Other than…

SAMPLE 1: “Even when there are needs for stringent punishment for offences like drug addiction, stealing, rape and infidelity, the punishments are not to be carried out by an individual or a group of persons order than the state through the process of law.”(Houses of torture: What prophet Muhammed, PBUH, Quran say, Sunday Vanguard, November 3, 2019)

Let’s pay attention to the word order which occurs in the context: “a group of persons order than the state.”The context does indicate that the word is selected in confusion with other. The writer grossly betrays a pronunciation weakness in his choice of this word rather than other. Note in particular the word than following the word order directly. That word collocates with other and not order. The error is an example of how a pronunciation lapse can generate grammatical/lexical/semantic awkwardness.

As a way of demonstrating the usage differences between the two words, we present a large number of sentences. (The discussion of this matter has featured repeatedly in this place in recent times. We should not be tired of presenting and re-presenting certain issues until they are absolutely clear to our readers.)

Now read the following sentences: 1) Corruption and election-rigging have become the order of the day. 2) Examination malpractices are the order the day in our schools and colleges. 3) Before abortion becomes the order of the day a more stringent law must be enacted to curb it. 4) We should never allow religious riots to become the order of the day in our country. 5) In many of our large cities, indiscriminate dumping of refuse is the order of the day. 6) The Treasury Single Account (TSA) was introduced in order to prevent public officers from exceeding their spending limits. 7) Nigerian languages and cultures are being taught in public schools in order to wean our citizens from unhealthy attachment to foreign languages and culture. 8) Regular parents-teachers meetings are held in order to foster a sustained dialogue between parents and teachers. 9) Politicians hold their meetings at night in order to prevent other people from having access to their information. 10) The pregnant woman was immediately subjected to surgery in order to prevent her from labouring too much. 11) The coach subjected his team to regular rigorous training in order to guarantee a brilliant international outing. 12) A lot of stones and cement were used in order to give the building a strong foundation. 13) He told so many lies in order to present himself as a man of integrity. 14) Many advertisements were placed in newspapers in order to generate goodwill for the organization. 15) Many more hands were employed in order to cope with the volume of production this season requires.

The word order can be used in a variety of other ways. Now read the following sentences: 1) It is the constitutional duty of the police to maintain law and order. 2) People will be attended to in the order in which they arrived. 3) The order of service is contained in the pamphlets distributed to the worshippers. 4) No particular order is followed in the way doctors attended to their patients. 5) The chief executive has given an order which cannot be countermanded. 6) The restriction order in that part of the country has been lifted. 7) Since his assumption of office, the president has been trying to put things in order. 8) The machine is out of order and it will require a huge sum of money to fix it. 9) It may interest you to note that I don’t take orders from just anybody. 10) The company has placed an order for a new generator. 11) The army General ordered his men to leave the city. 12) Students were ordered to stay away from the venue of the meeting.

Next we illustrate the usage of the word other. The word can be used in a number of different senses. Read the following sentences: 1) Apart from excessive cash in circulation, there are other factors responsible for inflation. 2) Apart from Christianity and Islam, there are other important religions in the world. 3) The first gentleman seems to be more responsible than the other two. 4) His father had other children by another wife. 5) There are many other things we need to discuss. 6) The other day he was saying something I didn’t quite understand. 7) I see no reason why the two friends should be quarrelling with each other. 8) There are many other books on the same subject. 9) There are situations other than this in which we can encounter similar challenges. 10) We live on the other side of the street. 11) The other false assumption is that life will go on forever. 12) My uncle’s other properties are in Abuja. 13) Some men discriminate against women. In other words, they feel they are superior to women. 14) Soldiers need to understand that this is a democracy and not military dictatorship. In other words, they should learn to submit themselves to civil authority. 15) Parents have a vital role to play in the moral upbringing of their children. In other words, parents should never leave the spiritual and moral destiny of their children entirely in the hands of teachers. 16) Issues other than the welfare of workers came up for discussion. 17) Institutions other than the church were represented on the panel. 18) Contributions other than money will be thankfully received.

At any rate, the word other should replace order in the context under reference.

100 speaking mistakes you’re most likely making as an English, or a second language speaker (III)

Parallelism and verb agreement

Incorrect: He learned to play tennis, to swim and sail.

Correct: He learned to play tennis, to swim and to sail.

 

Avoid lengthy sentence beginnings that offer nothing to the sentence

Incorrect: It goes without saying it is a nice day … With reference to your question I don’t really know … At this point in time I would like to work for the bank …

Correct: It is a nice day … I don’t really know … I would like to work for the bank …

 

Redundant phrases

Incorrect: advanced planning, close proximity, end results, grateful thanks. Habitual customs, local residents, mutual cooperation, old adage, past history, self-confessed, successful achievements, true facts, usual customary, young teenager, absolute truth, redo again.

Correct: Use one word or the other not two words that mean nearly the same thing

 

Circumlocution/talking around the subject

Incorrect/correct: ahead of schedule/early, am in possession/have, at an early date/soon, at this point in time/now, best of health/well, caused injuries to/injured, draw attention to/point out, during the time that/while, give rise to/cause, in advance of/before, in the event that/if, in this day and age/today, made a statement saying/stated or said, made an escape/escaped, owing to the fact that/because, put in an appearance/appeared, render assistance to/help, succumbed to injuries/died, take action on the issue/acted, the reason why is that/because, this is a topic that/topic, was of the opinion that/thought, was witness to/saw

 

An/a

Incorrect: It is a old television set, but it still works. It is an costly purchase.

Correct: It is an old television set, but it still works. It is a costly purchase.

 

Alternative/alternate

Incorrect: We will alternative playing the video games. The salad is a healthier alternate.

Correct: We will alternate playing the video games. The salad is a healthier alternative.

 

Amicable (used to describe arrangements or settlements agreed peacefully by parties)/ Amiable (used to describe people who are kind, gentle and friendly)

Incorrect: The soccer teams were amicable.

Correct: The soccer teams were amiable.

 

Among/between

Incorrect: She could not decide among the two guys.

Correct: She could not decide between the two guys.