1.

‘ Ýapitalization:
Ñ Ýapitalize a proper noun. Example, John, Alpha, Evelyn, Brima, Sesay etc.
Ñ Ýapitalize title used before a proper name and title used in direct address. E.g. General
Mamie, Honourable Alpha, Dr. Sesay
Ñ Ýapitalise religious terms. Example, God, Quran, Bible etc
Ñ Ýapitalize name of documents, award and laws. E.g. Social Studies, Art, A Bill of Human
Rights etc
Ñ Ýapitalize trade names. E.g. Nokia, Sharp, Sunny, Philips etc
Ñ Ýapitalize the names of days of the week, months and holidays. E.g. Monday, Saturday,
Independent Day etc. Do not capitalize the name of a season
Ñ Ýapitalize geographical names by capitalizing the first name of each word. Example Atlantic
Ocean, United States of America etc
Ñ Ýapitalize the names of languages, races, nationalities etc. Sierra Leone, Mende, Krio Limba
Ñ Ýapitalize the title of works. E.g. book, poem, novel etc
Ñ Every important word should be capitalized. Example. Things Fall Apart, Lord of the Fires etc
Ñ Ýapitalize articles (a, an, the) at the beginning of a title only when they are part of the title
itself. Example. The Vulture, ͞The Standard Time͟

2.‘ FULL STOP/PERIOD:

Ñ A PERIOD IS USED AT THE END OF A DEÝLARATIVE SENTENÝE. EXAMPLE. JOHN IS
LEÝTURING. ALPHA IS RUNNING.
Ñ A PERIOD IS USED AT THE END OF IMPERATIVE SENTENÝE. E.G., ALPHA AND JOHN ARE
GOING TO SÝHOOL.
Ñ IT IS ALSO USED TO ABBREVIATE TITLE. EXAMPLE MR. DR. SIR.
Ñ IT IS ALSO USED IN ABBREVIATION SHOWING DEGREES, ÝERTIFIÝATES AND DIPLOMA.
EXAMPLE B.ED, H.T.Ý T.Ý etc
Ñ It is also used for initials that are part of a person͛s name. E.g. J.A Alpha, M.T Nyuma etc.
Ñ It is also used in abbreviation showing months and dates. e.g. Mon. Jan. Wed. Dec. etc
Ñ A period is placed after every parts of an abbreviation e.g. U.S.A, U.K etc

However, it has become a custom not to use periods in the abbreviation of certain
government agencies and of inter periods in the abbreviation of international organizations.
This is mostly use. WHO, UNDP, UK, UNHÝR ETÝ

3.‘ ÝOMMA:
Ñ A comma is used to separate three or more words, phrase/clauses in a series e.g. a table, a
chair, a compass and a television were the items I bought last week
Ñ Place a comma before a coordinating conjunction (and, but yet, nor etc) that join two main
clauses. Examples: while John was running, he met with his elder brother. Lucy went to the
market, but could not buy anything.
Ñ Use a comma to separate a part of an address geographical location or a date. Example. My
address is 2 Yokie Street, Kissy Town Kenema.

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 Ñ A comma is used to set off a non essential adjective clause. Freetown, which is the capital of
Sierra Leone, has a natural harbor.
Ñ Use a comma between coordinate adjectives that modifies the same noun. Example Kemu is
a kind, obedient, handsome young man.
Ñ Do not use a comma before the final adjective in a series, if the adjective is thought off as
part of the noun. Example she is a bright, charming, talented young woman.
Ñ Adverbs such as besides, however, more so, etc at the beginning of the sentence are
followed by a comma
Ñ Use a comma after salutation and after closing letters.
Ñ Use a comma to set off titles when they are followed by person͛s name. Example John Alpha
form master for SSS3, will be here this morning.

4.‘ APOSTROPHE
Ñ Use an apostrophe and (S) for the possessive form of a singular indefinite pronoun. E.g.
everybody business is no body͛s business, one͛s self.
Ñ Use an apostrophe and͛s͛ to show possessive of singular noun. E.g. John͛s book, the
President͛s entourage, Nafiatu͛s friend. However, when a singular noun of more than one
syllable ends in͚s͛, the possessive may be formed by adding only the apostrophe.
Ñ If a plural does not end in͚s͛, add both apostrophe and͚s͛ to form the possessive. E.g. Men͛s
game, women͛s wing
Ñ If a plural ends in͚s͛, add only the apostrophe to form the possessive. E.g. Babies͛ baths,
ladies͛ wear, students͛ union.
Ñ Put only the last word of a compound noun in the possessive form. E.g. Father-in-laws͛s car
Ñ If the two or more person owns something jointly, use the possessive form for the last
person͛s name. E.g., this is Lucy and Feima͛s book.
Ñ When two or more person possesses something individually, each of their names is in
possessive form. E.g. Alpha͛s and John͛s books were stolen.
Ñ When the words, minute, hour, day, week, month, year, amount etc require an apostrophe
when used as possessive adjective. E.g. a week͛s vacation, thirty minute͛s work, a minute͛s
walk. However, when used as hyphenated adjectives, they do not require any possessive
form.
Ñ Use an apostrophe to show where letters have been omitted in a contraction. E.g. can͛t,
don͛t, isn͛t, weren͛t. Personal pronouns in a possessive case do not require an apostrophe.
E.g. this book is hers, his, ours, yours, theirs.

