Clarification on 15 Words Commonly Misused in English

1. Artist/Artiste
An Artist is a painter or somebody who draws or carves while an Artiste is a performer such as a dancer, an actor, or a singer.

2. Biannual/Biennial
Biannual means happening twice in a year while Biennial means an event taking place once every two years. Perennial means happening for very long period of time; happening again and again.

3. Luxurious/Luxuriant
Luxuriant is used to describe something rich, attractive, and beautiful while Luxurious is used to describe something that is very comfortable containing expensive and enjoyable things.

4. Born/Borne
Born normally comes before the preposition "of" e.g. Angela was born of Nigerian parents in Italy. Borne comes before the preposition "by". Borne is the last participle of bear while the past tense is bore e.g. Owen, the Italian football was borne by British mother.

5. Comprehensible/Comprehensive
Comprehensible is used to describe something that can be easily understood by an average reader e.g. His letter was quite Comprehensible. Comprehensive is used to describe what is complete and has all necessary information e.g. The report of the robbery crime was quite comprehensive. They are both adjective.

6. Client/Customer
A customer is one who buys something from a shop while a client is one who receives or gets services from a professional.

7. Elder/Senior/Younger/Junior
Elder and Younger are used within the family while Senior and Junior are used in schools or offices. Therefore, it is wrong to say: That boy is my senior brother. It should be: That boy is my elder brother.

8. Academic/Academia/Academician
An Academic is someone who teaches and does research in a university. That is, a lecturer. Many people mistake it for Academia which actually means a world of learning, teaching and research at a university. An Academician on the other hand is a member of an academy. An academy here means a type of official organization aimed at encouraging art, literature and science.

9. Talker/Speaker
A Talker is somebody who speaks well in a conversation e.g. Mary is a good talker, I enjoy her conversation. A Speaker on the other hand is used to talk about somebody who makes or delivers speeches in events e.g. Felicia Duncan is a good public speaker.

10. Altogether/All together
Altogether means "in total" or "completely" e.g. We are expecting twenty people altogether for the party. All together on the other hand means "all at once or all in one place" e.g. Pay me my money all together.

11. Beside/Apart from/Besides
Beside is a preposition used to show location e.g. I saw a rat beside your leg just now. Besides is used for making an extra comment to what has been said earlier e.g. I don't really love the girl. Besides she is ugly. It can also be used as a preposition meaning 'Apart from' and 'in addition' e.g. I do admire everything about you besides your laziness. Besides losing his parents, the poor boy is a school dropout.

12. Blind/Blindly
Blindly (adverb) means 'not being able to see what you are doing' or 'not thinking about something' e.g. The boy blindly went ahead to marry the evil girl. Blind (adverb) means not being able to see.

13. Cautious/Careful
Being Cautious means doing something slowly or after a lot of thought because of fear or nervousness while being Careful means doing something after a lot of thought but without fear or nervousness.

14. Close/Shut
Close and Shut could really means the same thing but note that when 'shut' is used, it involves more noise. Also, shut is more often used for containers such as boxes, suitcases, etc. Closed is used in front of a noun whereas, shut is not e.g. A closed door, but we cannot say: A shut door. Closed is also usually used with roads, airports, etc. e.g. The roads were closed because of the protest.

15. Distrust/Mistrust
Distrust is used if you are sure that someone is acting dishonestly or cannot be relied on while Mistrust is used if you express doubt and suspicious over a person's honesty. You are not quite sure.

Phrasal Verbs and Idiomatic Expressions

This article treats the meaning of idiomatic/figurative expressions as well as phrases realized by verbs with prepositions, known as phrasal verbs. Here are some phrasal verbs and idiomatic expression you should know.

