Lexis and Structure
Lexis and Structure is the objective section of NECO English Language. Lexis tests vocabulary - synonyms, antonyms, idioms, phrasal verbs and collocations; Structure tests grammar - concord, tense and aspect, conditionals, pronouns, prepositions, modifiers, question tags and punctuation. Each item carries equal marks, so accuracy on the easy items matters as much as solving the hard ones.
High-yield rules
- Concord with neither…nor / either…or: the verb agrees with the nearer subject.
- One of + plural noun: singular verb - One of the boys has gone.
- As well as / together with / along with: these do not change the number of the subject - The teacher, together with the students, was present.
- Correlative pairs: no sooner…than, hardly…when, scarcely…when, not only…but also.
Worked example
Neither the principal nor the teachers ___ (was/were) informed. Answer: were. Reasoning: with neither…nor, the verb agrees with the subject nearest to it. The nearest subject is teachers, which is plural, so the plural verb were is correct. Many candidates choose was because principal comes first or because they assume neither makes the whole subject singular; both assumptions are wrong.
Traps
- Choosing by the wrong subject - always find the one nearest the verb.
- Treating the number of (singular) like a number of (plural).
- Confusing lie/lay, rise/raise, affect/effect.
- Ignoring the tense of the main clause in conditionals: If I had known, I would have come.