MISUSING WORD CLASSES

English for Today by Ganiu Abisoye Bamgbose (Dr GAB)

MISUSING WORD CLASSES

You like to take things ~serious~ (nonstandard).
You like to take things seriously (standard).
Note that “take” is a verb and can only be modified by an adverb; hence, the choice of “seriously”.

The salary ~commensurates~ her effort (nonstandard).
The salary is commensurate with her effort (standard). The word “commensurate”, which means to correspond in size, extent, amount or degree, is an adjective and should not be used as a verb as seen in the nonstandard sentence.

I want to ~toilet~ (nonstandard).
I want to go the toilet (standard). Toilet, which is primarily a noun, is used as a verb mainly to mean assisting or supervising (someone, especially an infant or invalid) in using a toilet.
GAB