Supplementary Study Materials for Underperforming Schools

Verbal Aptitude for NPSE

March 2021

NOT FOR SALE

CONTENTS
Teachers’ Guide
UNIT 1 Analogies
UNIT 2 Analogies Pair Review
UNIT 3 Word Groups
UNIT 4 Groupings
UNIT 5 Sentence Arrangements
UNIT 6 Word Patterns 1
UNIT 7 Word Patterns Review
UNIT 8 Four Key Block Letter Words (Vocabulary Development)
UNIT 9 Review on Four Key Block Letter Words (Vocabulary Development)
UNIT 10 Reading Comprehension
UNIT 11 Reading Comprehension Passages
UNIT 12 Review on Reading and Comprehension
UNIT 13 General Knowledge
UNIT 14 True Sentences
UNIT 15 Alphabetical Positions
UNIT 16 Alphabetical Order
UNIT 17 Correct Order of Words According to Size and Shape
UNIT 18 Sentences that Make Complete Sense
UNIT 19 Word Making 1
UNIT 20 Word Making Review
UNIT 21 Synonyms
UNIT 22 Antonyms
UNIT 23 Rhyming Words
UNIT 24 Code and Decoding
UNIT 25 Revisions on Grouping
UNIT 26 Revisions on Word Groups
UNIT 27 Revisions on Analogies
UNIT 28 Relationship Between Two Words
UNIT 29 Revision on Reading and Comprehension
UNIT 30 Revisions on Word Patterns

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Appendix
i. Answers to Activity Questions.
ii. References.

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TEACHERS’ GUIDE
Dear Teacher,
The purpose of this material is to complement whatever teaching and learning materials you
may have already utilised. Note that this is by no means different from what is required of your
pupils to pass their exams. In fact, the materials were developed based on the current National
Curriculum Framework. Also, it is intended for you the teachers to assist the pupils get the
basic skills and knowledge they require to pass their exams with good grades.
The Sierra Leone National Primary School Examination (NPSE) Verbal Aptitude Test is an
improved version of the popular Selective Entrance test. The NPSE is set by the National
Examination Council and it is compulsory for pupils intending to go to junior secondary school
(JSS). Therefore pupils must pass the NPSE with very good grades in order to gain admission
into the junior secondary schools of their choice. It is therefore important for all stakeholders
(The TSC, MBSSE, teachers, parents and pupils) in education to play their parts for the success
of the pupils. It is therefore in fulfilment of this goal that this material has been prepared and if
you make good use of it, there is no doubt that your pupils will make good grades.
The Verbal Aptitude Exams for the NPSE consists of eight sections with a total of 40 questions
to be answered in just 30 minutes. The Verbal Aptitude is a subject that requires critical
thinking, therefore, every section starts with an example and the skills required to answer the
questions which you need to understand properly in order to help the pupils understand the
concept.
In that direction, you are expected to:
- Properly link this work to whatever you have been teaching.
- Digest the materials to your understanding so that you will be the master in your class.
- Explain the skills and techniques used to arrive at the answers.
- Make sure your lesson is pupil cantered and not teacher cantered by giving them
activities in relation to the topic to provoke their understanding.
- Cover each topic to the understanding of the pupils before you go to another topic.
- Give your pupils classwork after each topic to evaluate your lesson.
- Make corrections and revise pertinent issues you observed from the corrections.
- Allow pupils to ask and answer questions.
- The pupils understanding of the concept should be your focus.
Note that there are answers for all the activities at the back of the material for reference. Make
sure the pupils only make reference to those answers after they have tried the questions on
their own.
In order to pass this paper with good scores, the candidate is expected to practice as many
exercises as possible. In a bid to enhance that practice, this material contains thirty units of all
what is required for your success in this paper. So if properly utilised by the teachers as well as
pupils, there is no doubt that the results will be very good.

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 UNIT 1
ANALOGIES
LEARNING OUTCOME: By the end of this lesson, pupils will be able to:
 Tell the relationship between two words
 Answer the questions on it correctly
What are Analogies? Analogies are relationships of resemblance or equivalence between two
situations, people, or objects, especially when used as a basis for an explanation.
Analogies can also be defined as words that are related or connected in one way or the other.
For instance, shoes are related to leather, and bread is to flour. From these examples, you can
see and learn that shoes have a relationship with leather as they are made out of leather.
Similarly, bread has a relationship with flour as it is made out of flour.
In the NPSE exams, Analogies normally appear in section one. Below are some examples of
questions in the section:
INSTRUCTIONS
In each of the following questions, a word is missing. Choose from the words lettered A – E
the one that most suitably fills the blank space. An example is given below;
Food and water
Eat and ……….
A. Drink
B. Dinner
C. Talk
D. Rice
E. Mouth
The missing word is drink, which is letter A and therefore, answer space A would be shaded.
Now use the following to practise by answering them in the same way.
1. Married and Divorced 6. Love and friend
Happy and ………………. Hate and ………….
A. Glad A. hatred
B. Healthy B. brother
C. Lonely C. enemy
D. Sad D. pal
E. United E. foe
2. Nose and Smell 7. Egg and Shell
Eye and ………………. Banana and ………..
A. Mouth A. coat
B. See B. covering
C. Hear C. peel
D. Touch D. rind
E. Sight E. skin

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 3. Today and Yesterday 8. Herd and Cattle
Sunday and …………… Swam and ……………
A. Church A. bees
B. Monday B. camel
C. Friday C. cows
D. Saturday D. goats
E. Mosque E. sheep
4. Chair and sit 9. Men and Male
Bed and …………… Women and ………………..
A. Dance A. babies
B. Sleep B. boys
C. Room C. Children
D. Lie D. female
E. Rest E. girls
5. Book and Read 10. Often and always
Song and ……….. Seldom and …………….
A. Music A. never
B. Sing B. ever
C. Piano C. some times
D. Choir D. now
E. Dance E. then
RECAP
State six pairs of words that are related or connected in one way or the other.
1. Lawyer and …………... 4. Onion and ……………..
2. Doctor and …………….. 5. Neck and ……………….
3. Pawpaw and …………... 6. Wrist and ………………

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 UNIT 2
ANALOGIES PAIR REVIEW

LEARNING OUTCOMES: By the end of this lesson, pupils will be able to:
 Review past NPSE questions related to Analogies
 Try as much as possible to answer the questions correctly
MAIN POINTS: Same as in unit one, analogies actually require the candidate to look at the
original word carefully and pick from the options the word that is related to the original word.
The examples should be observed carefully as the relationship of the words in the questions is
determined by the types of relationships between the two words in the example.
ACTIVITES: Here are some past questions for you to answer.
INSTRUCTIONS: In each of the following questions, a word is missing. Choose from the
words lettered A – E and select the one that most suitably fills the blank spaces. An example
is given below.
Food and water
Eat and ……………..
A. Dinner
B. Drink
C. Mouth
D. Rice
E. Talk
The missing word is drink, which is letter B and therefore answer space B would be shaded.
Now do the following.
1. Pen and paper 4. Teacher and school
Chalk and …………… doctor and
……………..
A. Blackboard A. hospital
B. Cheese B. medicine
C. School C. patient
D. Teacher D. stretcher
E. Wall E. ward
2. Christians and Church 5. River and Swim
Muslims and ………………….. Mountain and
…………..
A. Imam A. Climb
B. Market B. ride
C. Mosque C. run
D. Pastor D. stroll
E. Pray E. walk
3. In and out 6. Pawpaw and Orange
Up and ………… Onion and
………………

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 A. Down A. fruit
B. Inside B. vegetable
C. Off C. tomato
D. On D. mango
E. Under E. lemon
RECAP
Fill in the blank space with a word that shows a relationship with the underlined word in each
question.
1. Arm is to hand 4. Bread is to baker
As leg is to ……………… as clothes is
to…………..
2. …………… is to brother 5. Neck is to tie
As uncle is to niece. as waist is to
…………………
3. A B is to D E 6. Flock is to sheep
As C D is to …………….. as herd is to
………………….