1. Leave out – Omit
2. Drop off – decline gradually
3. Drop our – cease from participating
4. Run off (documents) – to copy from machine
5. Catch on – understand
6. Leave no stone unturned – do everything possible
7. Round off – to conclude
8. Round up – to arrest
9. Take in – to deceive
10. Take after – to resemble or look like
11. Fall through – to fail
12. Write off – to cancel
13. A leader in a newspaper – an editor
14. A dark horse – an unexpected winner
15. Small fry – an unimportant person
16. To be insolvent – to be bankrupt, to be cash-strapped
17. A plaintiff – a complainant
18. Perjury – to tell a lie in the court
19. To buckle down – to be hardworking or serious
20. Give in – to accept defeat
21. Jaundiced view – partial or bias view
22. Ostracize – to reject or send away
23. To cross the Rubicon – not going back on a decision
24. To leave for good – no coming back
25. White elephant – high cost, little value
26. To lead a dog's life – to live a life of misery, suffering
27. To be under a weather – to be ill
28. To be in the black – to have money in one's account
29. To make an appearance – to show up in a party for a short-time
30. To clear the air – to eliminate tension, confusion, anger
31. The bird has flown – a wanted person has escaped
32. To come off – to live above board, to be above suspicion
33. Laissez faire attitude – careless, care-free
34. To go with a chip on one's shoulder – to prepare for a quarrel
35. To have one's head in one's mouth – to be frightened or afraid
36. To break even – no loss no gain
37. To present a bold front – to be brave
38. To exhume a body – to dig up
39. To be gullible – to be easily deceived
40. To loathe – having a strong hatred, aversion, dislike towards somebody or something.

In the next article we are going to be writing about Words Commonly Misused.

English Sentences

I define sentence as a word or group of word beginning with a capital letter, ending with an appropriate punctuation mark such as full-stop, comma, question mark, or an exclamation mark, giving a complete sense with meaning. When a sentence is made up of just a word, such word must be a lexical finite verb. E.g. sleep, go, come, etc.

Types of Sentences

There are four classifications of sentences and these classifications are based on the structure of the sentences. They include:

- Simple sentences

- Compound sentences

- Complex sentences

- Compound complex sentences

Simple Sentences

A simple sentence is that which has a singular verb and expresses a single thought. It is made up of a single independent clause.

Note: An independent clause (also known as a main clause) is that clause which can stand on its own and make a complete sense while a dependent clause (also known as a subordinate clause) is a clause that cannot stand on its own to make a complete sense. A sentence is said to be simple when its structure comprises just one clause which must be an independent clause/main clause.

Example 1: I saw him.

Example 2: He went to the market.

Only a single thought or message is expressed in the sentences above and are conveyed through the verb saw and went respectively. It should therefore be noted that, the messages or thoughts in a sentence are expressed or conveyed by the verb.

Compound Sentences

This is made up of at least two independent clauses. This implies that the structure of a compound sentence comprises only independent/main clauses i.e. clauses that can stand on their own. Compound sentences express at least two thoughts or messages. The clauses in a compound sentence are joined by coordinating conjunctions. There are three major types of coordinating conjunctions and they include: and, but, or. Examples:

1. I saw him but I did not greet him.

There are two clauses in the sentence above joined by the coordinator 'but'. These two clauses can stand separately with each having a complete sense. We call such sentences compound sentences.

2. She went to the market but she did not buy oranges. (Two independent clauses)

3. You should sleep on the floor or you sleep on the bed. (Two independent clauses)

4. I saw Peter but he did not see me and I pretended. (Three independent clauses)

A compound sentence can also have commas as the conjunction e.g.

5. We came, we saw, we conquered.

Complex Sentences

These are sentences that are made up of one independent/main clause and one or more dependent clauses. The clauses in a complex sentence are usually joined by subordinators or subordinating conjunctions. Such subordinators includ: although, however, instead, when, etc. Examples:

1. I saw him (main clause) although I did not greet him (dependent clause).

2. He went to the market (main clause) when I was hungry (dependent clause) despite our quarrel (dependent clause).

Compound Complex sentences

These are sentences that contain at least two main clauses plus one or more subordinate clauses. These means that we should have a minimum of two main clauses and a minimum of one subordinate clause. Examples:

1. He went to the market (main clause) and he brought me oranges (main clause) although we were quarrelling (dependent clause).

