Some Common Slip-Ups In English (1)

Mediocrity in both written and spoken English should not be encouraged. Albeit English is not our native language, it behoves us to take it seriously since it is our official and second language; we can’t do away with it.

Unfortunately, the standard of the Queen’s language in the Ghanaian society has fallen drastically to the extent that it is common these days to find grammatical errors in textbooks and storybooks authored for schoolchildren.

Regrettably, some well-educated persons often say ‘enviness’ and ‘delayance’. For their information, ‘enviness’ and ‘delayance’ are not English words. In other words, they are not found in any good dictionary.

The noun forms of the verbs ‘to envy’ and ‘to delay’ are ‘envy’ and ‘delay’ respectively. Examples: Cain killed his brother out of envy (Not: enviness). Sorry for the delay (Not: delayance).

Below are some 10 grammatical slip-ups commonly made by many speakers and writers of English on a daily basis; carefully take note of them.

Somewhere last year

The following sentence is incorrect: Somewhere last year, John bought a brand new car.

With reference to time, use the adverb ‘sometime’. With reference to a place, use the adverb ‘somewhere’, e.g. Kwame lives somewhere in the Greater Accra Region.

Hence, the incorrect sentence should be corrected as follows: Sometime last year, John bought a brand new car.

Similarly, the following expressions are incorrect: somewhere last week, somewhere last month, somewhere in January 2020, etc. Instead, replace ‘somewhere’ with ‘sometime’ in all the expressions.

Wrestle power

The following sentence is incorrect: The NDC is poised to wrestle power from the NPP in 2020.

The correct phrasal verb is ‘wrest something from somebody or something’ which means ‘to take…power or control…with great effort’.

Therefore, the incorrect sentence should be corrected as follows: The NDC is poised to wrest power from the NPP in 2020.

 

Most at times

The following sentence is incorrect: Most at times, I stay indoors. Unfathomably, the expression ‘most at times’ does not exist in English, yet it has gained wide currency in Ghana. The correct expression is ‘most of the time’.

Hence, the incorrect sentence should be corrected as follows: Most of the time, I stay indoors.

 

Across board

The following sentence is incorrect: The government increased salaries and wages across board in the public sector last year. The correct expression is ‘across the board’. It is a fixed expression hence it is wrong to drop the definite article ‘the’ in the expression.

Therefore, the incorrect sentence should be corrected as follows: The government increased salaries and wages across the board in the public sector.

 

With regards to

The following sentence is incorrect: Ghana’s position with regards to homosexuality is clear. The correct expression is ‘with regard to’. Drop‘s’ in ‘regards’.

It is noteworthy that ‘with regard to’ is synonymous with ‘as regards’. Always maintain the‘s’ in ‘as regards’.

Hence, the incorrect sentence should be corrected as follows: Ghana’s position with regard to homosexuality is clear OR Ghana’s position as regards homosexuality is clear.

 

Chalk success

The following sentence is incorrect: Having married for 30 years, Mr. Manu has chalked success in his marriage life. The correct phrasal verb is ‘chalk something up’ and not ‘chalk something’.

Therefore, the sentence should be corrected as follows: Having married for 30 years, Mr. Manu has chalked up success in his marriage life.

 

Abreast with

The following sentence is incorrect: A good journalist must be abreast with current affairs. The correct expression is ‘abreast of’.

Hence, the sentence should be corrected as follows: A good journalist must be abreast of current affairs.

 

Sensitise on

The following sentence is incorrect: The students were sensitised on the need to take their studies seriously. The correct expression is ‘sensitise to’ and not ‘sensitise on’. This slip-up is common in the print media.

Therefore, the sentence should be corrected as follows: The students were sensitised to the need to take their studies seriously.

Overspeeding

The following sentence is incorrect: Overspeeding is a major factor in road traffic fatalities. It is noteworthy that there is no word as ‘overspeeding’ in English. The Oxford Dictionary defines speeding as ‘to drive faster than the speed that is legally allowed’.

Hence, the sentence should be corrected as follows: Speeding is a major factor in road traffic fatalities OR Excessive speed is a major factor in road traffic fatalities.

 

At the premises of

The following sentence is incorrect: The meeting was held at the premises of the company. The noun ‘premises’ takes the preposition ‘on’ and not ‘at’.

Therefore, the sentence should be corrected as follows: The meeting was held on the premises of the company.

Wrong punctuation

Carefully study the following sentences: Kwame said that, he would attend the meeting. The police have warned that, they will severely deal with criminals in 2020. This means that, everybody’s salary has been increased.

The sentences above have been wrongly punctuated. I have noticed that this punctuation slip-up is very common among many writers of English in Ghana.

It is wrong to punctuate ‘that’ with a comma when it is used as a conjunction in a sentence.

Hence, the wrongly punctuated sentences should be corrected as follows: Kwame said that he would attend the meeting. The police have warned that they will severely deal with criminals in 2020. This means that everybody’s salary has been increased.

However, when ‘that’ introduces either an adverb or a phrase in a sentence, it can be punctuated with a comma as in these two sentences: He didn’t know that, unfortunately, his beloved wife was his sister. He went to Opoku Ware School and that, once upon a time, he was a Member of Parliament.

Besides, ‘that’ can be punctuated when it accompanies expressions such as ‘apart from’, ‘as a result of’, ‘in view of’, ‘because of’, etc. Examples: Apart from that, he is humble. As a result of that, he lost his job. In view of that, government has decided to focus on the private sector. Because of that, he divorced his wife.

To be continued…

 

By Anthony Kwadwo Kyei

The author is a writer and a proofreader

Writer’s email: anthokyei@gmail.com