Sample 1: “He told the gathering of prominent journalists, top government functionaries and politicians that the occasion made him returned to the seat of power after about 16 years he left government.” (Daniel, Amosun traumatize me for 16 years—Osoba, Daily Post online, 26 May, 2021)
Let’s pay attention to the clause: “the occasion made him returned to the seat of power.” Please notice that the verbs made and returned are in their respective past forms in consistency with the reportorial nature of the discourse. The first verb is expectedly and appropriately in its past form, but the second (returned) is not correctly so. Actually, the second ought to be in its infinitive form: the basic uninflected form of the verb. This is what is referred to as the bare infinitive.
Please read the following sentences: 1) I saw him enter the house. (Not: *I saw him entered the house.) 2) I saw him wash the car. (Not: *I saw him washed the car.) 3) I saw him break the glass. (Not: *I saw him broke the glass.) 4) I saw him receive the award. (Not: *I saw him received the award.) 5) I saw him flirt with his friend’s wife. (Not: *I saw him flirted with his friend’s wife.) 6) I saw him drive out of the premises. (Not: *I saw him drove out of the premises.) 7) I saw him lock the door. (Not: *I saw him locked the door.) 8) I made him pay for his misdeeds. (Not: *I made him paid for his misdeeds.) 9) The British made us speak English. (Not: *The British made us spoke English.) 10) She made me pay through the nose. (Not: *She made me paid through the nose.) 11) Abraham saw Haggai mock Sarah. (Not: *Abraham saw Haggai mocked Sarah.) 12) God made Cain suffer for Abel’s murder. (Not: *God made Cain suffered for Abel’s murder.) 13) I heard him say it. (Not: *I heard him said it.) 14) I heard him mention it to his boss. (Not: *I heard him mentioned it to his boss.) 15) I heard him whisper it into her ears. (Not: *I heard him whispered it into his ears.)
In some of those sentences, it is possible to have the second verb in its present participle (or -ing) form: 1) I saw him entering the house. 2) I saw him washing the car. 3) I saw him breaking the glass. 4) I saw him receiving the award. 5) I saw him flirting with his friend’s wife. 6) I saw him driving out of the premises. 7) I saw him locking the door. 8) Abraham saw Haggai mocking Sarah. 9) I heard him saying it. 10) I heard him mentioning it to his boss. 11) I heard him whispering it into her ears.
At any rate, the construction should read: “the occasion made him return to the seat of power.” Notice that while the past form of the first verb (made) is retained, the second one has been changed to its basic, uninflected form: return.
Sample 2: “Odusanya was sacked a forthnight ago by the University Governing Council for violating Section 14(3) of the Regulations Governing Condition of Service of Senior Staff of the University when he illegally recruited 337 staff.” (FUOYE: SSANU, NASU, NAAT, staff jubilate, Opera News, 12 May, 2021)
The word that interests us is: forthnight. Remarkably, this word (forthnight) does not exist in the English lexicon. It is a poor but unwitting imitation of the word fortnight, which falsification is a function of limited pronunciation ability. Many Nigerian users of English have difficulty differing in degrees of severity in differentiating between the sound represented as th and that represented as t. Some Nigerians articulate forth as fort; filth as filt; faith as fait; wrath as wrat; with as wit; north as nort; moth as mot; worth as wort; etc.
In consonance with our habit in this place, we illustrate the potentially confusing forms in our own sentences. Consider the following sentences: 1) There are four eggs in the cup, although the fourth one is rotten. 2) We will spend the first three weeks on theory and the fourth on practical. 3) Easter is usually celebrated in April, the fourth month of the year. 4) There are five Books of Moses, the fourth being Numbers. 5) She has four children: the first is a girl and the fourth a boy. 6) Go to the next street; turn to the left; the fourth house, a bungalow, on the left, is the office you are looking for.
There are in fact many expressions often confused by Nigerians: forth, fourth, (the) fort, forte. We need to illustrate the usage of each of them as a way of helping the readers to overcome the frequent confusion.