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 UNIT 3
WORD GROUPS
Word groups means a group of words that belong to the same class. Therefore, the name of
the group to which all the words belong is the general word. Thus, this unit is intended to test
the ability of candidates to determine the general word group of a series of words given.
A group is a number of things or persons that are in some kind of relations to one another. It
is also a number of people or things that are located, gathered or classed together. For
example; blue, green, pink, red, and yellow belong to the general group name called,
COLOUR.
Also, father, mother, sisters and brothers are called FAMILY because they are a group of
people who live and do many things in common.
In the NPSE examinations, this type of unit is visibly seen in section two (2). Let us now take
a look at how the questions will be like in the exams. Below are typical examples.
INSTRUCTIONS:
In each of the following groups of words, pick out the one word that does not belong to the
group. Example:
A. Tea
B. Beer
C. Coffee
D. Cocoa
E. Ovaltine
The word beer does not belong to the group. In this case therefore, answer space B would be
shaded.
Beer is not part of the group because it is an alcoholic beverage whereas all the other options
belong to a group known as non-alcoholic beverages.
ACTIVITY
Now, get ready to answer these questions using the same principles:
In each of the following groups of words, pick out the one word that does not belong to the
group.
1. A. Cabbage 5. A. Butterfly
B. Carrot B. Ant
C. Onions C. Wasp
D. Lettuce D. Mosquito
E. Orange E. Bee
2. A. Tulip 6. A. Skirt
B. Palm B. Blouse
C. Rose C. Sandals
D. Lily D. Trousers
E. Hibiscus E. T-Shirt

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3. A. Volley Ball 7. A. Chair
B. Golf B. Table
C. Tennis C. Throne
D. Javelin D. Stool
E. Football E. Bench

4. A. Chest 8. A. Go
B. Eye B. Walk
C. Nose C. Depart
D. Mouth D. Run
E. Ear E. Try

RECAP
Fill in the blank spaces:
The following words are a collection of what ?
1. Mathew, Mark, Luke and John are a collection of …………….in the ………….
2. Cassava, yam, potato and rice are ………………… foods.
3. K. Man, Emmerson Bockarie, Kao Denero and LAJ are names of ……………
4. Diamond, gold, iron ore, bauxite, and rutile are ………………………………………
5. Table, chairs, desk, wall robe, are
…………………………………………………………..

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 UNIT 4
GROUPINGS
LEARNING OUTCOME: By the end of this lesson, pupils would be able to:
 Carefully examine past question papers relating word groupings
MAIN POINTS
This revision exercise aims to enhance learners’ understanding of the topic and enable them
to be in a better position to excel in their exams. With such an understanding, they will build
on their vocabulary that they can use in other areas of study. Hence, their ability to identify
the odd word from a group of words means the pupils have some knowledge on the type of
words and their meanings.
ACTIVITIES
In this section, we will look at the 2016 past questions on groups of words. In each of the
following groups of words, pick out the one word that does not belong to the group by
underlining it.

1. A. Axe 4. A. Crape
B. Broom B. Shoes
C. Cutlass C. Slippers
D. Hoe D. Trousers
E. Shovel E. Boot

2. A. Monday 5. A. Fork
B. January B. Knife
C. February C. Plate
D. March D. Spoon
E. April E. Chair

3. A. Ear 6. A. Saw
B. Eye B. Hammer
C. Hand C. Chisel
D. Mouth D. Clamp
E. Nose E. Hoe

RECAP
Odd means not belonging to a particular group. It means, single, sole, singular; not
having a mate.
Can you state six groups of five with an odd item in each group?
Thank you for completing this session. I hope you did a very marvellous work.

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 UNIT 5
SENTENCE ARRANGEMENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES: By the end of this lesson, pupils will be able to:
 Demonstrate clear comprehension on the meaning of a sentence
 Arrange sentences in their correct sequence or order of arrival

MAIN POINTS:
A Sentence is a grammatically complete series of words consisting of a subject and predicate
even if one or the other is implied, and typically beginning with a capital letter and ending
with a full stop.
1. It is also a group of words that make a complete sense or thought.
2. Arrangement simply means the act of arranging, the manner of being arranged and
3. A collection of things that have been arranged accordingly.
4. It is also a particular way in which items are organized.

There are three main types of sentences. They are:

1. Simple Sentence: A Simple sentence has a subject and a verb.
2. A Compound Sentence: Is made up of two simple sentences joined by ‘and, or, but
and ‘so’ etc.

It is important to note that sentence arrangement appears in section V of this paper and
pupils will be expected to see three numbered sentences simple and pupils will be
asked to arrange them in order of occurrence.
That is to tell which one should come first, which second and which third irrespective
of how they may have been arranged. This important as it helps the pupils learn the
correct order in which things happen. That is knowing order things happen.

INSTRUCTION
In each of the following questions, there are three numbered sentences. Read them
carefully and decide which one should come first, which second and which third.
Example:

1. Leave it to boil.
2. Put the kettle on the fire.
3. Put some water in the kettle.

A. 1, 2, 3
B. 2, 3, 1
C. 2, 1, 3
D. 3, 2, 1
E. 3, 1, 2

The correct answer is D, that is;

1. Put some water in the kettle.

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 2. Put the kettle on the fire.
3. Leave it to boil.

In this case therefore, answer space D would be shaded.

ACTIVITY
In each of the following questions, there are three numbered sentences. Read them
carefully and decide which one should come first, which second and which third.
1.
1. I bought a pint of soft drinks.
2. I went to the shop.
3. My mother gave me some money.
A. 1, 2, 3 C. 3, 2, 1 E. 2, 1, 3
B. 1, 3, 2 D. 2, 3, 1
2.
1. He begged for some bread.
2. He ate the bread that was given to him.
3. I gave him the bread.
A. 1, 2, 3 C. 3, 2, 1 E. 1, 3, 2
B. 2, 1, 3 D. 3, 1, 2
3.
1. The prisoner pleaded for mercy.
2. The judge passed a five years sentence against him.
3. The prisoner was found guilty for house breaking.

A. 3, 1, 2 C. 3, 2, 1 E. 1, 3, 2
B. 2, 1, 3 D. 1, 2, 3
4.
1. He started playing it a long time ago.
2. He likes playing football.
3. And he still plays it.
A. 1, 2, 3 C. 3, 2, 1 E. 1, 3, 2
B. 2, 1, 3 D. 3, 1, 2

5.
1. The whistle went for the start of the match.
2. They won the game in the last five minutes.
3. At half time, Leone Stars were losing the game.

A. 1, 2, 3 C. 3, 1, 2 E. 1, 3, 2
B. 2, 1, 3 D. 3, 2, 1

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RECAP

Do the following at home to find out to what extent you have understood the topic.

There are three numbered sentences, read them carefully and decide which one should come
first, which second and which third.

1.
1. He greeted him.
2. John entered the room.
3. He saw his grandmother.
A. 1, 2, 3 C. 1, 3, 2 E. 2, 3, 1
B. 3, 2, 1 D. 3, 1, 2

2.
1. Go and fetch some water.
2. Take a bucket.
3. Take it to the bathroom.
A. 1, 2, 3 C. 2, 3, 1 E. 3, 1, 2
B. 2, 1, 3 D. 3, 2, 1
3.
1. My mother was ill.
2. The doctor gave her some pills.
3. She was taken to the hospital.
A. 3, 2, 1 C. 1, 3, 2 E. 2, 3, 1
B. 2, 1, 3 D. 1, 2, 3

4.
1. He trains every day.
2. Mary is a good runner.
3. She will win the race.

A. 1, 2, 3 C. 2, 1, 3 E. 1, 3, 2
B. 3, 2, 1 D. 3, 1,

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 UNIT 6
WORD PATTERNS 1
LEARNING OUTCOMES: By the end of this lesson, pupils will be able to:
 Form a second word by adding or subtracting a letter from the first word
 Observe the words carefully in order to be able to identify the relationships
between pairs of words and answer the questions correctly
This exercise requires a careful observation of two pairs of words. Try to find out how the
pairs of words are related and then find out a word from the options which is related to the
other word which does not have a pair. So, candidates are required to do a careful observation
in order to identify the relationship that exists between different pairs of words. They can do
so either by adding or subtracting the first letter of the first or by writing the first in complete
reversal, or by omitting a few letters from the first word given in each pair. This type of
question always appear in section three.
INSTRUCTIONS: in each of the following questions you are given two pairs of words and
then a fifth word followed by a gap. Look carefully at the two words in each pair and find out
how they are related. Then chose from the five words lettered A - E the word which is related
to the fifth word in the same way.
EXAMPLE: bin, big; pin, pig; ran ……..…
A. Run
B. Rot
C. Rang
D. Rain
E. Rag
In this example, the second word of each pair of the words is obtained by replacing the letter
‘n’ of the first word with the letter ‘g’. Therefore the correct answer is rag which is lettered
‘E’. In this case therefore answer space ‘E’ would be shaded.
ACTIVITY
1. Ponder, pore; wonder, wore; fonder, …… 6. Make, mates; fake, fates; rake, …
A. Fond A. Eats
B. Pond B. Rakes
C. Fore C. Rates
D. Wind D. Rats
E. Powder E. Takes
2. Blank, bank; flair, fair; place, ………………. 7. Car, race; lit, tile; mad,
…………
A. Paper A. Dame
B. Fare B. Lame
C. Fast C. Made
D. Pace D. Maid
E. Plant E. Male

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 3. Step, pets; live, evil; keel, ……………… 8. Week, weak; feet, feat;
meet, ……
A. Kill A. Meat
B. Leek B. Meek
C. Devil C. Neat
D. Steep D. Team
E. Skill E. Teem
4. Charm, arm; stair, air; clear,……………. 9. Flour, four; Bleak, beak; clobe,…
A. Ear A. Carve
B. Care B. Cave
C. Star C. Cobe
D. Chain D. Crave
E. Rear E. Love
5. Boat, abbot; seat, asset; dear, …………… 10. Lead, deal; room, moor;
pear,……
A. Reader A. Dear
B. Dread B. Leap
C. Adder C. Peal
D. Read D. Ream
E. Deer E. Reap

RECAP
Try on your own to form at least five pairs of words using your own pattern and explain to
your teacher or your colleagues how you went about it.
1. ………………………………………
2. ……………………………………….
3. ……………………………………….
4. ……………………………………….
5. ……………………………………….

