Structure: Review of Noun

Back to: ENGLISH LANGUAGE SS3

 

Welcome to class! 

In today’s class, we will be talking about structure: review of noun, etc. Enjoy the class!

Comprehension: Prostration

The passage centres on the childhood of Wole Soyinka. It is an extract from his book titled ‘Ake’. In this passage, Wole Soyinka is faced with the challenge of respecting tradition in the aspect of prostration.

The passage reveals Soyinka’s view about the act of prostration as a young child. He detected the act in itself when he was ordered to do so by an elder at the Kabiyesi’s palace.

Evaluation

Questions 1 – 6, Page 24

Noun Phrases and Noun Clauses

Noun phrase:

The noun phrase is a phrase in which the main word or the head is a noun or pronoun.

Examples:

1. The big ugly girl
2. A fat bank account
3. The man outside
4. The man from the moon.

Functions of the noun phrase

1. As the subject of a sentence:

• The big girl is quarrelsome
• The poor suffer a lot

2. As the object of a verb:

• The officer praised the students
• I bought my friend a present

3. As subject complement:

• Our lecturer may become a commissioner
• His wife is a nurse.

4. As object complement:

• The grateful boy called his friend a saviour.

5. As the complement of a preposition:

• The governor thought of the brilliant lawyer when choosing his cabinet.
• The thief hid the gun under his bed.

Noun clause

A noun clause is a subordinate clause that performs the functions of a noun.

Functions of the noun clause

1. The subject of a sentence:

• What he said  is bitter
• That he was insulted pained him a great deal.

2. The object of a verb:

• The cook gave us what we should eat.
• He told us that he would come.

3. The complement of the subject:

• Honesty is what we want.
• The important thing is that he has arrived.

4. The complement of the object:

• We call him  what he likes

5. The complement of a preposition:

• The prize will go to whoever wins.

Adjectival Phrases and Adjectival Clauses

Adjectival phrase:

An adjectival phrase is a phrase which modifies a noun or pronoun.

Functions of an adjectival phrase

1. Attributive adjectives:

• Fat men seldom run fast.
• The slim lady is my wife

2. Predicate adjectives:

• Those questions are tough
• The man looks stupid

3. Post -modifiers:

• The boy with a brown cap is my class-mate.
• The fund available will not be enough for the project.

4. As nouns:

• The rich are usually unmindful of the poor.
• The government should cater to the needy

Adjectival clause

An adjectival clause is a subordinate clause that performs the function of an adjective.

The following conjunctions are usually used to introduce adjectival clauses: who, whom, whose, that, which, where, when, etc.

Examples of adjectival clauses

1. The man who came here is a teacher.
2. The house which has been renovated looks very new.
3. It was he who slapped me.
4. The lady whose car was stolen is crying.
5. That is the goat that ate our yam.
6. Here is the man about whom I was talking to you.

Narrative and Descriptive Essays

Narrative essay

A narrative essay is one that requires you to relate an event or incident as an eyewitness would. This is the art of story-telling, and a wide experience in the reading of short stories, novels, and so on, is required.

Your essay must be interesting and convincing; the reader should enjoy reading it and be led to believe that what he is reading is true. The narrative should follow the order in which the event took place, gradually moving the reader to the climax of your story. You only have to state the facts as they were.

Examples of topics on narrative essay

1. The Longest Journey That I Have Ever Made.
2. The Day I Will Never Forget.
3. How I Spent My Last Holiday
4. Had I known Always Comes Last.
5. An Interesting Film I Have Watched.

Descriptive essay

A descriptive essay is one that requires you to write a description of, for example, an object, a person, an animal, an incident or a scene. If you choose a descriptive essay in the examination, you should have a very clear picture in your mind of what you want to describe. The clearer the picture you have, the better will be your description. Descriptive essays are usually popular with examination candidates.

To score a high mark, candidates will be expected to give a very clear, interesting and informative description.

Examples of topics on descriptive essay

1. A Market Day In My Town
2. My Favourite Teacher.
3. A Wedding I Attended Recently.
4. My School.
5. My Ideal House.

Evaluation

Write an essay on any of the earlier mentioned topics

General evaluation

Structure

1. Define and state the types of clauses we have.

Mention the grammatical functions of the underlined noun clauses;

2. What I want for my birthday is a pair of trouser.
3. The mechanic didn’t know what the problem was.
4. A man of principle is all we ask for.

Essay

5. As the new senior prefect of your school, write a farewell speech meant to be delivered at the graduation ceremony of the outgoing SS3 students.

 

In our next class, we will be talking about Writing: Argumentative Essay.  We hope you enjoyed the class.

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