A Lagos-based teacher, Mr Akeem Alao, has awarded prizes to two of his students for getting a grammar question correctly.
In a post on his Facebook page, Alao said getting the grammar question which seemed impossible left many of the classmates stunned.
“Some respected grammarians had previously argued that certain sentence structures couldn’t be transformed into passive voice because, as they claimed, an active voice must always contain an object,” he said.
But Alao challenged this notion by teaching his pupils a more functional description: an active voice means the action is done by the subject, while a passive voice means the action is done to the subject and that, in some cases, the object may not be necessary.
Putting their understanding to the test, Mr Alao announced a grammar challenge with a reward of five pens: “Change this sentence to passive voice — Active: I am teaching.” The class buzzed as students quickly raised their hands, eager to win.
“I boldly announced the prize, thinking that none of them would get it. But when I saw hands, I was tempted to withdraw the prize,” he confessed. “Only the first person to answer this will get the prize,” he added, increasing the tension in the class.
To his surprise, one student confidently replied: “I am being taught.” Reacting with a mixture of shock and delight, Mr Alao exclaimed, “Ha! Lakaaka!” and immediately asked the class to applaud the brilliant answer: “Clap him,” he instructed.
Other students who had hoped to win slowly lowered their hands in disappointment, but Mr Alao encouraged them to keep trying, promising more rewards in the following week. The same scenario played out in a second class, with another student earning the prize by correctly answering the same challenge.
“I love them, I swear,” Mr Alao wrote joyfully, clearly proud of his students’ performance and passion for learning.
