Grammar Rules: Proximity and Notional Concord

Common Errors in Nigerian English Usage

• Nigerian English refers to certain expressions, especially errors, commonly used by Nigerians.
• Errors in Nigerian English include phonological, lexical, and grammatical peculiarities.

Errors in Sentence Construction

• Examples of errors in sentence construction:
  • "You suppose to know that I love you."
  • "All what I said is ‘Come tomorrow’."
  • "Should in case he fails to show up, inform the police."
  • "Be rest assured that the manager will help you."
  • "He asked the man to reverse back."
  • "The book comprised of thirty chapters."
  • "The first upstairs house is in Badagry."

Correcting Errors

• Correcting errors in sentence construction:
  • Identify and correct errors in sentences, such as subject-verb agreement, tense consistency, and word choice.
  • Refine sentences to make them grammatically correct and clear in meaning.

Errors in Verb Tenses

• Errors in verb tenses:
  • Incorrect use of tenses can change the meaning of a sentence.
  • Examples of errors in verb tenses:
    • "God possessed the power to make difficult things look easy."
    • "The MD sacked the GM because he is indolent."
    • "Subomi always feels sleepy whenever he took pounded yam."
    • "If I step out of Nigeria, I would never return."
    • "Judas betrayed Jesus and Peter denies him."
    • "While Edoma was washing the plates, Ego is doing the laundry."
    • "I would have kicked the man if I have seen him."
    • "When Ada was in London, she shops at Selfridges."
    • "Suzie always went to bed late after she has been watching TV."
    • "Jusila never helped with housework, but Romeo is very considerate."

Commonly Confused Words

• Commonly confused words:
  • Examples of commonly confused words:
    • "than" and "then"
    • "have" and "of"
    • "all ready" and "already"
    • "whose" and "who's"
    • "affect" and "effect"
    • "principal" and "principle"
    • "lead" and "led"
    • "implied" and "inferred"
    • "fewer" and "less"
    • "conscience" and "conscious"
    • "quiet" and "quite"
    • "lose" and "loose"

Article Usage

• Errors in article usage:
  • Incorrect use of "the", "a", and "an" can change the meaning of a sentence.
  • Examples of errors in article usage:
    • "Devil finds work for idle hand."
    • "You may take bus at the Alphonso Road."
    • "The Speaker or the members of the house are to blame for Honourable Safana’s death."

Notional Concord

• Notional concord:
  • Agreement between the verb and the subject based on the meaning of the subject.
  • Examples of notional concord:
    • "Garri and rice are staple food items in Nigeria."
    • "Ghana are meeting Nigeria next Saturday."
    • "The Police have declared the minister missing."
    • "The committee have a majority and a minority report."
    • "The couple are no longer together."
    • "Jumoke’s admiration and love for Emeko is without limit."

Overuse of Pronouns

• Overuse of pronouns:
  • Errors in pronoun usage can make sentences unclear or awkward.
  • Examples of overuse of pronouns:
    • "Is this your sister whom you said *she has just returned from New York?"
    • "This is the young man I said *he is qualified for the job."
    • "This my daughter is giving me a lot of headache."
    • "There is *no any problem with my car."

Pronouns without Antecedents

• Pronouns without antecedents:
  • A personal pronoun should refer to a noun mentioned elsewhere in the text.
  • Examples of pronouns without antecedents:
    • "I was at the cash office but they were not accepting payment."
    • "John wanted to travel to the East but they’ve already left."

Confusion of Subject and Object Pronouns

• Confusion of subject and object pronouns:
  • Errors in pronoun case can change the meaning of a sentence.
  • Examples of confusion of subject and object pronouns:
    • "Mary and *him arrived late."
    • "The officer asked *we Nigerians to stand by."