Of Dates and Particles

Sample 1: “It was established in 21st October, 2002…According to the caption of the event by Instablog9ja, the lady cried out because he was allegedly denied of her transcript by Covenant University.”(A lady cries out after graduating from Covenant University, Opera News, 16 December, 2020)

I draw readers’ attention to the expression, “in 21st October,on 2002”. Let’s note especially the particle in that introduces the expression. Furthermore, it is observable that a particular date,“21st October”, is mentioned. Here lies the problem. It would have been appropriate to use the particle in if no particular date is indicated. As the expression stands, however, the appropriate particle is on and not in.

 

Please read the following sentences:

1) Nigeria gained her independence on October 1, 1960.

2) On February 13, 1976, something of immense historical importance happened in this great country.

3) I will arrive, by God’s grace, on Friday September 5.

4) The protest is scheduled to take place on the first day of January, 2016.

5) The meeting will be held on 17th August, 2015.

6) The controversial election took place on June 12, 1993.

7) Every four years, the newly elected public officers are sworn in on the 29th day of May.

 

Further examples of contexts in which the preposition on is used:

1) Let’s meet on Thursday next week.

2) The dialogue took place on Monday last week.

3) Are you sure you will be there on Wednesday?

4) I hope to see you on Saturday morning.

5) When I visited him on Sunday morning, I found out that he wasn’t preparing to go to church.

6) I was with the family on Christmas day.

7) She woke up on that fateful day, happy, cheerful and upbeat.

8) On the day of his coronation, his wife could not receive visitors.

 

The following sentences exemplify the context in which the particle in appears:

1) Born in 1962 in Nigeria, the man has been to all the continents of the world.

2) The Nigerian Civil War started in 1967 and ended in 1970.

3) In what year did Nigeria become a Federal Republic?

4) Rains usually start in March every year.

5) I propose that the programme should come up early in the year.

6) The current democratic experience started in 1999.

At any rate, the particle on should replace in in the context under review: “on 21st October, 2oo2.”

Next,I draw readers’ attention to the expression, “denied of” which occurs in the following context: “churches are being denied of certificates.” Let us note in particular the particle of that the writer allows to collocate with the verb denied. As we have noted repeatedly, the verb deny does not take the particle of. With the choice of the particle (of) in relation to the verb deny, the writer obviously confuses the usage of deny with that of deprive. Actually, confusion often arises in the usage of many verbs, including forestall.

Here are examples of the usage of the verb forestall:

1) The police presence is to forestall any possibility of the wild boys harassing the girls.

2) To forestall the famous scorer penetrating the front easily, two strong defence players should be arranged to tackle him.

3) To forestall an epidemic, we decided to disinfect the house.

4) To forestall a breakdown of law and order, two teams of policemen were put on patrol.

5) To forestall the Governor refusing the application, two delegates were sent ahead to plead with him.

6) The government constituted a panel that would have a dialogue with the representatives of the labour union to forestall a nationwide protest.

7) He put another lawyer on standby to forestall a situation in which no lawyer would be there to represent him.

8) To forestall a fire disaster all bowls containing petrol should be removed far from the house.

The illustrative sentences demonstrate that the verb forestall does not take any particle at all.

 

The following sentences illustrate the usage of the verb prevent:

1) Children were prevented from going out after 7pm every day.

2) Journalists were preventedfrom taking pictures of the gory sight.

3) Through pressure and blackmail, the president was preventedfrom taking decisions that could jeopardize the electoral process.

4) In Yoruba land, women are prevented from witnessing certain ritual practices.

5) The firefighters prevented the fire from spreading to the adjoining fuel station.

6) It was the presence of the chairman that prevented the complaints from degenerating into public riots.

In each of those sentences, the verb prevents collocates with the particle from.

Like forestall, the verb deny does not take any particle. Some Nigerian users of English have developed the habit of attaching the particle of to the verb, not realising that it does not take any particle at all.

 

Now read the following sentences:

1) Unfortunately, many departments were denied accreditation by the National Universities Commission (NUC).

2) People with suspicious appearance were denied access to the hall.

3) Freedom of Information Bill is to guarantee that members of the public are not denied vital information.

4) Having been denied his own share of the profit, he headed for court.

5) No bank has the right to deny anybody access to his money.

6) The lawyer complained that the suspect was sentenced unfairly because he was denied legal representation.

In none of those sentences is the word deny allowed to be followed by the particle of or by any particle for that matter.

