English for Today by Ganiu Abisoye Bamgbose (Dr GAB)
SAFE or SAVE?
Safe is an adjective and it means to be protected from danger. Usually, it comes after verbs such as: be, is, are, am, remain:
Be save wherever you are (nonstandard).
Be safe wherever you are (standard).
Save is a verb and it means to keep safe or rescue. Usually, it follows the subject of a sentence or comes after the preposition ‘to’:
Only God can safe us (nonstandard).
Only God can save us (standard).
Now, put yourself to the test
- We can only be __ by His grace.
- _ yourself by doing all it takes to keep _.
- They seem __ with her.
- The government will __ the economy from collapse by relaxing the lockdown.
- Relaxing the lockdown isn’t to say you’re completely __ to go out.
GAB