The word fort is usually used in the context of the idiom hold the fort. Next we illustrate the usage of this expression: 1) I will soon forward a letter to the chairman about the officer who will hold the fort while I am on leave. 2) The management has taken a decision on the man who is to hold the fort in the absence of the MD. 3) I have held the fort twice in the last five years when the manager was out of the country. 4) It is unfair to ask such a junior officer to hold the fort when there are at least four high-ranking officers around. 5) The MD has not gone on leave in the last ten years because he thinks there is no capable hand that can hold the fort in his absence. 6) The incompetent hands were hurriedly employed during the brief period that the man held the fort for the manager. 7) I cannot take such a drastic policy decision while I am holding the fort because I don’t want to create any problem for the substantive manager when she comes back from leave. 8) The manager did not suggest his name as the one to hold the fort while he is on leave because he has no confidence in him. 9) Many people objected to the idea of him holding the fort during the MD’s overseas trip because he is believed to be arrogant, corrupt and self-seeking. 10) He did so well when he held the fort during the manager’s illness that many workers actually dreamed of him becoming the substantive manager. 11) All the money accumulated in preparation for the second phase of the project was squandered when Mr Adeniji held the fort during the period of the MD’s suspension. 12) When I was holding the fort, I was careful not to tamper with the existing structures, realizing, as I did, that my leadership of the company was temporary.
Please note that we have not left out the definite article (the) in the idiom. That article is obligatory. Some Nigerians would say: “Mr Tanimowo is holding fort for the chairman.” The problem with that sentence is that it has erroneously left out the definite article (the).
How do we use the word forte? Before commenting further on this word, we need to note that the only difference between it and fort in terms of spelling is the letter e. The word fort contained in the idiom whose usage is illustrated immediately above does not have the final e which the word forte contains.
A person’s forte is an activity or area of life in which he has strength, which he finds easy or enjoys. Please read the following sentences: 1) Mathematics not being my forte, I try to avoid any activity requiring extensive mathematical calculation. 2) Realizing quite early in life that singing is his forte, he has gone to the university to study music and formed a band which he leads. 3) Although he studied medicine, he keeps going back to fine art which has always been his forte and which he still loves with a passion. 4) Although there are people whose forte is writing, every educated person should be interested in developing the skill of writing. 5) If your forte is talking, traditionally people would counsel you to train either as a teacher or pastor. 6) I was almost certain that you would become an engineer given the fact that your forte had always been mathematics. 7) Should men whose forte is cooking take over the kitchen while their wives engage in other activities beneficial to the family? 8) Pupils whose forte is football should not be prevented from making a career out of it for footballers are now respected worldwide. 9) Achebe had a great literary mind, with story-telling as his forte. 10) I love literature in general, but poetry is my forte.
Next, we illustrate the usage of the word forth. The word means forward, going out. Now read the following sentences: 1) We set forth as early as 5 am so that we could arrive there before dusk. 2) He was restless, pacing back and forth. 3) This is the season the plants bring forth leaves and fruits. 4) From there the cows went forth, destroying farms and gardens. 5) The church prayed for them and sent them forth.
To hold the fort is to hold an office in an acting capacity. The person holding the fort is there until the owner of the office comes back. That is the idea of holding the fort.
To make the point absolutely clear, let us note the following. Do not say: “Ayo is holding forth during the chairman’s leave.” You should say: “Ayo is holding the fort during the chairman’s leave.” Do not say: “The Administrative Officer has held the forth twice this year when the MD was out of the country.” You should say: “The Administrative Officer has held the fort twice this year when the MD was out of the country.” Do not say: “We will not allow an incompetent person to hold fort the next time the manager goes on leave.” You should say: “We will not allow an incompetent person to hold the fort the next time the manager goes on leave.” Do not say: “The company made rapid progress last year when the Engineering Manager held forte for the MD.” You should say: “The company made rapid progress last year when the Engineering Manager held the fort for the MD.”
Do not say: “Ayo, a boy, is the woman’s forth child.” You should say: “Ayo, a boy, is the woman’s fourth child.” Do not say: “We set fourth early in the morning.” You should say: “We set forth early in the morning.” Do not say: “This is my fort week on the programme.” You should say: “This is my fourth week on the programme.”
At any rate, the word fortnight should replace the form forthnight in the context under discussion.
READ ALSO: Bare infinitive, fortnight
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