Guide, Guard, Concord (i)

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Sample 1: “Barely two weeks of ascending the throne as Soun of Ogbomoso, His Imperial Magesty, Oba Afolabi Ghandi Olaoye Oromogege III has been warned to guide his utterances and should not beat a war drum if he is not ready for one.” (Princes, Princesses warn Soun of Ogbomoso to guide his utterances over false claims, Opera News, 29 September, 2023)

We are interested in the status of the verb guide which occurs in the following contexts: “warned to guide his utterances”; “warn Soun of Ogbomoso to guide his utterances.” Let us note that you do not guide your utterances; you guard your utterances.

Take another improper use of the verb guide: “ladies dress decently andguide their bodies jealously and with pride….” If we understand the word guide as meaning providing direction, giving light, showing the way, it would seem unlikely that ladies would “guide[their bodies] jealously”. To guide one’s body would be at best unreasonable and at worst downright absurd.

Evidently, the choice of the word guide is the problem. The word required in the context is guard. The more reasonable thing to say is that ladies guard their bodies jealously. What idiomatic usage permits is: guard jealously and not guide jealously. The speech and writing of some Nigerians betray a lack of understanding of the difference between the words guide and guard. Many writers in the Nigerian context, limited by pronunciation weakness, are unable to distinguish usefully between the forms guide and guard. Now read the following sentences: (1) You can’t drive unless somebody guides you. (2) People should be guided by their conscience. (3) Leaders are expected to guide their followers. (4) Those who commit violent crimes usually refuse to be guided by their conscience. (5) I’m going to the palace; can you guide me?

The word guide has been used as a verb in each of the five sentences above. To guide a person is to show him or her which way to go, the right direction, the best course of action, how to do a thing, etc. This word can also be used as a noun as the following sentences demonstrate: (1) Since I have never lived in this town, I am not a reliable guide here. (2) What you have said can serve as a guide to them. (3) If you want to succeed, make God your daily guide. (4) Unless you have a guide you’ll miss your way.

A guide is a person or thing that guides’ – that gives direction, shows the way, that enlightens. The word also occurs in such contexts as guideline. Whether it occurs alone or as a part of another word, guide always carries the idea of showing direction or giving enlightenment.

There is another noun form you need to learn very carefully: guidance. The following sentences illustrate how the noun is typically used: (1) You must rely on God for your guidance. (2) Before they choose their career, young persons should seek guidance. (3) Children cannot dispense with the guidance provided by their parents. (4) John is studying Guidance and Counselling at the university.

Now guard: The sense of the word guard can be gleaned from the following sentences: (1) Two policemen are detailed to guard the bank. (2) You should guard our interest jealously. (3) God’s angels guard his people.

From the sentences above, we know that the word guard, a verb, means to protect, keep watch over or preserve. This word is clearly different from guide.

The word can also be used as a noun: (1) Two fierce-looking guards are keeping watch over the palace. (2) A new guard has been employed. (3) The guard was dismissed for breaking into the house he was supposed to be guarding.

From the sentences above, we could see that a guard is someone who guards. We should carefully distinguish the word guide (and its various forms) from the word guard (and its various forms).

Do not say: *”The soldier is *guiding the bank”, when you mean: “The soldier is guarding the bank”. Do not say: *”The teacher is to give guardiance to his pupils”, when you mean: “The teacher is to give guidance to his pupils”.

Again the word *guidian does not exist in English. What we have is guardian.

A guardian is someone who takes care of a child or a ward. We also talk of a guardian angel – an angel believed to attend to every individual and protect them. The phrase *guidian angel does not exist in English. There is indeed no newspaper in Nigeria called *The Guidian; what we have is The Guardian.

Furthermore, we talk of guarded enthusiasm by which we mean that the enthusiasm is limited, restricted or restrained. The expression *guided enthusiasm is unlikely in English since it does not make much sense. But it is possible to have both guided movement and guarded movement.

A person may be accused of making an unguarded statement or talk in an unguarded manner. The adjective unguarded in these phrases means not cautious, thoughtful or careful enough. It is not impossible to have unguided statement. But it is unusual or uncommon.

Sample2 : “How ? Mother to child transmission do occur during pregnancy.”(Bits and Pieces About HIV/AIDS, NACA Enlightenment Campaign Cartoon, Back page, Sunday Punch , Nov. 20,2011)

The word of grammatical interest is the verb do which occurs in the structure,”mother- to- child transmission do occur.” The error here is a fundamental one, having deleterious implications for a whole range of grammatical issues designated as grammatical concord, a concept that accounts for the harmony of grammatical forms that is expected to exist among the lexical items within a structural unit

What is the difference between the forms do and does or between go and goes or between write and writes? Now read the following sentences: 1) We do our work satisfactorily.2) They do their work satisfactorily.

3) I do my work satisfactorily.

4) You do your work satisfactorily. Please note that we have not changed the form of the verb do by adding –es to it in each of those sentences. Whenever any one of those pronouns is used the verb remains in its basic, uninflected form. Again, read the following sentences: 1) He does his work satisfactorily. 2) She does her work satisfactorily. 3) The boy does his work satisfactorily. 4) The girl does her work satisfactorily.

