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NECO SSCE English Language and Academic Skills

Essential grammar concord rules, oral forms, phonetic contrasts, and idiomatic expressions for NECO SSCE.

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Rule of Proximity with 'Neither/Nor' and 'Either/Or'

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Rule of Proximity with 'Neither/Nor' and 'Either/Or'

The verb agrees with the subject closest to it: Neither the boys nor the teacher was present. BUT Neither the teacher nor the boys were present.

Distributive Concord with 'Many a...'

'Many a' is followed by a singular noun and strictly takes a singular verb: Many a candidate has passed the examination.

Parenthetical Clause Concord ('As well as', 'Together with')

Expressions like 'as well as', 'along with', and 'together with' do not change the number of the subject: The captain, as well as his crew, was rescued.

Concord with 'One of the [plural noun] who...'

Requires a plural verb because the relative pronoun refers back to the plural noun: He is one of the players who are representing Nigeria.

Concord with 'More than one...'

'More than one' followed by a singular noun takes a singular verb: More than one student was awarded a scholarship.

Concord with 'The number of' vs 'A number of'

'The number of...' takes a singular verb (The number of candidates is increasing).
'A number of...' takes a plural verb (A number of candidates are waiting).

Mandative Subjunctive Mood Rule

Clauses following verbs/adjectives of recommendation ('insist that', 'demand that', 'essential that') use the base form of the verb: The teacher insisted that he apologize immediately.

Hypothetical Subjunctive with 'As if' / 'As though'

Uses past subjunctive 'were' for all persons to express unreality: He speaks as though he were the school principal.

Preference Subjunctive with 'Would rather'

When followed by a subject clause with a different subject, use past subjunctive: I would rather you left now. (Same subject: I would rather leave now.)

Inversion after Restrictive Negative Adverbs

Sentences starting with 'Seldom', 'Rarely', 'Scarcely', or 'Hardly' invert the auxiliary and subject: Seldom have we witnessed such bravery.

Correlative Pairs: 'Hardly... when' vs 'No sooner... than'

'Hardly had we arrived when the rain began.'
'No sooner had the bell rung than the students entered.'

Third Conditional Sentence Structure

Expresses an impossible past counterfactual: If + past perfect, would have + past participle. (If he had studied, he would have passed.)

Question Tag after 'Let us'

Suggestions beginning with 'Let us' take the tag shall we?: Let us begin the test, shall we?

Question Tag with Semi-Negative Adverbs

Statements with 'seldom', 'hardly', 'barely', or 'scarcely' are negative and take affirmative tags: She seldom complains, does she?

Question Tag after 'I am'

The standard question tag is aren't I?: I am early today, aren't I?

Collocation: 'Look forward to' + Gerund

'To' is a preposition here, requiring an -ing gerund: We look forward to meeting the new principal.

Dependent Prepositions: 'Conducive', 'Adhere', 'Comply'

Conducive to (not with).
Adhere to (not with).
Comply with (not to).

Dependent Prepositions: 'Congratulate', 'Prefer'

Congratulate someone on (not for).
Prefer X to Y (not than).

Dangling Participle Avoidance

An introductory participial phrase must modify the subject immediately following the comma: Walking along the corridor, I saw the trophy (not the trophy caught my eye).

Vowel Contrast: /iː/ vs /ɪ/

/iː/ (long, close front): seat, beat, receipt, machine.
/ɪ/ (short, near-close): sit, bit, village, biscuit.

Vowel Contrast: /uː/ vs /ʊ/

/uː/ (long, close back): fool, pool, rude, blue.
/ʊ/ (short, near-close): full, pull, could, foot.

Consonant Contrast: Voiceless /θ/ vs Voiced /ð/

/θ/ (voiceless dental): thin, think, theology, bath.
/ð/ (voiced dental): this, that, breathe, feather.

Silent Letters: 'b' and 'p'

Silent 'b': subtle, doubt, debt, tomb, comb.
Silent 'p': pseudonym, psychology, receipt, pneumonia.

Two-Syllable Noun vs Verb Stress Rule

Noun: stress on 1st syllable (EX-port, RE-cord, PRO-ject).
Verb: stress on 2nd syllable (ex-PORT, re-CORD, pro-JECT).

Stress on Suffixes '-tion', '-sion', and '-ity'

'-tion' / '-sion': penultimate syllable (e-du-CA-tion, de-CI-sion).
'-ity': antepenultimate syllable (hos-pi-TA-li-ty, ca-PA-ci-ty).

Idioms: 'Eleven-th hour', 'Bone of contention'

At the eleventh hour: at the latest possible moment before a deadline.
A bone of contention: an ongoing disputed issue between two parties.

NECO Senior School Certificate Examination in Nigeria

In Nigeria, NECO Senior School Certificate Examination is part of: National admissions and secondary school examinations.

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