Grammar Point Institute

1. The event offered me an opportunity to dine and wine WITH notable politicians in Nigeria.❌
2. The event offered me an opportunity to WINE AND DINE notable politicians in Nigeria.✔️

***Dispense with preposition WITH in the original sentence construction.

Also, note that it is WINE AND DINE and NOT DINE AND WINE.

1. He is a really BUBBLING and outgoing person.❌
2. He is a really BUBBLY and outgoing person.✔️

***"bubbling" is non-existent in English.

Also note:
Running nose/stomach.❌
Runny nose/stomach.✔️

Raining day.❌
Rainy day.✔️

Expiring date.❌
Expiry date.✔️

Tasking job.❌
Taxing job.✔️

A good morning to you all!

GRAMMAR LESSONS: MISCELLANEOUS

1) There are plenty churches in Nigeria, nay the whole world over.❌

There are plenty OF churches in Nigeria, nay the whole world over.✔

2) I had to end watching the movie before midday.❌

I had to STOP watching the movie before midday.✔

Be in the know that END, as a verb, is not directly succeeded by —ING words (with the aforementioned case in point, WATCHING, being a gerund).

3) Be extremely circumspect in how you deploy the prepositional phrase, AS WELL AS! Pay meticulous attention to the sentence structures below:

She paints as well as playing football. (She not only paints, but also plays football.)

She paints as well as she plays football. (Her painting is as good as her playing football.)

Phenomenal people, I trust you are as sound as a bell today.

Do have a whale of a time! 😉

TWO HUNDRED COMMONLY MISUSED ENGLISH EXPRESSIONS

1) He is a go getter (not, goal getter)
2) She wears lovely perfumes (not, sprays).
3) He is a godsend to me (not, godsent).
4) She has a runny nose (not, running nose)
5) I wish I can turn back the clock (not turn back the hand of time)
6) We would have to fight fire with fire (not fire for fire)
7) May our parents reap the fruits of their labour (not fruit)
8) Covenant: This is erroneously pronounced as convenant by some Christians to keep the rhythmic appeal in songs like Covenant-keeping God’.
9) Expatiate: Many think this word is derived from ‘expand’; hence, expantiate.
10) Augment: Because most Nigerian languages are syllable-timed, many Nigerians find it more convenient to say augument.
11) Pronunciation: This is wrongly pronounced by many as pronounciation because of the verb
pronounce.
12) Faithful (noun; not faithfuls): Many say faithfuls given their knowledge of plurality.
13) Uplift: (not, upliftment) People tend to naturally say upliftment just to make this sound like conventional nouns.
14) He is an up and coming artiste (not, upcoming).
15) Separate: Many Nigerians tend to spell this as pronounced and so they spell it as seperate.
16) Birds of a feather flock together (not, bed of the same feather fly together).
17) Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t (not, the devil you know is better than the angel you don’t know).
18) You can’t have your cake and eat it (not, you can’t eat your cake and have it).
19) What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander (not, what is good for the goose is good for the gander).
20) Make hay while the sun shines (not, make haste while the sun shines).
21) You mind we have a chit-chat (not, a gist)? A conversation about things that are not important is a chit-chat while gist means the most important part of something.
22) I like her looks (not, look). A person’s appearance or attractiveness is his or her looks.

COMMON ENGLISH ERROR

You need to exercise patience and give him a little time.❌
You need to be patient and give him a little time.☑️

The food is pepperish.❌
The food is peppery.☑️Pepperish does not exist in English.

You have to put yourself together,go out there and talk to them ❌
You have to pull yourself together,go out there and talk to them ☑️

He came from a very good family but his own behavior is more of that of a tout❌

He came from a very good family but his own behavior is more of that of a lout☑️
Tout means advertise, publicize,boast ,brag,flaunt or to promote by means of advertising
Lout means troublemaker, miscreant,someone that is rude or simply hooligan.

You can confirm the meaning of tout and lout in the dictionary.

Your online English instructor, SirAccurate Ojoh Ngbede

1a. Who is that man ON suit? ❌

1b. Who is that man IN suit? ✔️

2a. I love the lady ON red. ❌

2b. I love the lady IN red. ✔️

3a. I love jazz, rock, and THE LIKES. ❌

3b. I love jazz, rock, and THE LIKE (similar types of music) ✔️

AND THE LIKE. ✔️

4. Our politicians should take note: we don't commission a completed project; rather, we INAUGURATE a completed project.

A. Buhari was in Lagos to COMMISSION the new train station. ❌

B. Buhari was in Lagos to INAUGURATE the new train station. ✔️

Good morning.

PERTINENT REMINDER

Especially if you teach the English language virtually or actually, it behooves you to know that the distinction that used to exist between the reciprocal pronouns, ONE ANOTHER and EACH OTHER, no longer holds water in contemporary standard English.

By implication, I can use them interchangeably—and correctly so.

To wit:

David and Jonathan hugged EACH OTHER.✔

David and Jonathan hugged ONE ANOTHER.✔

Phenomenal people, warmest greetings. 😉

𝐀 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐄𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫𝐬

By Cornelius Ngbede

a. MIX the egg before frying it.( Non Standard)

b. BEAT the egg before frying it. ( Standard)

a. He is NOT better than his predecessor. ( Non Standard)

b. He is NO better than his predecessor. ( Standard)

a. FRY the oil first, then add slices of onion.( Non standard)

b. HEAT the oil first, then add slices of onion. ( Standard)

a. This pay is just a CHICKEN CHANGE. ( Non Standard)

b. This pay is just CHICKEN FEED. ( Standard)

a. Yusuf is/serves/sits IN the electoral committee. ( Non standard)

b. Yusuf is/serves/sits ON the electoral committee. ( Standard)

a. He has a single HONOUR degree in English. ( Non Standard)

b. He has a single HONOURS degree in English ( Standard)

a. He needs an INTERNATIONAL passport to travel outside. ( Non Standard)

b. He needs a PASSPORT to travel outside. ( Standard)

a. I learn English on daily basis. ( Non Standard)

b. I learn English on A daily basis. ( Standard)

a. Bisi SAW her period a few days ago. ( Non Standard)

b. Bisi HAD her period a few days ago.. ( Standard)

a. The earthquake shook the FOUNDATION of the house. ( Non Standard)

b. The earthquake shook the FOUNDATIONS of the house. ( Standard)

a. Labaran arrived Zaria late. ( Non Standard)

b. Labaran arrived IN Zaria late. ( Standard)

a. You can sit AT the back of the car. ( Non Standard)

b. You can sit IN the back of the car. ( Standard)

a. The tenant was given A QUIT NOTICE. ( Non Standard)

b. The tenant was given NOTICE TO QUIT. ( Standard)

a. What's your last price? ( Non Standard)

b. What's your lowest price? ( Standard)

c. What's your bottom line? ( Standard)

a. Don't jump INTO conclusion! ( Non Standard)

b. Don't jump TO conclusions! ( Standard)

c. Don't leap to conclusions! ( Standard)

a. The programme will start any moment from now. ( Non Standard)

b. The programme will start any moment now. ( Standard)

a. Isa had said the answer of question 1. (Non-Standard)

b. Isa had said the answer to question 1. ( Standard)

a. The trickster often travels with a fake passport. ( Non Standard)

b. The trickster often travels ON a fake passport. ( Standard)