Between 'Formerly' and 'Formally', which one should one Use?

 Between 'formerly' and formally, which one should one use? Well, let's find out: 

SAMPLE: “As elections draw nearer, Governor Ngilari is said to be having a difficult challenge in ensuring that discipline and cohesion are maintained within the party, as many supporters who are yet to formerly decamp to APC are engaged in anti-party activities…While the APC supporters are warming up for the governorship election in the state, Dr Umar Ardo insisted that it would be an error of law to conduct gubernatorial election in the state along other states of the federation on February 28, 2015, as the tenure of the incumbent expires in August this year…In Bauchi State, Sunday Sun’s findings revealed that the level of acceptance of Buhari candidature has reached a level where it is now difficult for PDP candidates for various offices to come out to campaign…”(February Polls: PDP Governors Panic Over Buhari, The Sunday Sun, January 25, 2015)

  The first word that attracts our attention is formerly which occurs in the following context: “many supporters…are yet to formerly decamp to APC.” The context does show that the adverb (formerly) is intended to convey the idea of solemnly, officially, accompanied by or in the context of ceremony. But is that the meaning of formerly? Not at all. That meaning belongs to formally. It should then become obvious that the writer, under the influence of weak pronunciation, cannot differentiate between formally and formerly.

The following sentences illustrate the usage of formal, informal, formally and informally: 1) In a ceremony traditionally known as matriculation, the candidates were formally admitted into the university. 2) Before they were formally introduced, the guests were already interacting with our members. 3) The Nigerian president is formally inaugurated on the 29th of May of the election year. 4) I hereby formally present to you the Executive Members for year 2014/2015. 5) The Governor formally presented the staff of office to the new king sometime in December last year. 6) Guests are expected to be formally dressed for the occasion. 7) To make things formal, the certificate has to be presented publicly. 8) He is quite good on the job, but he has never received any formal training for it. 9) The chairman has asked him to be working informally until he receives a formal letter appointing him for the position. 10) What we have had today is an informal presentation; everything will be handled formally in the course of this week.

Now read the following sentences: 1) All former presidents are members of the National Council of State. 2) A former Commissioner of Police should be a member of the committee. 3) It was a pleasant surprise when I ran into one of my former teachers last week. 4) He was formerly a member of the Executive Committee, removed by a court order. 5) All former councilors are to assemble in the hall. 6) Should a former president be so openly critical of the incumbent one? 7) Her husband complains that she is still seeing her former husband. 8) Following the devastating illness, he is now a shadow his former self. 9) A meeting of the former students of the school is scheduled for sometime this week. At any rate, the word formally should replace formerly in the context under review.

Next, let’s pay attention to the word level which occurs twice in the following context: “findings revealed that the level of acceptance of Buhari’s candidature has reached a level where it is now difficult for PDP candidates for the various offices to come out for campaign.” No reader with a good sense of style will be comfortable with the two appearances of the word level.

Certainly one of them has to go. We could decide to remove the first appearance in which case we would have: “findings revealed that the acceptance of Buhari’s candidature has reached a level where it is now difficult for PDP candidates for the various offices to come out for campaign.” If we decide to retain the first appearance, we have to replace the second with another word, say height: “findings revealed that the level of acceptance of Buhari’s candidature has reached such a height that it is now difficult for PDP candidates for the various offices to come out for campaign.” Please note, in addition, that we have made some stylistic adjustment requiring us to bring in “such…that.”

Next, I draw your attention to the phrase “difficult challenge” which occurs in the following context: “Governor Ngilari is said to be having a difficult challenge in ensuring that discipline and cohesion are maintained.” I am not sure the adjective difficult is usually used with the noun challenge. Is challenge not a challenge because difficulty is involved? I think that adjective should be dispensed with.

Defy or Defile? Investment on or Investment in?

