Save the 'Safe'

I saw a towel which is sold in one of the popular departmental stores in Singapore.
It says "She will make you save and happy."

I believe that the word 'save' here is a correct choice only if the towel is one that can encourage people to start saving money. Otherwise, 'safe' would be a better word as it matches 'happy'. Both words are adjectives.

- Haryyanny =)

Direct translation at work again!

Do not get on and off while machine is moving! Found on many kiddy rides in Singapore. Just to warn you in case you have these small and cute people asking you cute questions.

I saw the smaller sign first. I then saw the bigger sign. The mistakes were done on purpose. They served their purpose well in grabbing passers-by attentions.

Student Services Centre

Hey, just to add on to Su's comment on the "Student Services Centre". I found this article. Note that the title of the article is " New Student Service Centre Opens". However, in the article and the background of the picture (glass panals) it is mentioned as 'Student Services Centre'. So is it student services centre or student service centre?

*Dictionary

service noun (PUBLIC NEED)
/ˈsɜː.vɪs//ˈsɝː-/ n
•
[C] a system or organization that provides for a basic public need
the ambulance/health/postal/prison service
•
[C or U] the operation of a system
There isn't any railway service on Sundays.
We hope to be operating a normal service as soon as possible.

services
UK a place at the side of a large road at which fuel, food, drink and other things that people want on their journey are sold
We stopped at the services to get petrol.

If it is meant to be 'services'. Shouldn't it be named as Student Services instead of Student Services Centre? I am just thinking aloud. What do you think?

I found this interesting snippet at this website http://www.ilxor.com/ILX/ThreadSelectedControllerServlet?boardid=40&threadid=38698&bookmarkedmessageid=25 .

A urinal sign in Japan apparently reads
"we aim to please
you please to aim"

The sign itself gets the message across very well and there is definitely some humour instilled in it but the grammar for the second sentence isn't necessarily correct. In fact, it doesn't make much sense. I just thought it would be interesting to point out that proper grammar need not be necessary sometimes to get your point across such as in the sign. However, many of us are schooled in the basics of proper grammar and when we come across such instances where grammar is inappropriately used, we tend to correct it subconsciously and in the process understand what the sign wants us to. Whatever it is, just something to share and think about. :)

Azura Azman

either or, neither nor?

Here's a paragraph I found in the Today papers, dated Thursday, 24th September 2009 on Page 59. It was an article about the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi (F1 fans would know what I'm talking about).

"Neither the drivers or the spectators will notice the difference. It will be quite amazing and a real breakthrough that could catch on all over the world where the time differences make it inconvenient for European fans to see a race without getting up in the middle of the night or at dawn."

Could somebody please enlighten me on the use of "neither...or"? Thanks!

A family that eats together, stays together.

If we were to go by this advert, I must say my family's delicious!

A letter or two, it makes a difference.

This is a napkin found at an upmarket coffee joint. Notice of course, the grammatical error in the statement. They missed out the determiner 'an'.

'Please' and 'Kindly'

This is actually very common in Singapore. People often use the words 'please' and 'kindly' together for emphasis. However, the meanings of these two words are different and i feel that they cannot be used together. I looked up the meanings of both words using The Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. The word 'kindly' is used to ask or tell somebody to do something, especially when you are annoyed, i.e. 'Kindly leave me alone!'. It is usually used to express sarcasm in sentences and statements. In contrast, the word 'please' is used as a polite way of asking for something or telling somebody to do something, used to add force to a request or statement or used as a polite way of accepting something. To add on, the word 'please' is used in formal situations while the word 'kindly' is used in informal situations. Therefore they should not be used together. The above statement should be 'Please throw the rubbish into the dustbin.'

Kar Yan

The Speaking Cellphone

I came across this picture when I was surfing the net. It reads: "SPEAKING CELLPHONE IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED WHEN THUNDERSTORM".


I feel that the sentence should be " USE OF CELLPHONE IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED DURING THUNDERSTORM" as how could a cellphone actually speaks?

Yin Xin (Elsie)


http://yapprs-funny-english.blogspot.com/

The meaning behind the title

I think movie titles are a fun way to test your grammar skills. Being an avid fan of movies, I thought perhaps I should touch on this as part of my e-learning contribution.

The poster is a famous epic starring Mel Gibson which nabbed a couple of Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director. It's also one of my all-time favourite movies. What does the title Braveheart mean to you? And what kind of word class does it belong to?

If you look up the dictionary (I chose the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary available online), the word does not exist.

Here's my take on this. "Braveheart" is actually two separate words, i.e. brave and heart denoting a person who is courageous and therefore has 'a heart that is brave'. If analysed separately, brave can be either an adjective (showing no fear), a verb (to deal with a difficult situation) or a noun (a young Native American warrior - considered an old-fashioned term and offensive) and heart is a noun which may denote several meanings such as the organ, emotions, bravery, etc.

Therefore, is the word "Braveheart" considered a compound word? That's food for thought. Any comments are much appreciated.

Picture courtesy of http://www.allposters.com/

~ Shameem

Nouns and Nouns Phrases

I came across a sign from the Vegetarian food stall in Hall 9 and it read
" Die Die Must-Eat Spicy Mock Meat at only $2.50!"

