Nasal Sound / M N, ɳ/ & Pronouns – JSS3 English Lesson Note (Second Term)

Nasal sounds are speech sounds made with air flowing out through the nose, and a pronoun is a word used in place of a noun.

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. Explain why /m/, /n/ and /ŋ/ are called nasal sounds.
2. Give words that contain each of the three nasal sounds.
3. Define a pronoun and say why it is used.
4. Identify personal pronouns by person and number.
5. Tell the difference between a possessive pronoun and a possessive adjective, and use each in a sentence.

What are nasal sounds?

Nasal sounds are consonant sounds made when air escapes through the nose. English has three: /m/, /n/ and /ŋ/.

• Mouth: the air cannot leave through the mouth because it is blocked at one point.
• Nose: the air passes out entirely through the nasal cavity.
• Voicing: all three are voiced, so the vocal cords vibrate.

How are nasal sounds produced?

1. The soft palate (the soft part at the back of the roof of the mouth) lowers.
2. This opens the passage from the throat to the nose.
3. The mouth is blocked at one point by the lips or the tongue.
4. The vocal cords vibrate and the air flows out through the nose.

• Quick test: pinch your nose and say “mmm”. The sound stops because the air cannot leave.

What are the three nasal sounds?

The three nasal sounds differ in the place where the mouth is blocked.

• Note on /ŋ/: it does not begin any English word. It comes in the middle or at the end of a word.

What are examples of words with nasal sounds?

What is a pronoun?

A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun to avoid repetition in speech or writing.

• Purpose: it stops the same noun from being repeated and makes speech sound smooth.
• Role: it does the work that the noun would do in the sentence.
• Agreement: it must match the noun it replaces in gender, number and person.

• Without pronouns: Ada went to the market because Ada was hungry.
• With pronouns: Ada went to the market because she was hungry.

How does a pronoun agree with its noun?

• Masculine singular: he, him (for example, Chidi becomes he).
• Feminine singular: she, her (for example, Amina becomes she).
• Neuter singular: it (for a thing or an animal, for example, the book becomes it).
• Plural: they, them (for example, the boys becomes they).

What are personal pronouns?

A personal pronoun is a pronoun that refers to a person or thing involved in an action, as subject or object.

Personal pronouns show number (singular or plural) and person (first, second or third).

What are the three persons?

• First person: the speaker or writer, as in I, me, we and us.
• Second person: the person spoken to, as in you.
• Third person: the person or thing spoken about, as in he, she, it, they, him, her and them.

What are the forms of personal pronouns?

• Subject pronoun: does the action of the verb, as in “She scolded them.” (she)
• Object pronoun: receives the action of the verb, as in “She scolded them.” (them)
• Same form: you and it do not change between subject and object.

Examples:

• She scolded them. (She is the subject, them is the object.)
• I kicked him. (I is the subject, him is the object.)
• They surprise me with their conduct. (They is the subject, me is the object.)

What are possessive pronouns?

Possessive words show possession or ownership, and they have two forms: the possessive adjective and the possessive pronoun.

• Possessive adjective: comes before a noun and describes it, as in “my pen”. It is also called a pronominal adjective.
• Possessive pronoun: stands alone in place of the noun, as in “The pen is mine.”

What is the difference between a possessive pronoun and a possessive adjective?

What are the forms of possessive pronouns and adjectives?

Examples:

• This pen is mine. (The pronoun “mine” is the subject complement.)
• This is my pen. (The adjective “my” modifies the noun “pen”.)

What are common mistakes with possessive words?

• No apostrophe: write ours, yours, hers and theirs, never our’s, your’s, her’s or their’s.
• its and it’s: its shows ownership, while it’s means “it is” or “it has”.
• Noun after a pronoun: do not write “This is mine pen”. Use “my pen” or “mine” alone.

Evaluation

1. Why are /m/, /n/ and /ŋ/ called nasal sounds?
2. Give three words that contain the sound /ŋ/.
3. Pick out the pronouns in the sentence “She scolded them.”
4. What is the difference between “mine” and “my”?
5. Replace the nouns with pronouns: “Chidi called Amina.”

Assignment

Write five sentences about your family, using a personal pronoun and a possessive adjective in each, then underline them and list two words each containing /m/, /n/ and /ŋ/.