Write Well Services

20/04/2024

Iwaaki.

05/01/2024

11/10/2021

THE USE OF "ONE OF THE..."

I've written on this issue before but because of the constant misuse of this phrase I've decided to beam my light on it again.

The phrase is used primarily to indicate ONE out of many similar things, effects or people. In this wise, it must take a plural form.

For instance, "One of the BOYS took the plunge into the icy river." This means out of the two or three or more boys one of them, just one, took the plunge.

"One of the NOMINEES being screened by the Senate Committee WAS asked to take a bow."

03/10/2021

IT'S TIME TO DUMP THIS CLICHE...

For over five years now a particular radio station in the East (name withheld) would always announce, "...this station now has a new office at so-so and so... RUSH NOW and book your adverts."

Rush now is a cliche that deserves to be dumped in the trash can. It's no longer fashionable to "rush" in these modern times of advanced technology.

And come to think of it can an office that has been in existence for over five years be described as "new"? I just wonder!

01/10/2021

ADVISE vs ADVICE:

I've noticed that sometimes we use one for the other in our posts. There's a difference between them.

One is simply a noun (ADVICE: "My advice to the young girl was accepted in good fate...")

The other is a verb (ADVISE: "I advised the young girl to go to university before marriage...").

This distinction is applicable mostly for English users; as usual American English goes with ADVICE as both noun and verb. But for now if you're writing for Nigerian readers here in Nigeria, please follow my guideline.

03/09/2021

WINING vs WINNING...
A very common mistake we make. Ordinarily the difference between the two is just the omission or inclusion of one letter N.

However, in real sense both are miles apart in meaning.

Wining simply means to drink alcohol or wine or beer most probably in a party mood.

On the other hand, winning is simply to win, to gain. My advice has always been pause and ponder on which to use while writing. We can always dutifully write the word in longhand. The correct one will pop up.

Or better still, use your dictionary.

28/07/2021

LOOSE vs LOSE and BEEN vs BEING!

I've had cause to explain these troublesome sets of words in this page and how users on Facebook keep mistaking one word for the other.

Many a time you read statements such as "I'm tired of LOOSING money to scammers" when it should be "I'm tired of LOSING money to scammers."

On the other hand, you'll read something like "I am BEEN punished because I didn't support his ambition to become governor..." when he or she meant "I am BEING punished..."

I've always recommended that while writing and you want to use any of the troublesome words you pause and double check the appropriate one to use by writing the sentence IN LONG HAND.

That's my personal method and it works for me. I've also noticed this confusion in the use of LEND vs BORROW! I've explained this before.

26/06/2021

MORE "TROUBLESOME" SETS OF WORDS TO WATCH OUT FOR!

1. Ingenious vs Ingenuous: Very tricky set; you need to be very careful in choosing the one to use. The only difference in their spelling is 'i' and 'u'.

Ingenious (the one with 'i')/

13/06/2021

BEEN vs BEING:

These "troublesome" words have continued to be a headache to many writers who often use one in place of the other.

Both have the same root "be". My advice is always pause and carefully consider and cross-check the particular one you want to use.

I don't want to go into the nitty-gritty of grammar; simply take it that BEEN refers to past tense of "to be". It describes an action already concluded.

"I've BEEN to Abiriba on four occasions." But incidentally, you will still see someone writing " I've BEING to Abiriba on four occasions."

BEING, on the other hand, describes a present continuous state of "to be".

"I'd love BEING in the US this moment," Angela said. Somehow you'd see a majority of writers exclaim "I'd love BEEN in the US this moment."

14/03/2021

THE USE OF PAST TENSE...

Just the other day a friend of mine made me laugh uncontrollably when she vehemently retorted, "No. I didn't DID it!"

She was following my instruction concerning using the past tense of a verb to indicate a completion of an action.

The question thrown to her earlier was: "Did you DO it?" And in her bid to show me that she had mastered the use of past tense (her major problem area) she threw the bombshell!

The lesson here is that once you've used the first verb past tense the next that follows should be present tense. It's tricky.

06/03/2021

RESUME vs ASSUME DUTY AND OTHER SETS OF MISUSED OR MISSPELT WORDS...

1. Overheard at a popular FM radio station at Aba today, Saturday, 06/03/21: "...the new EFCC Chairman, ....Bawa RESUMED duty yesterday..."

This is totally wrong! The correct usage is the new Chairman ASSUMED duty because he's doing so for the first time. When he goes on leave or out of duty for awhile, on return he would RESUME duty.

2. AIRCRAFT vs AIRCRAFTS. The word AIRCRAFT is perpetually singular; it has no plural form. We have 10 aircraft in the Presidential fleet. A certain pastor has four aircraft, etc.

3. INFACT (wrong);
IN FACT (correct).
INSPITE (wrong);
IN SPITE (correct).

Honestly, I don't know why English language is so choosy about these little infractions.