TGOF (Think Grammar On Friday) with Gani

How sure are you?

1. Yesterday, you were__ a. on casual wear b. on casual wears c. in casual wear 

2. I hadn't __ the last bottle then. a. drank b. dranked c. drunk 

3. __ are too large, you need to replace __ a. this frame/it b. these frames/it c. these frames/them 

4. We need __ water. a. pottable b. portable c. potable 

5.  Kunle knows __. a. the ins and outs b. the nooks and corner c. the in and out 

6. Tell her to type the letter on a __. a. letterheading b. letterheaded paper c. letterhead 

7. A toast to the director, __ a. Hip, Hip, Hip Hurray! b. Hip, Hip, Hurray c. Hip, Hip, Hip, Hurrah!

8. Beware, ___ a. the devil you know is better than the angel you don't know b. choose the devil you know and not the angel c. better the devil you know than the devil you don't 
9. You can ask me to a. expatriate b. expantiate c. expatiate 
10. I saw him __ last week a. sometimes b. sometime c. some times  
TGOF(Think Grammar on Friday with Gani)  See more on www.languagediet.blogspot.com 

PLURALISING COMPOUND NOUNS

English for Today
PLURALISING COMPOUND NOUNS
This is done in three ways. Some compounds are pluralised on the first word; some pluralise the last word while the third class pluralises the first and last words. Let us see examples for the first category:
1.Passer-by - passers-by
2.Director-general - directors general
3. Notary public- notaries public
4. Parent-in-law- parents-in-law
5. Head of State- heads of state
6. Editor-in-Chief- editors-in-chief
7.Court-Martial- courts-martial
8. Man-of-war- men-of-war
9. Secretary-General- secretaries-general
10. Grant-in-aid- grants-in-aid

You know the meaning of this old idiom?

I want to see a man about the dog?

10 FUNCTIONS OF THE CAPITAL LETTER

English for Today
10 Functions of the Capital Letter:
1.For the first word in a sentence.
2.For correspondence: Dear. Sir,
3. For proper names: Gani.
4.For Calendar names: days, months, etc
5.For the important words in official titles of organisations and institutions: Institute of Marketing and Sales Management.
6. For numerical sequences: No. 54.
7. For resolutions: It was resolved, That future meetings be held on Mondays.
8. For the first word of a direct quotation: The secretary asked, 'What happened?'
9. For the important word in a sentence: The consignment of Sugar has arrived.
10. For the Pronoun 'I'

English for Today

 The 'Two first': 'Two last'

It is impossible to have more than one first or last of anything, and the expressions the 'two first, the three last, etc., are therefore quite wrong:

Your first two(not two first) orders arrived now.

None of the last three(not three last) quotations were acceptable.

English for Today

You really have to stop these:
1. Do not say 'am' when you mean ' I'm'. ' ' I'm ' is the contracted(shortened) form of ' I am '. I'm(not am) happy.
2. Avoid the use of double comparatives. Gani is taller(not more taller) than Kunle.
This class is better(not more better) than the other.
3. 'Much' is not used for count nouns, so, say: We are not many(not much) in our class.

Do not say these:

English for Today
You really have to stop these:
1. Do not say 'am' when you mean ' I'm'. ' ' I'm ' is the contracted(shortened) form of ' I am '. I'm(not am) happy.
2. Avoid the use of double comparatives. Gani is taller(not more taller) than Kunle.
This class is better(not more better) than the other.
3. 'Much' is not used for count nouns, so, say: We are not many(not much) in our class.

Constantly Mispronounced Words in Nigerian English

English for Today
Constantly Mispronounced words in Nigerian English
1. Covenant- This is erroneously pronounced as 'convenant' by some Christians to keep the rythmic appeal in songs like ' Covenant-keeping God'.
2. Expatiate- Many think this word is derived from 'expand'; hence, 'expantiate'.
3. Augment- Because most Nigerian languages are syllable-timed, many Nigerians find it more convenient to say 'augument'.