We have opted for the inflected form because the subject of each of the sentences is singular; it is in fact known as the third person singular number. The subjects are: he, she, the boy, and the girl. Other examples are as follows: 1) The company delivers its services promptly. 2) The heart supplies blood to the rest of the body. 3) Surprisingly, these days the Chairman corrects erring members privately and politely.4) The opening allows water to move unseen into the appropriate part of the equipment. 5) The earth displays the miracles and mysteries of God, the Creator. 6) The new driver drives more carefully than the former one. 7) This device does the job more efficiently than that one.8)This business yields profit rapidly.9)The baby cries all the time.10).The disease kills quietly without giving the victim any discomfort.

Readers are to please note that we have changed the forms of the verbs in those ten senteces by adding s, es or ies to them. Why ? Because each of the subjects is in the third person singular form.

In addition, let’s consider the following sentences: 1) One of the girls does strange things.2) The most imposing among the modern houses displays exotic architecture. 3) The girl with braided hair speaks far more eloquently than her friend. 4) The last meeting in the year attracts more attendance than all other meetings put together. 5) One of my friends donates blood regularly. 6) Poor visibility during harmattan poses danger to flying planes. 7) Drunkenness, no matter its cause, often leads to sorrow and misery.

Although the structure representing the subject in each of those five sentences is rather long and relatively complex, it is singular, and that is the reason for the inflection of its verb: does, displays, speaks, attracts, donates, poses, leads. It should be clear now that the morpheme s, es, or ies added to the verbs in those structures as well as those considered earlier is not a decorative item but a grammatical necessity. It does not matter how long or short the subject is, once common sense or longic suggests that it is singular, the verb that goes with it should attract the morpheme s or es or ies according to the type of verb it is.Of course the verbs under reference here are in their present simple forms or in their everyday tense. The past forms of these verbs are a different matter altogether and a subject for another day.

It should interest readers to note that the grammatical difference between does and do; displays and display; leads and lead; speaks and speak; donates and donate; drives and drive; etc, is not different from that between has and have. Now read the following sentences: 1) Tunde and Ayo together have twenty oranges, but Dele alone has fifteen.2) Although Doctorshave not discharged him, thepatient has discharged himself.3) We have finished the exams but the lecturer has not finished grading. 4) While loneliness has almost ruined his life, healthy activities and good cmpany have redeemed him.5) Although the boys have accepted their condition in good faith, the only girl among them has not.

It should be obvious now that the form has goes with singular nouns while the form have goes with plural nouns. Let’s have more example sentences: 1a) The businessmen have closed their shops. 2b) The businessman has closed his shop. 2a) Those devices have served us well. 2b) That device has served us well.3a) Angels have visited me. 3b)An angelhas visited me. 4a) Courage, sincerity,andkindness have led him to that exalted position. 4b) Courage alone has led him to that exalted position. 5a) Three newclauses have been inserted into the constitution. 5b) One new clause has been inserted into the constitution.

Don’t let us forget that what has led us into that long discussion of an aspect of grammatical concord is the expression, ‘’mother- to- child transmission do occur’’, particularly the word do. The word do here is an auxiliary which serves an emphatic purpose. Now compare the following sentences: 1a) The ladygives me gifts once in a while.1b)The ladydoes give me gifts once in a while.1c) The ladiesgive me gifts once in a while.1d) The ladies do give me gifts once in a while.2a) The student understands your point. 2b) The student doesunderstand your point. 2c) The students understand your point.2d) The students do understand your point. 3a) The investment yields bountiful profits.3b) The investmentdoesyield bountiful profits. 3c) The investments yield bountiful profits. 3d) The investments doyield bountiful profits. 4a) The announcement encourages me. 4b) The announcementdoes encourage me. 4c) The announcements encourage me. 4d) The announcements do encourage me. 5a) The boy knows his way through the forest. 5b) The boy does know his way through the forest. 5c) Theboys know their way through the forest. 5d) The boysdo know their way through the forest.

In each of the five groups, there are four sentences numbered (a) to (d). In each group, the first two sentences contain verbs in their singular forms because their subjects are in their third person singular number. Sentence (a) being a value-neutral statement contains a main verb that carries the morpheme s or es or ies in harmony with the third person singular nature of the subject. Wanting to be emphatic, the ‘speaker’ in sentence ( b) introduces the word do. With the introduction of that word, the third person singular morpheme (s, es, ies) marking the main verb in sentence (a) is now attached to the word do serving as an auxiliary in an emphatic capacity. Hence: does.

Sentences (c) and (d) contain verbs in their basic, uninflected forms because the subjects are plural. Of course when the subjects are plural the verbs will not carry the s or es or ies morpheme. Sentence (d), unlike its (c) variant, contains the supporting verb do because its import is emphatic. Given the fact that the subject is plural, the emphatic do remains in its basic form without es being attached to it.

At any rate, the corrected version of the expression should read: ‘’mother-to-child transmission does occur during pregnancy.’’ Why have we changed do to does ? Because the subject, mother-to-child transmission, is singular.

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