Sample 1: “Naija News reports that social media has been awashed with the reports that the apex bank announced plans to recirculate old 1000 and 500 naira notes.” (CBN speaks on issuing fresh directive…Opera News, 21 February, 2023)
I draw attention to the form awashed occurring in the structure, ‘the social media has been awashed with the report’. Let us note that the word is in the past participle form, a fact attested by the final –ed that characterizes regular past/past participle forms in English. It is difficult to fault a reported sentence that appropriately inflects the verbs, converting them to their past/past participle forms.
However, the trouble here is that the word awash is not a verb but an adjective, and, as we well know, adjectives are never inflected for past or past participle. Some writers often commit the injurious blunder of adding the morpheme -ed to awash, thus giving the misleading impression that it is a verb.
Meaning to exist or be available in large numbers or to be numerous, the word awash is typically used as follows: (1) The streets were awash with posters advertising the new film. (2) The newspapers were awash with stories of the Governor’s sexual escapades in the US. (3) During the era of the oil boom, the country was awash with naira. (4) At this time of the year, the markets are usually awash with fruits. (5) Five weeks on, the country is still awash with unsavoury rumours about the president’s health. (6) American newspapers were awash with the reports of the police’s murder of an innocent African-American. 7) Soon Nigerian landscape will be awash with the posters of politicians seeking elective posts.
What we have learnt today is that the word awash is not a verb but an adjective and, as an adjective, it is anomalous to add –ed to it i.e. to convert it to a past form or a past participle. The error must have emanated from the erroneous analogy that sees the word in terms of the verb wash. Unmistakably a verb, the word wash can be correctly inflected for the past tense and past participle both of which happen to be washed: (1) I have washed my clothes. (2) The erosion washed away all the sands intended for the construction of a new building. (3) Having washed the floor and the walls, the new tenants seemed ready to move into the apartment. (4) The boy washed his hands thoroughly before eating. (5) The driver has washed the car. (6) She washes the plates every morning. (7) What are you doing? I am washing my clothes.
Yes, as the sentences above demonstrate, we have the following forms of wash: washes, washing, washed. It is remarkable that such forms do not exist in the case of awash, which, as we have emphasized, is an adjective.
Sample 2: “Asiwaju Bola Tinubu came to Lagos when there was nothing…I was leaving in Lagos so I can tell you. He did what he was supposed to do…(Tinubu built Lagos from nothing…Chris Ngige, Opera News, 8 October, 2022)
We are interested in the lexeme leaving which occurs in the context: “I was leaving Lagos.” There is a clear case of mistaken identity here. Obviously, the writer has made a blind choice between the forms living and leaving, opting for the latter. The confusion is definitely traceable to a pronunciation deficiency, the type that troubles many Nigerian users of English. To correct this error, we need to have a picture of all the words and forms that are likely to confuse users in a second language context like ours. First, let us note that the appropriate form for the context is living. Now read the following sentences:
1)We now live in a rapidly changing world. 2)Those who live in northern Canada will tell you that the region can be extremely cold. 3)Some people live under the illusion that they will live forever. 4)Is it true that some human beings live in the forest even in the 21st century? 5)Mosquitoes breed and live in unhygeinic conditions. 6) Fishes live in water; animals live in the forest. 7) We do not live to eat; we eat to live. 8) Those who live in poverty are no less human than those who live in affluence. 9) Good Christians live by the principles of Christ. 10) People who live in the desert are used to intense heat all the year round.
The form live as used in those sentences is the basic, everyday form of the verb. The everyday tense also uses the form lives when the third person singular number is the subject. Read the following sentences: 1)The Nigerian president lives in Abuja. 2)The traditional ruler lives in luxury. 3)A big snake lives in that cave. 4)She lives with her children in the UK. 5)The young boy lives by begging. 6) She lives with her family on the outskirts of the town. 7) The man lives with HIV. 8) He who lives by the sword shall die by the sword. 8) The notorious politician who stole a lot of public funds now lives in luxury somewhere in Europe. 9) The preacher who lives by what he preaches is likely to be respected by his followers. 10) Christ died, was buried, rose from the dead and lives forever.
