Lexis and Structure: Synonyms, Antonyms and Sentence Completion
Lexis and Structure is the largest block of the JAMB Use of English paper. 'Lexis' questions ask you to choose the option nearest in meaning to a word or phrase, or opposite in meaning to it. 'Structure' questions ask you to complete a sentence so that it is grammatically correct and idiomatic. Both reward precision about word class, register and collocation rather than vague approximation.
Rules that decide the answer
- The replacement must keep the same word class: a verb needs a verb, an adjective an adjective.
- The replacement must fit the register and collocation of the sentence - make a decision, do a favour, take an examination, commit a crime.
- Beware sound-alike pairs with different meanings: economic/economical, historic/historical, childish/childlike, continual/continuous, principal/principle.
- In structure items, check the whole sentence: tense sequence, preposition that follows the gap, singular/plural, and whether a comparative needs than or to.
Worked example
The committee's decision was described as arbitrary. Options: A. difficult B. based on personal whim rather than reason C. unpopular D. unanimous. Answer: B. Arbitrary means decided by individual will or impulse rather than by rule or reason. A and C describe consequences, not meaning; D is the opposite of arbitrary. Note that the correct option is a phrase, so do not reject it merely because it is longer than the stem word.
Structure example: Neither the teacher nor the students ___ arrived. Answer: have, because with neither…nor the verb agrees with the nearer subject, students.
Traps that cost marks
- Picking a synonym for a different sense of the word (a bank of a river vs a bank).
- 'Opposite in meaning' items that include a synonym as a decoy.
- Ignoring the preposition after the gap (comply with, depend on, consist of).
- Choosing an option that is grammatically correct but semantically absurd in context.