If the sentence reads, ' I gave the man the book', 'the book' is still the  direct object and 'the man' is still the indirect object. The word order (and commonsense) now tell us that 'the book' was given to the man.

Exercise

Construct sentences using these verbs below, so that each sentence will contain a direct object and an indirect object. Underline the indirect object in each sentence:

Example:

1. I gave 'the new boy' some help

2. I gave some money ' to the beggar'.

(a) give (b) bring (c) show (d) ask (e) buy (f) tell (g) offer (h) take (I) sell (j) donate

Example: 'The child stroked the cat'. The person the sentence is about is 'the child'. This we call the subject of the sentence.

Exercise 10

Copy out the one word that is the subject of the verb underlined in each sentences:

(a) People ' take' anti malaria tablets regularly.

(b) Did the children 'ask' for permission?

(c) Japan 'manufactures' a lot of electronic equipment.

(d) Her friend 'believes' what she says.

(e) What did where do about it?

  Not all verbs need direct objects. If a verb takes a direct object we call it a transitive verb. If it does not take a direct object, we say the verb is intransitive. Some verbs may act sometimes as transitive verbs, and at other times may be intransitive. If you loom in your dictionary,  you may find this indicated. In some dictionaries v.I and v.t. written  after the verb mean that the verb can be used either transitively or intransitively, that is , with or without a direct object.

Example: (I) the degree blew the whistle.

The verb 'blew' governs ' the direct object ' the whistle',; 'blew' is therefore transitive.

(ii) the  whistle blew.

Here the verb ' blew ' does not have a direct object. It is therefore being intransitively.

Exercise II

Supply a direct object for the verb to fill the blank in each of these sentences.

(a) He is studying............ at the university

(b) Ugo's Father drives a ......... 

(c) The hunter carried the .............over his shoulder.

(d) Poor students should never waste...........

(e) This pay rise doesn't affect.......................

  But we have already mentioned different kind of nouns. 'Chair' is name common to to all seats suitable for one person to sit on, and having a back to lean against; 'boy' is a name common to all male children. We call these common nouns.

   'India' is a name given only to one particular place. 'Disu' is a name given to one particular boy. It is proper to use that name only for that particular country or that particular boy. Notice that they both begin with capital letters. These we call proper nouns. Names of days of the week and months of the year are also proper nouns.  They all begin with capital letters. We also treat certain titles given to people as if they were names. For example, the President, the Principal.

  There are many nouns like 'honesty'  we cannot say that 'honesty' is a thing, but our idea of 'honesty'  is just as  certain as if it was a thing. The same goes for 'knowledge' ,  'kindness', 'regularity',  'difference' and 'helpfulness' . such nouns we call abstract nouns. These are name of qualities.

Exercise 3

Write out a list of all the nouns in this passage. Against each one write C if it is a common noun , P if it is a proper noun, or A if it is an abstract noun:

The teacher was much impressed by kofi's great diligence. He worked from early morning till late at night. Only on Saturday did he take an evening off, and even then he returned in good time to the house so as to prepare for the next day's work.

Exercise 4

Supply suitable nouns to fill the blank in these sentences

- The ....... Ran quickly across the floor, and disappeared into a ....... In the corner.

- All the ........ In town barked loudly at the ........

- ............. Is mined in this country.

- The old students' ......... Holds frequent.........

- He gave a ....... To his girlfriend.

- Reading is a great .......... For many students.

- Every ........ I see him, he talks about his exam.

Exercise 5

Make up ten sentence using a pair of these nouns in each one:

1. Wheels engine

2. Hammer Handle

3. Money market

4. Loom weaver

5. Gift journey

6. Honesty bank

7. Time journey

8. Whiskers ears

9. Flowers Scent

10. Sky clouds

Exercise 6

Copt out the nouns in the following sentences. If you see an abstract noun, write abstract at the side of it.

1. Experience is the best teacher

2. Politeness is a help in your relations with other people.

3. The judge was full of doubt as he listened to evidence.

4. The discovery of oil made a big difference to Nigeria economy.

5. His influence was felt throughout the country.

6. The difference between the two friends was very obvious.

7. The telephone is a useful invention.

You will find that many abstract nouns seem to be formed from other words. For example, from 'wise' we make 'wisdom', from 'regular' we make 'regularity'.

Exercise 7

From the following words , make abstract nouns. Checks in your dictionary for help if you do not know.