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 UNIT 7
WORD PATTERN REVIEW
LEARNING OUTCOMES: By the end of the lesson, learners will be able to;
 Do more practice on Word Patterns in order to put them in a better position
 Create different word patterns on their own
MAIN POINTS:
Since the word pattern takes various forms to create a new word from the first word, it is of
necessity to have another unit in order to exhaust all the different forms of word pattern to
enable the candidates to do well in their exams. This is because there is no specific rule to
follow in order to do well in this particular topic. The most important thing here is for the
candidate to carefully observe the example and find out the relationship that exists between
the pairs of words that form the first two pairs and then use that to answer the question that
follows.
ACIVITY: Here are some questions for your attention.
INSTRUCTIONS: In each of the following questions, there are two pairs of words and then
a fifth word followed by a gap. Look carefully at the two words in each pair and find out how
they are related. Then chose from the five words lettered A – E, the word which is related to
the fifth word in the same way.
Example; eel, peels; rate, prates; late, ………….
A. Plaits
B. Prates
C. Planes
D. Plates
E. Plains
In this example, the second word of each pair is obtained by adding first and last letters to the
first word. The correct answer therefore is plates and therefore answer space ‘D’ would be
shaded.

1. Lap, pal; rat, tar; pin, ……… 6. Tops, stop; leap, plea; rapt,
……….
A. Nap A. part
B. Nip B. arts
C. Pan C. trap
D. Pen D. tot
E. Sip E. tram
2. Male, mile; tale, tile; lane, ……… 7. Rim, brim; lean, clean; well,
…………
A. File A. dwell
B. Late B. weld
C. Line C. drill

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 D. Nail D. weal
E. Pane E. win
3. Marry, may; puppet, put; pastry, …….. 8. Flap, ape; blow, owe; cry,
…………..
A. Past A. rye
B. Pay B. ruse
C. Pray C. revise
D. Tray D. rhyme
E. Try E. rick
4. Truth, rut; wares, are, capper, …………. 9. Gas, sag; now, won; pat,
……………
A. Cap A. tape
B. Cut B. try
C. Care C. top
D. Ape D. tap
E. Cape E. torn
5. Peal, pale; steak, stake; great, ……….. 10. Golf, flog; era, are; dray,
……….
A. Grain A. bray
B. Greed B. yarn
C. Grave C. yard
D. Grate D. rays
E. Graze E. yore

RECAP:
Carefully look at these sets of words and fill in the gap for your home practice.
1. Pant, plant; tank, thank; wave, …………………..
2. Capable, capability; possible, possibility; versatile, ……………….
3. Line, like; dune, duke; stone, …………………………..
4. Assure, are; section, son; affirm, ………………………
5. Barn, bars; want, west, nave, …………………………

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 UNIT 8
WORD MAKING
LEARNING OUTCOME: By the end of his lesson, pupils would be able to:
 Use a single letter to make two words using it to begin the one word and end
the other words.
MAIN POINTS
This particular unit appears to be found in section VII Verbal Aptitude test (NPSE). In this
unit, the candidates are given two incomplete words in which the last letter of the first letter
as well as the first letter of the second is missing. The candidates are therefore expected to
choose the letter that will end the first word and begin the second word.
In this unit, brackets will be introduced between both words to indicate the fact that there is a
missing letter that relates to both words. This is important for the pupils because it helps to
improve on their vocabulary knowledge. Their ability to find a single letter that ends and
completes two different words goes a long way to contribute to their academic performance.

ACTIVITY: Take a careful look at the examples before you try solving questions in the
activity.
INSTRUCTIONS: In each of the following questions, there are two incomplete words.
Choose from the letters labelled A to E the one that can end the first and begin the second.
For instance: com ( ) ook
A. P B. d C. b D. k E. c
The correct answer is C because the letter B ends the first word to have comb and begins the
second word book. In this case therefore, answer space C would be shaded.
Now do the following.
1. Zea ( ) ead
A. c B. d C. l D. m E. t

2. Nigh ( ) ight
A. A. b B. f C. l D. m E. t

3. Crea ( ) ixer
A. f B. k C. m D. p E. t

4. Toa ( ) oom
A. b B. d C. n D. r E. t

5. Musi ( ) amel
A. c B. k C. n D. v E. y

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 6. Prin ( ) ime
A. t B. d C. p D. g E. o

7. Bel ( ) eam
A. t B. l C. k D. a E. f

8. Fue ( ) eap
A. b B. l C. k D. c E. g

9. Rai ( ) ight
A. n B. m C. t D. s E. f

10. Blac ( ) now

A. k B. t C. h D. s E. f

RECAP
Now copy these few questions in your books for home practice, and chose one of the given
alternatives A – E that can end the first and begin the second word.
1. Whit ( ) nergy
A. a B. e C. f D. s E. r

2. Rea ( ) raw
A. d B. g C. b D. s E. k

3. Mov ( ) nter
A. e B. i C. f D. g E. y

4. Ea ( ) ea
A. r B. t C. s D. f E. b

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 UNIT 9
FOUR KEY BLOCK LETTER WORDS
LEARNING OUTCOMES: By the end of this lesson, pupils should be able to:
 Identify designations to their right professions
 Practice how to answer questions correctly on this topic
Main Points
Here, four key words that are related to different professions or otherwise are written in block
letters are to be used to answer a number of questions. The questions are in a single word form
referring to designations and the teacher/pupil is required to determine or choose from among
the four professions (key words) which one suits the designation. Most of these words are
familiar words that require very little thinking to answer the questions.
ACTIVITY
Let us see how this type of the NPSE question looks like:
INSTRUCTION: Here is a list of four capitalised words lettered A – D and in numbers 1-8
you are given the names of different types of people or designations. Decide which of the words
A – D goes with each person in numbers. If a person cannot be paired with any of the four key
words lettered A-D, write E.
A. PRISON C. COURT
B. HOSPIAL D. OFFICE

1. Magistrate 6. Dispenser
2. Thief 7. Mason
3. Typist 8. Manager
4. Teacher 9. Secretary
5. Student 10. Nurse

RECAP: Find out at least three class of people that are associated with these four key
capitalized words.
1. SCHOOL …………………… …………………… ……………..

2. CHURCH …………………… …………………… ……………..

3. MOSQUE …………………… …………………… ……………..
4. PARLIAMENT …………………… ……………………
………………

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 UNIT 10
REVIEW OF FOUR KEY WORDS
LEARNING OUTCOME: By the end of this lesson, pupils will be able to;
 Identify and match related words correctly
MAIN POINTS:
In the previous case, the pupils were required to observe the four key words carefully and
determine which word in each of the questions matches with any of the words lettered A – D.
But here the pupils are required to observe carefully the words in the questions numbered 1 –
5 and then find out which of the words lettered A – E it matches with. For Example:
- Teacher can be paired with - A. School,
- Patient can be paired with - B. Hospital
- Pupils can also be paired with - A. School
- Nurse can also be paired with - B. Hospital
ACTIVITY
Now do the following:
INSTRUCTION:
In each of the questions 1 to 5, you are given a word. Below also is a list of four words lettered
A to D. Decide which of the words can be paired with the words in each question. But if the
word in the question cannot be paired with any of the words lettered A to E, then write E.

1. Plant 6. Honey bee

2. Dog 7. Jeans
3. Suit 8. Paddle
4. Fisherman 9. blackboard
5. Typist 10. nurse

A. Drycleaner D. flower
B. Bone E. Cannot be paired.
C. Canoe
RECAP: Pair the following words
i. Library ………………………….
ii. Bank ………………………….
iii. College ………………………….
iv. School ………………………….

22
 UNIT 11
WORD BUILDING
LEARNING OUTCOMES: By the end of this lesson, pupils should be able to:
 Use a particular set of letters to make several words
 Look at a group of words and pick out the word that are not formed with the
same letters as the others
MAIN POINTS:
Word building is vocabulary development. This topic requires the candidates to form several
words out of just one word. This particular topic if properly practiced helps the pupils to have
a wealth of vocabulary in their daily use of the English Language and therefore resulting to a
good performance in their exams. For example, READ = dear, dare
RATE = tear, tare
ACTIVITY
Now look at the following;
INSTRUCTIONS:
All the words except one in each of the questions 1 to 4 are formed with the same letters. Choose
the word that is not formed with the same letters as the other four.

