JAMB English

JAMB English: How to Beat Lexis and Structure

5 min read

English is compulsory for every JAMB candidate, so a strong English score lifts your aggregate no matter your course. The Lexis and Structure section is where quick gains hide.

What Lexis and Structure actually tests

  • Synonyms & antonyms — choosing the word closest (or opposite) in meaning to a bolded word.
  • Sentence completion — the grammatically and logically correct option.
  • Grammatical structure — concord (subject–verb agreement), tenses, and prepositions.

The traps

  1. Register mismatch. JAMB loves options that are almost right but wrong in tone or formality.
  2. Concord with tricky subjects. "Each of the students has (not have)..." — collective and distributive subjects catch people out.
  3. Prepositions after specific verbs. "Comply with", "married to", "capable of" — memorise the common pairings.

How to improve quickly

  • Read one Nigerian newspaper editorial a day and note unfamiliar words.
  • Drill synonym/antonym past questions — patterns repeat.
  • Learn the 30 most-tested prepositional phrases; they show up every year.

Comprehension and summary reward wide reading, but Lexis and Structure rewards targeted drilling — which is exactly what timed practice gives you.

Ready to practise? AceJAMB has 100,000+ past questions with an AI tutor that explains every answer. Start practising free.