Language Agenda In US: Error Of Concord In American Media

The Author

Introduction

In a leading newspaper in the United States of America, a former US President is reported to have made the following assertion:

● "...The BASIS of each respective party HAVE become more ideological."

With all humility, LANGUAGE AGENDA observes that while the statement carries a quantum of presidential honor, it contains an error of concord.

Explanation and Justification

The subject of the sentence is the noun "basis", which is singular. However, it is forced to agree with the plural auxiliary verb "have." This is a clear violation of the Rule of Concord. According to this rule, singular subjects agree with singular verbs, and plural subjects agree with plural verbs.

Correction

It is instructive to mention that the "s" at the end of "BASIS" does not indicate the plurality of the word. Rather, "E" in place of "I" is the sole determiner of the plurality of "BASIS." In other words, the plural form of "basIs" is "basEs." Similar words are:

● Crisis (singular). Crises (plural).

● Analysis (Singular). Analyses (plural).

● Hypothesis (singular). Hypotheses (plural).

In the light of the above explanation, the sentence could be corrected in the following ways:

● The BASIS of each respective party HAS become more ideological.

In this sentence, the singular subject "basis" agrees with the singular verb "has", in compliance with the Rule of Concord.

● The BASES of each respective party HAVE become more ideological.

In this sentence, the plural subject "bases" agrees with the plural verb "have" to obey the Rule of Concord.

NOTE: In exceptional cases, "HAVE" is treated as singular. These are First Person Singular and Second Person Singular. Examples are:

● I HAVE bought a book on Dagbon Unity.

In this case, the First Person Singular Pronoun "I", as a subject, agrees with the verb "HAVE."

● You HAVE recognized the new efforts at finding peace, unity, and reconciliation in the Land of Gbewaa.

In this case, the Second Person Singular Pronoun "you", as a subject, agrees with the verb "HAVE."

Conclusion

Dear reader, it is important to state that the motive of LANGUAGE AGENDA is NOT to undermine the editorial competence of a leading newspaper in a developed country. Contrarily, the motive is to propagate the reality that even the most competent language user is NOT free from the tentacles of errors. Therefore, the best way we can respond to our errors is NOT to feel inadequate, but to learn from them.

Allah is the Best Linguist.

By Dr. Abubakar Mohammed Marzuq Azindoo,

Lecturer, University of Applied Management, McCarthy Hill, Accra