A B C D E
1. Meal mate tame team meat

2. Deal duel lead lade dale

3. Skate stake teaks takes stoke

4. Liar rail airy rial lair

RECAP: Try on your own at home to make at least two words from the following words
in capital letters.
i. TEAR = ……….., …………
ii. RAPE = …………, ………..
iii. RAT = …………, …………

23
 UNIT 12
READING COMPREHENSION
LEARNING OUTCOMES: By the end of this lesson, pupils will be able to:
 Learn how to spell and pronounce a variety of words
 Form the habit of reading junior readers
 Take note of new and difficult words and learn their meanings by heart

When I was in the primary school, my favourite reader books were; “Pa Demba’s Heir” and
“The Kamara family”. When I went to the secondary school, my favourite book was “Jeneba
and the Road”. During those years reading was a real pleasure to me and I learnt lots of new
things. From that time, I have developed the reading habit and read several books at different
stages of my education. At the moment, I am almost about to finish a book titled (As a Man
Thinketh, By James Allen).
What reader books are you reading now? Can you share you experiences or new ideas you have
learnt by reading the book?
Main points to remember.
It will be very difficult for anyone to read and understand a given passage if he/she cannot spell
or pronounce the words that make up the sentences correctly. Therefore, ones success in
Reading Comprehension depends on how many vocabulary is under his authority. So teachers
as well as pupils are encouraged to try as much as possible to learn the spellings and
pronunciations as well as the meaning of several words.
However, in order to help you enhance your knowledge in Reading Comprehension, we will
provide some reading materials that will be of great help to you. Look at the following below:
How do I learn to spell and pronounce words well?
The easiest way to spell, pronounce and improve understanding is by reading a book. As such,
ask your parents to get you good reader books or go to your library to borrow good reader books
and read them. To test the level of your understanding, try to explain the content of the books
you have read to your parents, friends and school mates.
Also, as you read each book, make sure you underline all the new and difficult words you come
across. Try not to skip any word because you cannot pronounce it properly. That will not help
you to improve your reading ability. Ask a family member or a friend to help you with both the
meaning and pronunciation of the difficult words. Write them in your note book for further
reference and practice purposes. That is one of the best ways to learn how to spell and
pronounce new and difficult words thereby improving your ability to read.
ACTIVITY: Now look at the following for your attention;

24
INSTRUCTIOS:
Please make a review of how to spell and pronounce words correctly and then answer the
following questions.
- What can you do in order to spell and pronounce words properly?
From the notes on how to learn spellings and pronunciation of difficult and new words, there
are a few words that you might not be able to spell or pronounce well and they are underlined
for special attention. These words are; pronounce, pronunciation, improve, understanding,
parent, interesting, narrate, and difficult.
Please ask a senior family member to help you sound these words, spell them and help you with
their meanings.
RECAP:
Follow the same patterns above to improve your reading comprehension knowledge and skills
by;
- reading junior reader books
- taking note of new and difficult words
- writing the new and difficult words in a note book
- trying as much as possible to pronounce and spell them correctly
- learning the meanings of the new and difficult words

25
 UNIT 13
READING COMPREHENSION PASSAGES
LEARNING OUTCOMES: By the end of this lesson, pupils will be able to:
 Read comprehension passages and understand the content well
 Use that understanding to answer the questions correctly
MAIN POINTS
In section viii of the National Primary School Examinations (NPSE) Verbal paper, you will be
required to read short passages and answer the questions that follow. The passage may be a
short one of only one paragraph or a set of statement for you to read and answer the questions
that follow. In each of those, you are advised to read carefully so that you would understand
the passage and answer the questions well.
Here are a few steps to follow in reading and answering the questions to the passage.
i. Read the passage for the first time quickly.
ii. Think about the facts in the passage as you read for the first time.
iii. Read the questions and try to relate them to the facts.
iv. Read the passage again just to make sure that what you have in mind is the correct
answer to the question.
v. Then make sure to shade the answer space letter that is correct.
Let’s look at an example of a reading and comprehension passage.
Instructions: Read the following short passage and answer the questions on it.

Abu and Sama enjoy eating garrie, while Marrie does not like it as much as she does rice. All
three of them like foofoo although Sama does so more than the others.
1. Who prefers rice to gari? Ans.: Marie
2. Who likes foofoo most? Ans.: Sama
3. Who likes Garrie as well as foofoo? Ans.: All three of them (Marie, Sama and Abu).

ACTIVITY 1
Now answer the following questions after reading the passage carefully. Please note down the
answers in your exercise books for reference purposes.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow;
In the Kamara Family, Santigie the first child is strong, and like to study, while Alimamy is
slim, tall and handsome. Isatu is pretty but with all arms and legs, but Baimba and Thaimu are
both fat and cuddly.
1. Who are both fat and good looking?

26
 2. How many people are not tall?
3. Which of the children is are slim and strong?
4. Which child is the eldest?

RECAP:
- What are the steps you must follow in answering a Reading and Comprehension
passage?
- What other benefits do you get from reading passages?

ACTIVITY 2; here is a second passage for more practice;

INSTRUCTIONS:
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow. After answering the
questions, please write the answers in your note book for reference purposes. Do not forget to
write the new and difficult words for further studies.
Going through primary and secondary school usually takes twelve years. Fatmata was given a
double promotion in class three, and John repeated two classes. Joe and Abu went through
school smoothly and Jane repeated class three.
5. Who spent the shortest time in school?
6. Who spent the longest time in school?
7. Who spent the normal number of years in school?
8. How many years did Fatmata spend in school?

RECAP:
List down all the new and difficult to pronounce words in your exercise books for study
purposes.

27
 UNIT 14
READING AND COMPREHENSION REVIEW
LEARNING OUTCOMES: By the end of this lesson, pupils will be able to:
 Further develop their knowledge on how to read and answer longer passages with
multiple choice questions
 Read and answer the questions well
MAIN POINTS
Understanding Reading and Comprehension is very crucial to the academic success of the
learners. It enhances their reading capacity thereby building on their vocabulary knowledge
and the ability to read and understand other reading material since every other subject is
taught in English. It is therefore incumbent on both the teacher and the pupils to make sure
this topic is properly understood.
ACTIVITY 1. Now look at the following passage for more practice.
Instructions:
Read the following passage carefully and then answer the questions that follow.
In Mrs Kamara’s class, there are twenty girls and ten boys. All the boys except two, loves
Mathematics and Science. Amadu who likes neither Mathematics nor Science, does very well
in Social Studies. Half of the number of girls in the class love Language Arts and PHE and
the other half except two, love Science and Mathematics.
1. How many boys love Mathematics and Science?
A. Ten
B. Eight
C. Seven
D. Two
E. One
2. How many girls love Language Arts and PHE?
A. Ten
B. Nine
C. Seen
D. Fifteen
E. Two
3. Which subjects do most pupils in the class like?
A. Language Arts and PHE
B. Science and Social Studies
C. Social Studies and Language Arts
D. Language Arts and Science
E. Mathematics and Science.
4. Which subject is not liked by most of the pupils in the class?
A. Mathematics
B. Mathematics and Science
C. Language Arts

28
 D. Science
E. Social Studies.
5. How many girls love Language Arts and PHE
A. Five
B. Seven
C. Eight
D. Ten
E. Two
RECAP:
Try to answer the questions on this two lines passage.
John, Peter and Mary are brothers and sisters, John is two years older than Mary and Peter is
five years younger than John.
The questions:
i. Who is the eldest of the siblings?
ii. What is the age gap between Mary and Peter?
iii. If John is eight years old, how old is Peter?
iv. If John is eight years old, how old is Mary?

29
 UNIT 15
GENERAL KNOWLEDGE
LEARNING OUTCOME: By the end of this lesson pupils will be able to:
 Use their general knowledge to answer questions testing their general ability on issues
around them.
MAIN POINTS
The main purpose of this unit is to test the knowledge of pupils on general ideas and things
around them. These are things that happen in one’s daily life or things that you see, hear or
interact with. It is a very good exercise as such exercises are used to assess the general
performance of pupils outside the classroom work. It provokes their thinking beyond the
general classroom work and build on their ability to assess and take note of occurrences in
their environment that is an additional knowledge to their class work.
ACTIVITY:
Complete the following sentences by filling in the blank spaces with the correct option from
the list of words given below.
1. When you write with a pencil, you cannot make ………………..
A. Mistakes
B. Figures
C. Blots
D. Letters
E. Rights
2. Before entering someone else’s room, you should …………………on the door.
A. Bang
B. Kick
C. Knock
D. Slam
E. Press
3. Sierra Leone has ……………… seasons.
A. One
B. Two
C. Three
D. Four
E. Five
4. The tortoise is a very …………….. animal, while the hare is a very …………..
animal.
A. Fast & hungry
B. Slow & fast
C. Strong & weak
D. Large & small
E. Timid & wild
5. The sun ……………….. in the East.
A. Rises

30
 B. Falls
C. Rests
D. Grows
E. Sleeps
RECAP
Answer these questions to recap your previous understanding on General Knowledge.
i. One cannot make …………………. Without flour. (Wheat, oven, bread, bakery)
ii. Sierra Leone is in the ……………………. Continent. (Asian, African, European,
West African)
iii. Freetown is the capital city of ……………. (Liberia, Guinea, Ghana, Nigeria)

31
 UNIT 16
TRUE SENTENCES
LEARNING OUTCOME: By the end of this lesson, pupils will be able to:
 Read different sentences and determine whether they are true or not
MAIN POINTS:
These types of questions also test the general ability of the learners on whether they can look
at different issues and make accurate decisions. Such exercises build on the thinking faculty
and decision making on things that are facts and those that are not.
ACTIVITY
Now try to answer these set of questions on this topic.
Instructions:
In each of the following problems, you are given a sentence. Read it carefully and decide how
true it is.
Write A if it is always true.
Write B if it is often true but not always.
Write C if it is never true.
Write D if it is impossible to say how often it is true.
EXAMPLE:
i. Bread is baked in an oven.
ANS: The answer is B, Often true but not always as bread can be baked in a pot.
ii. God created the heaven and earth.
ANS: The answer is A, always true as the heaven and earth was created by God.

