English for Today by Ganiu Abisoye Bamgbose (Dr GAB)
IF ENGLISH WERE NOT A CRAZY LANGUAGE
1. If English were not a crazy language, “many” wouldn’t be used with “a” and a singular noun: Many a Nigerian eats rice everyday (not, Many a Nigerians eat rice everyday).
2. If English were not a crazy language, “everybody” wouldn’t be treated as a singular pronoun: Everybody is a sinner (not, everybody are sinners).
3. If English were not a crazy language, the past tense form of verbs wouldn’t be used after “it’s time”: It’s time we went home (not, It’s time we go home).
4. If English were not a crazy language, the plural verb wouldn’t follow a singular noun just because of “If”: If I were you (not, If I was you).
Indeed, English is a crazy language.
GAB
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