Do you know that grammatical blunders are not always as a result
of you not knowing the rules governing the English language? One might be
competent in a particular language but still commit blunders when using/writing
the language. This is known as ‘performance error’ and it is caused by certain
factors such as: stuttering, loss of memory, drunkenness etc. Therefore, do not
always see someone who commits grammatical blunders as a dullard or one
suffering from language poverty.
In this part of the tutorial, I shall be discussing with you other
grammatical blunders that have enslaved many learners of the English language.
These blunders are:
1. I am here/writing to propose/oppose the motion which says...
2. Sir, I want to sign my course form.
3. Am sorry for offending you.
4. Please, on/off
the light.
5.The reason why I beat her is because she slapped me./The reason is because...
Now let’s see why the above sentences are ungrammatical and
please, mark the underlined words.
Sentence one: I am
here/writing to propose/oppose the motion which says...
Sentence one is a very common mistake among students writing their
Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE), especially those answering the
argumentative essay. While serving in Niger State, I was given the opportunity
to work for WAEC and NECO as an Assistant Examiner (AE) of English language and
during the coordination process, I was taught by senior examiners of English
that a motion is not a living thing hence doesn’t ‘say’ but ‘state.’
Therefore, the right thing to say is:” I am here/writing to propose/oppose
the motion which states...”
Sentence two: Sir, I want to sign my course form.
Sentence two is structurally grammatical but contextually
ungrammatical. It is a common mistake among undergraduates. During my second
year in the university, I took my course form to my lecturer for him to sign
and on meeting him, I said, ‘Sir, I want to sign my course form’ and he
immediately replied, ‘Okay, sign it na.’ His prompt response gave me the
conviction that I had messed up grammatically but not knowing the right thing
to say, I helplessly stood in front of him until he rescued me from the
embarrassing chains of the English language.
Sentence two is ungrammatical because the meaning of the sentence
is different from what the speaker actually means. What the speaker means is
that his lecturer should sign his course form but the sentence simply means,
the speaker, seeking permission from his lecturer, wants to sign the course
form himself. That is why I said the sentence is structurally grammatical but
contextually ungrammatical. By context, I mean the actual meaning of the
sentence.
Therefore, the right thing to say is:
Sentence three: Am sorry for offending you.
Many learners of English ignorantly feel that ‘am’ is the
contracted or shortened form of ‘I am.’ ‘Am’ is a form of the auxiliary verb,
‘BE’ and in any sentence, it should be preceded by a subject (the first person
pronoun ‘I’) e.g. I am a boy. I am going to school. You can also have 'am'
coming before the first person singular pronoun, 'I' for example: Am I the
person you are referring to?
Again, the contracted or shortened form of ‘I am’ is ‘I’m’ and not
‘am’ so it is totally ungrammatical to write/say, ‘Am coming’ or ‘Am going to
school.’ The right thing to write/say is: ‘I am coming’ or ‘I’m coming.’
The right expression for sentence three is: “I
am sorry for offending you’ or ‘I’m sorry for offending you.”
Sentence four: Please on/off the light.
I think this is Nigerian English and not Standard English. In
English language, there is no verb like ‘on’ or ‘off’ but ‘switch on’ and
switch off.’
Therefore, the right
sentence is: “Please switch on/switch off the light.”
Sentence five: The reason why I beat her is because she slapped me./The reason is because...
The above sentence is tautological because ‘reason’ ‘why’ and
‘because’ mean the same thing. They state the cause of an action.
The right expressions are: “The reason I beat her was for slapping
me.” or “I beat her because she slapped me.”
However, the phrase 'reason why' is used by the native speakers of English and
the oxford English dictionary upholds it as grammatical.
On my part, I consider it as ungrammatical because one of the definitions of
'why' is 'reason' and both are used to state the cause of an action so tell me,
if 'why' also means 'reason', isn't it tautological to say, 'the reason why?’
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