 Defy or defile? Investment on or investment in? Check this out:

SAMPLE : “Although the Federal Government has declared a state of emergency in the affected areas, it has been defiled by the Boko Haram sect…The change of poll date means that political parties are back to square one, despite the heavy investment on mobilization and campaigns in the last one month. (Fragile
Nation at the Mercy of Failed President, The Nation On Sunday, February 8, 2015)

Let’s pay attention to the verb defiled which occurs in the following context: “a state of emergency…has been defiled by the Boko Haram sect…” How contextually appropriate is the word defiled? It is completely unsuitable being as contextually incongruous as any wrong choice can be. Cheated by poor pronunciation and hobbled by intellectual indolence, the writer has committed a blunder in his choice of defiled rather than defied. The two words are totally semantically unrelated, similar as they may seem at the levels of spelling and pronunciation.

When a person, place or thing is defiled, that person or thing is made unholy, violated, robbed of his/its sacredness, sanctity. The word is often used by journalists to say that a man has slept wrongfully or forcefully with a lady. In that case, the lady has been violated. Please read the following sentences: 1) God’s sanctuary has been defiled by offerings derived from the proceeds of crimes. 2) Armed robbers now regularly defile the worship centres by breaking into them and making away with sacred valuables. 3) These days marriage beds are defiled unconscionably. 4) The courts have been defiled by judgments that are inspired by pecuniary benefits. 5) The armed robbers shot their way into the house and defiled all the ladies there. 6) Officiating priests in the Jewish temple were expected to avoid things, including sex, that could defile them as they presented themselves for God’s service.

Now read the following sentences: 1) The president often defies the national assembly by implementing policies not approved by it. 2) Members defied the rain and attended the rally in large numbers. 3) The police defied the court order and rearrested the suspect. 4) Miracles are by definition acts and developments that defy science and common sense. 5) The military government defied public opinion and executed the suspects. 6) I defied my doctor’s order and left the hospital without being formally discharged. 7) Children who constantly and flagrantly defy their parents’ instructions are in danger of divine wrath. 8) Most criminals defy their conscience when they engage in heinous acts. 9) Defying all protocol and security checks, the man went straight to the president and shook hands with him. 10) Defying the threats and foreboding associated with darkness in the jungle, the hunter went out in search of his abducted son. 11) The mystery in the air defies description. 12) The love he has for her defies any explanation.

When you defy something, you act in spite of it; when something defies another thing it works or functions in spite of or contrary to it.    

At any rate, the word defied should replace defiled in the context under examination.
Next, we note the expression, “investment on” which occurs in the following context: “despite the heavy investment on mobilization.” Deserving particular attention is the particle on brought into a collocational relationship with the noun investment. Please noun that investment is the noun form of the verb invest. The verb invest takes the particle in and not on. You invest in something and not on it. Read the following sentences: 1) Every government that hopes to achieve food security should invest heavily in agriculture. 2) You should learn to invest your time in profitable activities. 3) Many Latin American nations invest in football.4) The lady is unwilling to quit the relationship because she has invested a lot in it. 5) It was only recently that the government thought it expedient to invest in the power sector. 6) She is investing so much emotion in her career that has husband has had cause to ask her to choose between him and her career.
The noun form takes the particle in as well. Now read the following sentences: 1) The government’s investment in the power sector will soon begin to yield positive results. 2) The investment of time in a relationship does not necessarily guarantee that it will not fail. 3) The university’s investment in books runs into billions of naira. 4) The government’s investment in solar energy is likely to translate into a drastic transformation of the economy. 5) The lady seems to be concealing her investment in the stock market from her husband. 6) Heavy investment in the educational sector is the only way to guarantee the future of the younger generation.

'Had Rose' or 'Had Risen' ?

'Had rose' or 'had risen' ? Take a look at the following sample from The Punch newspaper:

SAMPLE : “The Council of State had on Thursday rose from a seven-hour meeting, advising the INEC to conduct the elections…” (Inside Story: Brains Behind Poll Shift, The Punch, February 8, 2015)

We are considering the grammatical relationship between the forms 'had' and 'rose' both of which occur in the following context: “The Council of State had on Thursday rose…” The form had is one of the markers of the perfect tense.

