Not needed

Below is the answer to my question published by The Star and reproduced (both question and answer) from The Star Online Mind Our English Thursday August 20, 2009:-

I REFER to the sentence quoted as one of the examples in the answers to questions under Base form (Mind Our English, July 30).

4. She always helps her mother cook the dinner every day.

I feel that always is a tautology which has no justification to earn its keep there (though it can mean without exception). – Kengt, Penang

Thank you for pointing out the tautology in my sentence. You are quite right. “Always” should not have been there.

"Commensurate" is an adjective and not a verb

"Only short-listed candidates will be notified. Salary and points of entry for the above position will commensurate with qualification and experience."

The word commensurate looks like a verb, it sounds like a verb, but it is not a verb. It is an adjective.

All the above sentences are extracted from an article titled Verbs gone astray in newspapers written by a Dr. Lim and published in a popular national English daily.

Shown below is another sentence taken from a news item in the same daily some time later. "Commensurate" appears to have been used as a verb again therein apart from other mistakes which are highlighted in bold.

While it is not our intention to interfere, they should take cognisance of this trend and ensure convicted criminals receive punishment that commensurate with their crime, like whipping or a longer jail sentences for snatch thieves or robbers which cause injury.

The erroneous sentence needs to be recast as "While it is not our intention to interfere, they should take cognisance of this trend and ensure convicted criminals receive punishment commensurate with their crime, like whipping or a longer jail sentence for snatch thieves or robbers who cause injuries."

Phrases and clauses

I refer to the two sentences listed as examples by Senny Ng in Fewer words (Mind Our English, June 25).

Aren’t both sentences preceded by participle phrases which are very well expanded into co-ordinate clauses by Fadzilah Amin in the answers?

This is, however, not the first time I have seen the use of “clauses” which are meant to include “phrases”. Please explain. – Kengt, Penang

I think there is a misunderstanding here. What some people call a participle phrase, others call a participle clause. Some people refer to structures containing non-finite verbs (i.e. participles and infinitives) without finite ones, as phrases, while others refer to them as clauses.

I based my choice of the use of participle clause on Practical English Usage (Michael Swan, 2005) and the Collins Cobuild English Grammar (1990). Both these books use the term participle clauses, NOT participle phrases for structures similar to those used in Senny Ng’s sentences. Let me illustrate by quoting some of their examples of participle clauses to compare with Senny Ng’s clauses. I am going to write all participle clauses in bold:

“Wearing a T-shirt, Jenny walks to work.” (Senny Ng)

“Putting down my newspaper, I walked over to the window.” (Michael Swan, p.411)

“Laughing and shrieking, the crowd rushed under the nearest trees.” (Collins Cobuild, p.371)

“Put simply, he just wasn’t good enough.” (Senny Ng)

“Served with milk and sugar, it makes a delicious breakfast.” (Michael Swan, p.382)

“Angered by the policies of the union, she wrote a letter to the General Secretary.” (Collins Cobuild, p.371)

The above are answers to my questions (included above) published by The Star and reproduced from The Star Online Mind Our English Thursday July 30, 2009.

The answers appear to suggest phrases can be called clauses, but if you look up the online dictionary, www.dictionary.com, the definition of a phrase is, among its other meanings, a sequence of two or more words that make up a grammatical construction, usually lacking a finite verb and hence not a complete clause or sentence.

He/She/They‏

Would you believe taking answers with a grain of salt will enable you to learn better?





Now we can often see the use of 'they' to represent a singular noun or pronoun though such usage is still a controversial issue) as can be seen in a newspaper article.

I wrote an e-mail to the editor who has published my queries together with the answers as follows:-

Quote

The Star Online Mind Our English
He, she and they
OPEN CHANNEL: From Kengt Jul 30:

I REFER to the article Father figures (Mind Our English, June 19).

We often see the use of “they” to represent a singular noun or pronoun (though such usage is still a controversial issue) as shown in the following sentence: “With DNA tests, this image is obviously outdated: anyone can prove who their parents are – and even more distant relatives.”

Also, we see the use of “they” after “he or she” in another sentence in the article: “The poet therefore says he can look at a kid and predict exactly what he or she will be like when they grow up.”

There are writers who avoid such construction. What is your stand? – Kengt

Ellen Whye: Modern usage tends towards “they”, “their”, etc, instead of “he and she” “his and her”, etc. Possibly because it’s shorter and less gender specific.

Fadzilah Amin: The use of they/them/their “to refer to a singular indefinite person ... has existed for centuries and is perfectly correct...” according to Michael Swan (Practical English Usage, 2005, p.521). I looked up the word “they” in the current OED (2nd edition, 1989), and definition 2 says: “Often used in reference to a singular noun made universal by every, any, no, etc., or applicable to one of either sex (= ‘he or she’).”

What is more interesting is that the first recorded use of “they” in that way dates back to 1526. Here are some interesting quotations from famous works cited by the dictionary:

“Every Body fell a laughing, as how could they help it.” (Henry Fielding, Tom Jones, 1749)

“If a person is born of a ... gloomy temper ... they cannot help it.” (Chesterfield, Letters IV. ccclv. 170, 1759). This is from one of the famous letters Lord Chesterfield wrote to his son.

This usage is in keeping with Ellen’s sentence in her article: “With DNA tests, this image is obviously outdated: anyone can prove who their parents are – and even more distant relatives.”

I agree with Ellen Whyte that “they” is shorter (than “he or she”). It would be tedious to say or write “he or she” every time you are not sure what the gender of a person is. And to write “he” to include “she” all the time is unfair to women. Since “they” has been used for centuries to mean “he or she”, what’s wrong with using it now?

However I do see a point in Kengt’s questioning of the following sentence of Ellen’s: “The poet therefore says he can look at a kid and predict exactly what he or she will be like when they grow up.”

With due respect to Ellen, perhaps she should have been consistent and stick to “they” instead of writing “he or she” in the above sentence, so that the sentence would read:

“The poet therefore says he can look at a kid and predict exactly what they will be like when they grow up.”

Unquote

Below is another sentence written by the critic in the same column:-

"Encore!" is what an audience calls out to a singer or musician in appreciation of his performance and as a request for him to sing another song or play another piece of music. If he obliges, the extra song or piece of music is also called an "encore".

Since a singer or musician can be a woman, this sentence does not appear to be in line with what was advocated in the reply to me.

Much have I learned from my teachers, more from my colleagues, but most from my students.
-- Talmud

Dream Home or Home Dream

Precision is important.






Realise your dream home with a home loan.

The above is the headline of an advertisement on the front page of a popular national English daily.

The advertisement is calling readers to realise or liquidate your dream home; but from the write-up, one can see the intention being to encourage one to obtain a home loan to purchase a home, that is to say, to realise one's dream of owning a home.

Shouldn't the headline be "Realise your home dream with a home loan"?

I see but one rule: to be clear. If I am not clear, all my world crumbles to nothing.
-- Stendhal