Sample 1: “Akande, perceived as one of the closest allies to the President, is alleged to have lamented to party stalwarts on how difficult it has been for him to assess the villa, let alone have the opportunity to discuss issues of importance…” (Tinubu: Discontent as new Aso Rock cabal emerges…News Opera,31 October, 2023)
The word of interest is assess which occurs in the following context: “…how difficult it has been for him (Bisi Akande) to assess the villa…” The context does indicate that the word (assess) is intended to mean to enter, approach, come to without restriction or limitation, enjoy the presence of easily, have the benefit of moving into freely, etc. But that is not the meaning of assess.
The reporter has confused the word assess with access, a function of poor pronunciation and poor spelling. We have repeatedly advised readers to be attentive to slight differences in pronunciation and spelling that communicate lexical and semantic differences. In English, many times it does not require more than the presence or absence of a single letter in this or that position for a lexical item to transform into another word. Anyone who is not sensitive to these instances of lexical morphing is still a stranger to the English language.
Yes, there is a major difference between access and assess, significant enough to make them two words.
Capable of being used as a noun and a verb, the word access means having opportunity or right to use a thing, acquire a thing, enter a place, approach a person, etc.: (1) The business is not expanding because the owner does not have access to sufficient funds. (2) In spite of the media hype, the masses have no access to the low-cost houses. (3) The only access to the village is through a bumpy, dusty road. (4) Close to half a century of its existence, many people around the world still have no access to the email. (5) For more than two weeks now, I have not been able to access my mail. (6) Even Ministers do not have direct access to the president. (7) Three years after the divorce, the man has no access to his children. (8) Only by special permission can the room be accessed through that door. (9) For the country to make great strides in agriculture, farmers must have access to fertilizers and expansive land. (10) The man’s situation is worsened by the fact that he has no access to his lawyer.
Now the word assess is about evaluating, examining, trying to understand a situation, etc. It is a verb, whose noun form is assessment: (1) Experts are assessing the effects of the erosion on the environment. (2) The committee members will soon begin to assess the facts before them. (3) She says she is in the process of assessing how much love the man has for her. (4) Before the loans can be released, representatives of the bank will need to assess your production capability. (5) The purpose of our visit is to assess your facilities comparing them with the claims you make in the documents. (6) You cannot effectively tackle your political enemies without first assessing their strengths and weaknesses. (7) Before the Doctor can undertake to treat him, he must assess the extent of the damage done by the quack Doctor. (8) It is the duty of the Vehicle Inspection Officers to assess the road-worthiness of all vehicles. (9) An engineer from the Federal Ministry of Works is here to assess the quality and extent of work done so far. (10) Each applicant must be assessed objectively and impartially. 11) My assessment of him is that he is an intelligent but pompous man. 12) If journalists were not biased in their assessment, they would know that this man is unfit to rule a state. 13) I don’t believe the assessment of the new product was thorough enough.
At any rate, the verb access should replace access in the context under examination.
Sample 2: “I have to refund back there money…” (News Opera, 31 October, 2023)
I have two complaints against that short piece of communication. The first is contained in the phrase: refund back. Please note the tautology in the phrase. The verb (or noun) refund does not require the particle back. You may pay back a sum of money or you simply refund it. Remember: Do not say, “Refund back…” Say: ”Refund…” It is, however, acceptable to say: “Pay back…”
Next, we note the word there which occurs in the context: refund there money . It is a matter of elementary grammar that the form their should be the appropriate word in the context. This, I think, is one of the basic points of grammar we learnt at the elementary school. It is obvious that the writer has no grasp of the grammatical difference between the forms there and their. The error is irritatingly shameful.
In the light of this, it is important to illustrate the difference between the words there and their. Please read the following sentences: 1) There are many more people outside the hall than inside. 2) There is no wisdom in that suggestion. 3) There were rumours that the president had another woman in his life. 4) There is no reason to leave so early since the programme is scheduled to commence late in the afternoon. 5) There were many undercover security men snooping around. 6) There was no truth in the story. 7) Neither the chairman nor the secretary was there. 8) I was able to pick some useful information here and there. 9) How soon will you be there? 10) I was there waiting for you for almost three hours.
For the proper usage of the word their, please read the following sentences: 1) Their house is not far from ours. 2) The ancient Jews and their forefathers are part of the heroes of the Christian faith. 3) Their lawyers are holding a meeting with our own lawyers next week. 4) Sadly, their plan is to destroy their opponents’ business interests. 5) I find it difficult to understand why they could not mind their business. 6) Their directors are planning to reduce the workforce. 7) It is not their duty to tell us how to run our own affairs. 8) Their students are not even half as brilliant as our own. 9) Their house is directly opposite the bank. 10) How can our failure be a reason for their celebration?
The following sentences each contain the two words under consideration: 1) Were you not there when their thugs attacked our chairman? 2) It is their fault that their representatives were not there when the case started. 3) There were a few men at the meeting who claimed to be representing their bosses’ interest. 4) A lady went there, met the children, claimed be their mother’s friend and took some money from them. 5) I was there when our president visited that country and said something positive about their political system.
It should be obvious now that the word their should replace there in the context under review.
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