SAMPLE 1: “Hoodlums who have infiltrated the ongoing hardship protest on Thursday set a portion of the Kaduna Transport Law Authority’s (KASTLEA) office ablaze and carted away some properties belonging to the agency. They also touched the headquarters of the Kaduna Investment Promotion Agency (KADIPA), vandalizing the building.” (Hoodlums vandalise, loot Kaduna govt agencies, Opera News, August 1, 2024)
We note the word properties which occurs in the context: “hoodlums… carted away some properties”
Please note that the word (properties) is in its plural form. Note, furthermore, that the properties in question are included among the items made away with by hoodlums. In other words, the properties in question are regarded as moveable items.
The reporter seems confused as to the grammatical characteristics of the noun property. There are two basic ways of regarding the word.
Whenever we use the word property to refer personal effects or movable items such as shoes, clothes, furniture, television sets, fridges, generators, and even motor cars, we should use it in its singular form. No matter the volume or quantity of such items, the word property should remain in its singular form and the choice of verb should be singular. This is invariably the case in British English. Please read the following sentences: 1) The landlord has seized the tenant’s property kept in two rooms, saying he won’t release it until and unless he pays all his debt. 2) No matter how long you stay in the UK, your property will remain in this room and it will be intact. 3) Before I woke up, he had gathered all his property and travelled back to our home town. 4) Since he owns little property, he doesn’t need more than one room. 5) Fire destroyed the entire house including his sister’s property kept in one of the rooms. 6) His property consists of a few items all of which are kept in one huge bag. 7) After working for two years, his property is so much that he needs to rent a second room. 8) Thieves broke into the room and made away with almost all his property. 9) He has found a new house and his children are helping to carry her property to the new place. 10) Two trucks carried his property to his newly built house. 11) In those days, slaves were considered part of the personal property of rich men. 12) Shoes and shirts are the most prominent elements of my property.
The word property has been used in its singular form in each of those sentences because it is about personal effects, household items, movable belongings. However, when the word is employed in reference to land and houses, it can be used in the singular sense if the reference is to a singular item or in the plural if the reference is to two or more items. Indeed, whenever the word property is used in the plural by knowledgeable people, the assumption is that the reference is to land/houses. It should not be used in the plural sense if the reference is to personal effects as discussed and illustrated earlier.
Now read the following sentences: 1) The government has decided to sell all its properties in the choicest parts of the country. 2) Properties are more expensive in Lagos than in any other part of Nigeria. 3) I have three uncles who are into the business of buying and selling of properties. 4) There is an uncompleted property which the owner wants to sell at a moderate price. 5) I have refused to buy that property because it is too close to a stream. 6) The prosecution has alleged that the politically exposed persons have acquired the said properties with the proceeds of corruption. 7) Only teachers are allowed to buy and own properties in the estate. 8) I want to acquire a property in an exclusive area. 9) He rejected the property because it was too close to the police barracks. 10) Being in a marshy and undeveloped area, the property should not be expensive. 11) Nigerian politicians are notorious for buying and owning expensive properties in Europe and America. 12) The EFFC has traced the two properties to a prominent politician.
From the discussion and analysis so far, it should be obvious that the word property should be in its singular form in the context under review.
Next, we note the word touch which occurs in the following context: “They also touched the headquarters of the Kaduna…” Note that this word (touched) is used in the context of “set…ablaze.” There is obviously a case of mistaken identity involving the words torch and touch. The wrong choice would seem to have been motivated by confusion at the level pronunciation. The words torch and touch are certainly pronounced differently, and the first step towards overcoming the problem of mistaken identity is to learn to pronounce each of them accurately.
Now what is the difference between touch and torch? To touch something is to let your hand be in contact with it. When two things touch each other, they are in contact with each other. The word can be used as a noun. In addition, it can be used figuratively. Please read the following sentences: 1) The woman with an issue of blood touched the hem of the garment of Jesus. 2) The lady alleged that the man touched her indecently. 3) The baby cries hysterically any time a stranger touches her. 4) Don’t let those flies touch your food. 5) We were crammed into the bus such that our legs were touching each other’s. 6) Her hair was so long that it was touching her shoulders. 7) I was deeply touched by her piety. 8) His humility was touching. 9) There is a professional touch in the painting. 10) The approach is out of touch with reality. 11) Are you in touch with your former husband? 12) We were in touch for almost ten years after graduation. 13) The government’s policies and actions are touching people’s lives positively.
A torch (wrongly called torchlight by some Nigerians) is a portable light-producing device powered by batteries or recharged with electricity: 1) Take your torch with you any time you are going out at night. 2) It is impolite to shine your torch into the eyes of passersby. 3) The illumination was provided by torchlight. 4) Torches are useless without batteries. 5) My torch uses four batteries.
To torch a thing is to deliberately set fire to it: 1) The man was accused of torching his wife’s property. 2) Students were on the rampage, torching cars and buildings. 3) The Boko Haram insurgents killed scores of people and torched almost all the houses in the town. 4) The government has no plan to compensate the people whose houses were torched during the riots. 5) Although many cars were torched, no life was lost.
READ ALSO: Police arrest 40 over looting, violence in Borno protest