The grammatical framework of the perfect tense may be sketched as follows: have/has/had plus a past participle. Now read the following sentences: 1) The chairman has broken all the rules imaginable. 2) The bad leader has driven the country into a near-state of war. 3) The girl has spoken to her father about the need to pay the money urgently. 4) The men have written to complain about insecurity in the neighbourhood. 5) The market men and women have sought financial assistance from government following the colossal loss occasioned by the fire disaster. 6) The young men have brought fresh ideas into the company. 7) Snakes have bitten many of the visitors even during the day. 8) Before the formal commencement of the case, the plaintiff had sent two additional petitions to the police. 9) I had forwarded the mail before the information came. 10) The report had created confusion in the minds of the readers.

Readers are invited to note the relationship between have/has/had and the relevant past participle in each of those sentences: broken, driven, spoken, written, bitten, sought, brought, sent, forwarded and created. Some of the participles end in –en, and some are completely unpredictable. How do we learn them? We do either by constant use that will bring about thorough familiarity or by actually committing them to memory or both.
Now we return to the context under consideration: “The Council of State had on Thursday rose…” We had drawn attention to the relationship between the forms 'had' and 'rose'. Of course the form rose is the past simple form of the verb rise. What is required in that context, as we have demonstrated, is not a past form but a past participle form. The past participle form is 'risen'.

Please note also that the phrase “on Thursday” stands between the form had and the verb form rose. The intervening words, let us note, have no effect whatsoever on the relationship between the relevant forms. Those intervening words could in fact have been the source of confusion and distraction for the reporter. This is absolutely uncalled for. At any rate, the form risen replaces rose in the context under review.

'Course', 'Cause' or 'Curse' ?

Take a look at the following to learn more about the words 'cause', 'course' and 'curse':

SAMPLE : “Probably to forestall this, the police stormed his house that evening, where they met him, his younger brother and the new wife. In the cause of interrogation he led them to the grave in a corner of the compound where he buried the remains of his daughter…”(Mysterious Death of 17-Yr-Old Daughter Lands Customs Officer in Trouble, Sunday Sun, November 2, 2014)

Let’s pay attention to the word cause which occurs in the following context: “In the cause of interrogation, he led them to the grave in a corner of the compound.” It can be inferred that the reporter intends the phrase, “in the cause of interrogation” to mean “while the interrogation was going on”; “while the interrogation was in progress”; “during interrogation”; “in the process of interrogation.” This is not the meaning of cause; obviously, the word is confused with course. They are similar in pronunciation, but different in spelling and meaning. What is the difference between cause and course, and between each of these on the one hand and curse on the other? We need to spend some time on the three words.

Read the following sentences: 1) Careless driving is one of the major causes of road traffic accidents in Nigeria. 2) One major cause of corruption in Nigeria is poverty. 3) The police in conjunction with the doctors are investigating the cause of his death. 4) Nobody has been able to identify the cause of the fire disaster. 5) Accommodation and food were the main causes of students’ unrest in those days. 6) Medical experts have not been able to establish the cause of cancer. 7) Conflict of egos among Nigerian leaders was the cause of the civil war. 8) There are people who would hate you without cause.

It should be clear that X is the cause of Y if X makes Y to happen. The word has been used as a noun in each of those sentences. While retaining the sense of the noun, it can also be used as a verb: 1) The civil unrest was caused by an abrupt and irrational increase in the prices of petroleum products. 2) Nobody knew what caused the strained relationship between the man and his wife. 3) It was speculated that the divorce was caused by infidelity and mutual suspicion. 4) The constitutional crisis was caused by the establishment of an interim government. 5) The accident was caused by poor visibility and an awkwardly parked vehicle. 6) The military training exercises accompanied by the booming of guns caused fear and panic in the neighbourhood. 7) That kind of diabetes is caused by excessive intake of sugar. 8) Anaemia causes or aggravates some other very serious diseases. 