2. He came (main clause) and we meet him (main clause) although we could not speak with him (dependent clause) because he was sick (dependent clause).

The classification of sentences discussed above is known as Structural Classification of Sentences. We have another classification known as Functional Classification of Sentences. It should be recalled that the structural classification is based on the clausal structure (make-up) of the sentence. The functional classification on the other hand is based on the functions of the sentences. There are four types of sentences under this classification and they include:

Declarative sentence: its function is information giving. For example: John is coming tomorrow.

In this sentences, the subjects are naturally fronted.

Interrogative sentence: its function is information demanding, e.g.

Is John coming home? (Polar interrogative)

What is your name? (Non-Polar interrogative)

In this sentences, the operators (auxiliary verbs) are naturally fronted in polar interrogatives while 'wh' words are fronted in non-polar questions.

Imperative Sentence: its function is to give commands. Examples:

Get out now. (Exclusive imperative)

Let's go now. (Inclusive imperative)

In these sentences, the predicators (verbs) are fronted for the exclusive imperatives while 'let' is fronted in the inclusive imperative. Imperatives naturally do not take subjects but do in some cases.

Exclamation Sentence: its function is expression of feelings. Example:

How lucky we are!

These sentences sometimes appear as interrogatives but they are not. They normally end with the exclamation mark.

Part of Speech (Part 1): Pronouns in English

We define pronouns as words we use instead of nouns to avoid unnecessary repetition. We have different types of pronouns and they include: personal pronouns, reflective pronouns, reciprocal pronouns, possessive pronouns, interrogative pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, etc.

Note that all the pronouns mentioned above are Definite pronouns. We also have Indefinite pronouns. They are pronouns that do not specifically and exactly point out the nouns they represent. Examples include: somebody, anybody, someone, nobody, everybody, everything, everyone, something, none, etc.

The Definite Pronouns

Personal Pronouns

Personal Pronouns are directly used to refer to individuals. We have three types of personal pronouns, they include:

- First Person Pronouns

- Second Person Pronouns

- Third Person Pronouns

There are two major cases associated with these personal pronouns. They include:

i. The Subjective Case

ii. The Objective Case

When we say subjective case, we mean the first or initial position of a sentence before the verb. It is also referred to as a subject position. The objective case on the other hand, is the position after the verb of the sentence. It is the position occupied by the receiver of the action. Note that once the pronoun crosses the verb, it becomes an object pronoun, so you must not make the mistake of using a subject pronoun in an object pronoun.

Note these examples!

i. Baba and he (not him) participated in the tournament. It cannot be 'him'. It has not crossed the verb - 'participated'.

ii. Those men helped Dupe and me. (Not I, myself, or we) because it has not crossed the verb 'helped'.

First Person Pronouns: I (subject) / me (object) - first person singular and we (subject) / us (object) first plural.

When we say first person pronoun, we are referring to the person who is speaking. The first person singular pronoun 'I' may be singular but it takes a plural verb.

Examples:

i. I see John every day. (Not sees)

ii. He greets me.

iii. We slapped the man.

iv. He insulted us.

Second Person Pronoun

The only second person pronoun we have is 'you'. The object case is also 'you'.

Examples:

i. You are lazy (subject position)

ii. John slapped you? (object case)

Third Person Pronouns

He, She, It (singular subjective case)

Him, her, it (singular objective case)

They (plural subjective case)

Them (plural objective case).

Rules for using the subjective and objective case

Rule one

When a third or second person, be it noun or pronoun, is used with the pronoun 'I/me', the second or third person should come first before 'I'. This is called rule of selflessness.

Examples:

i. Efe and I should eat the food (Not I and Efe)

ii. You and I have been selected for the game. (Not I and you)

iii. The man gave John and me some money (Not me and John)

Rule two

Please note that when a prepositions such as amongst and between are used, the objective case of a personal pronoun should be used.

