Simple sentences may cause problems

I first heard the explosion from my room at the hotel.

The above is the first sentence/paragraph in a news item of an online version of a national English daily.

The sentence is just a simple sentence, but it may not convey the meaning intended by the writer.

Owing to a misplaced modifier, the sentence is saying the writer first heard the explosion and the explosion was from the writer's room at the hotel.

After reading the whole story, any reader will know that the writer's intention should be "From my room at the hotel, I first heard the explosion."

Plural Nouns must be matched with Plural Verbs

Even if the company does not conduct any business or any transactions, its directors still have certain statutory duties to fulfil which includes filing the annual returns, and keeping proper accounts of the company.

The above sentence is taken from an article in the online version of a national English daily.

The sentence is ungrammatical in that it says "duties includes" matching a singular verb with a plural noun.

The sentence should have been - Even if the company does not conduct any business or any transactions, its directors still have certain statutory duties to fulfil which include filing the annual returns, and keeping proper accounts of the company.

Avoiding troublesome construction

A family of three was injured when their car collided with another car.

The above is a sentence quite commonly seen in newspapers.

'Family' can be regarded as singular when referred to as a group/unit. It can also be a plural noun when it is referring to members of the family.

The sentence in italics has a construction that treats 'family' as singular [as evidenced by the use of a singular (passive) verb 'was injured'] but as plural later with the use of a plural possessive adjective 'their'.

To avoid such irregularity, the sentence should have been A family of three were injured when their car collided with another car.

Options to correct inconsistencies

The Peacebuilding Support Office was established to assist the Peacebuilding Commission, administer the Peacebuilding Fund, and serve the Secretary-General in coordinating UN agencies in their peacebuilding efforts.

The above is a sentence taken from an article of an online newspaper.

Inconsistent verbs (singular and plural) are used with the same subject. For rectification, the sentence can be recast as "The Peacebuilding Support Office was established to assist the Peacebuilding Commission, administers the Peacebuilding Fund, and serves the Secretary-General in coordinating UN agencies in their peacebuilding efforts."

'The Peacebuilding Support Office' is obviously an organisation/a collection of individuals and can be followed by a plural verb/s. The complete predicate of the first part of the sentence can be converted into a participial phrase and the sentence will become grammatical: The Peacebuilding Support Office established to assist the Peacebuilding Commission, administer the Peacebuilding Fund, and serve the Secretary-General in coordinating UN agencies in their peacebuilding efforts.

Which is the better option then? The better choice will be the one that will not create further inconsistencies with other parts of the article.

Sentence with meaning to be guessed by Readers

Some two weeks ago, I was driving along Jalan Maharajalela when two men dressed in yellow t-shirts with the logo of an oil company on a motorcycle shouted at me to stop while pointing to my front left tyre.

The above sentence is taken from a reader's letter published by a national English daily.

The logo of an oil company is on t-shirts or on the motorcycle?

If it is the former (and it appears so), the sentence should be clearer when recast as "Some two weeks ago, I was driving along Jalan Maharajalela when two men on a motorcycle and dressed in yellow t-shirts with the logo of an oil company shouted at me to stop while pointing to my front left tyre. "