Of functions, roles

Sample 1: “One of the critical personnel required for aviation is pilot. However, the cost components of training local pilots is on the rise, no thanks to the unstable exchange rates which has seen the local currency, naira pummeled against the dollar…Corroborating this fact, Sam Adurogboye, General Manager, Public Affairs, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority(NCAA) the apex regulatory body which plays oversight functions in the aviation sector said it’s a regulatory requirement for commercial pilots to do training every six months…Speaking with a cross-section of experts they argued matter-of-factly that the enormous cost of training borne by trainee pilots has become further worsen by the grinding economic crunch…Expectedly, there have been concerns that the cockpits of an average Nigerian airline aircraft is filled with expatriates but the airlines explain that they employ experienced pilots…”(Worries over Rising Cost of Training Pilots, The Nation, Sunday December 3, 2017)

Let’s start with a matter of collocation—the natural company of other words that a word keeps. We examine the relationship between the verb plays and the noun functions both of which occur in the following context: “the apex regulatory body which plays oversight functions.” People play roles and perform functions; they don’t play functions.

Please read the following sentences: 1) Parents have a role to play in the molding of their children’s character. 2)The role the school system plays in the lives of children is complementary to that played by the home. 3) Women play a unique role at home and society at large. 4) The role played by religious bodies should not be confused with that played by cultural institutions. 5) Prayers have a significant role to play in everybody’s life. 6) The press must play its role as an agent of enlightenment in modern democracy. 7) Having played my own role as a counselor, I instructed the victim to see a medical expert. 8) The role sleep plays in a person’s health is different from the role food plays. 9) The engineer seems to exaggerate the role engineers play in the advancement of any nation. 10) Anyone who understands the importance of food should not underestimate the role played by farmers in any society.

Now read the following sentences: 1) The heart performs a vital function in the human body. 2) There is no part of the human body that does not perform any function. 3) The function performed by the fuel filter involves preventing foreign particles from entering into the engine. 4) People often forget that the police perform the vital function of maintaining law and order. 5) Whenever a firm faces a financial crisis the first workers to lose their jobs are those who do not perform critical functions. 6) Can anyone say that medical doctors don’t perform a critical function in our society? 7) It would be better for you to resign if you are not performing any important function. 8) One of the vital functions performed by the tongue has to do with the production of speech sounds. 9) The function conventionally performed by the post office has been taken over virtually by electronic communication. 10) The functions performed by the female members of staff are different from those performed by the male.

The important point to note is this: functions are performed; roles are played.

Next, we note the word worsen which occurs in the following context: “the enormous cost of training…has become further worsen by the grinding economic crunch.”

The form worsen, as it occurs in that context, is a verb in its basic form. The form required in the context is worsened. The (comparative) adjective form is worse; when it is converted to a verb, it becomes worsen; the past participle/past form of the verb is worsened.

This is the pattern of inflection and usage in a number of adjectives and some nouns in English. The morpheme –en is added to the adjective/noun to convert it to a verb; the morpheme –ed is then added to that to make it a past tense/past participle; the–ing morpheme is added to the verb to make it a present participle.

Let’s illustrate these grammatical facts using the following adjectives/nouns: worse, dead, length, deep, wide, weak, soft, short, quick, broad, and sharp.

Please read the following sentences: 1 a) The economy is worse today than it was about three years ago. b) Any drop in the price of crude oil in the world market may worsen the economy. c) The sharp fall in the price of crude oil in the world market has worsened the economy. d) Corruption and poor management worsened the economy over the years.e) The economy seems to be worsening every day. 2 a) The patient complained that a part of his thigh was dead. b) The injection deadens the relevant part of the body. c) Prolonged exposure to ice has deadened my fingers. d) Personal pain and penury have deadened his emotion. e) Afflictions may have a deadening effect on a person’s emotion. 3 a) Women’s hearts are generally soft. b) Exposure to the Bible and devotion to God have softened his heart. c)The presence of friends and the sudden change in her financial fortunes softened the impact of the disappointment. d) The opposition to our party seems to be softening in the rural areas. e) Water tends to soften everything it is in contact with. 4 a) The scope of the syllabus is wide. b) That stuff cannot go in unless you widen the mouth of the plastic container. c) Weight lifting helped to widen his chest. d) I notice that your horizon is widening gradually. e)He widened the scope of his research to accommodate the suggestions of members of the panel. 5 a) What is the length of the bed? b) Being an elastic string, it can be lengthened by being drawn from both ends. c)The pains and discomfort seemed to be lengthening the night. d) The man has fraudulently lengthened his piece of land over the years. e) Lack of commitment may lengthen your stay in this section of the factory. 6 a) The doctor says the man’s heart is weak. b) Can excessive exertion weaken a person’s heart? c) The alleged border encroachment has weakened the relationship between the two countries. d) Can’t you notice that alcohol is weakening his health? e) Incessant erosion weakened the foundation of the house. 7 a)The well is deep. b) The unpleasant experience has deepened his understanding of life. c) Through prayer and commitment you can deepen your knowledge of God. d) His knowledge of literature is gradually deepening. e) My prolonged stay in the country deepened my knowledge of the culture.  8 a) We seem to have a short memory. b) Insufficient funds may shorten his visit to the US. c) We have shortened the length of the bed to fit the size of the room.d) Modern means of communication and transportation seem to have shortened distances between places in the world. ) Raining seasons are shortening these days just as dry seasons are lengthening.