Which is correct? “To keep the wolf from/off the door”?

If you manage “to keep the wolf from the door”, you are earning enough money to survive — you have enough to eat.

*What Indu makes is barely enough to keep the wolf from the door. *Oh, don’t worry. This cheque will keep the wolf from the door.

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, September 13, 2004

Is it OK to say, “The subscriber you are calling is switched off”?

People will understand what it means. When an individual “switches off” he stops paying attention; he stops listening.

*The lecture was so boring that many people switched off after five minutes. *Whenever I am with my aunt, I tend to switch off.

Your example suggests that the “subscriber” is not picking up the phone because he is not paying attention. But that is not the case here, is it? He is not picking up the phone because he has switched off the phone; as a result, he cannot hear the phone ring. It is not the subscriber that is switched off, but the phone. A better way of saying the same thing would be, “The subscriber that you are calling has switched off the phone”, or “The number that you are calling has been switched off.”

 The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, September 06, 2004

Is it okay to say, “The convict would be hung tomorrow”?

No, it isn’t. Careful users of the language would prefer the use of “hanged” rather than “hung”. The word “hung” is usually used with objects and not with human beings.

Here are a few examples. *Sarita hung her new coat on the doorknob. *The outlaw who had killed 12 people was hanged at noon.

Will be /would be

Secondly, in your example, you should say, “will be hanged” rather than “would be hanged”. The use of “would” suggests that the event may not take place. For example, if you say, “I would help you”, it implies that you want to help me, but for some reason you are not in a position to. “I would help you if I could. But I can’t”. The use of “would” suggests a condition. “I would marry you,” for example, implies that you would consider marrying the person if certain other conditions were met — perhaps if he/she had more money, or had been more handsome/beautiful! These conditions are not going to be met; therefore, you are not going to marry the person! Your sentence should be “The convict will be hanged tomorrow.”

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, August 30, 2004

Which is correct? “Curd” or “curds”?

Both are correct. Usually in speech, we use the plural “curds”. Remember the nursery rhyme “Little Miss Muffet”? She was sitting on her tuffet and eating her “curds and whey”. We ask someone whether he would like to have “curds”. When the word is used before a noun, it has to be “curd” and not “curds”. We ask someone if he would like to have “curd rice” or “curd cheese”. In both these cases, the word “curds” cannot be used. Americans do not use “curd”, they prefer to use the word “yoghurt” instead.

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, August 23, 2004

Is it correct to say, “Both Rahul as well as Peter live in Hosur”?

No, it is not. In such a sentence you can either use “both” or “as well as”. You cannot include the two in the same sentence. You can say, “Both Rahul and Peter live in Hosur” or “Rahul, as well as Peter, lives in Hosur”. Notice that in the second case, the verb is “lives” and not “live”. When you use “as well as” the verb that follows usually agrees with the noun that precedes “as well as” — especially when “as well as” is separated by commas.

*The teacher, as well as the students, is going to Chennai.

*The students, as well as the teacher, are going to Chennai.

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, August 23, 2004

“I work for NATO” or “I work for the NATO”?

Well known organisations like the United Nations, British Broadcasting Corporation and Federal Bureau of Investigation are usually preceded by the definite article. The article is used even when the names have been abbreviated. If the abbreviated form of an organisation can be pronounced as a word, then the article is not required. For example, NATO and OPEC are usually pronounced as a word. In such cases, the article is not required. Therefore the answer to the question is, “I work for NATO”.

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, July 26, 2004.

‘Home’ preceded by ‘at’ or ‘to’ ?

You usually “arrive home”, you do not “arrive at home”.

Here are a few examples. *The newly appointed manager arrived home at ten o’clock. *As soon as Ganga reached home, she realised that something was wrong. *When Sachin arrived home, he went straight to bed.

Just as you don’t say, “arrive at home”, similarly you don’t say, “go to home”. Instead you say, “go home”.

*The young boy went home and took a nap. *I am going home to watch the game. *If you are planning to go home, can you give me a ride?

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, June 14, 2004.

Difference between it’s and its

`It’s’ is a contraction of `it is’ or `it has’. For example instead of writing `It is raining’, you can write, `It’s raining’. And instead of saying `It has been raining since yesterday’, I can say, `It’s been raining since yesterday’. `It’s’ is like `he’s’ and `she’s’.

 

“`Its’, on the other hand, indicates possession. It is normally used to indicate that something belongs or relates to a place or thing.

 

The cat is licking its paws. * “The baby is looking for its mother.” * “The dog tripped over its own feet.”

 

S. Upendran, The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, April 1, 2003