The continuous or progressive form is living: 1)We are all living for God. 2)Nobody should forget that we are living in the 21st century. 3)The NGO is to assist those who are living in extreme conditions. 4)The boy and the girl are already living together as husband and wife. 5)The fertilizers are meant for farmers who are actually living on their farms. 6) People who are living with HIV should not be stigmatized. 6) Africans are living under the illusion that they will easily catch up with the developed world in the area of technology. 7) People who are living on politics can never do any other job. 8) She was already living with another man when her husband attempted to reconcile with her. 9) Many people working in Lagos are living in Ibadan.
Interestingly, the form living is also used as an adjective. The following sentences illustrate that usage: 1)All living things, including human beings, were created by God. 2)A musician, she is one of the living legends of our time. 3)Bacteria are living organisms that cannot be seen with our naked eyes. 4)There are people whose living conditions are horrible. 5)These healthy children are a living proof that deadly diseases have virtually disappeared from Africa.
The past tense and the past participle forms of the verb coincide in lived: 1)I have lived all my life in Lagos. 2)The early man lived centuries ago. 3)The family once lived in the US. 4)For years, they lived in extreme poverty. 5)I lived with my grandmother for about ten years. 6)The young man had lived a reckless life in Lagos. 7) She can’t bear children now because she once lived a morally reckless life.
There is another adjective/adverb form which is identical at the level of spelling to the basic form of the verb—live. This is just accidental and the usage or context will indicate the difference. Besides, the two words are pronounced differently. Please read the following sentences: 1)Please be careful; that live wire is too close to the fridge. 2)A huge stock of live ammunition was seized by the police. 3)There are many live snakes in the zoo. 4)Football fans could listen to live commentary on the historic match at 4pm tomorrow. 5)The activities of the president in the UK will be broadcast live.
Now we come to the word life, the noun form of the verb live. Please read the following sentences: 1)No life can survive under that severe temperature. 2)The Bible says the life of the flesh is in the blood. 3)Life is too precious to be handled with levity. 4)The foetus has its own life. 5)There is indeed life after death. 6)Theologians recognize a distinction between biological life and spiritual life. 7) Nobody has a right to take another person’s life. 8) It is the duty of every responsible government to protect life and property. 9) Life, they say, begins at forty.
The plural form of life is lives, a form that is similar to the third person singular form of the verb considered earlier but pronounced differently. Let’s read the following sentences: 1)Thousands of lives were lost during the civil war. 2)Lives of citizens were in danger. 3)The children’s lives are precious to us.
Next we illustrate the usage of the verb leave, meaning to move from one place to another. Please read the following sentences: 1)Buhari will leave Abuja for Israel next week. 2)Buhari is leaving Abuja for Israel next week. 3)Buhari leaves Abuja for Israel next week. 4)Buhari left Abuja for Cairo last week. 4) Any worker who leaves the office without permission will forfeit a month’s salary. 5) People are already leaving the troubled zone. 6) If you are going away, you cannot leave your children behind.
As can be seen, the past tense of leave is left. The following sentences offer us the opportunity to compare some of the forms we have learnt so far: 1)He is leaving Ibadan tomorrow. 2)He will be living in Ibadan as from tomorrow. 3)Jonathan leaves Abuja tomorrow. 4)Jonathan lives in Abuja. 5)Jonathan will leave Abuja tomorrow. 6)Jonathan will live in Abuja as from tomorrow. 7)Jonathan left Lagos for Abuja. 8)Jonathan lived in Lagos. 8) Many southerners are living in the north just as many northerners are living in the south.
Now leaf/leaves: 1)One green leaf fell from a mighty tree. 2)Give me one cheque leaf. 3)The trees shed their leaves during dry season. 4)He tore two leaves from the book. 5) Green leaves are a sign of a healthy tree. 6) Vital food supplements are obtained from leaves and roots. 7) The leaves of the tree provide a shade for travellers.
Those forms have to do with trees or plants. The singular form is leaf and the plural form is leaves.By extension, these forms are used for parts of books. Sentences (2) and (4) illustrate this fact.
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