Examples:

i. Share this money amongst John, them and me.

ii. The profit of the business was apportioned between her and him.

Rule three

When comparing, we should use the subject case. Actually, in this instance, there is an ellipsis of a verb coming at the ending of the sentence.

Examples:

i. We seems stronger than they. (Stronger than they are)

ii. My sister cooks better than I. (Better than I cook)

Rule four

When a question is asked with a verb of performance, we reply with a subject pronoun but when the verb is not performed verb, we reply with an object pronoun.

Examples:

i. Speaker A: Who is knocking at the door?

    Speaker B: It is I.

The reply is in subject case 'I' because the question is asked with a performance verb 'is knocking'

ii. Speaker A: Who is at the door?

    Speaker B: It is me.

The reply is in objective case 'me' because the question is not carrying a performance verb. No action is actively performed. In Physics, they would say "there is zero work done"

iii. Speaker A: Who ate the food?

    Speaker B: It is I. (There is work done)

Sometimes, it may not be the form of a question, but just referring to a person.

iv. The Ibos like Ojukwu, it was he (not him) who fought for their race.

Rule five

When citing sentence, the introducer we use determines the case. If the introducer is 'like', note that the pronoun will be in the objective case but if the introducer is 'such as' the pronoun will be in the subjective case.

Examples:

i. I am used to ruffians like him (Not he)

ii. Bad leaders such as they (not them) should be punished forthwith.

iii. Lazy boys such as he (not him) should suffer.

iv. Students like them (not they) should be encouraged.

We will treat more on the other types of pronouns later on

Subjunctive (Real and Unreal Future)

When using certain phrases to express certain actions we should be mindful of the verbs that follow. When expressing the future we use present tense to express what will most likely occur, this is known as Real Future. And when we use past tense, it implies that the action will most likely NOT occur. This is known as Unreal Future. Note that there are always two clauses in this types of sentences and the verb in the first clause must agree with the verb in the second clause in terms of their tenses. That is, if a verb in the first clause is present tense, the verb in second clause will be present tense (vice versa). Examples:

1. If he arrived late, everyone would blame him.

2. If I go to the church tonight, I will return late.

3. If I went to the church tonight, I would return late.

4. If things were going as planned, I would have been in London next week.

Note that it is not all cases that there are only clauses in the sentences; there may be a phrase and a clause e.g.

i. By the end of next month, I will have finished my exam. (The speaker is certain of this therefore, it is a real future).

ii. By the end of next month, I would have finished my exam. (The speaker is not sure therefore, it is unreal future).

In subjunctives, there are also certain phrases that are significant in choosing the verb of a sentence, they include: It's time, it's high time, it's about time, etc. When they are used, the verb should be in past tense.

Examples:

i. It's high time I left home. (Not leave)

ii. It's about time we saw him. (Not see)

iii. It's time we ate the meal. (Not eat)

The general rule in changing verbs from one tense to another is - if phrases such as: if, as if, I wish, I'd rather, suppose/supposing are used in expressing unreal situation. Note that:

i. Present actions will take past tense verbs

ii. Actions referring to the future will take past tense verbs

iii. Actions in the past will take past perfect verbs

Note that the past perfect is indicated by auxiliary verb 'had' in front of the main verb. Examples:

1. If I were you I would disappear. (Present action taking past tense verb)

2. If I were you, I would never visit him again. (Present action taking past tense verb)

3. I wish I could fly. (Present action taking past tense verb)

4. I would rather you saw him next week. (Future action taking past tense verb)

5. You talk as if you were a parrot. (Present action taking past tense verb)

6. I wish we had seen last month. (The action is in the past therefore the verb is in the past perfect form)

7. I'd rather we visited her without further delay. (Here the action is in the present therefore the verb will be past)

8. I'd rather we had visited her yesterday. (Here the action is in the past therefore the verb will be past perfect).