Thursday, January 03, 2008 The Grammar Cop By Jess Saplala
WE may have good reasons to grumble about buhay Pinoy, but there are also good reasons to celebrate it. One is our second tongue-English.
So, how’s your second tongue today? Good? Would you care to raise its bar from good to great? Count on this grammar cop to extend a hand.
For a starter: A Special Weapons and Tactics cop replied to a TV reporter: “The mastermind, together with two accomplices, are still inside the bank.”
Wrong: “...are still ...”
Right: “...is still ...”
The Law: A singular subject (mastermind) remains singular even if other nouns are connected to it by with, as well as, in addition to, except, together with, and no less than.
However, this sentence found in an entertainment news, “One of the actors who has received Oscar awards...” violates a different law:
Wrong: “One of the actors who has ...”
Right: “One of the actors who have ...”
The Law: In a relative clause following “One of the...” or a similar expression, the plural verb is used because the relative (actors) is the subject. (Source: Elements of Style by W. Strunk and E. B. White.)
***
An eyebrow-raising announcement:
Wrong: Watch out for the opening of ABC Store!
Right: Watch for the opening...
The Law: Watch out is a warning that scares the readers. Watch for tells customers to expect the store’s opening.
***
My pet peeves: “At this point in time...” (wordy and pretentious). Better: “Now ...” Another: “Irregardless...” (nonstandard and borders on stupidity). Better: “Regardless...”
(Send your “pet peeves” and comments to: saplalajess@yahoo.com)
Note: Five years after retiring from the advertising rat race in Makati City, Jess Saplala begins today a weekly column on the English language. Saplala considers Jean Edades, who wrote the long-running column How’s your English?, an icon in good English. Edades was head of the English department at Arellano University in Manila where Saplala worked for nine years as a college English instructor.
