SAMPLE 1: 'Until now, the capital and appetite for this was simply not there as the Nigerian economy was seemingly helmed in...Policy support to unlock these subsectors of the services industry are in place...Coverage of the entire country with modern telecommunication services are becoming a reality.'(Growth Outlook of the Nigerian Services Sector, The Nation on Sunday, May 14, 2014)This excerpt is marred by errors of concord, with the writer seeming to be perpetually unable to bring the status of the relevant noun phrases into harmony with the forms of the verbs. The writer is repeatedly in error because he keeps observing the same rule, that of contiguity, even when the structure being handled requires flexibility, thoughtfulness, variation, and initiative.Consider, for example, the verb was occurring in the following structure: 'the capital and appetite for this was simply not there...' It goes without saying that the verb (was) is in its singular form. Grammatical rule dictates that the singularity of the verb is influenced by the singular nature of the relevant noun or noun phrase. There is a demonstrative pronoun, this, to the immediate left of the verb whose singular form must have guided the writer in his choice of the singular form of the verb. It is most likely the case that that is the item that led the writer to the choice of that form.But is the word this the appropriate word to guide the choice of the verb form' Certainly not. What is the subject of the sentence, the subject of the verb' It does not require genius in any writer or reader to recognize 'the capital and appetite' as the subject of the sentence. Nor does it require exceptional ability to identify the coordinate subject as a plural entity, made up, as it is, of two items: capital and appetite. The verb, then, must derive its form from the status of this subject. At any rate, the verb must be changed to its plural form: were.Still on concord matters, we note the verb are which occurs in the following structure: 'Policy support to unlock these subsectors of the services industry are available.' Our knowledge of elementary grammar should enable us to recognize that the verb are is in its plural form. The next exercise is to identify the relevant noun item whose influence on the verb slot results in the plural form of the verb. Another way of putting it is this: What is the subject of the sentence to which the verb owes its present plural form' One may be free to suspect that either the noun services modifying the word industry or the more distant subsectors has influenced the writer's choice of the plural form of the verb. However, guided by grammar and logic, any reader with an average education would know that each of those plural nouns would be a wrong influence on the form the verb should take. In other words, neither of those words is the subject of the verb.What, then, is the subject of the verb' The subject is 'policy support.' And what is the status of the noun phrase---singular or plural' Singular, no doubt. In the light of this, let's change the verb to its singular form: is.Now let's take the final issue of concord in this excerpt. We consider the presence of the verb are in the following sentence: 'Coverage of the entire country with modern telecommunication services are becoming a reality.' The verb (are) is obviously in its plural form, and our next duty is to trace this verb and its form to the relevant noun item. What is the subject of the verb' The only plural noun item that could have motivated the writer's decision to select the plural form of the verb is: 'telecommunication services.' If we accept this view, we would understand the writer as saying: '...telecommunication services are becoming a reality.'But is that what the writer is saying' Not at all. I am sure the writer himself would disown this interpretation of the sentence. What the writer is saying, if we could be permitted to help him interpret his own mind, is this: 'Coverage of the entire country...becoming a reality.' It should be obvious from this interpretation that the subject of the sentence is: 'coverage of the entire country.' That being so, the verb has to be changed to its singular form, thus reflecting the singular character of the noun phrase---is: 'Coverage of the entire country...is becoming a reality.'Sample 2: 'The government and good people of Gombe State wishes to condole with the family, relations and friends of Mr Adaora Umeoji...We are indeed touched by the exit of the elder statement, an icon, a man of honour who passed away when his fatherly advised and wealth of experience is highly needed.'