Which 'he' is the headline referring to?

A clear message will drive home its point easily.






Aziz reminds Hadi he’s captain of the ship.

The above is the headline of a news item appearing in a popular national English daily.

By reading such headline, you will not know whether Aziz or Hadi is the captain of the ship.

The news proper itself confirms that Aziz is the captain of the ship.

To avoid ambiguity, the headline could have been "Aziz reminds Hadi Aziz (or the former) is captain of the ship".

Don't let people drive you crazy when you know it's in walking distance.
-- Anonymous

Misses for missus

Wrong signal will lead to wrong interpretation.






My attention has been grabbed by a sub-headline of a newspaper article.

It reads, "My misses found a sticker on our post box the other day and even after much scraping, couldn't get all of it off."

I have been attracted to it not because it conveys something interesting but because I have not been able to understand initially what it is trying to tell its readers.

On second thought, I believe I have the correct story which is hidden by a typographical error.

To verify, I have read the whole article which eventually confirms my assumption that the sub-headline should have been, "My missus found a sticker on our post box the other day and even after much scraping, couldn't get all of it off."

To err is human, but to really foul things up requires a computer.
-- Anonymous

Tense Harmony

Designs like writings must be harmonious to reflect their themes/meanings.





Earlier, Lim said the change promised by the state government since taking over after the March 8 general election last year was not rhetoric, but something that can be seen, felt and touch.

The above is a sentence/paragraph taken from a news item in a popular national English daily.

It has a failure in tense hormony. The last word 'touch' should be in the past participle. Hence, the whole sentence/paragraph should have been, "Earlier, Lim said the change promised by the state government since taking over after the March 8 general election last year was not rhetoric, but something that can be seen, felt and touched.

Below is another one taken from the same newspaper. This time it is from an advertisement. Pay attention to the words highlighted by me in bold and the one in italics.

Last weekend, I just stayed home and swam, sailed, walked along the promenade, shopped, had lunch by the marina, watch a yacht sailed by, snoozed, read a book before enjoying a quiet dinner for two on the verandah of my home.

It is a compound sentence with all the words in bold being verbs in the past tense except the word in italics being a verb in the present tense. The verb in the present tense is out of place and should be in the past tense also.

There is only one thing worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.
-- Oscar Wilde

Misleading newspaper headline

Writings/messages should be clearly presented to avoid ambiguity.






Sketches of suspects released is the headline of a news item in a popular national English daily.

Such headline can lead you to understand its meaning to be "Sketches (are or have been) released and they belong to suspects" or "Sketches of suspects (who are or have been) released".

You cannot be sure until you have read the first paragraph of the news proper which says, "Pakistan yesterday released sketches of four men suspected of involvement in a deadly ambush on Sri Lankan cricketers and broadcast CCTV footage of gunmen escaping after the siege."

To do away with the embiguity, the headline can be "Sketches released of suspects" or "Released: sketches of suspects".

There is then creative reading as well as creative writing.
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Strange constructions or just slips in editing/typesetting

Following the correct route will ensure early arrival at the desired destination.






(1)Of course, I’m happy that my job takes me round the world, but I miss not having my family with me.

(2)We are now aware of the important of respecting intellectual property and of using licensed software in our business.

The above two sentences appear in a very popular national English daily with (1) in a column promoting the correct use of English and (2) in a notice/advertisement.

When we say we miss something, we are not having that something. Sentence (1) should have been, "Of course, I’m happy that my job takes me round the world, but I miss having my family with me." Or, it can be simply refined to be, "Of course, I’m happy that my job takes me round the world, but I miss my family."

The use of 'important' which is an adjective is inappropriate in sentence (2). The noun 'importance' is required in its stead, and the sentence should have been, "We are now aware of the importance of respecting intellectual property and of using licensed software in our business."

An accomplishment sticks to a person.
-- Japanese Proverb