Torchlight again!

SAMPLE 1: “The deceased’s mother, Georgina Aguluka, told Sunday Punch that trouble started when Onyinye’s father, Cletus, came home drunk at night and asked for his torchlight. He said his children told him that they didn’t know where the torchlight was.”(Man Kills Daughter on Wedding Eve, The Sunday Punch, 3 June, 2018)

We are interested in the wordtorchlight which occurs twice in the following context: “Onyinye’s father…asked for his torchlight”; “they didn’t know where the torchlight was.” It is obvious that the reporter has confused torch with torchlight. Onyinye’s father couldn’t possibly have a torchlight. He could only have a torch.

This reporter, like many other Nigerians, does not know the difference between a torch and torchlight. The dictionaries define torchlight as “light from a torch or torches.” A torch is the device that produces torchlight. What people can carry is not torchlight but torch.

It is not good English to say: “I have three different torchlights.” The proper thing to say is: “I have three different torches.” It is also not good English to say: “I left my torchlight at home.” It is better to say: “I left my torch at home.” It is poor English to say: “Please remember to take your torchlight with you.” The better expression is: “Please remember to take your torch with you.”

 

Sample 2: “However amid the glee he feels following the special recognition of the June 12 struggle by both federal and various state governments, Okanlawon ceased the opportunity to call for the proper rehabilitation of some of the former students that were actively involved in the struggle.”(June Honours: Remember us Too, The Sun, June 17, 2018)

I draw readers’ attention to the verb ceased which occurs in the clause, “Okanlawon ceased the opportunity.”Ceased the opportunity?

It should be obvious that the writer, cheated by a pronunciation weakness, has confused seize with cease.  This is a common error among Nigerian users of English.  The next task before us is to demonstrate the difference between seize and cease on the one hand, and the difference between both and size on the other.

 

Seize: When you seize a thing, you take it by force or by law.

The following sentences illustrate how the verb is used:

The army first seized power in Nigeria in 1966

The police have seized the contraband.

They seized the thief by the hand.

The noun form of seize is seizure e.g.  The seizure of power by the army.

 

Cease:

To cease is to stop or come to an end or go out of existence

Read the following sentences:

The law has ceased to exist.

The College has ceased offering courses in management

He ceased coming to school last week.

The word can also be used as a noun as shown in the sentences that follow:

He has been working without cease.

John has been writing without cease

Another noun form of the words is cessation:

Death is cessation of life.

He appealed for cessation of war.

ALSO READ: Consolidating Concord

Size: The noun size has to do with dimension or measurement:

That shirt is not my size.

The blouse is a size or two too large.

That building is about the size of ours.

I’m trying to size him up.

Sentences (1) – (3) talk about measurement or dimension.  In sentence (4),   the word size is used as a verb.  In that sense, it is a colloquial expression meaning to form a judgment or opinion about.

Please read my own sentences again and form sentences of your own using the words size.  Note the spelling and meanings.

 

Sample 3: “And some of the demands of JOHESU range from increment of their pay package, an upward review of the retirement age and recruitment of enough manpower for the hospitals.”(Prolonged COHESU Strike Leads to Boom at Herbal Centres, The Sun, May 13, 2018)

Let’s pay attention to the expression range from which occurs in the context, “demands of COHESU range from…”We note especially the particle from collocating with the word range. But there is another particle, missing here, which usually collocates with range in addition to the particle from. That particle is to.

Things are said to range from one point or item to the other or between one point or item and the other. Put in another way, things range from x to y or between x and y. In the structure under consideration, we have the particle from but there is no to.

Now read the following sentences: 1) Articles in the store rangefrom the domestic to the foreign. 2) The crimes allegedly committed by the young men rangefrom petty stealing to armed robbery. 3) The music supplied ranged from the traditional to the exotic. 4) The materials available in the library range from newspapers and magazines to encyclopaedia. 5) The animals available in the zoo range between rats and elephants. 6) The prices range between #200 and #5000. 7) The age of the people who attended the wedding ranges between twenty and fifty years. 8) The topics discussed ranged between the trivial and mundane and the complex and exoteric.

Sample 4: “According to the Third Republic House of Representatives member, the PDP is not losing anything by taking it’s time to recruit the best candidate it can get in 2019.”(2019: PDP’s Growing Clan of Presidential Hopefuls, The Nation, June 3, 2018)

We are interested in the word it’s which occurs in the following context: “by taking it’s time to recruit the best candidate.”

The writer fails to realize that there is a difference between the forms it’s and its. The former (the one with the apostrophe and s) is the contracted form of “it is” and “it has”.

The following sentences illustrate the usage of it’s: 1) It’s raining.= It is raining. 2) It’s likely to rain.=It is likely to rain. 3) It’s rather surprising.= It is rather surprising. 4) It’s unfortunate that teachers are poorly paid in this country.= It is unfortunate that teachers are poorly paid in Nigeria. 5) It’s risky to travel at night= It is risky to travel at night . 6) It’s being evaluated.= It is being evaluated. 7) It’s been evaluated.= It has been evaluated. 8) It’s been established scientifically that women are not inferior to men.= It has been established scientifically that women are not inferior to men. 9) It’s been a long time.= It has been a long time. 10) It’s been a tedious and unrewarding exercise.= It has been a tedious and unrewarding exercise.

The word its, on the other hand, is the possessive form/adjective of the pronoun it. The following sentences illustrate its usage: 1) The resting snake finally drew its long tail into the hole. 2) The company and its subsidiaries employ hundreds of workers. 3) The car is beautiful outside but its interior is not as beautiful. 4) Every union should be willing to protect and defend its members in the time of crisis. 5) The house is huge but its occupants are few. 6) The school is organizing a re-union with its former students. 7) Every healthy institution should be able to fund its activities with its internally generated revenue. 8) The intelligence agency maintains its presence all over the world. 9) The lion eats only the bowels of its prey. 10) Every organization has its own strengths and challenges.

The two forms occur in each of the following sentences: 1) The dog wags its tail any time it’s (it is) excited. 2) It’s (it has) been the practice over the years that the society holds its Annual General Meeting in December. 3) Whenever it’s (it is) raining, the hen keeps its chicks under its wings. 4) Although it’s (it is) expensive, its durability makes it attractive to prospective buyers. 5) When it’s (it is) moving, its tyres become more pliable.

At any rate, the form its should replace it’s in the context under review.