In the frenzy of my book editing engagements during the past five weeks, I almost overlooked a very precisely worded e-mail message sent to me by Mr. Candido Taguibao though his iPad. I checked him out on Facebook and I found out that he studied at the Cagayan Teachers College in Tuguegarao City (now the University of Cagayan Valley) and at present lives in Orange, California—personal information that I think partly explains the impressive precision of his English.
IMAGE CREDIT: SLIDESHARE.COMWhat I’ll do now is simply to quote his letter verbatim and answer his four insightful English-usage questions right after each is asked:
“Dear Mr. Carillo,
“I have the following to ask:
“1. I always hear on TV especially during live contests and beauty pageants on the Q&A where the host says, “Here’s your question.” Why “your question”? The question is meant for the contestant to answer, hence it is not the contestant’s question but the host’s question.”
My reply:You’re absolutely right that the question is meant for the contestant to answer, but neither is it her own question nor the host’s question in terms of ownership. This is because when the contest host tells the particular contestant “Here’s your question,” the host isn’t actually saying that it’s the host’s own question. It clearly refers to a specific and particular question among several scripted questions handed to the host by the contest board of judges. Very precisely therefore, the contest host is grammatically and semantically correct in saying “Here’s your question” and not saying “Here’s my question,” which would incorrectly attribute it as the host’s own question.
“2. When there are only two contestants left after a series of eliminations, or when there are two suitors trying to win a woman’s heart, I always hear (and I sometimes hear on live TV) ‘May the best man win.’ Why ‘best’ when there are only two contenders. Why not ‘May the better man win’?”
My reply:In the particular situation you described, the usage of the statement “May the best man win” is clearly idiomatic, not literal. In that sense, it will be grammatically and semantically correct—and perfectly applicable—if there are only two suitors trying to win a woman’s heart, and I think that to say “May the better man win” would have a false ring to it even if it’s the scrupulously grammatical usage for only two subjects. Of course, in the case of beauty contests with only two contenders left, it would be more prudent to say “May the better woman win” to avoid being accused of gender bias.
“3. I always hear on live PBA games, and sometimes on NBA, the sports commentator saying, ‘Both teams are tied at 75 apiece.’ Is ‘tied’ and ‘apiece’ redundant? Why not “The score is tied at 75,” or “The teams’ score is tied at 75”?
My reply:The language of sports is much more freewheeling, figurative, and pardonably excitable than the usual English narratives we hear or read about. My advice is therefore not to quibble over the grammar and redundancies of expressions like ‘Both teams are tied at 75 apiece.’ As sports writers and commentaries would say, “It’s par for the course,” which of course is a legitimate idiom that we shouldn’t subject to very strict grammar nitpicking.
“4. ‘This is the latest update of the news,’ as we commonly hear on TV. Is ‘latest’/‘update’ redundant?”
My reply:In the case of TV news reportage of ongoing events or live coverage of breaking news, the repeated use of such descriptives as “latest” and “update” may sound redundant but consider it forgivable. The broadcast media need them to perpetually catch our attention, so there’s no need to lose sleep over them.
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Proper punctuation is the mark of a good writer) October 22, 2020
This essay, 2,015th of the series, appeared in the column “English Plain and Simple” by Jose A. Carillo in the Campus Press section of the October 8, 2020 Internet edition of The Manila Times
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