Tips on English - 1

Supantha Banerjee has sent a useful piece on the errors made in English by most .
Let us re-learn a few things and apply those before hitting the ‘send’ button next time!
Advice Vs. Advise
Nine out of ten writers make this mistake.
Example - Joe, find the analysis below. Please review and advice.
There are two possible errors in the sentence that is marked bold. The sentence (a) lacks parallelism (advice, a noun, does not go well with review, a verb) and (b) it does not have the required verb. The intent of the sentence is to request Joe to review the analysis and provide feedback/guidance. The word ‘Advice’ is a noun, whereas ‘Advise’ is a verb. So ‘advise’ should be used in place of ‘advice’ for the above example.
The sentence would be correct if re-written as:
Please review and advise – Using correct verb form of ‘advice’ or
Please review and provide advice – Using ‘advice’ as noun.
It’s Vs. Its
One particular error that never ceases to make me cringe is the misuse of the words ‘it's’ and ‘its’.
‘It’s’ is a contraction and abbreviated form of ‘It is’ or ‘It has’. Usage of ‘it’s’ is similar to that of ‘that’s’. ‘It’s’ in a sentence is correct if ‘it’s’ can be replaced by ‘it is’ without making the sentence awkward! Let me quote a famous line from a popular song (by Bojoura, a Dutch singer) for explanation:
If it’s Tuesday, this must be Belgium,
If it’s Wednesday, this must be Rome….
Let’s replace ‘it’s’ by ‘it is’
If it is Tuesday, this must be Belgium
If it is Wednesday, this must be Rome…
The sentence still carries the intended meaning and it is grammatically correct. By the way, do listen to the song, which was later adapted to create a Hindi classic in 1973! (Does “Churaliya” sound familiar?)
‘Its’ is a possessive pronoun. Usage of ‘its’ is similar to that of ‘his’, ‘her’ or ‘mine’
A word of advice (not advise) would be to refrain from usage of ‘it’s’ and write the full expression ‘it is’. Shorter does not always have to be better!
Doing good?
How often have you heard this expression? Countless times! Even though it ‘sounds good’, it’s not grammatically correct. In the above expression the word ‘good’ is trying to modify the verb. But ‘good’ is always an adjective and cannot be used as adverb.
Incorrect: I am doing good
Correct: I am doing well or I am doing fine

Miser! Who me?

My sons call me a miser because I ask them to open the gift packets carefully so that the gift wrappers can be reused. They call me a magpie when I keep the envelopes received in the post neatly so that they can be used again for some purpose at home. They hate it when I ask them not to throw old note books which still have a few pages blank so that they can be made into a rough note books to be used at home. They laugh at me when they see me collecting flyers from newspapers with one side blank and cutting them into four as these come in handy for making grocery list and can be used as post its. My kids find it very amusing when I stuff one polythene bag in my hand bag when going to work as I might stop to buy some mangoes on the way. They feel embarrassed when I refuse a sleek polythene bag from the vendor and quickly offer him my own cloth ‘thella’. They also make a long face when I discourage them from buying expensive gifts for me.

Communities

I am a keen observe of how people from various communities behave. Every community has some distinguish characteristics which set it apart from other communities. Like South Indians are known for their simplicity and docile nature. In north, house owners prefer south Indian tenants as they are considered to be simple and people of few needs and expectations. North Indians especially Punjabis are known for their exuberance and aggression (both positive as well as negative). Their flamboyancy is demonstrated effortlessly. The stories of generosity and liveliness of Sikhs are so well known. Hospitality has different meaning in various regions and communities. In Punjab, the more the number of dishes on the table for your guests, the more is your affection towards them but such display of hospitality and affection towards your guests are not correlated in south. In down South, sari, jewelry and steel shops are always crowded with buyers whereas steel vessels are quite outdated up in north. Since north Indians are ostentatious by nature, for them bone china and porcelains mark the status symbol. It is interesting to observe their differences.
These behavioral differences have their origin to one or the other things. Almost every family in Punjab has a story to narrate about their war experiences of 1965, 1971 and even partition; hence the aggression is but natural. With the growing migration and globalization, these lines tend to fade gradually.

Master Key

Last week I was invited to a play enacted by children in the age group of 9 - 13 years. The children did a fantastic job in accentuating the importance of preserving our environment. The story was about a young boy of 10 who cares a damn about his surroundings. Ipods , cell phones are his closest pals. He survives on junk food like the new breed of generation. He hates to walk and wants chauffeur driven car to take him even to the house next door. The play was about his transformation into a caring individual and how he pledges to save environment.
After the glittering performance during an interaction with the audience, the anchor asked if there are any experts in their chosen fields amongst the audience. I still don’t know why she asked that but in spite of her repeated announcements forget about raising a pretty hand none would even flutter an eyelid. Though there were doctors, lawyers, educationists amongst the group but no one would get up for the fear of being labeled conceited. Most of us are brought up on the modest diet of ‘let others call you expert’ instead of you blowing your own trumpet. Suddenly, all heads turned when a small girl barely 8 or 9 yrs from amongst the audience chirped ‘I am an expert in every thing I do, what ever I do is perfect’. The anchor’s comments could not be heard due to thunderous applause by the audience.
Isn’t it true that confidence is the master key to be called an expert in everything and anything? You can have the world literally at your feet if you are confident or at least divulge that you are confident. Don’t know whether success follows confidence or the other way round!

Another Chance

Tomorrow is Election Day in Mysore. During last one month, the contestants had painted the whole city in varied colors of blue, green, red. The city looked soooo colorful. Even the holy cows were not spared. Just a day before, it is unusually quiet, perhaps a lull before the storm. TOI is advocating people to use their franchise, Cast your vote, vote for Karnataka.
Whoever wins, will it really matter? Will there be no stray dogs on the road if x party wins? Or will there be no garbage choked streets/corruption/hump free roads if y party wins. All are same. Contestants are spending money like water ( no that’s a wrong example as water is a precious commodity these day) , but naturally who ever wins will make sure to get back all the money spent within next one year ( with interest of course). If they don’t earn by whatever means, how will they contest next election. It’s a vicious circle. Don’t know if there is any Abhimanyu who can break this chakarvihu. But it doesn't mean I won't vote , I will and so should you. Let's give our Politicians another chance.

It happens only in India

What do you observe when you look at this picture? You observe stark differentiation between foreign and Indian nationals. Like many other things, some things happen only in India. Once, while accompanying an American client for a visit to the Royal Palace, I was hugely embarrassed when I was asked to pay Rs 200 as entry fees for both of us. The ticket clerk mistook me to be a foreigner. After a closer look, he apologized and clarified “Sorry madam, it is Rs 120 only, Rs 100 for the American lady and Rs 20 for you. In some places the discrimination is even worst. The foreigners cough up Rs 1000/ for a visit to Taj Mahal where as Indian nationals pay only Rs 20. Those western looking NRIs too end up shelling out the exorbitant rates meant for foreign nationals. All tourist places run by government are authorized to charge the discriminating rates for Indians and foreigners. The logic of extracting extra charges from foreigners without any additional service is un comprehensible. India has a rich heritage to exhibit but India is one of the most unfriendly tourist countries. Lack of clean rest rooms, no good roads, no authorized translators/guides are just a few road blocks. Discriminating entry fees is an add on. Charging a different fee is justifiable only under one condition. If some extra services like a guide service is provided to the visitor. Extracting extra bucks from foreigners for the same service is obnoxious.