5.‘ ÝOLON: A colon is used to separate the hour and minute e.g. 11:40
Ñ We use a colon to separate characters and verse of a quranic or biblical references

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 Ñ A colon is used to introduce a list of items, especially after a statement that uses such words
as, these are, as follows. E.g., the secretary requested the following: A computer, cell phone,
two tables and four chairs. The following students should see the dean:
Ñ Do not use a colon to introduce a list if the list immediately follows a verb or a preposition:
the items the secretary requested are a computer, cell phone, two tables, and four chairs.
She likes to study with Sorie, Kai, and Musa.

6.‘ QUESTION MARK (?)

Ñ Use a question mark to indicate a direct question. Where do you stay? Who is Hawa?
Ñ Do not place a question mark after an indirection. E.g. John ask Hawa whether she needs an
assistance

7.‘ HYPHENS
Ñ Hyphen is used to join prefix to proper noun or adjective and after the prefix. E.g. Pre-
historic, Ex-communicate.
Ñ We Use a hyphen between two numbers to indicate span e.g. 1971-1999
Ñ Hyphen is used in numbers of pages in text books
Ñ Hyphenate to divide a word at the end of a line when writing
Ñ All spelled out cardinal or ordinal compound numbers up to ninety-nine or nine-ninth should
be hyphenated. From twenty-one to nine-nine.
Ñ Hyphenate a compound adjectives when its precede the word it modifies. E.g. A well-
behaved team, a dark-brown gentle man. A door-to door seller, fifty-years old woman
Ñ An expression made up of an adverb ending in LY is not hyphenated. E.g. A nicely behaved
boy.

8.‘ SEMI ÝOLON;

Ñ A semi-colon is used to separate the items in a series when the items have commas. E.g.,
Nafisatu the class captain; Musa the assistant; Mr. Turay the president and Mr. Peter the
director extended the meeting. E.g. The tournament had players such as Henry; Rooney of
England
Ñ A semi-colon is used between clauses joined by phrases like for example; for instance; that
is (i.e.). E.g., Mr. Kemokai attends lot of meetings and workshops for example a meeting for
managers, a workshop on business management and meeting of directors.

9.‘ QUOTATION MARK ͟͞

Ñ It is used to endorse a direct quotation. Example ͞ Alpha said: all students should report at
6:00 pm for the general meeting͟

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 Ñ Use quotation marks to enclose unfamiliar slangs and other unusual or original statement.
Example, Mary uses ͞top chart͟ to describe things she loves.


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ÝHAPTER TWO (2)

ESSAY

An essay is a long written statement/composition in which the writer is expected to express his candid
opinion. There are different types of essay. They include> Narrative essay, argumentative essay,
descriptive essay and exposition.

LAYOUT OF ESSAYS

>‘ TITLE
>‘ INTRODUÝTION
>‘ PARAGRAPHS OF THE ESSAY/BODY OF ESSAY
>‘ ÝONÝLUSION
>‘ WRITERS NAME

a.‘ The title/heading: this is the subject matter of the essay. It is what the essay is written on. It is
always important to have a relevant title for an essay. The title should have direct link with
essay.
b.‘ Introduction; the introduction is the beginning of the essay. An essay should have a good and
relevant introductory sentence. It should have direct link with the title/heading. The credibility
of the essay is to a larger extent depends upon how the essay begins.
c.‘ The body of the essay: this is where the writer is expected to write what he/she had been asked
to write on. The major idea is found in the body. It should be developed in well-organized
paragraphs with each point belonging to separate paragraphs.
d.‘ The conclusion: The conclusion acts as a summary of what had been written in the above
paragraphs.
e.‘ Name of writers: this is necessary especially when one is asked to write an essay for a magazine
or news paper. The name includes the author of the essay.

a.‘ NARRATIVE ESSAY: In this type of essay, the writer is required to narrate a story, events and
activities. The following should be observed when writing a narrative essay.
>‘ Always write out the title /heading/topic.
>‘ If the title is written in small letter, it should be underlined neatly but if it is in capital letter,
you leave it like that
>‘ The title/topic/ heading etc should be related to the essay.
>‘ Always start with a good and relevant topic sentence.
>‘ Use the past tense since the story, event or activity had already taken place.
>‘ It should be written in paragraphs.
>‘ Each point/reason should belong to a separate paragraph
>‘ There should be unity between paragraphs in other to have free flow of ideas.
>‘ Avoid irrelevant digression as this will consume unnecessary time.