1. The sun rises in the East.

2. The sun revolves around the earth.
3. Petrol catches fire.
4. What a boy can do a girl can do better.
5. Trains run on rails.
6. French teachers beat a lot.
7. The sky in the morning is cloudy.
8. The sun shines bright every day.
9. Rain falls only in the rainy season.
10. Education is better than silver and gold.

32
 UNIT 17
ALPHABETHICAL POSITION
LEARNING OUTCOME: By the end of the lesson, pupils will be able to:
 Arrange a number of words into alphabetical order

MAIN POINTS
Alphabetical order is a system whereby character strings are placed in order based on the
position of the characters in the conventional ordering of an alphabet. It is one of the methods
of collation. Thus, in order to determine which two strings of characters comes first when
arranging in alphabetical order, their first letters are compared.
If the first letters are different, then the string whose first letter comes earlier in the alphabet
comes before the other string. If the first letters are the same, then the second letters are
compared, and so on. If a position is reached where one string has no more letters to compare,
while the other does, then the first (shorter) string is deemed to come first in alphabetical order.

ACTIVITY 1
Here is an example of what is expected of the NPSE candidates on this topic.
Instruction: In each of the following questions you are given a list of words, lettered A to E.
Work out the alphabetical position of each word as directed, and write the letter of the correct
answer.
Which word comes first in the dictionary?
A. Ailment C. Action E. Admit
B. Agree D. Animal
The correct answer is Action which is letter C, and therefore, answer space C would be shaded.
Now do the following using the same method.

ACTIVITY 2
1. Which word comes third in the dictionary?
A. Deep
B. Deal
C. Fancy
D. Deer
E. Debt
2. Which word comes second in the dictionary?
A. Fame
B. Fares
C. Fancy

33
 D. False
E. Fable
3. Which word comes last in the dictionary?
A. Mother
B. Month
C. Merry
D. Matter
E. Maser
4. Which word comes fourth in the dictionary?
A. Grant
B. Grate
C. Grass
D. Grace
E. Grin

RECAP
Look at these sets of words and put them in their alphabetical order as they would appear in the
dictionary.
cap, cat, car, cotton, battery, able, lorry, bench, table, book, pen.
a. …………… f. ……………..
b. ………….. g. …………….
c. …………... h. …………….
d. ……………. i. ..…………..
e. ……………. J. ……………..

34
 UNIT 18
ALPHABETICAL ORDER
LEARNING OUTCOME: By the end of this lesson, pupils will be able to:
 Arrange words in alphabetical order
MAIN POINTS
An alphabet is a set of letters used when writing a language and Alphabetical Order simply
means, arranging words according to the sequence of the letters of the alphabet.
There are twenty six letters of the alphabet and among the twenty six letters are twenty one
consonant letters and five vowels.
ACTIVITY: Put the following words in alphabetical order by circling the letter.
EXAMPLE:
1 2 3 4
crab casie corn clamp
A. 1, 4, 3, 2
B. 2, 4, 3, 1
C. 2, 4, 1, 3
D. 3, 4, 1, 2
E. 3, 1, 4, 2
The correct answer for this question is “CASIE” which is letter B, and therefore answer space
B would be shaded.
Now do the following:
1. 1 2 3 4
Study scene slate shark
A. 2, 1, 3, 4
B. 2, 1, 4, 3
C. 2, 3, 4, 1
D. 3, 2, 1, 4
E. 2, 4, 3, 1
2. 1 2 3 4
Zygot zoo zip zebra
A. 1, 3, 4, 2
B. 2, 1, 3, 4
C. 2, 3, 4, 1
D. 4, 3, 2, 1
E. 4, 2, 3, 1

35
3. 1 2 3 4
Rude ride rhinoceros retreat
A. 4, 2, 3, 1
B. 4, 3, 1, 2
C. 4, 3, 2, 1
D. 4, 2, 1, 3
E. 3, 1, 4, 2

4. 1 2 3 4
Shy shepherd shovel shriek
A. 2, 3, 1, 4
B. 2, 3, 4, 1
C. 2, 3, 4, 1
D. 2, 4, 3, 1
E. 2, 4, 1, 3

i. 1 2 3 4
Threat trick tinkle tunic
A. 3, 1, 2, 4
B. 3, 4, 2, 1
C. 1, 3, 2, 4
D. 3, 2, 4, 1
E. 4, 2, 1, 4

RECAP
In your notebook, form five words using the same method by arranging them in alphabetical
order.
1. ………………..
2. ………………..
3. …………………
4. …………………
5. …………………

36
 UNIT 19
CORRECT ORDER OF WORDS ACCORDING TO SIZE AND SHAPE
LEARNING OUTCOME: By the end of this lesson, pupils should be able to:
 Put different groups of words in their order of importance or size

MAIN POINTS
Putting words in their correct order of importance and size helps the pupils improve on their
vocabulary. This is so because one can only decide to arrange certain words in their order of
importance if she/he knows the meaning of the words and the degree of their importance.

ACTIVITY
Here is an example for you to see and learn how to solve the following questions:
INSTRCTIONS:
In each of the different rows of words, there are five words. Chose the row of words in which
the words are arranged in correct order, that is, from the least to the greatest (from the
smallest to the biggest.)
EXAMLE:
A. elephant, rat, goat, cat, cow
B. cow, rat, goat, elephant, cat
C. rat, cat, goat, cow, elephant
D. goat, cow, rat, elephant, cat
The correct answer is; rat, cat, goat, cow, elephant; that is answer C and therefore shade the
answer space C.
Now do the following:
1.
A. Town, continent, city, country, village
B. Village, town, city, country, continent
C. City, town, country, village, continent
D. Continent, country, village, town, city
2.
A. Word, paragraph, chapter, letter, sentence
B. Sentence, letter, paragraph, word, chapter
C. Chapter, word, letter, sentence, paragraph
D. Letter, word, sentence, paragraph, chapter
3.
A. Second, minute, hour, week, day
B. Second, minute, hour, day, week
C. Week, minute, day, second, hour

37
 D. Minute, day, hour, week, second
4.
A. Palace, hot, Manson, cottage, bungalow
B. Bungalow, hot, cottage, palace, mansion
C. Mansion, palace, hot, bungalow, cottage
D. Hot, cottage, bungalow, mansion, palace
5.
A. Hundred, one, million, fifty, five
B. Five, one, million, hundred, fifty
C. One, five, fifty, hundred, million
D. One, five, million, fifty, hundred
6.
A. Hundred-weight, ounce, stone, pound, ton
B. Ounce, pound, stone, hundred-weight, ton
C. Stone, ounce, hundred-weight, pound
D. Stone, hundred-weight, pound, ton, ounce

RECAP
Carefully look at these groups of words and arrange them in their order of size from big to
small.
i. Ones, thousands, tens, millions, hundreds
ii. Fifteen, thirty five, fifty five, twenty five, forty five
iii. Cow, sheep, cat, dog, goat

38
 UNIT 20
SENTENCES THAT MAKE COMPLETE SENCE
LEARNING OUTCOME: By the end of this lesson, pupils will be able to:
 Identify the most correct sentence among the group of sentences lettered A – D

MAIN POINT
A sentence is a group of words that makes complete sense. Thus a pupil learning the difference
between a sentence that makes complete sense and the sentence that do not make complete
sense helps him to speak and write good English. Thus, English being a core subject, such
advantage will put the learner in a very good position in his academic work. In order for the
pupil to learn and understand this topic easily, she/he should also learn the components of a
sentence. That is; the subject and predicate or the subject, verb and object (SVO) form of simple
sentences.

ACTIVITY
Look at the following example in order for you to know such questions are answered.
INSTRUCTION:
In each of the following problems, select and write the letter against the sentence in which the
words are arranged to make complete sense.

