TEN CORRECTIONS THAT MAY INTEREST YOU

1. Write 25 June 2018; or 25th June 2018; or June 25, 2018 (Note the comma after 25 in the last case.) Never write the 25th of June 2018. It is only in reading or pronouncing dates that you may hear “the” and “of”.

2. It is deadline, please. Never dateline. Example for (1) and (2): The deadline for the submission of files is 31 August 2018.

3. It is rest assured, please. Never be rest assured. (On the contrary, you may say be assured, but never say be rest assured. It is tautological.) Example: Rest assured that I will not disappoint you.

4. From the verb to lose, we have the noun loss (not lost). Lost is rather the past simple or the past participle of to lose. Examples: His untimely death is a great loss to their community. He lost half of his family during the volcanic eruption. I have lost contact with some of my friends. The opposite of gain is loss.

5. Loose is an adjective (meaning not firmly or tightly fixed in place); it has nothing to do with the verb to lose. Example: He likes wearing loose T-shirts.

6. Please, use in a month, not on a month. Examples: Many people in my family were born in this month. Many people in my family were born in July. There are five Sundays in the month of August this year.

7. Please, use on a day, on a date, not in a day or in a date. Examples: They are leaving for Dakar on Thursday. They will arrive in Dakar on Friday 7 September 2018.

8. The adjective is continuous, not continues. Continues is the third person singular of to continue in the present simple. Examples: I thank her for her continuous support. She continues to support me in all my endeavours.

9. After “to” a verb must remain in the infinitive form, that is, unconjugated. Never say to came or to danced or to saw. Examples: I went there to see my grandmother. We turned off the TV to pray.

10. The noun is advice and the verb is to advise. Don’t confuse them, please. Examples: I advise you to take your studies seriously. When people advise you, it is good to thank them for their advice. You thank them for their advice or for their pieces of advice. (Never say advices. It is wrong.)

11. BONUS: Please, say property for sale, not a property for sale. Property is used as a collective noun when referring to people’s belongings or possessions. Use properties to mean characteristics, as the characteristics of a chemical element. Examples: The current, senseless war has resulted in the loss of countless lives and in the destruction of property. (loss of one life, loss of many lives).

(c) NM 03/07/2018