Very often one sees an apostrophe (followed by an “s”) used to denote a plural, e.g. pizza’s. Here is a tip for those who don’t want to learn the rules: Don’t use an apostrophe again and you will be correct … Continue reading
Dr. Gerard Nolst Trenité (1870 – 1946), was a Dutch observer of English and wrote a poem The Chaos to illustrate how it is so frustrating to a non-English native speaker. Here is an extract from the poem, which has … Continue reading
I saw a concocted, unnecessary word – “vends”, used only in North India. It probably means “vendors”, which is the word to be used if communicating with educated people outside India.
I still hear Indians saying, “What is your good name, sir?” (Sometimes, it is “sirji”.) Stop translating from your Indian language, such as Hindi – “aap ka shubh naam kya hain?” Although you were brought up to be polite in … Continue reading
Despite attempts by the Times of India group to change the English language, there is no such word as “upto”. It is two words, “up to”. Don’t believe it? Grab your trusty dictionary (provided that it wasn’t published by the … Continue reading
Many Indians say the word “mechanism” as मिकानिसम, perhaps as an extension of “mechanic”. However, it is pronounced as मेकअनिसम with the emphasis on Mec.
The alphabet is a collection of letters, e.g.The English/Roman/Latin alphabet contains 26 letters. Incorrect: “Marathi uses the Devanagari script and contains 52 alphabets.” Correct: “The Marathi alphabet uses the Devanagari script and contains 52 letters.”
Indians are again the only people who “revert back” when they intend to “reply”. Why, oh why? To revert means to return to its previous state. Try as I might, I cannot revert back to being a baby, or a … Continue reading
Only in India are criminals still absconding; everywhere else, they have absconded or are at large. Confused? Google this phrase “is absconding” (in quotes). The writers are nearly always from India or in India. Here is a recent article that … Continue reading
Most Indians seem to pronounce content (as in the contents of this page) as कंटेंट . What’s wrong with that? In the rest of the world (except, perhaps the countries next to India), कंटेंट refers to contentment, as in “I … Continue reading