English for Today NIGERIANISMS

Words/ Nig.E meaning/Standard BrE meaning
1.Abroad: advanced countries(NE) any foreign country(Br E)
2.Adjacent: opposite(NE) near(BrE)
3.Beverage: only cocoa-based drinks(NE)any drink, but water(Br E)
4.Bogus: too big/showy(NE) fake(BrE)
5.Customer: buyer or seller(NE) buyer(BrE)
6.Dupe: the con man(NE) the victim of the dupe(BrE)
7.In cold blood: refers to the victim(NE) refers to the criminal(BrE)
8.Lanky: hefty(NE) tall, thin(BrE)
9.Natty: very untidy; rough(NE) spotless, very clean(BrE)
10. Upstanding: standing up(NE) honest, dependable(BrE)
  Have a great weekend!

English for today - Choose the right Word:

Even when you know the meaning of a word, the exercise of a care in its use is still necessary if you are to say precisely what you want to say. For example: he said (stated, asserted, claimed, maintained, declared) that the goods had not been delivered. To say means to express in words; state - to express in a formal manner; assert - to express strongly; claim - to express as being true; maintain - to uphold; declare - to make known. What exactly do you want to say?

English for today - ‘due to’ and ‘owing to’

These lexical items are frequently misused. The former means caused by and should always be associated with noun equivalents, e.g., the late arrival of the goods was due to a strike at the docks.; the latter means because of and should always be associated with a verb, e.g., The goods arrived late owing to strike at the docks.

English for today - ‘less’ and ‘fewer’

Less is used in reference to number. It is a common fault to use ‘less’ where fewer would be correct:

He now owes less(not fewer) than $50.

Fewer(not less) than a dozen applications have been received.

English for today - Misplacement of ‘only’

The correct grammatical position is next to, preferably before the word it qualifies:

ONLY he borrowed #10(i.e he, and no one else, borrowed)

He ONLY borrowed #10(i.e he did not seek the money as a gift, but merely borrowed it)

He borrowed ONLY #10(i.e he borrowed #10, and no more)

Either means any of two; any means any one of three or more.

Either (not any) of the two patterns is ok.

Any signifies only one; hence is comparatives and superlatives it cannot stand alone

‘Ijota” has a larger circulation than any other (not any) journal.

‘The Echo’ has the largest circulation of all newspapers (not any newspaper, since largest implies at least three things; any signifies only one).

BRITISH AND AMERICAN ENGLISHES

These two leading varieties of English differ in four ways, namely: Grammar, Vocabulary, spelling and pronounciation.

Each of these will be discussed.

GRAMMER: the following are some of the grammatical differences;

1.       British English favours the present perfect tense while American English prefers the simple past tense: What have you eaten? I’ve eaten rice (BrE) What did you eat? I ate rice (AmE)

BRITISH AND AMERICAN ENGLISHES - Still on grammar:

BrE prefers the use of ‘got’ as the past tense and past participle of ‘get’ while the form ‘gotten’ is very common in AmE

1.       I’ve got a job (BrE); I’ve gotten a job (AmE)

2.       BrE  favours the irregular form of lexical verbs(learn-learnt, dream-dreamt) while AmE uses mainly the regular form(learn-learned, dream-dreamed)

3.       Prepositions: British athletes play in a team; American athletes play on a team

BRITISH AND AMERICAN ENGLISHES - Number representations

1.       BrE typically inserts ‘and’ before the tens and units, as in ‘two thousand and three’ while it is considered correct in AmE to drop the ‘and’,as in ‘two thousand three’

2.       For the house number(for bus number, etc)British people would tend to say ‘two seven two’

3.       British would say ‘one dollar fifty; one  pound eighty’;

4.       When referring to the numeral 0, British people would normally use ‘nought’ ‘oh’or ‘nil’ in instance such as sports scores and voting results while Americans use ‘zero’ most frequently.