EXAMPLE:
A. Milk to any other drink I prefer
B. To any other drink prefer I milk
C. I prefer milk to any other drink
D. I prefer to any other drink milk
The correct answer is; “I prefer milk to any other drink” which is letter C and therefore answer
space C would be shaded.
Now do the following:
1.
A. Finished it and the letter signed Jinnah.
B. Jinnah finished the letter and signed it.
C. The letter finished Jinnah and signed it.
D. Signed Jinnah it and finished the letter
2.
A. With a screech of brakes stopped the bus
B. The bus stopped with a screech of brakes
C. Brakes of screech with a bus stopped the

39
 D. The bus screeched of brakes with a stopped
3.
A. The hot foolish iron touched the boy
B. The iron touched the boy hot foolish
C. The foolish boy touched the hot iron
D. The hot foolish boy touched the iron
4.
A. We don’t come to school on Saturdays
B. We don’t Saturdays on come to school
C. On Saturdays don’t we come to school
D. On Saturdays to come we don’t school
5.
A. Bicycle found that her Mary was flat tyre
B. Her Mary tyre bicycle found was that flat
C. Tyre flat Mary was found that her bicycle
D. Mary found that her bicycle tyre was flat
6.
A. He is doing homework his mathematics.
B. He is doing his homework Mathematics.
C. He is doing his Mathematics homework.
D. His Mathematics homework he is doing.
E. His homework Mathematics he is doing.

RECAP
Pick out the correct sentence from the following sentences lettered A – D.
1.
A. Going to the market I am.
B. The going to market I am.
C. I am going to the market.
D. Market I am going to the.
2.
A. Mary sells in the market fish
B. Mary sells market in the fish
C. Mary sells fish in the market
D. Fish sells by Mary in the market

40
 UNIT 21
WORD MAKING
LEARNING OUTCOME: By the end of this lesson, pupils should be able to:
 Make several words from one capitalised word by adding a prefix or suffix to the root
word

MAIN POINTS:
Most English words are derived from other words and that can happen either by adding a
prefix or suffix to the root word to make a new word. Therefore, understanding the meaning
of a root word can be of great help to the pupils to find the meaning of new words that were
developed.
A root word therefore is a word or part of a word that can form the basis of new words as one
comes across them. Therefore, it is good to know that most of the words that we use in our
day-to-day uses come from the root word. So, whenever you remove the prefix or suffix, it is
the root that remains.
Some examples of such words are:
ROOT SUFFIX FINAL NEW WORD
Act - ing acting
Pain - ful painful
Serious - ly seriously
Pray - er prayer
Danger -rous dangerous

PREFIX ROOT FINAL NEW WORD

Pre- paid prepaid
De- code decode
Ex- wife ex-wife
Il- legal illegal
A prefix is a group of letters placed before the root word to make a new word and a suffix is a
group of letters placed before root word to make a new word.

41
ACTIVITY
Now look at the following and try to solve them.
INTRUCTIONS: In each of the following, choose the one word which can be formed by an
arrangement of some or all of the letters of the word printed in capital letters.
EXAMPLE:
CAREFULLY
A. Real
B. Earn
C. Rail
D. Cart
E. Fill
The word that can be formed from the letters of the word CAREFULLY is REAL, which is
letter ‘A’. In this case therefore, answer space A would be shaded.
Now try to do the following by carefully studying the capitalised words and answer the
questions.
1. PASSENGER 3. SELECTION
A. Message A. Election
B. Passage B. Shelter
C. Grapes C. Section
D. Danger D. Active
E. Gangster E. Electric

2. APPLICATION 4. PLEASURE
A. Apple A. Leisure
B. Please B. Ripe
C. Apply C. Apple
D. Carts D. Reason
E. Caption E. Pear

RECAP:
Here is a little exercise for you to do.
Form the prefix for these words; possible, lead, place, visible, proper
Form the suffix for these words; beauty, small, big, grate, act, kind.

42
 UNIT 22
WORD MAKING REVIEW
LEARNING OUTCOME: By the end of this unit, pupils will be able to:
 Make a review on past NPSE question on Word Making

MAIN POINTS
A review on this topic will enhance the understanding of the pupils hat will put them in a
better position do well in their NPSE exams as practice makes perfect.

ACTIVITY:
In this unit, we are to cover as many examples as possible on past NPSE questions relating to
word making review. Remember to note that, word making always appears n section four of
the Verbal Aptitude test.
INSTRUCTIONS
In each of the following, chose the one word which can be formed by an arrangement of some
or all of the letters of the word printed in Capital letters.
1. TEACHER 5. THEATRE
A. Chest A. Threat
B. Cheat B. Artist
C. Stich C. Dear
D. Ream D. Their
E. Children E. Have

2. ALTHOUGH 6. YOURSELF
A. Lost A. Rise
B. Laugh B. Sour
C. Taught C. Year
D. All D. Yawn
E. Tall E. Sold

3. BARGAIN 7. RETROSPECT
A. Barge A. Paste
B. Goat B. Retreat
C. Brain C. Roses
D. Gaunt D. Sceptre
E. Bark E. Spectacle

4. SUPPORT 8. SCHOLARSHIP

43
 A. Supper A. Broach
B. Upper B. Happy
C. True C. Phase
D. Trust D. Scalp
E. Port E. School

RECAP:
Teacher encourages pupils to form five words from the word EXTENSION and present to
their parents or senior brother and sisters to tick or mark them.
1. …………………………….
2. …………………………….
3. …………………………….
4. …………………………….

44
 UNIT 23
SYNONYMS
LEARNING OUTCOMES: By the end of this lesson, pupils will be able to:
 Develop an understanding of words that have the same meaning with other words
 Explain what are synonyms
MAIN POINTS
If you want to be fluent in English Language, you must improve your vocabulary. One way to
do so is through synonyms.
WHAT ARE SYNONYMS?
Synonyms are words that have similar or the same meanings. This unit is important as it would
enable them to be familiar to most of the words that people use in expressing themselves. Being
familiar with words from the dictionary would enable them to be good speakers, listener and
be able to analyse, interpret difficult vocabularies spoken by people. EXAMPLE: scared,
petrified, afraid, terrified are all synonymous words as they mean the same or similar things.
Thus, you can increase your ability to communicate if you have many words in mind that can
be used to express the same meaning. Let us now look at some examples of words and their
synonyms;
ACTIVITY
Find the synonymous words for the following;
- Hero - champion
- Success - achievement
- Greetings - salutation
- Debate - argument
- Award - price
- Have - beget, acquire, possess
- Plan - design, procedure, plot.
- Destiny - rupture, smash, demolish.
- Keep - hold, retain, withhold, sustain
- Fall - descend, tumble, drop
- Go - depart, disappear, fade, move, proceed
- Run - dash, escape, elope, hasten, hurry, speed
- Hide - conceal, cover, mask, cloak, camouflage, screen
- Move - go, creep, crawl, inch, poke, drag
- Use - employ, utilise, exhaust, spend, expend, consume.
RECAP: 20 minutes
Find at least two or three synonyms for the following words;
1. Come: ……………, ………………, …………………
2. Create: ………….., ………………, …………………
3. Beautiful: ……………., …………………, ………….

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4. Develop; ………………, ……………….., ……………
5. True ; …………………., …………………….,

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 UNIT 24
ANTONYMS
LEARNING OUTCOME: By the end of this lesson, pupils will be able to:
 Build on their vocabulary by giving the opposite word for several words and their
meanings

MAIN POINTS
This topic is very important for the learners as it will help them build on their vocabulary that
helps them speak, read and write good English.
Antonyms mean words that are opposite in meanings of another word. The word opposite
means not the same. For instance, the opposite of bad is good, and the opposite of absent is
present. The words and their opposite words as mentioned in the examples will definitely give
you different meanings. Therefore, knowing more words and heir meanings will be of great
help to learners as it will help them develop their vocabulary level.
ACTIVITY
In this activity, a long list of words and their antonyms will be given and you will be required
to write them in your note books. After that, you will be required again to find the meanings of
all the words and then try to understand them to your fingertips as they may be of great help to
you throughout your schooling.
INSTRUCTIONS: Give the antonyms of the following words;
Agree: disagree cheap: expensive
Appear: disappear below: above
Decent: indecent under: on top
Lead: mislead sense: nonsense
Admit: deny able: unable

RECAP
Please write the synonyms for the following words;
Captive deep open asleep behind
Beginning happy enmity go inside

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 UNIT 25
CODE AND DECODING
LEARNING OUTCOME: By the end of this lesson, pupils will be able to:
 Learn how to read through codes with letters and numbers
 Associate codes with their appropriate numbers to figure out the required answer

MAIN POINTS
Codes consist of letters and numbers that have a secret meaning.
The military for example uses lots of codes as a symbol for many things that can only be
understood by them. Also, computer programmers use codes to come up with the many
applications that are installed in phones and computers.
For your level, we are going to look at what is relevant for you in the exams. For instance, if
you are asked to add 5462 +2564, how would you go about it? Try to arrange it in your note
book as you usually do, such as:
5462
+ 2564
Did you observe that the second set of numbers are placed at the bottom of the first set in
order to make the calculation easier for you? This skill is very necessary for codes and
decoding. Two sets of letters or a set of letters and a set of numbers will be given and you
must arrange them just as we did for the numbers above.
For instance, if the vowels; a, e, I, o, u stand for BOATS; BATS will be a, I, o, u. How did we
arrive at
A, I, O, U ?
We arrange the vowels and BOATS in perfect order just like this;
A E I O U
B O AT S
Then we look at the vowels that tally with BATS which are in bold (a, I, o, u). Do you notice
that the vowel ‘I’ is missing? Can you guess the reason?

