English Language Clinic -UI

Pronunciation of the Digit Zero in Phone Numbers

When saying phone numbers out loud, you can actually refer to the digit ‘0’ as either ‘zero’ or ‘O (oh)’. Both ways are acceptable, but ‘O (oh)' is more commonly used in informal conversations. For example, you can say ‘two O (oh) three’ or ‘two zero three’ for the number 203.

Emeritus Professor or Professor Emeritus

Both ‘Emeritus Professor’ and ‘Professor Emeritus’ are used, but the more common and traditionally correct usage is ‘Professor Emeritus.’

‘Professor Emeritus’ is a title typically conferred upon a retired professor who has distinguished themselves in their field and wishes to remain academically active. The title signifies honorary status and acknowledges their past contributions and ongoing involvement in academia.

Both are acceptable, but ‘Professor Emeritus’ is more traditional and general.

HAVE, HAS, HAD
'Have' and 'has' are used to form the present perfect tense, which describes an action that started in the past and continues up to the present or has a connection to the present.

'Have' is used with plural subjects (e.g., they, we, you) and the pronouns 'I' and 'you.' 'Has' is used with singular subjects (e.g., he, she, it).
Examples:
I have eaten breakfast.
You have finished your project.
They have visited Paris.
She has written a book.

'Had' is used to form the past perfect tense, which describes an action that occurred before another action in the past. 'Had' is used with all subjects (singular and plural).
Examples:
I had eaten breakfast before I went to school.
She had finished her project before the deadline.
They had visited Paris before they moved to London.

AT/IN
When referring to locations, ‘in’ and ‘at’ are used differently.

‘In’ is used for larger areas, such as cities, states, or countries.

He lives in Lagos.
She works in Nigeria.

‘At’ is often used for specific addresses, events, or locations with a specific point or boundary.

The concert is at the Eko Hotel in Nigeria.

PARENT/PARENTS
The word ‘parent’ means ‘the father or mother of a person or an animal.’ LDOCE
Therefore, when the singular form, ‘parent’ is used, the verb should be ‘is/was’ while ‘are/were’ should be used with the plural form, ‘parents.’

My parent is waiting.
My parents are waiting.

The subject-verb agreement rule states that a singular noun (in this case, ‘parent’) takes a singular verb (in this case, ‘is waiting').

If you were referring to both parents, you would use the plural form: ‘My parents are waiting.’

When asking questions, it is correct to say, 'Do you understand? or 'Did you understand?' and incorrect to say, 'Do you understood?' or 'Did you understood?'

'Did you understood' is ungrammatical because it improperly combines the past tense auxiliary verb 'did' with the past tense verb 'understood.' In English, when forming past tense questions with 'did,' the main verb should be in its base form, which is 'understand,' making the correct construction 'Did you understand?'

Hence, 'Do you understand?' could be used in the course of an interaction, while 'Did you understand?' could be used after to refer to the previous interaction.

‘DOES,’ ‘DID,’ ‘DO’ IN QUESTIONS

When 'does', 'do', or 'did' is used to ask a question, the main verb should be in the base form without any inflections. Therefore, it is correct to say 'Does your father work for an oil company?' and incorrect to say 'Does your father works for an oil company?'
Although 'father' is singular, the main verb in the sentence above should not include 's'.

In the expression 'Does your father work for an oil company?', the main verb 'work' is in its base form, which might seem like it should be plural. However, the reason it appears as 'work' (the base form of the verb) is due to the auxiliary verb 'does.'

When using the auxiliary verb 'does' (which is singular, for third-person singular subjects like 'he', 'she', 'it', or in this case, 'your father'), the main verb that follows must be in its base form. So, even though 'work' looks like its base form, the singular nature of the subject ('your father') is reflected in the auxiliary verb 'does', which is why the overall construction is considered singular. The main reason the construction is singular is because of the singular subject-verb agreement demonstrated through the use of 'does'.

It is incorrect to say, ‘She is an eight-years-old girl’ but correct to say, ‘She is an eight-year-old girl.
It is also correct to say, ‘She’s eight years old.’
A four-year-old child LDOCE

It is incorrect to say ‘Beggars have no choice’ but correct to say ‘Beggars can’t be choosers.’
People say, ‘Beggars can’t be choosers,’ when there is no choice and somebody must be satisfied with what is available. OALD

It is incorrect to say, ‘Have your sit/ Have a sit’, but correct to say, ‘Have your seat/ Have a seat’.
‘Have/take a seat’ means ‘to sit down’.
Come in and have a seat. LASD

It is appropriate to say, ‘My name is James Akinwale’ and not, ‘My names are James Akinwale’. This is when you are asked the question, ‘What is your name?’ in the sense of identification.
Her name is Mandy Wilson. LDOCE

In the rare case when you are asked, ‘What are your names?’ in the sense of listing, then it could be, ‘My names are John, Fola, Thompson…’.

'ONE OF'

The expression, 'One of' takes a singular verb.
It is correct to say 'One of the girls has travelled abroad' but incorrect to say, 'One of the girls have travelled abroad'.
One of my friends lives in Brighton. OALD
One of my CDs is missing. LASD