing if CVC pattern: sit → sitting, run → running
• y → i when adding suffix: happy → happiness, study → studied

JAMB exam patterns:

• 2023 JAMB: Choose the option that collocates with “make”
• 2022 JAMB: Identify the sentence with correct subject-verb agreement
• 2021 JAMB: Which word is formed by adding a prefix to “happy”?
• 2020 JAMB: The phrasal verb “break down” in context means…

Common errors to watch for:

• Its vs It’s: “its” = possessive; “it’s” = it is
• Your vs You’re: “your” = possessive; “you’re” = you are
• Their vs There vs They’re
• Fewer vs Less: fewer = countable, less = uncountable
• Who vs Whom: who = subject, whom = object
• Between vs Among: between = two items, among = more than two
• Bring vs Take: bring = toward speaker, take = away from speaker

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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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