English for Today by Ganiu Abisoye Bamgbose (Dr GAB)
Mind the S’s
You have to keep your ~surrounding~ neat (nonstandard).
You have to keep surroundings neat (standard).
Nobody knows his ~whereabout~ (nonstandard).
Nobody knows his whereabouts (standard).
He built a new company on the ~outskirt~ of the town (nonstandard).
He built a new company on the outskirts of the town (standard).
Are you satisfied with your ~earning~ (nonstandard)?
Are you satisfied with your earnings (standard)?
Note that just as they are in the plural forms, they should attract plural verbs.
Your surroundings is always dirty. ✖️
Your surroundings are always dirty. ✔️
His whereabouts is unknown to anyone. ✖️
His whereabouts are unknown to anyone. ✔️
GAB