Whether it is used as a noun or as a verb, the word cause has to do with producing an effect or a result.
Now read the following sentences: 1) The Boko Haram insurgents do believe sincerely that they are fighting a just cause. 2) The progressives should join hands and fight a common cause. 3) It is rare to find wealthy people using their wealth in the pursuit of noble causes. 4) All Christians are called upon to fight and defend the cause of Christ on earth. 5) He would not fight any cause that has no direct relevance to his finance or pride. 6) The late M K O Abiola was reputed for giving generously to causes in aid of human progress and development.

The noun cause as used in those sentences does not mean to produce an effect or result (unlike the sense illustrated in earlier sentences). Rather, it refers to a purpose deserving or worthy of action or attention.
Now we illustrate the usage of the word course: 1) If you fail a compulsory course, you have to take and pass it before you graduate. 2) Many students regard mathematics as a difficult course. 3) There are courses that all science students must take. 4) Many students don’t want to register for courses being handled by that lecturer.5) Can a student change his course in the penultimate year? 6) All engineering students must take and pass all mathematics courses.

It should be clear from those sentences that the word course refers to a programme of study. Now read the following sentences: 1) In the course of investigation, the police stumbled upon a very valuable piece of evidence. 2) The panel is free to invite any member of staff for questioning in the course of enquiry. 3) More witnesses will be invited in the course of the trial. 4) In the course of my legal practice, I have seen a number of such curious cases. 5) The map shows the course of the river from its source to the sea. 6) The human rights activists are insisting that justice must take its course. 7) In the course of my training as a doctor, I have seen and treated worse manifestations of the disease.

The word course as used in those sentences refers to a path or track or movement in space or time. The word can also be used as a verb as the following sentences illustrate: 1) Although he said nothing, he was obviously sad as tears coursed down his cheeks. 2) Anxious, terrified and expectant, he felt ‘hot’ blood coursing through his veins.

We now turn to the word curse. Read the following sentences: 1) The Biblical Jericho was under a curse and it took the intervention of Elisha the prophet to bring healing to it. 2) It is a sad irony that oil is a curse rather than a blessing to the Nigerian nation. 3) Hardship may have its own uses, but poverty in its worst form is incontrovertibly a curse. 4) A life under a curse cannot prosper without divine intervention. 5) It is wrong to curse a child however rebellious or disobedient he may be. 6) Jesus cursed the fig tree because it did not produce fruits.

It should be obvious that the word curse (a noun and a verb) refers to an expression or situation that brings evil, ill-luck, mysterious injury or destruction.

The following sentences illustrate the difference among the words: 1) In the course of the war, we discovered that war is a curse caused by men’s greed and selfish ambition. 2) A war may or may not be a good course of action depending on whether or not you are fighting a just cause.

Here is the context that has led us to this long discussion: “In the cause of interrogation he led them to the grave in a corner of the compound.” Obviously, the word course should replace cause in the context.

'...and what have you'

'It’s true that this expression is in an interrogative form that is not normally found in contemporary English. It uses inversion rather than the auxiliary verb do. We would normally expect: What do you have? (or, in the UK at least, What have you got?)

It’s a colloquial way of saying, in the Oxford English Dictionary’s definition, ‘anything else (similar) that there may be, or that one can think of’, or even, simply, 'etcetera'.

It’s of US origin, and the Oxford English Dictionary’s earliest citation is from the 'New Yorker' magazine in 1925.

A synonymous phrase to this is: ...and what not.

>> There were phones, laptops, and what have you.

>> The programme would involve students, bricklayers, teachers and what not.

