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Lexis and Structure

JAMB English Language topic guide with 7 practice questions.

What to revise

  • synonyms
  • antonyms
  • clause and sentence patterns
  • word classes and their functions
  • mood, tense, aspect, number, agreement/concord, degree (positive, comparative and superlative) and question tags
  • mechanics
  • ordinary usage, figurative usage and idiomatic usage
  • idioms tested are formal ones expressed in Standard British English (SBE)

You should be able to

  • identify words and expressions in their ordinary, figurative and idiomatic contexts
  • determine similar and opposite meanings of words
  • differentiate between correct and incorrect spellings
  • identify various grammatical patterns in use
  • interpret information conveyed in sentences

From JAMB's English Language syllabus official.

eZine's published bank has 163 questions on this topic (counted 29 October 2026).

Practice questions

Question 1 · Lexis and Structure

Choose the option nearest in meaning to the word in capitals as it is used in the sentence. 'The flood RENDERED many families in Makurdi homeless.'

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Answer: D. made

'render' followed by an adjective means 'cause to become': the flood made them homeless. 'found' and 'reported' describe discovering or announcing a state, and 'maintained' means maintaining one, not causing it.

eZine practice question (original, teacher-reviewed)

Question 2 · Lexis and Structure

Choose the option that best explains the meaning of the expression in capitals. 'The abandoned stadium has become A WHITE ELEPHANT to the state government.'

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Answer: C. a costly project that brings little benefit

'A white elephant' is a possession that is expensive to maintain but of little use. It is not valuable, attractive to tourists or close to completion.

eZine practice question (original, teacher-reviewed)

Question 3 · Lexis and Structure

Choose the option opposite in meaning to the word in capitals as it is used in the sentence. 'In his closing remarks, the speaker AMPLIFIED his earlier point about youth unemployment.'

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Answer: A. toned down

To 'amplify' a point is to enlarge on it or strengthen it; the opposite is to 'tone down'. 'expanded', 'explained' and 'illustrated' are all ways of amplifying a point.

eZine practice question (original, teacher-reviewed)

Question 4 · Lexis and Structure

Choose the sentence in which the two main clauses are correctly punctuated.

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Answer: C. The rain fell heavily; the roads in Port Harcourt were flooded.

Two closely related main clauses can be joined by a semicolon. A comma alone creates a comma splice, no punctuation creates a run-on sentence, and a colon followed by 'and' is incorrect.

eZine practice question (original, teacher-reviewed)

Question 5 · Lexis and Structure

Choose the option nearest in meaning to the word in capitals as it is used in the sentence. 'Traders protested that the council's decision to demolish their stalls was ARBITRARY.'

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Answer: A. unreasoned

'arbitrary' describes a decision based on whim rather than reason or system — unreasoned. The traders would hardly protest a 'lawful' or 'popular' decision in those terms, and 'final' concerns whether it can be changed, not how it was reached.

eZine practice question (original, teacher-reviewed)

Question 6 · Lexis and Structure

Choose the option opposite in meaning to the word in capitals as it is used in the sentence. 'The boy's conduct during the inter-house sports was COMMENDABLE.'

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Answer: B. reprehensible

'commendable' means deserving praise; the opposite is 'reprehensible' (deserving blame). 'praiseworthy' is a synonym; 'unusual' and 'childish' do not directly oppose praise.

eZine practice question (original, teacher-reviewed)

Question 7 · Lexis and Structure

Which of the following sentences is grammatically correct?

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Answer: C. Kano is farther from Lagos than Ibadan is.

With 'than', the comparative 'farther' is needed. 'more farther' is a double comparative, 'furthest' is superlative and cannot take 'than', and 'far' is the positive degree.

eZine practice question (original, teacher-reviewed)

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