ACTIVITY: Now look at the following and try yourself as Codes and Decoding appears in
Section VI of the NPSE.
INSTRUCTIONS:
The words below are written in certain CODES. Study each word and its codes carefully and
work out the codes carefully and work out the codes as written in a certain code to answer the
questions below. For instance:

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The word CUPBOARD is representing by the number 38625174, what numbers represent the
word BROAD? A. 27543 B. 27542 C. 27541 D. 27514 E. 27513
The answer for this question is, 27514 which is D and therefore answer space D would be
shaded.
Now do the following:
1. If LIFYAND is drunken, LFAN IS ………………………………..
A. Drink B. Bring C. Sang D. duke E. Duck

2. If NOPQRS is friend FIND is …………………………………………..

A. NPQR B. QRSN C. NPRS D. NPRQ E. SPQN

3. If TUVWXYZ is chimney, UZWX is ………………………………

A. Hime B. chin C. mine D. chime E. hymn

4. If KXVTXPNM is pancakes, paces is, ……………………….

A. XVTPN B. KXTNM C. PNMTX D. TVXPN E. KXVTX

5. If DHLKLMLNA is precedent, HLKLNA is …………………………..

A. tense B. precise C. recent D. decent E. dent

RECAP: Copy the following in your books and do them at home.

1. If ABCDEF is 123456, FDCB IS …………………………….
A. 6432 B. 6423 C. 6342 D. 6432 E.4632

2. If PHOTOGRAPH is literature, GRATO is ………………………..

A. atuer B. tuaer C. raeut D. auter E. ature

3. If BKPRSTX is biscuit, is …………………………………

A. tuis B. suit C. suit D. siut E.tius

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 UNIT 26
REVISION ON SENTENCE ARRANGEMENT

LEARNING OUTCOME: By the end of this lesson, pupils should be able to:
 Get clear comprehension on the meaning of a sentence.
 Be able to arrange sentences in their correct sequence or order of arrival

MAIN POINTS;
A Sentence is a grammatically complete series of words consisting of a subject and
predicate even if one or the other is implied, and typically beginning with a capital
letter and ending with a full stop.
1. It is also a group of words that make a complete sense or thought.
2. Arrangement simply means the act of arranging, the manner of being arranged, and
a collection of things that have been arranged.
3. It is also a particular way in which items are organized.
There are three main types of sentences. They are:
1. Simple Sentence: A Simple sentence has a subject and a verb.
2. A Compound Sentence: Is made up of two simple sentences joined by ‘and or’ but’
and ‘so’ etc.
It is important to note that sentence arrangement appears in section V of this paper and
pupils will be expected to see three numbered simple sentences and pupils will be
asked to arrange them in order of occurrence. That is to tell which one should come
first, which second and which third irrespective of how they may have been arranged.

ACTIVITY 1: Copy the following for class discussions.

INSTRUCTION
In each of the following questions, there are three numbered sentences. Read them
carefully and decide which one should come first, which second and which third.
Example:
1. Leave it to boil.
2. Put the kettle on the fire.
3. Put some water in the kettle.

A. 1,2,3, B. 2, 3, 1 C. 2, 1, 3 D. 3, 2, 1 E. 3, 1, 2
The correct answer is D, that is
1. Put some water in the kettle.
2. Put the kettle on the fire.
3. Leave it to boil.
In this case therefore, answer space D would be shaded.

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 ACTIVITY 2:
In each of the following questions, there are three numbered sentences. Read them
carefully and decide which one comes first, which is second and which is third.

1.
1. Their mother explained it to both of them.
2. John could not understand the problem.
3. Her sister said she could not understand it either.
A. 3, 2, 1 C. 3, 2, 1 E. 1, 3, 2
B. 2, 3, 1 D. 1, 2, 3
2.
1. Joseph invited five people for the party.
2. Two of them did not attend.
3. The rest enjoyed themselves well.
A. 1, 2, 3 C. 1, 3, 2 E. 2, 3, 1
B. 2, 1, 3 D. 3, 2, 1
3.
1. Moses is a good footballer.
2. He was given the player of the year award.
3. He won the competition.
A. 1, 3, 2 C. 1, 2, 3 E. 1, 2, 3
B. 2, 1, 3 D. 3, 2, 1
4.
1. I woke up in the morning.
2. I went to school.
3. I parked my bag and dressed up.
A. 3, 1, 2 C. 1, 3, 2 E. 2, 1, 3
B. 1, 2, 3 D. 3, 2, 1
5.
1. Mr Kabba started the car engine.
2. His sons washed the car.
3. He drove off to the office.
A. 2, 1, 3 C. 1, 2, 3 E. 3, 1, 2
B. 1, 3, 2 D. 3, 2, 1

RECAP:
Copy these ones in your notebook for home exercise.
1.
1. Everyone in the country is so happy now.

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 2. The war is finally over.
3. There is peace at last.
A. 3, 2, 1 C. 2, 3, 1 E. 1, 3, 2
B. 2, 1, 3 D. 1, 2, 3
2.
1. Mum wants me to learn French.
2. I always perform poorly in it.
3. But it is so difficult to understand.
A. 1, 3, 2 C. 1, 2, 3 E. 3, 1, 2
B. 3, 2, 1 D. 2, 1, 3
3. 1. He always looks untidy.
2. Joseph is a very handsome boy.
3. However, she doesn’t care about her appearance.
A. 3, 1, 2 C. 1, 2, 3 E. 3, 2, 1
B. 2, 1, 3 D. 1, 3, 2

4.
1. Moses was suffering from malaria.
2. Mother give him some medicine.
3. He didn’t go to church.
A. 1, 2, 3 C. 2, 3, 1 E. 3, 2, 1
B. 1, 3, 2 D. 2, 1, 3

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 UNIT 27
RHYMES

LEARNING OUTCOMES: By the end of this lesson, pupils will be able to:
 Realise that rhyme means sameness sounds in words or parts of words
 Pick from a group of words the one that rhymes with the one in CAPITAL letters

MAIN POINTS:
Rhyme is a thought expressed in verse or a tale told in verse. Rhyming simply means
sameness of sounds of parts of a word or a word. That is when parts of two different words
have the same sound when pronounced.

ACTIVITY: Now look at the following questions below and answer them.

INSTRUCTONS: In each of the groups of words below lettered A – E, find the word that
rhymes with the word in CAPITAL letters and at the same time corresponds to the meaning
given against the word.

EXAMPLE: WAY: a month of the year.

A. Say B. Lay C. Win D. Day E. May

The correct answer is MAY which is letter E because it rhymes with the capitalised words.
Also, it is the only month of the year among the group of words, therefore the answer space E
would be shaded.

Now get ready to answer the rest of the questions.

1. SIN = to succeed
A. fin B. bin C. win D. pin E. lean

2. HOUSE = singular of mice

A. louse B. spouse C. drawn D. mouse E. wise

3. BACK = opposite of white

A. sack B. black C. rack D. jack E. dark

4. FROZEN = a set of twelve

A. cousin B. dozen C. dozing D. busy E. dowry

5. MIDDLE = a puzzling question

A. fiddle B. diddle C. kindle D. riddle E. double

6. FEET = to meet together

A. meet B. read C. greed D. tread E. met

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RECAP: Now copy the following questions in your books for home practice using the same
principle of the word that rhymes with the capitalised word and defined by the meaning
against the capitalised words.

1. BOX = a bushy tailed animal

A. fox B. pox C. rat D. ducks E. cats

2. SEAT = to heat with a stick

A. beaten B. bet C. beat D. fit E. read

3. PALE = a boy or a man

A. male B. pale C. sale D. female E. game

4. SAME = played for pleasure or to win

A. Rain B. fame C. game D. blame E. dream

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 UNIT 28
GENERAL TERM FOR A GROUP OF WORDS

LEARNING OUTCOME: By the end of this lesson pupils would be able to:
 Determine and pick a general name for a group of words

MAIN POINTS:
A general term is a word used for a group of people or things that are brought together by
chance or by design. That is a general or particular name you can use to call a group of things
or people. In other words a general term used to describe the other items, people or things that
belong to that group. For instance;
- car, bus, lorry and van belong to the general group name VEHICLE.

ACTIVITY: Now attempt the following questions with your pupils and as you go along
make sure you give them the meanings of the words.

INSTRUCTIONS: Each of the following items consists of five words labelled A – E. One of
the words is a general term which describes what the other four words are. Pick out this word.