1. Honest 2. Different 3. Please 4. Involve 5. Imprison 6. True 7. Prepare 8. Pure 9. Grieve 10. Introduce

Exercise 8 

Use each of the words you have made in Exercise 7 in only one of the blank space in the following sentences. Write out each completed sentence:

1. It gives me great ......... To see you all here at kafanchan Today.

2. His son's early Death caused great ..,..... To Mr Kofi.

3. There was great .......... For the President arrival.

4. The ......... May never be known.

5. Please help me to get an .............. To the manager.

6. ........... Is the best policy.

7. The research chemist tested for the ......... Of the substance.

8. Adebayo was blamed for his........ In the case.

9. I can see no ........ Between Fatu's work and mine.

10. Ibrahim's crime led to his eventual .........

For example, look at this sentence: 'peter fainted'.

  The person being talked about Is Peter , and we know what happened to him. Hr fainted. 'Peter' is the subject;  'fainted' is the predicate.

  Now look at a more complicated sentence: 'Mr. Vincent, our geography teacher , is likely to be transfered to another school when the new term starts'.

  The subject is , 'Mr. Vincent , our geography teacher ' and all the rest of the sentence tell us the new information about him. So, the predicate is, ' is likely to be transfered to another school when the new term starts'. However complicated your sentence, it can be divided into subject and predicate

Look at these further examples:

Subject - The boy , Predicate -cried.

Subject - The Man from Lagos , Predicate - came to visit his cousin at Ibadan.

Subject - Everybody , Predicate - left the his hurriedly when the storm Began.

Subject - Peter, Predicate - seemed very calm.

Exercise 1

Divide these sentences into subject and predicate in the same way:

(a) The door banged Suddenly.

(b) the farmer bought a new tractor.

(c) Bisi proudly showed her certificate to her friends.

(d) All the Candidates for the exam were waiting  outside the door at 8.00 a.m.

(e) Anybody who disagrees may go out now.

You will notice that in these sentences the subject comes first and the predicate completed the sentence. As we deal with more complicated sentences, you will find that this is not always so.

In question , for example, it will be different

Predicate -Has , Subject -the Boy , Predicate - Done his homework ?

Here 'the boy' is the person being discussed , and this is clearly the subject of the sentence, but the predicate is split up by the subject. The complete predicate is : 'has done his homework'.

Exercise 2

Put a box round the subject and label it. Underline the predicate.

(a) which road did he take?

(b) When did they see the car pass?

(c) Why are they going?

(d) Will Mr Thompson leave next week?

(e) How do you feel now?

  

  As we build up more complicated sentences, we shall still practise dividing them into subject and predicate.

   Try to imagine yourself everyday watching some people playing a game you do not know. At some time,  you will begin to understand the rules of the games by watching what the players do or must do. Eventually you would be able to write out the rules of the games but it would take you a long time. If somebody can tell you the rules or you can read them in a book, it will save you time.

   The formation of the grammar of a language is rather like that. Grammarians observe how people use the language, and eventually they are able to say something like thus, 'if you want to speak or write this language as other people do, then you must use this word in this ways and you may not use the words in that way.' The grammar of a language is, if you like, a description of the rules of the particular language 'game.'

  We must remember that language is continually being changed as people use it, and so on the end the rules of the language must be rewritten if they are to fit. For example, the grammar (or rules) of the English language as it was written a hundred years ago would not do to describe modern English. So  we must not imagine that the grammar we learn today will for ever be a true description of language. Nevertheless if we are to use the language correctly and understand it thoroughly we need to know the rules, the grammar , that describes the way it is used now. You will never be a good football player if you do not know the rules of the game!

    Why in particular do you need to know English grammar? There are several way practical reasons. First of all if you are to understand your own errors, you must know what the rules are and in what way your own use of the language fails to comply with those rules. If your teacher (or text book) is to explain to you clearly and quickly where the differences are, it will be necessary for you to learn the names of some of the ways words are used, and how the language fits together. 

  You will also be able to improve tour own writing if you able to examine the work of good writers, and see the differences between the way you write and the way they write. 

  And there is another worrisome reason for learning the grammar of English, your English examination papers sometimes use grammatical terms and expect you to understand them. If you can understand at  least some of the rules, you may put part of the worry of the English language paper behind you.

   There is also a bonus to be obtained from learning some of the grammar of the English language. You will them find it easier to understand how other languages work, including your own. You will find it easier to learn another language, even though the rules for that language may differ in various ways from the rules of English.

  What is put forward here is not a complete description of the whole of the English language. It is rather a 'bare bones' grammar, giving you enough information to help you understand and use the language well up to college certificate Exam. If you are interested or find it necessary, you may fill in more of the details of the grammar in life.