5.       There are also variations in floor numbering. In Uk, the ‘first floor’ is one above the entrance level is the ‘ground floor’. Americans label the entrance level as the ‘first floor’, the floor immediately above that is the ‘second floor’

BRITISH AND AMERICAN ENGLISHES Idioms

A number of English idioms that have essentially the same meaning show lexical differences between the British and American version; for instance:

1.       Skeleton in the cupboard (BrE);Skeleton in the closet(AmE)

2.       A home from home(BrE);A home away from home(AmE)

3.       Blow one’s trumpet(BrE);Blow(or toot) one’s horn(AmE)

4.       A drop in the ocean(BrE);A drop in the bucket(AmE)

5.       Storm in a tea cup(BrE);tempest in a tea pot(AmE)

6.       Flogging dead horse(BrE);Beating a dead horse(AmE)

7.       Haven’t a clue(BrE);Have no clue(AmE)

8.       A new lease of life(BrE);A new lease on life(AmE)

BRISTISH AND AMERICAN ENGLISHES

VOCABULARY: AmE and BrE also exibit some differences in the words they use to refer to certain things. The following list represents such lexical differences between the two varieties:

BrE/AmE

Empanel/impanel

Enquiry/inquiry

Jewellery/jewelry

Judgement/judgment\

Lustre/luster

Mould/mold

Odour/odor

Pyjamas/pajamas

Plough/plow

Programme/program

Sceptic/skeptic

Smoulder/smolder

Storey (of building)/story

Sulphur/sulfur

Tyre/tire

Towards/toward

Vice/vise (tool)

Yodeling/yodeling

Moustache/mustache

Acknowledge

Afterwards/afterward

Aluminium/aluminum

Anaemia/anemia

Anaesthetic/anesthetic

Aplogise/apologize

Armour/armor

Axe/ax

Cancelling/canceling

Catalogue/catalog

Centre/center

Cheque/check

Cigarette/cigaret

Colour/color

Connexion/connection

Disc/disk

Doughnut/donut

Draught/draft

Favour/favor

Grey/gray

Torch/flash light

Petrol/gasoline

Dynamo/generator

Care taker/janitor

Paraffin/kerosene

Post/mail

Film/movie

The cinema/the movies

Trousers/pant

Constable/patrol man

Nursing home/private hospital

Railway/rail road

Rise (in salary)/raise

Public toilet/rest room

Condom/rubber

Time table/schedule

Ill /sick

Pave/side walk

Shop/store

Cooker/stove

Pull over/sweater

Cotton/thread

Roundabout/traffic circle

Lorry/truck

Boot (of a car)/trunk

Vest/under shirt

Holiday(s)/vacation

Corn/wheat

(motor) car/automobile

Pram/baby-carriage

Pub/bar

Hoarding/billboard

Wallet/billfold

Taxi/wallet

Sweets/candy

Cupboard/closet

Biscuit/cookie

Mad/crazy

Sweet/dessert

Diversion/detur

Nappy/diaper

Diversion/detour

Nappy/diaper

Lift/elevator

Rubber/eraser

Flat/apartment

Graduate/alumnus

Anywhere/anyplace

Barrister/attorney

Pram/baby-carriage

Pun/bar

Hoarding/billboard

Wallet/billford

Taxi/wallet

Note: sometimes, many Nigerians erroneously assume that the American words are more sophisticated, hence, you prefer peanut to groundnut; a cab to a taxi; a rest room to a public toilet: these are just variants!

English for Today NIGERIANISMS

By this, we mean usages that are peculiar to Nigerian users of English. It is important to know what these words and expressions mean in Standard English and keep to such standard usages. Here are some:

1.       Decamp- This does not mean to move from one party to another. Moving from one party to another is called defection.

2.       Commission- This does not mean to put a project into use. When you put a project into.

3.       Local- this does not mean to lack exposure or sophistication. It only means belonging to particular place. So, Chris brown is a local musician in America. 

To be continued