Concord and uncountable nouns

SAMPLE 1: “He said the mass defections from the PDP in the state is an endorsement of APC as the party with an enduring potential to reposition the state…”(Akwa-Ibom 2019: APC’s Fortune Improves, The Nation, Sunday, October 15, 2017)

I draw readers’ attention to the singular verb-form (is) which occurs in the following context: “is an endorsement.” How does the reporter arrive at the decision to use a singular verb-form? Where is the noun item that supposedly influences his choice of this verb-form? Remarkably, the verb in question (is) is immediately preceded by a singular noun (state). Could that have wielded any influence on the reporter’s choice of the verb-form? It did, in all probability. And that must have been the source of the error because the singular verb-form is an erroneous choice.

The important word for the purpose of concord is the noun defections, obviously a plural noun, what with its final s. That noun being plural, the verb ought to be in its plural form as well: are. Absence of concord is invariably traceable to a break-down of logic and grammar. Closeness to the verb-slot is not a sufficient condition for a noun to influence the choice of the verb-form.

Sample 2: “He noted that lawmakers were not privy to the contents of Senate budget and called on Saraki, who doubles as chairman of the National Assembly, to make it public.”(Senate Crisis Gets Messier, Sunday Sun, March 26, 2017)

Let’s note the pronoun (it) which occurs in the following context: “to make it public.” It should be obvious that the pronoun (it) is in its singular form. We should be interested in its antecedent, the noun from which it derives its singular form.We are told that Saraki is to make it public. The question is: make what public? The only noun to which grammar and logic point as the antecedent of that pronoun is contents, a noun that is clearly plural. In view of the plural nature of the noun contents, the pronoun (it) should be changed to its plural form: them.

Sample 3: “From expensive phones to customized jewelries, clothing, houses and cars, one begins to wonder if the money earned by featuring and producing movies can afford them the luxury life style they show off.”(The ‘Not-so’ Perfect Picture of Celebrity Marriages, The Nation, October 15, 2017)

The word that interests us is jewelries. Please note that the word is in its plural form. Here lies the problem. This word is a collective noun that should never be pluralized. No matter the quantity in question the singular form should be maintained.

Please read the following sentences: 1) The company deals in jewelry. 2) Some women spend too much money on jewelry. 3) Thieves made away with my mother’s jewelry. 4) She gave me an expensive wristwatch in exchange for a piece of jewelry. 5) Some church denominations proscribe the use of jewelry. 6) Jewelry can become an idol for some women. 7) What is the difference between home-made jewelry and imported jewelry? 8) There is nothing irreligious about the use of jewelry. 9) Jewels are extremely expensive in Europe. 10) The stolen jewels were recovered by the police.

There are many uncountable nouns that usually confuse some Nigerian users of English.Many users do not know, for example, that the word information is an uncountable noun. Like other non-count (or uncountable) nouns, it has the following characteristics. It cannot become plural by the addition of –s. It is poor English to write or say: *informations. That form violates the rule that says that uncountable nouns should not be pluralized. Following from that rule is the fact that the word should not be modified by number: *one information; *two informations; *three informations, etc. These expressions are unacceptable in English. Furthermore, like every other uncountable noun, it should not be modified by the word many: *many informations. Again, this is poor English.

The following sentences illustrate the usage of the word information: 1) Information provides illumination for the mind. 2) With increased technology, information can be exchanged within seconds across the globe. 3) Those seeking information about our culture should be encouraged to interact with the people directly. 4) It is one thing to acquire information but it is another to be able to analyze it critically. 5) Spiritual information enlightens the soul; intellectual information illuminates the mind. 6) The undercover police have gathered information over the years on the dangerous drug cartel. 7) The time is not ripe for us to release the information we have on the suspect. 8) More information can be obtained from our website. 9) The chairman has evolved various means of obtaining information. 10) The information is as genuine as the source from which it is obtained. 11) A lot of information comes from the community involved. 12) We have acted on the pieces of information supplied by the people affected by the attack. 13) She does not have half of the information her husband has regarding the situation. 14) A device as small as the tip of a pin can hold a large amount of information. 15) All members of staff are to supply relevant pieces of information on their family background. 16) The form requires you to furnish five items of information. 17) Not much information is available from the office of the registrar. 18) I am interested as much in the quantity of information as in its quality. 19) We should be able to solve that problem with a little more information. 20) Given the fact that little information is available in the file, I have to rely on other sources of information. 21) The lecturer has some information for the class.

Readers should note that we have not pluralized the word in any of those sentences. But we have not hesitated to use quantifiers where necessary: half of; a large amount of; pieces of; some; much; little, etc. The choice of quantifiers does not change the singular nature of the word.

The word furniture is also usually used as an uncountable noun: 1) The new house is completely without furniture. 2) The furniture for all the houses will be supplied later in the year. 3) Who pays for the furniture: the company or the worker? 4) The furniture is dirty and threadbare. 5) We will all have our furniture replaced at the end of the year. 6) I don’t have enough money to buy new furniture now. 7) The house was flooded and the furniture was largely damaged. 8) The table and chair and other pieces of furniture are being repaired by the carpenter. 9) When you have saved enough money you can think of replacing the furniture in your house. 10) Those items of furniture are a gift from the manager. 11) Kitchen furniture is usually made by highly skilled and specially trained furniture-makers. 12) To all intents and purposes, coffins, weird as they are, are pieces of furniture. 13) The company spends huge sums of money on furniture every year. 14) Those pieces of furniture are still useful; you can refurbish and retain them. 15) You are free to pay for the furniture in installments. 16) For me, the house is more important than the furniture. 17) The man is planning to sell his furniture since he is likely to be away for a couple of years. 18) Badly made furniture depreciates rapidly. 19) The government is planning to ban importation of furniture. 20) Those items of furniture are not as expensive as you probably imagine.

Readers should please note that I have not pluralized the word furniture in any of those sentences. That word should never be pluralized. Do not say: I love beautiful *furnitures; Those *furnitures are expensive; I want to spend some money on *furnitures; My father is planning to change our *furnitures; I am planning to sell two of my *furnitures; We have not moved into the house because we have not bought new *furnitures; Our neighbours gave us three *furnitures; etc.

Each of those sentences is defective because it contains the word furniture used in its plural form. The word should never be used in its plural form.