ORDERING OF MODIFIER ELEMENTS IN A NOMINAL PHRASE

Which adjective comes first in a nominal phrase with more than one adjective is usually a problem for users of English. It is therefore not in any way overemphasised to find a simple way of ordering them. For instance, given we have the elements: ‘spitting’, ‘big’, ‘Asian’, ‘cobra’, ‘black’ and ‘a’ for a nominal phrase, how do we order the modifying elements?  This is the primary aim of this present piece.

A nominal phrase or group (in Grammatics) is a word or, usually, a set of words which points to an entity in any dimension, (concrete, abstract, countable, uncountable, etc.) and usually takes on grammatical roles such as subject, object, adverbial, and complement. The structural composition of a phrase can be given as: (M)H(Q) in which M which stands for Modifier and Q which stands for Qualifier are optional and it is only H which represents Head word that is absolutely necessary for there to be grammatical a nominal phrase. For example, in ‘The lazy boy outside the class’, ‘the lazy’ is the M, ‘boy’ the H and ‘outside the class’ is the Q. Among the three structural elements of the nominal phrase, M is the most complex as it can accommodate almost infinite number of constitutive elements. Though Q can also comprise more than one element, the question of which element comes first is not normally a problem. Since the M element is the most complex, let us focus our attention on it.  

The modifier of a nominal phrase is often made up of articles such as ‘a’, ‘an’, and ‘the’; demonstratives such as ‘this’, ‘that’, ‘these’ and ‘those’; possessives such as ‘my’, ‘her’, ‘the boy’s’ and ‘their’; quantifiers such as ‘all’, ‘many’, ‘three’ and ‘few’; and epithets (adjectives) such as ‘tall’, ‘white’, ‘stupid’ and ‘serious’. For ease of understanding, I categorise the constitutive elements of a Modifier into two: Determiner and Epithet where Determiner comprises articles, demonstratives, possessives, and quantifiers; and Epithet stands for adjectives. To systematise how we get to this point, we may consider the following diagram:

Nominal Group (NG) >> M(odifier) + H(ead word) + Q(ualifier).

M(odifier) >> D(eterminers) + E(pithet).

This is where the work begins. Need we say that D precedes E in a modifier? This is always the case. While the combinatory and numerical possibilities of Determiner elements are particularly restricted, there is no limitation to how many adjectives can make up the epithet and this is where the issue of which adjective in the epithet is to come first and which one is to follow becomes a problem. Generally, the combination of the determiners and the various kinds of epithets that might follow them has been, for the purpose of memorability, reduced to one simple acronym: DODASCOM.

What does it mean, DODASCOM? It means the following:

D – Determiners: articles (as ‘a’), quantifiers (as ‘many), possessives (as ‘my’), and demonstratives (as ‘this’)

O – Opinion: e.g., interesting, fascinating, ugly, boring, delicious, etc.

D – Dimension: e.g., small, narrow, scanty, spacious, etc.

A – Age: e.g., new, old, modern, ancient, 19th century, etc.

S – Shape: e.g., round, oval, triangular, etc.

C – Colour: e.g., red, yellow, blue, etc.

O – Origin: e.g., Italian, Nigerian, America, etc.

M – Materials: e.g., woollen, wooden, plastic, earthen, etc.

One would have taken note of the fact that while only the first D stands for the determiners, the remaining letters O, D, A, S, C, O, and M represent the epithet. What is being advocated here is that when we have a nominal phrase with various adjectives constituting the epithet, we should use the ordered semantic categorisations outlined above as a template for ordering them. Let us get back to the example in the first paragraph and see if the template would work.

