My experience was nothing less than a case of
déjà vu, which, of course, is French for “a feeling that one has seen or heard something before.”
Let me tell you why:
When the funeral procession of the late former President Corazon Aquino was about to pass Rizal Park on the way to Manila Memorial Park last August 5, one of the network TV reporters covering the event approached a parked minibus loaded with women, all in yellow dress. The TV reporter was saying words to this effect: “These women
went here all the way from Tarlac to pay their respects to Tita Cory.” (Oh, I told myself, that guy wrongly used “went here” instead of “came here,” but I’m sure it’s just an isolated mistake; he will realize it soon enough and will make sure he won’t make the same mistake again.)
The TV reporter then thrust his portable microphone towards the women and proceeded to interview them in Tagalog. Afterwards, he faced the TV camera and recapitulated his reporting in English, again saying words to this effect: “So out of their love for their Tita Cory, these women
went here all the way from Tarlac despite the distance and great inconvenience.” (Oh, oh, I told myself, the guy has wrongly used “went here” instead of “came here” twice in succession, so I’m sure now that he still doesn’t know the semantic difference between “go” and “come” and their various inflections depending on tense. True enough, I caught him make the same mistake the third time during that particular moment in his coverage.)
But, you must be wondering by now, why did I say that this was a case of déjà vu?
Well, as I recount in the first chapter of my book
Give Your English the Winning Edge, it’s because I had actually witnessed an uncannily similar event and grammar situation in 2005 during the wake of the late Jaime Cardinal Sin, who as everybody will remember was instrumental along with Cory Aquino in bringing about the 1986 People Power Revolution.
Here’s my account of it in the book:
“For us to better appreciate the gravity of the problem, I would like to cite two serious cases of bad English usage that I had come across in the mass media. The first was during a field newscaster’s live coverage of the wake for a notable Roman Catholic prelate for one of the major English-language TV networks. The newscaster confidently said on camera: ‘The President
will go here and is expected anytime now.’ The mistaken usage of ‘go here’ being so obvious, I felt so sure that the newscaster would immediately correct himself and use ‘come here’ the next time around. But he remained blissfully unaware of the gaffe; in fact, he actually used ‘go here’ instead of ‘come here’ four or five more times in similar fashion when he referred to other high officials expected at the wake. It was a clear-cut case of basic English grammar not yet learned even at such an advanced stage in the TV reporter’s professional life (I think he was already approaching his mid-30s).
“So perhaps this is as good an opportunity as any to clarify once and for all when we should use ‘go’ or ‘come.’ Most of us already know, of course, that it depends on the point of view and position of the speaker or listener. For a movement away from the speaker, listener, or those referred to by the statement, we need to use ‘go’: ‘Let’s
go to the bank tomorrow.’ ‘They
will go to the park whether we like it or not.’ ‘We
will go to Europe next summer for a change.’ On the other hand, for a movement towards or approaching the place where the speaker is, we need to use ‘come’: ‘Please
come here at noon tomorrow.’ ‘We
came to discuss the changes in the contract.’ ‘They are
coming here tonight to help us plan the homecoming party.’ There’s really nothing so difficult about that, is there?”
Now, let me say that the only difference between then and now is that the TV reporter during the late Cardinal Sin’s wake wrongly used the present-tense “go” instead of using the present-tense “come,” and that the TV reporter at the late Cory Aquino’s wake wrongly used the past-tense “went” instead of the past-tense “came.” (No, if the thought somehow occurred to you, the TV news reporter then isn’t the same TV news reporter now—which makes at least two of them needing a refresher lesson on the verbs “come” and “go.”)
Anyway, just to make sure that the same momentous glitch in our TV coverage grammar history doesn’t repeat itself for the third time, let’s clarify the usage of “come” and “go” once and for all:
Come: Use “come” for the present tense, and “came” for the past tense, “will come” or “is/are coming” for the future tense, and “have/had come” for the perfect tenses in the case of a movement toward the speaker, listener, or those referred to by the statement, we need to use ‘go’:
Present tense: “The women
come to Manila to shop.”
Past tense: “The women
came to Manila to shop.”
Future tense: “The women
will come to Manila to shop.”
“The women
are coming to Manila to shop.”
Perfect tense: “The women
have/had come to Manila to shop.”
Go:Use “go” for the present tense, and “went” for the past tense, “will go” or “is/are going” for the future tense, and “have/had gone” for the perfect tenses in the case of a movement away from the speaker, listener, or those referred to by the statement, we need to use ‘go’:
Present tense: “The women
go to Manila to shop.”
Past tense: “The women
went to Manila to shop.”
Future tense: “The women
will go to Manila to shop.”
“The women
are going to Manila to shop.”
Perfect tense: “The women
have/had gone to shop.”
Amen.
Even worse than bad English syntaxIt looks like apart from losing grip on English syntax, the reporting of some print, broadcast, and online media even took a morbid turn during the funeral rites for the late Philippine President Corazon Aquino last August 5. I suppose we can all blame it to mental fatigue and to the infectious grief-cum-euphoria over the momentous event.
Read “Morbid media mix-up: ‘Gloria Aquino’ is dead” in the Philippine Daily Inquirer-----
What do you think of the state of English usage in the Philippine media today? Has it improved or has it worsened? Why do you think so? Click the Reply button to post your thoughts on Jose Carillo’s English Forum.