Thus, I felt inclined to analyse the structure of the noun phrase. Do correct me if you beg to differ. =)

Adjective: Die Die Must-Eat, Spicy
Head Noun: Mock Meat
Post Modifier: at only $2.50 (prepositional phrase)

However, though the phrase 'Die Die Must-Eat' appears as an adjective here, it is often used as a noun in other contexts.

Example: This chicken rice is a 'Die Die Must-Eat'.
This has the almost similar meaning as: This dress is a steal.

'Steal' and 'Die Die Must-Eat' stand as Nouns in the given sentences.

Clara KHoo

Lexical Ambiguity

This particular sign appears misleading as it connotes the idea of ' Buy 2 children and get 3 more free'.

It appears that many shopkeepers tend to take the 'short-cut' method when they put up signs/posts. Despite the valid arguement that shorter captions capture the public's attention more effectively as it is easier to read, I think that shopkeepers should still take pride to correct these ambiguities.

I would suggest the sign be changed to ' Buy 2 items and get 3 more (items-ellipsis) free!'

Any takers???

Clara Khoo

Common Errors in English

Dear fellow grammarians,

I wish to share with you two common errors in English. I used to make those errors in the past until I realised they were wrong.

1)The use of 'conducive'

The classroom should be a conducive environment for learning. (Wrong )
The classroom should be an environment conducive to learning. (Correct)

In other words, the adjective 'conducive' should be a postpositive adjective and not an attributive adjective. Do you agree? Please feel free to comment. :)

2) The use of 'give away' in prize presentations

We would like to invite our principal to give away the prizes to the winners of the Art competition. (Wrong)
We would like to invite our principal to present the prizes to the winners of the Art competition. ( Correct )

If we 'give away' an award, it simply means it is a gift and anyone can receive it; without much effort put in to get it.

However, if we 'present' an award, the award recipient is deserving of it as he/she has striven hard to achieve it.

Cheers,
Irene Ho

Business

Took this after lunch yesterday. (Since its a long weekend =p)

Notice the 1st sentence "We will be closed for business on Sunday....." I feel that it should be "We will be closed on Sunday..." without "for business" as the shop cannot be closed for business. Feel free to comment!

Selamat Hari Raya to all and happy holidays! =)

Kar Yan

Wanna enrol at uniSIM? Think twice!

Read what it says:

Comprehensive Programme Briefings

To help you decide on your course of study, we cover the programmes in-depth.

'in-depth' should be used as an adjective premodifier of the Head noun 'programmes'. For example, in-depth review of the programmes.

If we want to use 'depth' as a form of noun, then the sentence reads: we cover the programmes in depth (without the hyphen).

Karen Chu

It's a minor mistake; punctuate it right!

Shouldn't it be: It's a small step; take it, then soar!

Karen Chu

Get it right at Swensens, please.

1-for-1 Lunch Treats just get better!

I didn't give my feedback, though.

Karen Chu

Pedestrians Use Which Crossing?

I found this sign to be very misleading. The word 'Pedestrians' is in full Caps and underlined. Pedestrians seems to be the Main title or heading and 'Use Crossing' seems to be the subheading. Really can't tell which crossing is the sign referring to.

Pedestrians can be understood as it means pedestrians on the road. However, the word 'Use crossing cannot stand on its own. A question. What should pedestrians use? They should use crossings. Hmm! Does this make sense?

Anyone can guess what this refers to? Except Su who know this already .. Hee Hee..

Cheers

Pushpa

Enjoy grammar

Many thanks to Terrenz for setting this up for all of us. And thanks too for those who have already started with your entries. I am looking forward to seeing what all of you post here.

Do try if you can to comment a little on what you find interesting about the photos or language snippets that you post, in addition to just posting them. It doesn’t have to be a very profound comment, but it’s good if we can learn something about language in addition to having fun. And do make this interactive and comment on each other’s posts.

I hope you all enjoy yourselves, but do maintain some level of professionalism. We are all in the education field after all, and some day, who knows, you may want to show this blog to your students or your colleagues as an example of how the English language can be fun.

Just a reminder: If you are posting straight from the "grammarians" account, do please remember to sign off, so that we'll all know who you are.

R Tang.

PREPOSITION

I took this picture
outside the East Coast Parkway
McDonalds branch.





'SORRY, NO PETS ALLOWED ON RESTAURANT PREMISES'

Should it be 'on' restaurant premises. I think 'in' or 'within' premises seem more appropriate. The use of 'on' would usually mean 'on something concrete' For example, Sit on the chair. Run on the field'

Any ideas anyone?

Cheers
Pushpa

SVOCA....

Tray Return Counter. ( Grammatically right??)

1st Analysis

Tray--> Subject
Return--> Verb
Counter --> Object

2nd Analysis

Counter for returning trays

Counter--> Subject
returning --> Verb
trays --> Object
I wonder where does 'for' goes under SVOCA...

Grammar for the thought

Hi grammarians,

I'm sure all us are familiar with the image above. (:D)
I was wondering if the word 'student' is grammatically correct in the context above. Shouldn't it be 'The Centre for Students' Services' rather than ' Student Services Centre' ? The rationale would be that, the centre provides services meant for the students therefore the former stands true. However, if the latter is true, could it mean that student is actually servicing ( repairing) a centre ( a particular place or building) ? Have fun...

Regards,
Su