ENGLISH LANGUAGE CLINIC ON CITIZEN NEWSNG

1. Wrong: Where is my car key?
Right: Where is the key to the car?

‘CAR KEY’ is a colloquial English expression. It is not correct in standard English Language communicaon.

2. Wrong: Someone has removed the plate number of my car!
Right: Someone has removed the number plate of my car!

Note: The number of the car is printed on the plate, but not the plate on the number.

3. Wrong: My son does not take his academic work serious.
Right: My son does not take his academic work seriously.

Note: You take something or things seriously, but not serious.

4. Wrong: You better go and apologise to your father. You have offended him!
Right: You had better go and apologise to your father.

Note: You had better is a subjunctive in subject of English Language. That is the way subjunctive has fixed it. So, ‘You better’ without the ‘had’ is bad English.

5. Wrong: Please, tell him to reverse the car back.
Right: Please, tell him to reverse the car.

Note: ‘Reverse’ means to ‘move back’, when you reverse a car, you are moving it back. So, there is already the word ‘back in the meaning of ‘reverse. It is tautology. That is unnecessary repetition of words, which is an offence in the grammar of English Language.

Summarily:

1. Say: I need the key to the car.
2. My car now has a new number plate.
3. The teacher advised his students to take their academic work seriously.
4. You had better stop behaving like a nuisance around him.
5. The driver reversed the car cautiously.

That is the end of my class for this week.
Until next week, have a safe, peaceful and funfilled weekend.

-Kayode Salako