Past Participle: (Not Another Name for Pasta)

Alexander Ihenetu

Jun 2012 · Xlibris Corporation

About this ebook

In Past Participle author Alexander Ihenetu advises us to pay as much attention to our English grammar and usage as we pay to our sciences and mathematics. After all, he reasons, in professional and educated society, the most respected and confident are quite often impeccable with their English. He goes on to identify factors that negatively affect our English usage and they include: the multicultural and multiethnic nature of our society; the notion that grammar does not matter as long as people understand you; the polluting influence of street language; social media communication styles ; rap song and slang terminology; lack of preparation in classic Latin( the root of many English words and phrases); too much watching of television at the expense of passionate reading of novels, magazines and newspapers. Moreover, passage through high school and college is not always a guarantee of literacy and good writing skills. The author expresses surprise at the pervasive lack of use of the past participle tenses of English verbs in todays society. He therefore puts much emphasis on their accurate use through error examples, corresponding explanations and relevant corrections and remarks. Using seven hundred examples, he exposes widely-used expressions and phrases that abuse the basic rules of English grammar and syntax, including errors of redundancy, double negatives, subject and verb disagreement, nonstandard, colloquial and informal usage, incomplete, awkward and illogical sentences, wrong applications and wrong concepts, wrong spellings, non-existent words and so on.

Ratings and reviews

Saru

About the author

Alex C. Ihenetu, a United States citizen, migrated several years ago from the Ibo tribe of Eastern Nigeria and lives with his family in the United States. He holds a BS in chemistry from Boston State College, a BS in pharmacy from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and an MBA from Bryant College in North Smithfield, Rhode Island. He is a full-time staff pharmacist practicing in Boston, Massachusetts. He is an avid sports fan and loves to read and write poetry. He believes that the average college curriculum is so rich and rigorous in liberal arts education that a college graduate is equipped with enough English grammar skills to be proficient in the language. This may not always be the case. Alex has therefore chosen to address this issue in this book that reminds him of his high school English teacher and the teacher’s style of correction of English grammar papers. During Alex’s days in high school, English language proficiency was so important that without a pass in the subject, one could not qualify for a high school certificate from the Local Examinations Syndicate even if one scored (A)lphas in all other subjects, including vernacular languages. Reflecting on such colonial mentality and policy these days, however, Alex sees some injustice having been done to the vernacular culture of colonized nations despite the fact that a good foundation in English Language was helpful to their success in acquiring advanced western education.