Seating arrangement

language-and-style1_2SAMPLE 1: “No usher is seen ushering people in; there is actually no need for one as the sitting arrangement is glaring enough, even to a first timer.”(Ogun Church Where Satan is a Brother and Worshippers are Served Alcohol, The Nation, Sunday October 15, 2017)

The expression that interests us is “sitting arrangement”, in which the present participle, sitting, is confused with seating. The fact is that both forms, sitting and seating, do exist in English, but they each have distinctive usage. Now the word sitting, modifying the noun arrangement, is an incorrect form. The appropriate form is: seating.

The various forms that should interest us are: sit, sitting, sat, seat, seated, and seating.

Let’s illustrate their usage in turn: (1) He has been sitting there all day, expecting the news of his parents’ arrival. (2) If he wasn’t sitting down, he was pacing the room anxiously. (3) He was sitting in his usual chair, watching the television. (4) Nobody can sit down until the president has done so. (5) After pacing for a few minutes, he sat down holding his chin ruefully. (6) I have not sat down because you have no asked me to sit down. (7) Janet sat beside her husband. (8) We all sat down as soon as the Chairman left the hall.

In those eight sentences, please note the forms sit (the basic form); sat (the past simple form); has/have sat (the past participle); and sitting (the continuous form). It is especially important to note that the form seating does not feature at all. Why? Because it cannot be used in its continuous form. There is the form seating, yes; but it does not belong to the context of the eight sentences constructed above.

Now read the following sentences: (1) You can now be seated. (2) Seated in one corner of the room was one gentleman who seemed not to be a part of what was going on. (3) In this congregation, women are seated separately from the men. (4) Before seating yourself at the desk, you have to tidy up the room. (5) Husbands and wives are seated close to each other. (6) All guests should be seatedbefore the governor arrives. (7) Guests were seated in groups of four. (8) I don’t like to be seated close to the window.

Next, read the following sentences: (1) All the seats have been occupied by our visitors. (2) It is only the person driving that can sit in the driver’s seat. (3) I usually prefer to sit in the passenger’s seat. (4) Please take a seat. (5) What used to be comfortable seats are now in bad shape. (6) Abuja is the seat of the Federal Government of Nigeria. (7) Only five seats remain unoccupied in the plane. (8) You have up till tomorrow to book your seat. (9) Are universities still regarded as seats of learning? (10) Two people can join me in the back seat. (11) The front seats are reserved for the VIPs. (12) The brain is the seat of human reasoning just as the heart is the seat of emotion. (13) The Senator’s seat has been declared vacant by the leadership of the Senate. (14) The court has instructed the chairman to vacate his seat immediately. 15) He is perhaps the most controversial person to have occupied this sensitive seat. 16) The presidential seat is the most exalted in the land.

Finally, read the following sentences: (1) The hall can seat one hundred people. (2) The theatre has a seating capacity of 500. (3) The protocol officer will take care of the seating arrangement. (4) The expansion will increase the seating capacity of the building. (5) Seating plans can be very challenging in situations like this. (6) The seating plan may change if some other big men decide to come.

Now note the following: You do not say: *”My father was *seating close to my mom”. You should say: “My father was sitting close to my mom. Do not say: *”I was *seating in the driver’s seat”. You should say: “I was sitting in the driver’s seat”. Do not say: *”Be *sitted”. You should say: “Be seated”. Do not say: *”I was *sitted close to my uncle”. You should say: “I was seated close to my uncle”.

Do not say: *”What is the sitting capacity of the hall?” You should say: “What is the seating capacity of the hall?” Do not say: *”The protocol officer is in charge of the *sitting arrangement”. You should say: “The protocol officer is in charge of the seating arrangement”.

Sample 2: “Opuiyo said in the statement that Ubah was arrested for economic crimes which he said bothered on national security.”(FG May Try Ubah over Alleged 11bn Oil Scam, The Sunday Punch, May 7, 2017)

I draw readers’ attention to the word bothered which occurs in the following context: “crimes which…bothered on national security.” The word bother, let us note, has been selected in confusion with border. The confusion, the mistaken identity arises from the writer’s limitation in the pronunciation aspect of the language. Many Nigerian users of the language cannot correctly differentiate between the sound which the form -th- represents and that which the letter d represents.

The word bother, let us note, has to do with emotional trouble, distress of the soul, anxiety about a person or thing. Please read the following sentences: 1) Many parents are bothered when their children do not seem to be making satisfactory progress in their academic work. 2) The miserable state of power supply in Nigeria should bother any responsible government. 3) I have deliberately refrained from bothering you with my financial challenges. 4) The health condition of the boy has been a source of perpetual bother to the father. 5) The constant clashes between farmers and the Fulani herdsmen are a bother to the state governments concerned.

When we say something borders on another thing, we mean the former is almost the same as the latter, is not completely different from the latter, is as good or as bad as the latter. Let’s read the following sentences: 1) The patient suffers from a delirium that borders on insanity. 2) They live in a financial condition that borders on absolute poverty. 3) After four years in the university, many students still demonstrate a level of competence in the use of English that borders on illiteracy. 4) The conflicts and disagreements between the two countries have degenerated to a level that borders on a state of war. 5) The dubious calculations border on fraud. 6) The frozen relationship between the couple borders on separation or even divorce.

The word border can also be used as a noun: 1)A huge tree marks the border between the two towns. 2) The woman with the issue of blood touched the border of the garment of Jesus. 3) The American president-elect has said he will erect a massive fence on the border between America and Mexico. 4) There is a dispute over the border between the two communities. 5) It is the duty of the Immigration and Police Officers to patrol the borders. 6) Illicit trade usually takes place in border towns. 7) The President has complained that our borders are porous. 8) Illegal immigrants cross the border freely.

At any rate, the word bordered should replace bothered in the context under review.