EXAMPLE: - Skirt, trousers, jacket, and blouse belong to a general group name
CLOTHES.

Now do the following:

A B C D E

1. hoe, saw axe tool cutlass

2. hour minute week day time
3. wheat barley millet grain rice
4. uncles aunts parents cousins relations
5. rat mouse squirrel rodent rabbit
6. furniture chair table cupboard bed
7. mosque church house hall building
8. cassava potato yam tuber coco yam
9. pine apple orange mango fruit pear
10. vegetable tomato pepper lettuce garden eggs

RECAP
Now copy these few sentences and try them at home by picking out the general term
which describes the other words in the group.

A B C D E

1. law medicine teaching plumbing profession

2. weapon spear dagger gun sward
3. full stop comma semi colon colon punctuation

55
4. utensils knife spoon plate pot
5. high jump relay sport short put long jump

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 UNIT 29
REVISION ON GROUPING
LEARNING OUTCOMES: By the end of this lesson, pupils will be able to:
 Carefully examine past paper questions relating to groups
 Look at a group of words and pick the odd one out

MAIN POINTS
Odd means not belonging to a particular group. It means, single, sole, singular; not having a
mate. As I said earlier on, this unit will help the pupils build on their vocabulary skills and as
vocabulary is key to academic progress, the pupils will use this skill to answer several other
questions. For anyone to answer questions on this topic, you should have a knowledge about
the words before you can pick the odd one out.
ACTIVITIES: Let’s go through a few questions to see how we go about it. In this section,
we shall be discussing past questions of 2016 pertaining to groups.
INSTRUCTIONS:
In each of the following group of words, pick out the one word that does not belong to the
group by underlining it.

1. A. Axe 4. A. Boat
B. Broom B. Ship
C. Cutlass C. Canoe
D. Hoe D. Ferry
E. Shovel E. Lorry

2. A. Monday 5. A. Skirt
B. January B. Jacket
C. February C. Trousers
D. March D. Shoes
E. April E. Blouse

3. A. Car 6. A. Spear
B. Vehicle B. Gun
C. Bus C. Club
D. Van D. Van
E. Boat E. Sword

Underline the word that does not belong to each group.

1. Leg, ankle, toe, arm, knee
2. Come, move forward, approach, depart, advance.

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3. Crowd, plenty, scanty, people, many
4. Red, dark, bright, glow, dim.
5. Reliable, obedient, unfaithful, dependable, trustworthy.

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 UNIT 30

REVISION ON WORD GROUPS

LEARNING OUTCOME: By the end of this lesson, pupils will be able to:
 Identify the odd word from a group of words

MAIN POINTS
What does the word group means?
Group is a number of things or persons being in some relations to one another. It is also a
number of people or things that are located, gathered or classed together.
For example, blue, green, pink, red, yellow etc. are all colours; therefore, they are a group of
colours. Also, father, mother, sisters, and brothers are called family, because they are a group
of people who live and work together and do many things in common.
In the NPSE examination, this type of unit is visibly seen in section two. Let us now take a look
at how the questions will be like in the exams. Below are typical examples of questions that
you will see on your exam paper in the exam.

INSTRUCTIONS:
In each of the following groups of words, pick out the one word that does not belong to the
group.
Example:
A. Tea
B. Beer
C. Coffee
D. Cocoa
E. Ovaltine
The word Beer does not belong to the group. In this case therefore, answer space B would be
shaded.
Beer is not part of the group because it is an alcoholic beverage whereas all the other options
belong to a group known as non-alcoholic beverages.
A beverage is a drink other than water. It is a liquid to consume, usually excluding water, a
drink. This may include tea, coffee, liquor, beer, milk, juice or soft drinks.
ACTIVITY: Now, get ready to answer these questions together with your pupils using the
same principle.

59
In each of the following group of words, pick out the one word that does not belong to the
group.
1. A. Cabbage 4. A. Butterfly
B. Carrot B. Ant
C. Onions C. Mosquito
D. Lettuce D. Honey bee
E. Orange E. Wasp

2. A. Tulip 5. A. Deer
B. Palm B. Pig
C. Rose C. Cow
D. Lily D. Sheep
E. Hibiscus E. Goat

3. A. Volleyball 6. A. Stomach
B. Golf B. Toes
C. Tennis C. Knee
D. Javelin D. Leg
E. Football E. Ankle
RECAP: Now copy these few questions in your books for home practice using the same
principles by picking the odd one out.

1. 3. A. Genesis
A. Mathew B. Luke
B. Mark C. Exodus
C. Luke D. Leviticus
D. Genesis E. Numbers
E. John
4. A. Cow
2. A. Cassava B. Goat
B. yam C. Sheep
C. potato D. Pig
D. rice E. Elephant
E. Coco yam

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 ANSWERS TO THE ACTIVITY QUESTIONS

UNIT ONE: ANALOGIES UNIT TWENTY ONE: WORD

MAKING
1. D 3. D 5. B 7. C 9. D 1. C 2. E 3. A
4. E
2. B 4. D 6. C 8. A 10. A
UNIT TWO: ANALOGIES PAIR REVIEW UNIT TWENTY TWO:
WORD MAING REVIEW
1. A 3. A 5. A 1. C 2. B 3. C 4. A
2. C 4. A 6. C 5. A 6. B 7. D 8. D
UNIT THREE: WORD GROUPS UNIT TWENTY THREE:
SYNONYMS
1. E 3. D 5. B 7. C answers in the content
2. B 4. A 6. C 8. E
UNIT FOUR: REVIEW ON WORD GROUPS UNIT TWENTY FOUR:
ANTONYMS
1. B 3. C 5. E Answers in content
2. A 4. D 6 E
UNIT FIVE: SENTENCE ARRANGEMENTS UNIT TWENTY FIVE: CODES
AND DECODING
1. C 2.E 3. A 4. B 5. E 1. D 2. C 3. E 4. B 5. C
UNIT SIX: WORD PATTERN 1 UNIT TWENTY SIX:
SENTENCE ARRANGEME
1. C 3. B 5. C 7. A 9. C REVIEW
2. D 4. A 6. C 8. A 10. E 1. D 2. A 3. A 4. C
5. A
UNIT SEVEN: WORD PATTERN REVIEW UNIT TWENTY SEVEN:
RHYMES
1. B 3. D 5. D 7. A 9. D 1. C 2. D 3. B 4. C 5.
D 6. A
2. C 4. E 6. C 8. A 10. C
UNIT EIGHT: WORD MAKING UIT TWENTY EIGHT:
GENERAL TERMS

61
1. C 3. C 5. A 7. A 9. A 1. D 2. E 3. D 4. E 5.
D
2. E 4. B 6. A 8. B 10. A 6. A 7. E 8. D 9. D 10.
A
UNIT NINE: FOUR KEY BLOCK LETTER WORDS UNIT WENTY NINE;
REVISION ON
1. C 3. D 5. E 7. E 9. D GROUPING
2. A 4. E 6. B 8. D 10. B 1. B 2. A 3. E 4. E 5.
D 6. D
UNIT TEN: REVIEW OF FOUR KEY WORDS UNIT THIRTY; REVISION ON
1. D 3. A 5. E 7. A 9. E WORD GROUPS
2. B 4. C 6. D 8. C 10. E 1. E 2. B 3. D 4. B
5. A 6. A
UNIT ELEVEN: WORD BUILDING
1.A 2.A 3. E A 4. C
UNIT TWELVE: READING COMPREHENSION
- By developing a reading habit
- Writing down and studying new/difficult words
- Learning how to spell and pronounce them
- Learning the meanings of the new/difficult words
UNIT THIRTEEN: READING COMPREHENSION PASSAGES
1. Baimba and Thaimu. 3. Alimamy and Santigie
2. Four 4. Santigie
UNIT FORTEEN: READING AND COMPREHENSION REVIEW
1. B 3. E 5. D
2. A 4. E
UNIT FIFTEEN: GENERAL KNOWLEDGE
1.C 2. C 3. B 4. B 5. A
UNIT SIXTEEN: TRUE SENTENCES
1. A 3. A 5. A 7. D 9. C
2. A 4. B 6. B 8. B 10. B
UNIT SEVENTEEN: ALPHABETIC POSITION
1.A 2. D 3. A 4. B

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UNIT EIGHTEEN: ALPHABETIC ORDER
1.B 2. D 3. B 4. D 5. C 6. B
UNIT NINETEEN: CORRECT ODER OF WORDS
1.B 2.D 3.B 4.D 5.C 6.B
UNIT TWENTY: SETENCES THAT MAKE COMPLETE SENCE
1.B 2.B 3.C 4.A 5.D 6.C

REFERENCES
Frank Walter Mason Junior Aptitude Tests and Exercises
Joe A. D. Alie English and Verbal Aptitude Tests, Second Edition,
2018.
Ore Olunloyo Steps to Verbal Reasoning for Primary Schools

Past NPSE Questions and Answers

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