Long-drawn grammatical crises!

SAMPLE 1: “Although stakeholders and observers said the election was generally peaceful, there were late arrival of voting materials in some parts of the state, especially within the Ilorin metropolis.”(Kwara LG Polls, The Punch, Sunday, 19 November, 2017)

I draw readers’ attention to the verb-form (were) which occurs in the following context: “there were late arrival of voting materials.” This form (were) is undoubtedly in its plural form, a fact suggesting, logically, that there is a plural noun somewhere in the structure that influenced the reporter’s choice of that form. There is the distant noun, materials, to the far right of the verb-slot. That noun is obviously plural, but the problem is that it has neither direct logical nor grammatical connection to the verb-slot, suggesting any form of influence on the plurality of the form (were). It seems quite obvious that the reporter has made a blind choice, a fact not too complimentary to the writing credentials of the reporter.

It does not require much straining of our grammatical faculty to recognize the noun arrival as the one that is logically and grammatically connected to the verb-slot, and which should influence the choice of the verb-form. That noun being obviously singular, the verb should be converted to its singular form: was. The clause should, therefore, read: “there was late arrival of voting materials.”

Sample 2: “You can never spend too much on security because the safety of lives and property are the most cardinal among all the principles of governance.”(Governors Forum Blasts Fayose over #1b Boko Haram Fund, The Nation, Sunday 17 December, 2017)

It must be noted immediately that the error we point out shortly did not emanate from the reporter but from one of his sources. However, the reporter owes it a duty to readers to indicate through a conventional sign (sic) that there is an error somewhere.

We draw attention to the verb-form (are) which occurs in the following context: “the safety of lives and property are the most cardinal…” Obviously, this verb (are) is in its plural form. How did the reporter come about this choice? To the immediate left of the verb-slot are two nouns, the first plural and the second singular. These nouns are: lives and property. If these nouns were important for the purpose of grammatical concord, then the reporter would be correct in his choice of the plural form of the verb. Unfortunately, neither logic nor grammar is indicative of any connection between these nouns and the verb slot. The important word for the purpose of concord is the noun safety, a word that is clearly singular. That being so, the verb has to be changed to its singular form: is.

From concord to resorting…

Sample 3: “Assailed from all fronts, his exit saw the party cascading into a long-drawn crises that is still etched on its soul.”(Secondus: The Second Coming, The Sun, Sunday 17 December 2017)

Let us note the word crises which occurs in the following context: “a long-drawn crises that is still etched…” There are three points of grammatical incongruity in this structure. First, the word a (meaning one) opens the structure. This singular modifier (a) contradicts the form crises, a word in its plural form. This is then followed by a singular verb-form (is): is still etched. This grammatical crisis arises, I suspect, because the reporter fails to realize that the word crises is in its plural form.

Readers should please note that the noun is in its plural form. The singular form is crisis. Other words whose forms are similar to those of crisis (singular) and crises (plural) are: thesis (singular) and theses (plural); synthesis (singular) and syntheses (plural); hypothesis (singular) and hypotheses (plural).

The following sentences illustrate the usage of the singular form, crisis: 1) Thecrisis is threatening to tear the institution apart. 2) The crisis was responsible for the destruction of the values and structures for which the company was reputed. 3) The crisis is obviously assuming an ugly dimension. 4) The crisis was blamed on clashes of personalities. 5) The two factions kept insisting there was no crisis. 6) Fortunately, the crisis is in the process of being resolved.

The following sentences illustrate the usage of the plural form, crises: 1) Political and social crises are tearing African nations apart. 2) The crises are such that can be easily resolved when people would agree to have a dialogue. 3) Internal crises are weakening our social institutions. 4) Many of the social crises that plague the lives of our youths are traceable to drug abuse. 5) The first and second republics were ruined by political crises that were motivated by selfishness and narrow-mindedness. 6) Crises are often good for the health of human relationships.

Next, we illustrate the usage of thesis (singular) and theses (plural). Thesis: 1) A thesis is a strong statement offering information on the focus of the research effort. 2) The thesis, though simple, is amply illustrated. 3) My thesis in this essay is that women are oppressed and discriminated against in many African societies. 4) Your thesis is not clearly stated, giving the impression that you have no clear idea of what you are saying. 5) The thesis is to be restated at every critical point in the development of the essay. 6) If your thesis is trite, you are not likely to come up with anything revolutionary.

Now we illustrate the usage of the plural form, theses: 1) Thetheses are to be submitted latest by Friday next week. 2) The confusion resides in the fact that two theses are stated in the introductory chapter. 3) All the badly written theses are to be returned to their authors. 4) The theses are rather speculative. 5) The five most brilliant theses are being stored electronically. 6) These theses are representative of all others.

Now we return to the error structure: “a long-drawn crises that is etched…” The plural crises should be changed to its singular: crisis. The structure now reads: “ a long-drawn crisis that is etched…”