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 >‘ There should be coherence in the ideas. That is from one idea to another in a systematic
way as the story unfolds.
>‘ Always give a relevant conclusion which will act as summary of what you have written.
>‘ Name of writer
>‘ Your English should be simple and clear.

Write a story beginning with ͞At first I thought it was a joke but͟

A REBEL ATTAÝK

At first, I thought it was a joke but it later turned out to be something very serious and damaging.

One Saturday, afternoon mummy had gone to the market to buy some provisions to prepare
food for uncle John who had been admitted to the hospital following a fracture he sustained a
couple of weeks in a Honda crash. I was left in charge of the home, taken care of the children.
Shortly mummy left then I went outside to check and I found the children in the kitchen. Well, I
was not bothered as I thought the children were playing in the kitchen as kids normally do.
Shortly I saw two boys entered the house with guns but I was not scared as I considered it all a
joke.
I later went into my bedroom lay down reading a novel entitled ͞concords time ͞A moment later
I dozed off. In my sleep, I dreamt traveling with some schoolmates on board a bus to Moyamba.
I slept like a log and could have had a wonderful day had it not been for the rude shock I got
when a neighbor shouted Rebels.
I woke up suddenly from my slumber, rushed out of the room with my trousers running down
my legs to enquire what was Amis. To my dismay as I dashed out of the house, I saw a cloud of
combatants (rebels) round the house. The rebel surrounded the whole house and people in the
neighborhood ran away. The children Alpha and Ýhristiana who were playing in the kitchen
when I went in to rest got lost as people ran away to escape. I cried out their names in
desperation hoping to rescue them from rebel. The children in their attempt to escape the rebel
had falling into a nearby gutter where they both sustained deep cuts in their knees. A few
moments someone at the crowd fished them out and dragged them out towards me. At that
point, mummy reached home, she met her children with wounds.
She later took them to the nearby clinic after the rebels had returned for medication.

After everybody had gone away, I stood by reflecting on what a rebel attack I had witnessed
.whenever I think of this horrifying impressive sight I feel the hair on my body trigger with fear.

Alpha John.

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 b.‘ ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY: in this type of essay, one is surpuse to argue logically and critically to
give some reasons either for or against the motion/particular statement. The following should
be noted when writing an argumentative essay

>‘ Start with a moderate and polite form of greeting. Always start from the top or highest to the
bottom. E.g. Mr. chairman, panel of judges, staff of T.V.S.S, distinguish guest, ladies and gentle
men, student of this academic institution and my fellow debaters, good morning to you all.
>‘ Start with a standard beginning, which should clearly state whether you support or oppose the
motion, statement. E.g. Mr. Ýhairman I rise to support the motion that͙͙͙͙͙͙͙͙͙͙
>‘ Present your reasons for supporting or opposing the argument in a clear and well organize
manner
>‘ Each points or reason should belong to a separate paragraph.
>‘ The language used should be simple and clear.
>‘ Be consistent in your argument
>‘ Use real-life situations
>‘ Use accurate statistical data
>‘ Use relevant quotations to give clear support of your statement
>‘ Use rhetorical questions that shows dramatic effect
>‘ Always give a pertinent conclusion.

EXAMPLE OF AN ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY

1.‘ WRITE YOUR ÝONTRIBUTION FOR OR AGAINST THE PROPOSITION ͞Men are superior to women͟
in a debate organized by the literary and debating society of your school.

Mr. Ýhairman, panel of judges, members of staff, fellow debaters, colleagues of this noble
institution, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon to you all etc.

The motion for today͛s debate is ͞ men are superior to women͟, in other words, it is generally
accepted by many people particularly in Africa society that men are better considered and occupy a
higher level in the social ladder and I vehemently support the motion.

To begin with, I believe ͞men are superior to women͟ because in many houses particularly in Africa
settings, men are the breadwinners. It is the men that do the farm work, hunt and provide food for
the home. The women in most cases are left at home to do their domestic work like cooking and
taken care of children.

Another reason why I support the view that ͞men are superior according to the African tradition.
Men pay the bride price and not the women in marriage. So if the men pay the bride price and not

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 the women in marriage. The men pay the bride price and take the women home then, I believe the
͞men are superior to women͟. It is unacceptable for women to ask the hand of men in marriage and
pay the bridegroom͛s pride. But it is the men who are accorded in a typical Africa society.

More so, Mr. Ýhairman, ladies and gentlemen, I strongly support the view that ͞men are superior to
women͟ because after marriage, the most cases. The woman gives up her maiden name and takes
the husband͛s. ͞ Mrs͟ and I believe if the husband is Mr. Alpha or Mr. Johnson as the case may be,
the woman will drop her surname for the husband. I have never heard of a case where the husband
gives up his surname and takes the wife͛s surname. This Mr. Ýhairman, I believe the proverb s͟the
superiority of men to women͟.

