Of overtures and concord (III)

THERE is yet another feature of the excerpt considered in the last two weeks requiring attention. Once we attend to that we will be free to move on to another excerpt.

Sample 1: “Shortly after the death of her mother, arising from complications of advanced pregnancy, her father started making nocturnal overtures at her… Mojisola who volunteered her story, having overheard this reporter asking questions on why cases of incest is suddenly on the rise, told the not too palatable story of how the soldier cousin used candle and all sorts of objects on her sister and serially raped her… Rather, she would ascribe the present situation to increased reporting of such incidences…sexual violence and paedophilia is and will remain bizarre…Of the 155 cases, analysis showed that the most sexual offences, 69% was perpetuated against children between 0—10 years…the findings here also showed a frightening perpetuation against the very young and vulnerable…Having being in the forefront of the battle against sexual violence for well over half a decade, MrsEffa-Chukwuma confessed to having received and attended to some really bizarre cases…Sexual violence is perpetuated by people victims know, love and trust…cases of mothers sexually abusing their children is a rare occurrence…”(Incest Epidemic Reloaded, The Nation, Sunday, April 23, 2017)

Let’s note the word incidences which occurs in the following context: “Rather, she would ascribe the present situation to increased reporting of such incidences.” Readers should please note that the word under consideration is in its plural form: incidences.

A couple of weeks ago we had cause to examine the difference between the words incident and incidence. It seems expedient for us to rehash that discussion in view of the fact that some of our writers for public consumption haven’t benefited sufficiently from the explanation.

The point is that the slot in which the word incidences occurs actually belongs to incidents. What is the difference? As we have adumbrated, the word incident refers to a major occurrence, a noteworthy event, a happening of significance. Please read the following sentences: 1) It is true that two members of staff had a bitter argument, but the journalist reported the incident in a distorted manner. 2) Before the recent incident, two more devastating fire outbreaks had occurred. 3) Neighbours attempted to suppress the information regarding the murder, but curiously enough, the police got to know about the incident. 4) There had been several cases of armed robbery, but the recent incident recorded the highest number of casualties. 5) The burning down of the palace was the incident that troubled the king the most. 6) No incident can be more devastating than the wiping out of an entire family.

The word incidence, on the other hand, refers to the frequency with which something bad happens in a particular place; the number of times something undesirable happens in a given place, as measured over a period of time; the cumulative effect of something evil in a particular area, observed over a stretch of time; the level or degree to which something negative affects a given population or area. Please read the following sentences: 1) Worried by the rising incidence of armed robbery, the Inspector-General of Police has mapped out strategies for containing it. 2) Mercifully, the incidence of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) is still very low in our country. 3) The incidence of poverty in sub-Saharan Africa is a major item on the agenda of the next summit. 4) The examination bodies are worried by the increasing incidenceof examinations-related crime in the country. 5) The landlords will meet next week to discuss the incidence of violent crimes in the neighbourhood. 6) The INEC should do everything in its power to reduce the incidence of electoral fraud and violence in the country.

At any rate, the word incidents should replace incidences in each of the contexts under consideration.

Sample 2: “Insinuations that a powerful group, described as a cabal within the presidential Villa, Abuja is deftly manipulating the levers of power in the MuhammaduBuhari administration to its advantage is not the correct position of things, a source who is a close associate of the president, has fired back.”(No Cabal in Aso Rock, Says Buhari’s Associate, The Sunday Sun, May 7, 2017)

We are interested in matters of concord—of the relationships between verb-forms and relevant nouns/noun phrases within a unit of structure. Please note the singular verb-form (is) which occurs in the following context: “Indications that a powerful group…is deftly manipulating the levers of power…to its advantage is not the correct position of things…” The verb-form under consideration is the one sandwiched between the words advantage and not.

What is the relevant noun to which the verb-slot should be in concord? We have to go back to the very first noun in the long, tortuous sentence. The word is insinuations—a plural noun. Admittedly, there is a long verbal distance between that noun and the verb-slot. Distance, let us note, does not render invalid the grammatical or sense relation between two words in a structure; only ignorance does.

At any rate, the verb should be changed to its plural form: are.

Sample 3: “Most of the roads don’t have drainage and when they do the drainages are channeled to nowhere yet they’re called best governors.”(Kudos to El-Rufaifor the Pro-people Disclosure, The Sun, Sunday, April 16, 2017)

The word that interests us is drainages which occurs in the following context: “the drainages are channeled to nowhere.” It is important to note that the word drainages is here presented in its plural form.

Many Nigerians frequently pluralize the word drainage. But it is an uncountable noun which, typically, should not be pluralized.

Please read the following sentences: 1) Given the poor drainage, erosion will damage this road within a short time. 2) Engineers are already thinking about ways of improving the efficiency of the drainage system. 3) I am not an engineer, but it should be obvious to any observer that the drainage is faulty. 4) I think it will be useful to construct the drainage system before the major construction begins. 5) Water gathers on this portion of the road because of inadequate drainage. 6) The drains seem to be blocked somewhere along the line. 7) The problem is that the drains are not big enough. 8) The drains connected to the central drainage system are either broken or blocked.

The important issue here is that the noun drainage should never be used in its plural form because it is an uncountable noun. However, the word drain, referring to the pipe connected to the drainage system, is a countable noun and can be pluralized. For this reason, the following sentence is faulty: “The governor has given approval for the construction of more effective *drainages.” The structure under review should read: “the drainage is channeled to…