The elements in the phrase are ‘spitting’, ‘big’, ‘Asian’, ‘cobra’, ‘black’ and ‘a’. In this, the head word is ‘cobra’ while the remaining words are modifiers. Let us now arrange them the way they would be grammatical. According to the template, the first thing to look for is the Determiners (D). The only determiner in the phrase is an article ‘a’. What to follow is Opinion (O). The opinion here is roughly ‘spitting’. Dimension (D) is next and the dimension found here is ‘big’. There is neither Age (A) nor Colour (C) in the phrase, making us to proceed to the next category: Origin (O). The word standing for Origin here which is the next category to follow is ‘Asian’. Since there is nothing standing for Material, we are done with the ordering and the result is:

A(D) spitting(O) big(D) black (C) Asian (O)        cobra(Head word)

Another example is:

A(D) handsome(O) big(D) young(A) stout(S) black(C) American(O)           engineer (Head word)

Can we also try to generate our own examples by using the template and solve the problems we might encounter together?

BETWEEN AUXILIARY AND LEXICAL: UNDERSTANDING THE VERB 'NEED'

Like many other content verbs, the verb 'need' can assume the position of a lexical verb just as it can be used as an auxiliary verb (a modal auxiliary verb).

Its usage as a content or lexical verb signifies 'to be in want of' in which case the proposition suggests the interestst to be in possession of something. This, grammatically does not pose much problem to L2 English speakers as the rules of concord for other English content verbs--such as 'speak'-- subsume this sense of the verb 'need'. Hence, the following examples would seem automatic:

>> You LIKE to smile.

>> You NEED to smile.

 >> He LIKES to smile.

>> He NEEDS to smile.

>> He LIKED to smile.

>> He NEEDED to smile.

However, the second sense of 'need', which signifies 'it is necessary to', may very likely pose a problem of grammar. The reason for this is that most non-native speakers of English may want to apply the same grammatical respects given to its first sense to its second sense too. But, this second sense (auxiliary sense) must be treated the way one would treat a regular modal auxiliary verb such as 'must'. The following examples may further the discussion:

>> He MUST smile.

>> He NEED smile.

>> He NEED smile yesterday.

If it would be awkward to have:

** He MUSTs smile; and

** He MUST smileS;

then it would be awkward to have:

** He NEEDs smile (when it is used as modal auxiliary verb); and

** He NEED smileS.

In essence, the lexical or content sense of 'need' possesses the grammatical respects of tense and number; whereas, its auxiliary sense does not reflect number or tense.

Infinitive 'TO' and Preposition 'TO'

Confusion often arises as to when to use  the 'ing' form of a verb after the particle 'to':

>> I am looking forward TO SEEING you.

>> I want TO SEE you.

>> I checked with a view TO FINDING a pencil.

'To' in both regards is used to perform two distinct functions: as infinitive and as preposition.

On the one hand, when it is used as infinitive, it is part of a verb and it is usually used to realise 'to' nominal clause:

>> I   /     want /  TO SEE YOU.

      S/           P/                 O

Here, 'to' is functioning as a part of the verb 'see' and so both of them would be regarded as 'to' infinitive. In the above sentence, 'I' is the subject, 'want' is the predicator while 'to see you' is a nominal clause functioning as the object. The point being made here is that 'to' infinitive is usually used to realise nominal clause. To clarify that 'to see you' is a nominal clause, we may apply some passivisation rule:

>> TO SEE YOU is what I want.

Here, the nominal clause is no longer functioning as the object but as the subject.

Other examples of 'to' as infinitive are:

>> I want TO GO HOME.

>> I like TO SAY MORE.

>> I need TO PLAY LESS.

On the other hand, 'to' as a preposition is usually used to realise prepositional phrase.

The structure of a prepositional phase is PREPEND+NOMINAL STRUCTURE where prepend is understood to be any preposition. The following illustration may help proceed the explanation:

>> I am going  / TO  /      THE MARKET.

                        Prepend    /Nominal

>>    ...  TO         /      LONDON

      Prepend      /    Nominal

The above examples are not problematic because the nominal structures are phrases. When the item to occupy the nominal slot is not a nominal phrase, confusion usually sets in. Let us consider this:

>> This is a sure way TO GAINING ADMISSION

>> This is a sure way  TO THE MARKET

You can see that the two structures are similar. It is because both of them are grammatically the same (but are semantically different).