Use of English: Concord, Word Class and Oral Forms
The Use of English paper tests how accurately you read and how precisely you control standard English. JAMB divides it into comprehension and summary, lexis and structure (vocabulary, grammar and sentence completion), and oral forms (vowel sounds, consonants, stress and intonation).
Concord and verb choice
- A verb agrees with its subject in number and person: “The list of items is on the desk,” not “are.”
- With either…or and neither…nor, the verb agrees with the nearer subject.
- In “one of the boys who ___ absent,” the relative clause follows “boys,” so use “were”: “One of the boys who were absent has returned.”
- Collective nouns such as government and committee take a singular verb when acting as one body.
Word class and prepositions
Test a word by substitution: if “quick” fits, you need an adjective; if “quickly” fits, an adverb. Learn fixed prepositions: insist on, comply with, condemn for, congratulate on.
Worked example
“Neither the principal nor the teachers ___ at the assembly.” Options: was, were, is, are. The nearer subject is “teachers,” plural, so the answer is “were.” Reverse the order - “Neither the teachers nor the principal” - and “was” becomes correct.
Oral forms
Stress can change meaning or word class: REcord (noun) versus reCORD (verb); PHOtograph, phoTOgraphy, photoGRAPHic. Distinguish /ɪ/ in sit from /iː/ in seat.
Traps
- “Between you and I” is wrong; use “between you and me.”
- Use “although” with a clause, “in spite of” with a noun.
- Nigerian English often adds “about” after discuss; standard English says “discuss the matter.”
- Do not choose an option because it sounds long or formal.