The question where

SAMPLE 1: “The horrible crime was blown open when the girls’ mother, Mrs Mary Sulaiman, was advised to take them for medical tests after she expressed worry that her two daughters where emaciating…I started to notice that the two girls had drastically lost weight and where are looking bony.”(Fathers from Hell: How 4 Men Impregnated their Daughters, The Sun, 30 September, 2018)

Let’s pay attention to the context in which the word where occurs in the following structures: “her two daughters where emaciating”; “the two girls had drastically lost weight and where looking bony.” It almost beggars belief that anyone would insert the wh- word where in the position in which it occurs in each of the cases under reference. It should be strange if an error occurring two times within a relatively short piece is to be regarded as an accident.

My guess is that the error stems from a pronunciation crisis on the part of some Nigerians who often pronounce were as where (and presumably vice versa). It is likely the case that they would select where or were blindly in a context requiring just one of them. In other words, the two words remain undifferentiated in reality. Elementary as these issues are, it is expedient to illustrate the usage of the words involved to avoid the risk of misleading young and vulnerable readers.

Please read the following sentences illustrating the usage of the verb were: 1) If I were you I would not borrow a kobo for the burial of such a useless relative. 2) Janet and Ajetunmobi were husband and wife until December last year. 3) The girls were punished for coming late. 4) All the bills were thrown out by the National Assembly because they were allegedly sponsored by the opposition party. 5) The patients were discharged prematurely because the health workers had gone on strike. 6) The children were always complaining about their father’s absence from home. 7) The two women were always trading insults in public. 8) The five names that were initially on the reserve list were later brought to the main list. 9) The villagers were not interested in talking to the police. 10) The offensive clauses were later removed from the constitution.

Please note that like is, am, was, and are, the word were is a form of BE. It occurs in contexts similar to those in which the other forms of BE occur. But specifically, it is: 1) used with plural nouns 2) in its past form. Actually, it is the past form of are.

Now compare its usage with that of where: 1) Where were you when the inspector arrived? 2) Where would you like to spend the next holidays? 3) Where in western Nigeria is the place in which hot water is flowing side by side with cold water? 4) Where are you living? 5) Nobody seems to know where the information leaked. 6) You should know that where your right ends is where another person’s right begins. 7) Where else in Africa is the press as vibrant as our own? 8) He is so energetic that one sometimes wonders where the energy comes from. 9) I will continue to live in Lagos, where I have lived for the past ten years. 10) I don’t even know where to start. 11) Where is your faith, you doubting Thomas?

Please let the verb were replace where in each of the three contexts under consideration.

Sample 2: “He said Nigerians will not regret giving the President a second opportunity to consolidate on the programmes which he has started adding that the re-election will give him the opportunity to consolidate the anti-corruption crusade.”(APC Affirms Buhari as Presidential Flag Bearer, The Nation, 7 October, 2018)

• Osinbajo flags off door-to-door campaign in Lagos

The word consolidate appears twice in this excerpt. These are the contexts in which it occurs: “opportunity to consolidate on the programmes”; “opportunity to consolidate the ant-corruption crusade.” It is important to note that in its first appearance, the verb consolidate is followed immediately by the preposition on; in the second appearance, it does take any preposition at all. Which is the correct usage: the first or the second? Or should we assume that both forms of expression are acceptable? We must make the point very strongly that the verb consolidate does not take any particle at all. It would appear that the writer has confused the usage of the verb build with that of consolidate. Yes, the verb build takes the particle on; but consolidate does not.

Now read the following sentences: 1) Having spent the last four years building infrastructure, the Governor has promised to spend the second term consolidating his efforts. 2) Now in control of most of the seats in the national assembly, the party plans to consolidate its lead by gaining most of the governorship seats in the country. 3) What I need now is a fairly substantial loan to consolidate my business. 4) The team scored two goals in the first half of the match and consolidated by scoring another goal within the first five minutes of the second half. 5) The newspaper spent the first five years of its existence expanding its circulation; now it is consolidating its spread. 6) It is no longer our priority to increase the number of our customers; our concern now is to consolidate—to retain and continue to gain the confidence of those customers. 7) Having presented his major arguments in favour of his client, the counsel went ahead to consolidate his arguments at the next sitting. 8) The APC should now concern itself with consolidating its hold on power by providing welfare for Nigerians. 9) We are consolidating our leadership position in the oil business by building fuel stations across the length and breadth of this country. 10) The Armed Forces have consolidated their hold on the captured areas by building garrisons in strategic locations.

Now read the following sentences: 1) The Governor will spend the second term building on the efforts of his first term. 2) The mobilizing agency is now building on its initial enlightenment campaign. 3) Secondary education is planned in such a way that it builds on primary education. 4) Every good teacher should know how to lay a foundation and build on it later. 5) I am not sure the lady has agreed to my proposal; but I will try and build on my earlier discussion with her. 6) In the last class, we saw how tense functions in sentences; today, we will build on that by constructing sentences illustrating tense patterns. 7) Have we built anything substantial on the foundation laid by the heroes of our independence? 8) Our spiritual lives must be built on the principles of the scriptures. 8) A nation should not be built on falsehood. 9) Do not build your hope and confidence on the promises made by man. 10) You cannot build something on nothing.