Sometimes on the premises

SAMPLE 1: “The vast premises that once accommodated the vibrant Concord newspapers, which many believe redefined the practice of journalism in Nigeria is wearing a new look with massive renovation works going on. Some months ago the premises was bustling with people who had converted the place to their abode.”(MKO Abiola’s Crumbled Business Empire Gets Revival Deadline, TheSunday Sun, July 9, 2017)

I draw readers’ attention to the verb forms: is and was. Each occurs in the following context respectively: “the vast premises…is wearing a new look…”; “the premises was bustling with people.” It should be clear that the subject noun that is relevant to the verb slot in each case is premises. It should equally be clear that each of the be-forms in question (is, was) is singular.

What is not clear, however, is the status of the noun premises: Is it singular or plural? It is important to note that the noun premises is always in its plural form. Interestingly, it has no singular form. This is consistent with the arbitrary nature of the English spelling system especially in its relationship with grammar and meaning.

The singular form premise is completely unrelated to the plural premises, meaning surroundings, the buildings plus the compound.  The singular form premise on the other hand means a statement or the basis for its truth or untruth.In short, the verb forms identified in the grammatical contexts (is, was) should be changed to their plural forms: are, were.

There are some other words which end in –is whose morphological characteristics are quite interesting. They include: crisis (singular) and crises (plural);thesis (singular) and theses (plural); synthesis (singular) and syntheses (plural); hypothesis (singular) and hypotheses (plural).

The following sentences illustrate the usage of the singular form, crisis: 1) Thecrisis is threatening to tear the institution apart. 2) The crisis was responsible for the destruction of the values and structures for which the company was reputed. 3) The crisis is obviously assuming an ugly dimension. 4) The crisis was blamed on clashes of personalities. 5) The two factions kept insisting there was no crisis. 6) Fortunately, the crisis is in the process of being resolved.

The following sentences illustrate the usage of the plural form, crises: 1) Political and social crises are tearing African nations apart. 2) The crises are such that can be easily resolved when people would agree to have a dialogue. 3) Internal crises are weakening our social institutions. 4) Many of the social crises that plague the lives of our youths are traceable to drug abuse. 5) The first and second republics were ruined by political crises that were motivated by selfishness and narrow-mindedness. 6) Crises are often good for the health of human relationships.

Next, we illustrate the usage of thesis (singular) and theses (plural). Thesis: 1) A thesis is a strong statement offering information on the focus of the research effort. 2) The thesis, though simple, is amply illustrated. 3) My thesis in this essay is that women are oppressed and discriminated against in many African societies. 4) Your thesis is not clearly stated, giving the impression that you have no clear idea of what you are saying. 5) The thesis is to be restated at every critical point in the development of the essay. 6) If your thesis is trite, you are not likely to come up with anything revolutionary.

Now we illustrate the usage of the plural form, theses: 1) Thetheses are to be submitted latest by Friday next week. 2) The confusion resides in the fact that two theses are stated in the introductory chapter. 3) All the badly written theses are to be returned to their authors. 4) The theses are rather speculative. 5) The five most brilliant theses are being stored electronically. 6) These theses are representative of all others.

Sample 2: “In the recent past, Nigerian Navy patrol teams had sometimes invaded the town during a battle with militants in the town, just as Ajakpa, a town close to Aboto, was recently invaded by soldiers after militants allegedly killed one of their colleagues during a raid on the town.”(Residents Flee Ondo Community as Security Operatives Hunt Abductors, The Sunday Sun, July 30,2017)

The word that interests us is sometimes which occurs in the following context: “in the recent past, Nigerian Navy patrol teams had sometimes invaded the town…”

We have had cause to comment repeatedly on the arbitrary nature of part of the English spelling system, noting that a single letter may be the only meaning-bearing signal constituting the difference between two words or between two variants of the same word. Such is the case with the forms sometime and sometimes, the former being the appropriate one in the context in which the writer has used the latter.

As should be obvious, the only visual difference between the two words is the presence of the letter –s in the one, which is absent in the other.

The word sometimes (please note the final –s) means occasionally, on occasions, once in a while: (1) Even the most educated people are sometimes confused as to the difference between the words “sometimes” and “sometime”. (2) I sometimes have this feeling that the end of the world is near. (3) Surprisingly, it sometimes rains in December. (4) Dull and incoherent as he is, he sometimes springs surprises by making brilliant points. (5) In spite of themselves, people in power sometimesshow compassion. (6) Climatic changes usually occur gradually, but they sometimes occur suddenly. 7) Even highly educated people sometimes spell words wrongly. 8) Situations can be so bad that you sometimes wish you were not born. 9) Under satanic influence even the most religious people sometimes succumb to horrible temptations. 10) She is generally calm and sedate, but sometimes throws a tantrum.

The word sometime (without a final –s, mind you) means at a time in the past or future about which you are not certain: (1) Sometime in 1962, horrendous violence broke out in Western Nigeria. (2) We can hold the meeting sometime towards the end of the week. (3) I saw him last sometime in January. (4) You can take your leave some time before the Christmas/New Year break so that it can run with the break. (5) The impression the government gave some time in 2008 was that the remaining subsidy on the prices of petroleum products had been removed. (6) There was a prophecy, sometime before you were born, to the effect that you would be a great man. 7) The news of General Abacha’s death was broken to Nigerians sometime in 1997. 8) We can discuss this matter sometime next week. 9) The protest took place sometime last year.

Please note that the word sometime can be rendered as one word or as two words. The important point to note about the difference between sometimes and sometime is that the presence or absence of the letter –s is of great significance. When you mean occasionally or once in a while the letter –s must feature. It is obligatory. It is not a cosmetic element. On the other hand, when you mean that something happened at a time in the past or will happen in the future at a time about which you are not sure, never make the mistake of including the letter –s.

At any rate, the word sometime should replace sometimes in the context under review.