Lastly, the respect accorded to men supersedes that accorded to women. In a tropical African
society, men are the chief judges and they occupy the higher position in the native Administrative
court of the region. Women in most cases are not consulted when presiding over important matters
affecting the village or district. They are expected to follow what the men have already agreed on in
the form of laws as prescribed. Therefore, Mr. Ýhairman, panel of judges, my fellow debaters, ladies
and gentle, I believe I have fully succeeded in winning you over to accept the men superiority to
women.

John alpha.

2.‘ Your school͛s literary and debating society is organizing a debate competition on the topic
͞women who are bearing children should not be in paid employment͟. Write your argument for
or against the motion.

Mr. chairman, panel of judges, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, principal and staff , my
fellow students of TVSS, I bid you all a very good afternoon.

The topic for today͛s debate is ͞women who are bearing children should not be in paid
employment͟ in other words any woman who is within the age of giving birth to babies should
not be allowed to work and receive a salary. Simply put any woman who decides to work must
not bear children or if she decides to bear children, then she should leave the job. Mr. Ýhairman,
I strongly contest the motion and present the following argument in defense of my stance.

To start with, the economic situation in many homes in Africa today is very bad regrettably. If
we allow the men alone to cater and support the family, the burden will be too much for them
particularly when salaries are low. Sierra Leone being an example so I believe the women should
be allowed to work and be paid as they bear children. Whatever a woman gets at the end of the
month, she will use it to what the man brings home and that keeps life going.

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 In addition, women should be allowed to bear children and paid employment at the same time
so that to avoid break in marriages. Mr. Ýhairman, many marriages in Africa today have broken
because the women cannot bear children for the men. So if women spend all their time raising
money and refusing to bear children for fear of losing their jobs, there will come a time when
family members will urge the man to look for another woman who will bear him children and
divorce the first wife. This I believe is a tragic situation and in most cases the consequences are
fatal.

Moreover, women should be allowed to be in paid employment and bear children because you
have to raise a family. If a man and a wife live all by themselves without children, that marriage
life will bore and uninteresting. Therefore, we need to have children in the home to kill the
boredom as the children play around and help in some domestic routine task like sweeping,
washing the dishes and amusing the couple after work with songs.

Finally I wholeheartedly contest the motion that ͞women who are bearing children should not
be paid employment͟ because we need to allow the population in the country to grow. Many
people lost their lives in the just concluded rebel war in Sierra Leone. So if we say until a woman
retires before she starts bearing children, then the population size will reduce and that will
grossly affect population and development in the state.

Therefore Mr. chairman, panel of judges, distinguished guest, principal and staff, colleagues of
the noble institution, I believe with all those convincing points, I have advances, you will all
contest the motion ͞women who are bearing children should not be in paid employment͟, I
thank you all for your attention. Alpha John.

PARTS OF SPEEÝH.

1.‘ There are eight parts of speech .Namely;

2.‘ Nouns
3.‘ Pronouns
4.‘ Verbs
5.‘ Adjectives
6.‘ Adverbs
7.‘ Prepositions
8.‘ Ýonjunction
9.‘ Interjection
a.‘ A NOUN. A noun is a word that names a person, a place, things or an idea. Example
-‘ person-Joseph,Apha,Isata,Fatmata,etc.
-‘ Place-Levuma,Moyamba,Moribatown,etc.
-‘ Things-Table,chair,stone,etc.Idea-loneliness,Harmony,capitalism,etc.

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 KINDS OF NOUN
a.‘ Ýommon Noun-This refers to one of a class of people, place, things or ideas. This
kind of noun does not begin with a capital letter unless it begins with a
sentence. Example; The sailors spotted an island
b.‘ Proper noun-This is a noun that gives the name or title of a particular person,
place, thing or ideas. This kind of noun begins with a capital letter. Example; the
largest state is Freetown or Bo.
c.‘ Ýompound noun; this kind of noun consist of two or more words used together.
example-Mother-in-law, Father-in-law, Son-in-law

KINDS OF ÝOMPOUND NOUN

There are four kinds of compound noun
I.‘ One is formed by joining two or more words. E.g. Wall paper.
II.‘ The second kind consists of joining wards by using hyphen. E.g. Dinner-dance,
sister-in-law etc.
III.‘ The third kind consists of words that are often used together even though they
are not joint. E.g. Bulletin board.
IV.‘ The fourth kind is a name that consists of more than a word. E.g. Old faithful.
d.‘ Ýollective noun; this refers to a group of people, place, things or ideas. E.g.
1.‘ The multitude or group of people gathered in front of the stadium.
2.‘ The Muslim has an excellent collection of Egyptian tax.

e. Ýoncrete noun; this refers to material things, people, place or ideas.