(Condolence Message by Gombe State Government, the Sunday Sun, May 4, 2014)The excerpt comes from a condolence message sent by a state government. Those conversant with the modus operandi of this column would be surprised that a text of this nature is featuring on this page. It is not customary to offer advertisement texts for public scrutiny. It is, therefore, with the utmost reluctance that I am asking the readers to join me in identifying and analysing the errors in the text. The errors are so shocking that I could not resist the temptation to present the text for discussion. In some cases, let us admit immediately, blunders are due more to unforgivable carelessness than to lack of knowledge on the part of whoever crafted the text. But neither is more or less reprehensible than the other.Permit me to draw your attention to the verb wishes which occurs in the context, 'The government and good people of Gombe State wishes to condole with the family...' The remarkable feature of the verb wishes is the morpheme 'es. When the morpheme represented as 's, es, or ies is attached to a verb, the implication is that the subject of the verb (or of the sentence) is in the third person singular form.Examples would be helpful here. Please read the following sentences: 1) I go to school every day. 2) You go to school every day. 3) We go to school every day. 4) They go to school every day. 5) She/he goes to school every day.Please note that it is only in sentence (5) in which the subject is singular (she/he) that the verb is inflected, taking 'es. Now instead of the pronouns (I, you, we, they, and she) we can use nouns and noun phrases with the same grammatical implications. Now read the following sentences: 1) The boys go to school every day. 2) My friends go to school every day. 3) All my children go to school every day. 4) Our neighbour's children go to school every day. 5) Teachers go to school every day. 6) Laide and Kenny go to school every day. 7) All pupils go to school every day. 8) One of my friends goes to school every day. 9) Akin's friend goes to school every day. 10) My neighbour's child goes to school every day. 11) Each of my friends goes to school every day. 12) The football captain goes to school every day.Readers should please note that the verb go remains in its basic, uninflected form in each of sentences (1) to (7) in which the subject is in its plural form. But in each of sentences (8) to (12) the verb has attracted the morpheme 'es because the subject is in its singular form.For the sake emphasis, we may also illustrate this point by using the verb wish: 1) I wish you success in your future endeavour. 2) We wish you success in your future endeavour. 3) They wish you success in your future endeavour. 4) (I know ) You wish him success in his future endeavour. 5) She/he wishes you success in your future endeavour. Again, note that except in sentence (5) in which the subject is in its third person singular form, the verb is in its basic, uninflected form (wish) in each of sentences (1) to (4) for the same reason we have given in the various examples earlier provided. The verb wish becomes wishes in sentence (5) because the subject pronoun is in its third person singular form.Here again is the structure of the sentence under analysis: 'The government and good people of Gombe State wishes...' The subject is of course plural: 'the government and good people...' In the light of the discussion so far, the verb should be changed to its basic form, shorn of the final 'es: wish.Next, we pay attention to the word advised which occurs in the following structure: 'a man of honour who passed away when his fatherly advised and wealth of experience...' Let nobody tell me that the choice of the word advised in this context is a product of the education and cogitation of any writer at all who is adjudged educated enough to write on behalf of a government or an advertising firm. This choice, if it happens to be a choice at all, is simply illiterate. We are left with only one option: a typo. But even as a typo, it is too grave a blunder to fail to attract an indignant attention.First, let us note that the slot occupied by the verb advised actually belongs to a noun. And you know how the noun is spelt' The noun is spelt with a c: advice. That noun should replace advised.Next, we note the verb form, is, which occurs in the following context: 'a man of honour who passed away when his fatherly advice and wealth of experience is highly needed.' Elementary grammar should tell us that the verb (is) is in its singular form. What is the subject whose form is meant to influence the form the verb should take' Experience' That noun being singular, it seems most likely to be the word that has inspired the writer's choice of the singular form of the verb. However, neither logic nor grammar supports the idea that the word experience is the subject of the clause. The only factor, which, in this case is completely irrelevant as far as concord is concerned, that could have prompted the writer's consideration of the noun experience as an influence on the choice of the verb form, is contiguity.At any rate, the subject is this: 'his fatherly advice and wealth of experience.' This is obviously a plural entity. In the light of this, the verb should be changed to its plural form: are.Finally, consider this: 'elder statement.' The least we can say is that this is an atrocious error, even as a typo. Everything is wrong about the phrase! This is the kind of error that can undermine the education of our children, second only, perhaps, to the abduction of Chibok girls! I know the writer means: 'elder statesman.' Is it not a strange development that the reader should be helping a writer to communicate his (the writer's) mind' The constitution should make it possible for us to forcibly stop some people from parading themselves as public communicators or as writers for government or its agencies!
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