 

Now compare those sentences with the following in which the verb deprive is used:

1) People who are deprived of their rights are free to go to court.

2) It is wrong to deprive children of their meals as a form of punishment.

3) No child should be deprived of education simply because his/her parents are financially handicapped.

4) Children that are deprived of motherly care will grow up to become maladjusted adults.

5) The governor has promised that rural areas would no longer be deprived of the amenities available in the cities.

6) The lady is seeking divorce on the grounds that she has been deprived of love.

In each of those sentences, the verb deprive has been allowed to collocate with the particle of.

We have complained several times in this place about the habit of some Nigerians using particles arbitrarily in the contexts of idioms. Some Nigerians, following the dictates of their feelings and fancy, would delete particles where their presence is absolutely essential; bring in particles where they are complete strangers; freely substitute particles without any regard for the idiomatic character of the expressions involved; etc. Such carelessness and arbitrariness do violence to the idiomatic integrity of the expressions.

Take the word piecemeal for example. Instead of saying, “The money was withdrawn piecemeal,” fellow Nigerians would say, “The money was withdrawn inpiecemeal.” Then you wonder where the particle in occurring immediately before the word piecemeal comes from. Of course, it would seem that the particle comes from a particular kind of construction involving the word piecemeal: “The money was withdrawn in a piecemeal fashion.” This is an idiomatic construction requiring the presence of the particle in, but this construction should not be confused with the earlier one in which the particle is intrusive.

Also, some Nigerians would allow the particle on to collocate with the verb emphasize. They would say, “The chairman emphasized *on the need for probity in the handling of the company’s affairs.” The proper thing to say is: “The chairman emphasized the need for probity in the handling of the company’s affairs.” Other defective sentences and their corrected versions are as follows: Defective: The professor emphasized *on the importance of regular reading as a means of developing one’s capacity. Corrected version: The professor emphasized the importance of regular reading as a means of developing one’s capacity. Defective: The doctor emphasized *on the need for exercise as a way of maintaining a healthy body. Corrected version: The doctor emphasized the need for regular exercise as a way of maintaining a healthy body. Defective: The guest lecturer encouraged the developing African nations to emphasize *on mechanized agriculture as a means of guaranteeing food security. Corrected version: The guest lecturer encouraged the developing African nations to emphasizemechanized agriculture as a means of guaranteeing food security. Defective: This regime is emphasizing *on training and re-training of staff. Corrected version: This regime is emphasizing training and re-training of staff. Defective: The instructor emphasized *on the need to maintain a clean and hygienic environment. Corrected version: The instructor emphasized the need to maintain a clean and hygienic environment.

Readers should note that although the verb emphasize does not take the particle on, the noun emphasis does.

 

Please read the following sentences:

1) The new regime places emphasis on probity and accountability. (Compare: The new regime emphasizes probity and accountability.)

2) The emphasis in the western world is on increased technology. (Compare: The western world emphasizes increased technology.)

3) The emphasis here is on herbal medicine (Compare: Here we emphasize herbal medicine.)

4) The workshop will place emphasis on the participants’ ability to pronounce words correctly. (Compare: The workshop will emphasize the participants’ ability to pronounce words correctly.)

5) This government is placing emphasis on security. (Compare: This government is emphasizing security.)

6) Any training in English should lay emphasis on clarity of expression. (Compare: Any training in English should emphasize clarity of expression.)

Some users confuse the particle/preposition that should go with the verb prepare (or its noun preparation) with the one that goes with the adjective preparatory. They would say, preparatory for instead of preparatory to. Read the following sentences:

1a) We are preparing for exams.

1. b) We have bought materials in preparation for exams.
2. C) Materials have been bought preparatory to exams.

2a) We are preparingfor the construction work.

1. b) We have cleared the site in preparation for the construction work.
2. c) We have cleared the site preparatory to the commencement of construction work.

3a) INEC is preparing for elections.

1. b) INEC has been procuring materials in preparation for elections.
2. c) INEC has been procuring materials preparatory to the elections.

4a) We are preparingfor the meeting.

b)The hall has been tidied up in preparation for the meeting.

1. c) The hall has been tidied up preparatory to the meeting.

5)a) I am preparing for resumption.

1. b) I have bought new books in preparation for resumption.
2. c) I have bought new books preparatory to resumption.

6a) The Super Eagles are preparing for the match.

1. b) The Super Eagles have gone to the camp in preparation for the match.
2. c) The Super Eagles have gone to the camp preparatory to the match.

Note the following: prepare for; preparation for; preparatory to.

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