Some concrete nouns name things that you can perceive with your sense.
E.g. bell, outdoor etc. Some concrete noun name things that can be
measured or perceived with the aid of technical devices. Although you may
not see them, the noun or a definite material existence. E.g.

i.‘On his face was a black spot.

ii.‘The explosion of tank could be heard two miles away.
iii.‘People need oxygen in other to live (even though you cannot
see).Brima could sell gallons of kerosene in a week.
À‘ f. Abstract noun; these are noun which do not exist in any material forms,
they cannot be seen, non-touch but they express feeling. E.g. in Sierra
Leone people are assuming leadership because of ability and talent.
À‘ Freedom is not by magic but it is from God

B .PRONOUN. A pronoun is a word that is used instead of a noun. Pronoun

refers to person, place, things or ideas without renaming them. E.g.

-Edmond is a person with a number of goals. Moreover, he is willing to work

hard to develop them. (He is a pronoun replacing Edmond and them is a
pronoun replacing goals)

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 The noun that a pronoun replaces is the  for that pronoun.

John told himself that he should read the book and not stare at it. (John is the
antecedent of the pronoun himself and he. Book is the antecedent of the
pronoun it.)

KINDS OF PRONOUN

There are seven kinds of pronoun. Namely;

1.‘ PERSONAL PRONOUNS; these are pronouns that require different

forms to express person, number, and gender. Person refers to the
relationship between the speaker or writer and the person or things
being discussed.
-The first person pronoun (I, me, we and us)
-The second person pronoun (you)
-The third person pronoun (he, him, she, it, they and them.

2. POSSESSIVE PRONOUN; This shows ownership or belonging or called

Possessive pronoun.eg.

Ñ If the books and the radiator are yours, you should remove
them.
Ñ Edmond went to get his calculator.
Ñ Mr. Macauley and other teachers went to Bo town to collect
their salaries.

3. DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS; Pronouns that specify the individual or

the group that is being referred to. There are four kinds of demonstrative pronoun.-this, that, these,
those. Example;-These are cantaloupes, and those are those are honeydew melons or the tut cars, do
you prefer this or that.

4. REFLEXIVE PRONOUN; This type of pronoun indicate that people or things perform an action to, for,
on behalf of themselves. You form reflexive pronoun with the suffixes-self selves.

First person ʹmyself, ourselves

Second person-yourself, yourselves

Third person-himself, herself, itself, oneself, themselves.

Examples of reflexive pronoun;-

Ñ Edmond bought himself a record.(Thomas bought for himself a record)

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 Ñ The horse hurt itself during the jump. (The horse performed the action of hurting upon itself.

5. INTENSIVE PRONOUN; The same words as the reflexive pronouns but they draw special attention
to a person or thing mentioned in the sentence .Intensive pronouns usually follow the words that
they intensify.

Examples;

Shakespeare himself could not have said it better (The pronoun HIMSELF draws special attention to the
subject Shakespeare.)

This book has been autographed by the author herself (The pronoun herself draws special attention to
the author.)

The crowd expected the senator himself to show up at the rally. (He draws special attention to the
direct object Senator.)

6. INTERROGATIVE PRONOUN; This introduce questions. Here are the most frequently used
interrogative pronouns; who, whom, which what and whose.

Example;

À‘ Which of the two books did you buy?

À‘ What did you receive from Mr. Kamara?
À‘ Whose is this scarf?

7. RELATIVE PRONOUN; This introduce adjective clause which modify nouns and pronouns.

Examples of relative pronouns; -who, whom, whose, which and that.

À‘ People who live by the sword die by the sword. (People are the antecedent of sword.)
À‘ The aircraft that chunks Yeagen used to break the sound barrier in 1944 was a bell x-1 rocket
aero plane. (Aircraft is the antecedent of that.

8. INDEFINITE PRONOUN; -This refers to people, places or things in general. You can often use this
pronoun without antecedents. The following list contains commonly used indefinite pronouns.

All either most often another enough

Much others any everybody neither plenty

Anybody everyone nobody several anything

Everything none some both few

Each many more nothing somebody

Someone something one

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Is any of the work left?

Any of these three cyclists may win the bicycle race.

Several of the couples went out to dinner.

VERB;-A verb is a word that expresses an action or state of being. There are three kinds of verbs. These
are;

Action verbs, linking verb, auxiliary verb.

1)‘ AÝTION VERB; -An action verb describes the behavior or action of someone or something
.Action verb may represent physical action or mental activities.
Examples;-
š‘ Joseph ran all the way home with the news.‘
š‘ º
‘
‘‘
‘


‘ ‘ ‘‘‘‘‘
‘
‘


‘

‘‘  ‘
‘
š‘ Musu studied until late last night.
š‘ Most of the critics admire the new musical comedy.

2)‘ LINKING VERBS;-A linking verb connects a noun or a pronoun with a word or words that identify
or describe a noun or pronoun. Many linking verbs are verbs of being, which are formed from
the verb be.
Example;
À‘ Lucy store was an American reformer of the nineteenth century. (was links reformer to
Lucy͛s store)
À‘ The sofa along the fan wall and rocking chair in the corner are quite comfortable. (Are
links the descriptive word comfortable to sofa and to rocking chair.)

A list of linking verbs listed below; (class work)

Appear. Become, feel, grow, look, remain, seen, smell, and sound, stay, taste.

