Misgivings, Dealer in…

SAMPLE 1: “Sunday Sun also gathered from the family of the deceased that Eleonu owed him over #200,000, and had refused to pay. But nobody could confirm if the monetary issue resulted to any misgivings between them before that September 16.”(Police, Show me Where you Buried my Son, The Sun, 11 February, 2018)

I draw readers’ attention to the word misgivings which occurs in the following context: “nobody could confirm if the monetary issue resulted to any misgivings between them.” Is it possible to have misgivings between people? What does misgiving mean? When you have doubts, concern or fear as to whether a particular situation or course of action will yield positive results, you have misgivings about it. Obviously, there can’t be misgivings between people. It is almost certain that the word misunderstanding has been confused with misgivings.

Please read the following sentences which illustrate the usage of the word misgivings: 1) The man had expressed misgivings about his daughter marrying the smooth-talking man. 2) I had my misgivings about leaving the baby with the careless girl. 3) If you truly had misgiving about the investment, you should have expressed it. 4) African governments used to have misgivings about investing in Asian countries. 5) With the huge success of the project, your initial misgiving seems to be misplaced. 6) Despite my misgivings, our team was victorious in the match.

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Please note that the word misgiving can be used in the singular or plural.

Now read the following sentences: 1) What started as a mere misunderstanding metamorphosed into aggressive hatred. 2) There is no relationship that is immune to misunderstanding. 3) Their relationship is characterized by frequent misunderstandings. 4) How did they allow their personal misunderstanding to degenerate into a family feud? 5) Tunji and I have never had what might be described as a major misunderstanding. 6) Their relationship flourished after a major misunderstanding.

Next, we note the expression ‘resulted to’ which occurs in the structure we have just scrutinized:“nobody could confirm if the monetary issue resulted to any misgivings between them.”In addition, let’s note the particle to which collocates with the verb result in this context. It is not the appropriate particle; not only that, that particle is symptomatic of the perennial confusion witnessed in the Nigerian usage scene between the expressions result in/from and resort to.

Now what is the nature of the error? We are looking at the difference between result and resort, which many Nigerians, including the reporter whose work is under review, would be unable to note at the level of pronunciation. There is a major phonetic difference between these words, and the first step towards overcoming the tendency to confuse them is to learn to pronounce them accurately.

How do we use the verb result? Please read the following sentences: 1) The near total failure of the project resulted from poor planning. 2) The violence resulted from the government’s refusal to listen to members of the public. 3) The governor’s loss of the election resulted from his political insensitivity. 4) The outbreak of cholera resulted from the people’s unhygienic living habit. 5) The war obviously resultedfrom lack of political, religious and racial tolerance. 6) Lack of adequate preparation resulted in mass failure. 7) Distorted understanding of the situation resulted in a wrong assessment of the people. 8) It is doubtful if this rather prolonged drought would not result in famine. 9) Careless driving often results in avoidable accidents. 10) Years of oppression and suppression of the masses can result in a violent revolution.

I advise readers to please note the particles that go with the verb result: in and from. An event or action may result in or from another event or action. Some Nigerian users would replace either of these particles with the particle to or into. They would say, for example, “The violent clash resulted to the death of the union leader” or “The heavy rain resulted into massive flooding.” The appropriate particle in each of those sentences is in.

And resort? When people resort to something, they use it or apply it or turn to it because they understand that that is the only thing that will work in their situation. Please read the following sentences: 1) Under no circumstances should you resort to borrowing. 2) Students have often resorted to violence whenever there is a misunderstanding between them and the authorities. 3) Frustrated, and alienated from his wife, the man has resorted to heavy drinking. 4) Constantly under attacks by armed robbers, residents have resorted to self-policing. 5) Many years ago, some banks resorted to chasing their debtors all over the place. 6) Is it right for jobless and hungry young men to resort to stealing? 7) He resorted to marrying another wife because his first wife allegedly gave him no peace. 8) When all else failed, he resorted to drug trafficking. 9) Having become grossly unpopular and incompetent, the government resorted to gagging the press. 10) In the face of pain, poverty, and  frustration, the lady resorted to prostitution.

It should be clear that the appropriate expression is: result in.

Sample 2: “The boisterous home of the Minna, Niger State-based super-rich kidnap kingpin and dealer of stolen cars, Isah Maiturari, has suddenly become a ghost enclave.”(Niger: Tenants of Super-rich, Maiturari Panic, Flee from his Houses, The Sun, 25 March, 2018)

We are interested in the phrase, ‘dealer of stolen cars.’ We note in particular the particle of and its relationshipwith the noundealer. That particle (of) is not the appropriate one. This leads us to the identification of the particle that normally collocates with the verb deal. The particle that usually goes with the verb is with.

Now read the following sentences: 1) He is such a sensitive person that you have to be careful the way you deal with him. 2) The Bible enjoins men to deal with their wives with wisdom. 3) How you deal with that issue will determine your future in this company. 4) He deals with his staff condescendingly. 5) We shall deal ruthlessly with erring members. 6) The activist praised the president for dealing impressively with the economic crisis.

There is the use of the verb deal which helps us to talk about the business a person engages in, the items or articles he buys and sells, the merchandise involved in his business. The particle that goes with deal in that sense is in. We say ‘Mr Joseph deals in xyz.’ Please read the following sentences: 1) Most of the local merchants in the northdeal in hides and skins. 2) How profitable is it to deal in agricultural produce? 3) The old woman dealsin such petty things as salt, sugar, and pepper. 4) The newly established company deals in building materials. 5) There is hardly any item the Dangote Group does not deal in. 6) The police have discovered an underground market in which people deal in parts of human bodies. 7) Is it a criminal offence to deal in arms and ammunition?

When the verb (deal) is converted to a noun(dealer), the particle used is not different. Please read the following sentences: 1) The chairman is a dealer in properties—land and houses. 2) Dealers in motor vehicles need huge capital for their business. 3) The lady is a dealer in secondhand clothes. 4)Dealers in alcoholic beverages are not allowed to conduct their business in lorry stations. 5) Dealers in local herbal products advertise their business indiscriminately. 6)Dealers in cattle have to travel frequently between the north and the south.