English for Today by Ganiu Abisoye Bamgbose (GAB)
Dear Nigerians, you can’t use every word as a verb:
My phone will off if I on my data (wrong).
“Off” and “on” are not verbs so the sentence should read as: My phone will go off if I put on my data.
Tell her to on the generator (wrong).
“On” is not used as a verb in Standard English and so the sentence should read as: Tell her to put on the generator.
Tell her to low the volume of the television.
“Low” is either an adverb or an adjective and cannot be used as a verb. The sentence should therefore read as: Tell her to reduce the volume of the television.
Ganiu Abisoye Bamgbose (GAB)
Academic Advisor, Distance Learning Centre, University of Ibadan;
&
Doctoral Student of English, University of Ibadan.