3)‘ AUXILIARY VERB;- Sometime a verb needs the help of another verb called an auxiliary verb or a
helping verb The verb that is helped is called the main verb.
Example;-

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ÝHAPTER 3

IDIOMATIÝ EXPRESSION

1 To run amock: This means to loss control.

Example

À‘ Alpha and John have run amock. This means that Alpha and John have lost control
À‘ The head boy of Technical Vocational Secondary School Moriba town has run amock over his
cabinet. This means that the head boy of Technical Vocational secondary School Moriba town
has lost control over his cabinet

2 In birthday suite: Which means to be naked?

Example

À‘ The thief was treated in a birthday suite when he was caught yesterday. This means that the
thief was treated naked when he was caught yesterday
À‘ Emmanuel was in his birthday suit this morning. This means that Emmanuel was naked this
morning.

3 To play duck and drakes: This means to spend money foolishly

Example

À‘ Mr.Kamara plays duck and drakes to women. This means that Mr.Kamara spend money foolishly
on women
À‘ To play duck and drakes in a country will affect the country͛s economy. This means that
spending money foolishly in a country will affect the economy of that country.

4 It goes without saying: This means that it is evident, clear and has support.

Example

À‘ The fight which took place at the national stadium goes without saying. This means that the
fight which took place at the national stadium has an evident.
À‘ The Sierra Leone rebel war goes without saying. This means that the Sierra Leone rebel war goes
with much evident.

5 To turn over a new leaf: This means that we should make fresh start, change for the better.

Example

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 À‘ Emmanuel and Mary turn over a new leaf over their issue. This means that Emmanuel and Mary
make a fresh start over their issue.

6 To make mountain out of mode hills; that is to make little success out of difficult situation.

Example

À‘ Alpha make mountain out of mode hills to pass his external examination. This means Alpha
makes little success out of difficult situation to pass his external examination.
À‘ To become rich one needs to make mountain out of mode hills this means to become rich one
needs to make little success out of difficult situation.

7 To cross the Rubicon: This means to undertake a venture in which there is no turning back.

Example

À‘ Joseph and Ýonteh have cross the Rubicon in their examination. This means that Joseph and
Ýonteh have taken their examination at which they should pass it without fail.
À‘ The president of the Republic of sierra Leone has cross the Rubicon to bring development to
Sierra Leone. This means that the president of the Republic of Sierra Leone has undertaken a
venture to bring development to Sierra Leone at all cost.

8 To wait on: This means to be around and ready to serve.

Example

À‘ Emmanuel waits on James this morning: this means that Emmanuel was around and ready to
serve James this morning.
À‘ The Sierra Leone Police Force wait on the President of the Republic of Sierra Leone: This means
the Sierra Leone Police Force was around and ready to serve the president.
À‘ To wait on the guest: This means to be around and ready to serve the guest

9. To iron out differences: This means to settle dispute, or to correct mistakes.

Example:

À‘ Our chairman iron out differences between his members last week: this means our chairman
settle dispute between his members
À‘ Mr. Koroma iron out differences between the police force and the student of Technical
Vocational Secondary School Moriba Town. This means that Mr. Koroma settle out
misunderstanding between the police force and the students of technical vocational secondary
school Moriba town last week.

10. To meet your waterloo: this means to be totally defeated.

Example

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 À‘ The rebel leader has met his waterloo. This means the rebel leader has been totally defeated.
À‘ Foday sankoh and his group met their waterloo on the 16th June 2006. This means Foday Sankoh
and his group were totally defeated on the 16th June 2006.

11. To be no body: This simply means a person without influence or importance.

Example:

À‘ Mr. Ýonteh is nobody in his family. This means that Mr. Ýonteh is a man without influence in his
family.
À‘ Mr. Kargbo is no body for the football match. This means that he is less important for the
football match.

12. To be in wire: this means to be in confusion.

Example.

À‘ The lawyer and his wife were in wire with Each other. This means the lawyers and his wife were
at confusion.
À‘ Mariama and her mother were at wire last year. This means Mariama and her mother were at
dispute last year

13. To go hay wire: this means to lost control or to be wild.

Example.

À‘ Juliana is haywire with her parent. This means she has lost control from her parent.
À‘ The black goat is haywire. This mean the black goad has become so wild.

14. A bottleneck: this means a narrow path of a wide road where traffic is held up, a problem, or
difficult.

Example.

À‘ The lesson is a bottleneck to James. This means the lesson is a problem to James.
À‘ To eat rice every day is a bottleneck to our members. This means to eat everyday is a difficult
situation to our members.

15. A dead end. This means the end of a road which leads nowhere.

Example.

À‘ The road leading to the town field is a dead-end. This means the road leading to the town field
does not lead to anywhere.
À‘ Kissy town road in Bo is a dead-end. This means it does not lead to any other place

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16 To put ones finger across: This means to hope for the better.

Example

À‘ Joseph and Musa keep their fingers across after the fire accident. This means them hope for the
better after they had the fire accident.
À‘ The principal of technical Vocational Secondary SÝHOOL AND HIS STAFF PUT THEIR fingers
across after their students failed the BEÝE last academic year. This mean the Principal of
Technical Vocational secondary School and his staff hoped for better result after their students
failed the BEÝE last year.

17. The man of the moment: This means an important person.

Example.

À‘ The principal is a man of a moment for the football match this afternoon. This means the
principal is the best player for today͛s match.
À‘ Student of Technical Vocational Secondary School are the men of a moment. This means they
are best students for this year

18. under the counter: This means secretly.

Example

À‘ Let our discussion be under the counter. This means our discussion should be secretly.
À‘ The chairman for our meeting advice that the meeting should be under counter. This means the
chairman advice us that the meeting should not be disclosed.

19. Ýupboard love: This means pretended love, love with the hope of getting something.

Example

À‘ Juliana is in cupboard love with Joseph. This means Juliana is in love with Joseph with hope of
deriving benefit from him.

20. Jonah: Simply means a person who brings bad luck to his people.

Example

À‘ Emmanuel is the Jonah of his family

21. Rat race: The struggle or competition for success in business.

Example

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 À‘ Mr. Koroma and his wife are in serious rat race. This means Mr. Koroma and his wife are in
serious competition of getting money.

22. To live in sin: This means to live stay with a partner without being married to each other.

Example

À‘ Mr. Alpha was in sin with Sombo for five year. This means that Mr. Alpha live with Mary for five
before he could married her.

23 A lamb duck: This means the person who cannot pay dept (debtor).

Example

À‘ Janet is lamb duck. This means she is a debtor

24 Dejury: This means by law, legally.

Example:

À‘ According to de jury, all Sierra Leonean should be corrupt free. This mean, according to law, all
Sierra; Leonean should not be corrupt.

25. To egg on: This means to urge someone.

Example

À‘ Who will egg me to do my domestic work? this means who will urge me to do my domestic work

î  
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Synonyms: These are words which are closer in meaning. Below are some of the synonyms which are
commonly used in our daily conversations.


  î  î
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1 Abandon Dessert, forsake, leave
2 Abundant Ample, plentiful
3 Abbreviate Ýurtail, abridge, compressed
4 Adore Worship, idolize,
5 Alive Lively, vivacious
6 Ally Ýolleague, helper, partner, accomplice
7 Alms Arphatory, dole; gratuity

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8 amend Improve, ameliorate
9 Anxiety Eager, solicit, foreboding
10 Assent Ýonsent, agree
11 Bad Evil, wicked, devilish, worthless
12 Beautiful Adorn, decorate
13 Behavior Ýonduct, deportment
14 Beg Explore, solicit, besiege
15 Big Enormous, gigantic, huge, mighty, great, vast, large,
majesty, bulky
16 blame Upbraid, reprove
17 blessing Benediction
18 busy Industrious, diligent, active, open, energetic
19 Brave Ýourageous, fearless, daring ,intrepid
20 bright Ýlear, brillant, lustrous, transparent, intelligent
21 confess Admit, apologize, acknowledge,
22 candid Frank, sincere, outspoken
23 Ýare
24 Ýause Reason, purpose, motive, character, reputation
25 Ýhoose Select, discriminate, differentiate
26 Ýlever Precious, indigenous, versatile
27 Ýloth Attire, dress, gard
28 Ýruelty Oppression, persecution
29 Dangerous Risky, hazardous
30 Dear Expensive, costly
31 Decrease Reduce, diminish, lessen
32 Difficult Hard, involve, imaginable
33 Disfigure Demare, deface, injure
34 Dishonest Unjust, unfair, deceitful, unscrupulous
35 Disorder Ýonfusion, chaos
36 Dull Gloomy, cheerless, lonesome, backward, melancholy
37 Eager Keen, enthusiastic
38 Earn Achieve, gain, merit, acquire
39 Educate Train, guide, instruct, teach
40 Eject Expel, dislodge, emit, cast,
41 Elevate Rise, left, improve
42 Embrace Huge, clasp,
43 emotion Feeling, possession, agitation
44 Enemy Foe, opponent, antagonist adversary,
45 Enough Adequate, sufficient
46 Enquire Seek, search, investigate, explore, trace, inspect, examine
47 Eradicate Exterminate, eliminate, destroy
48 Esteem Love, value honor, price, admire
49 External Perpetual, infinite
50 Exaggerate Enlarge, overstate, amplify
51 Excess Surplus, increase
52 Famous Renowned, eminent, distinguish

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53 Fashion Ýostume, style, form
54 Fate Destiny, end
55 Fault Error, defect, flaw
56 Fear Terror, dread
57 Fearful Timid, cowardly
58 Frightened Nervous
59 Fight Battle, contest, combat, struggle, conflict, contention
60 Fond Affectionate, loving, devoted
61 Frank Ýandid, outspoken, open, sincere, plain, ingenious
62 Friend Ýomrade, companion, associate colleague
62 Fruitful Productive, luxuriant, prolific
64 Game Recreation, sport, fun, frolic
65 Generous Liberal, big-hearted, noble, genuine, pure, rare
66 Good Righteous, just, true, vitreous, upright
67 Habit Ýustom, usage, way
68 Hateful Abominable, detestable, execrable
69 Help Assist, aid, successful, support
70 Hinder Obstruct, impede
71 Home Dwelling., resident, abode, habitation
72 Increase Enlarge, augment, multiply, extend, magnify, expand
73 Injure Hurt, harm, violate wrong, ill-treat, damage
74 Insolvent Bankrupt
75 Invasion Raid, attack
76 Invoke Ýall, summon
77 Irritate Tease, provoke
78 Kind Ýonsiderate, tender, good, affectionate
79 Lazy Indolent, idle, inactive, sluggish
80 Malice Malevolent, spite, hate
81 Mistake Error, blunder, fault
82 Mute Dumb, silent
83 Narrate Tell, say, report, receipt
84 Necessary Needful, essential, requisite
85 Necessity Want, need
86 Obey Yield, submit
87 Old Ancient, obsolete, antique
88 Omen Sign, forbidden
89 Oral Verbal, unwritten
90 Polite Affable, courteous, civil, polish
91 Poor Need, destitute
92 Predict Foretell, herald
93 Pretty Beautiful, lovely, fine, handsome, neat, elegant
94 Praise Ýompliment, commend, applaud
95 Pitiful Ýompassionate, sympathetic, merciful
96 Rule Govern, manage, supervise
97 Refugee Outlaw, exile, outcast
98 Rude Insolent, impolite, offensive

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99 Strong Powerful, muscular, able, stalwart, sturdy
100 Surrender Yield, abandon, submit, capitulate
101 Sin Transgression, offense, misdemeanor
102 Safe Secure, protect, guarded, locked
103 Trust Rely, believe
104 Try Attempt, Endeavour, strive
105 Thrive Hoax
106 Ugly Hideous, horrid, uncut, squalid, repulsive
107 Victor Success, triumph
108 Weak Feeble, impotent, frail, flimsy

 
î

Antonyms: These are words and their opposite meanings. Below are some examples which are
commonly used in our daily conversation.

   î  î

1 Ýool Hot
2 Dry Wet
3 Love Hate, hatred
4 Question Answer
5 Asleep Awake
6 Front Back
7 Joy Sorrow, grief
8 Begin End, cease
9 Found Loose
10 Friend Enemy, foe
11 Dead Alive
12 Busy Idle
13 Sweet Sour, acid, bitter
14 Bright Dull
15 Rise Fall, sink
16 True False
17 Quick slow
18 Start Finish
19 Ugly Beautiful
20 Near Far, distance
21 Absent Present
22 Poor Rich
23 Right Wrong
24 Peace War
25 Ýoarse Fine
26 Rough Smooth
27 Top Bottom

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28 Buy sell
29 Win lose
30 Life Death
31 Proud Humble
32 Easy Difficult, hatred
33 Ýheap Dear, expensive
34 Inside Outside
35 Give Take
36 Hit Miss
37 Wide Narrow
38 Loud Soft
39 Ýlean Dirty
40 Weep Laugh
41 Kind Ýruel
42 Empty Full
43 Ever Never
44 Bless Ýurse
45 Adult Ýhild
46 North South
47 East West
48 High Low
49 Upper Lower
50 Better Worse
51 Entrance Exit
52 Weep Laugh
53 Active Passive
54 Noise Silence
55 Quiet Noisy
56 Inner Outer
57 Lend Borrow
58 Go Ýome
59 Hard Soft
60 Old New
61 Junior Senior
62 Live Die
63 Long Short
64 Enjoy Dislike
65 Gay Grave
66 Rejoice Mourn, grieve
67 Pleasant Unpleasant
68 Success Failure
69 Harmony Discord
70 Blessing Ýurse
71 Generous Mean, selfish
72 Valor Ýowardice
73 Bravery Ýowardice

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74 Advance Retreat, retire
75 Arrive Depart
76 Attack Defense
77 Before Behind
78 Engage Dismiss
79 Everywhere Anywhere
80 Ýollect Disperse
81 Youth Age
82 Modern Ancient
83 Former Latter
84 Least Greatest
85 Slender Stout
86 Robust Feeble, delicate
87 Good Bad
88 Big Small
89 Smart, clever Foolish, stupid
90 Here There
91 First Last
92 Early Late
93 Fat Thin, lean
94 Join, unite Separate
95 Light Heavy, dark
96 Many Few
97 All None
98 Often Seldom
99 Fresh Stale
100 Day Night
101 Straight Ýrooked
102 Weak Strong
103 Deep Shallow
104 Open Shut, closed
105 Black White
106 Praise Blame
107 This That
108 These Those

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