COMMON ERRORS IN ENGLISH WITH SAMUEL ALIMI
The Nigerian political landscape is gradually shifting towards the 2027 general election, with several newspaper headlines and content across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and other social media platforms highlighting the preparations of political parties’ primary objective to win and secure positions. However, today’s article focuses on the common errors often associated with political discussions for grammatical lessons. This is without any affiliation to politicians or their manifestos, as this page in the Peoples Daily remains purely educative.
According to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), a total of 1,379,342 interested applicants participated in the online pre-registration process conducted from August 18 to 24, 2025. This is a commendable development as it shows that citizens are highly interested in exercising their electoral rights.
Cast / Casted
One of the most commonly misused words during elections that has no recognition in standard English is “casted.” None of the authoritative dictionaries record it as the past tense or past participle of the verb cast.
The correct form of the verb is cast in both present and past usages. Therefore, expressions such as “I have casted my vote” or “The votes casted during the election were void and nullified by the tribunal” are erroneous. The proper usage should be “I have cast my vote” and “The votes cast during the election were void and nullified by the tribunal.”
According to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, cast, in this context, means “to vote for somebody or something.”
Have you cast your vote?
It is not wrong to cast one’s vote for the opposition party as a public servant.
We cast our votes for the governorship candidate because of his past achievements in the Ministry of Justice as Attorney General.
They had cast their votes for the local government chairman before thugs caused pandemonium at the polling unit.
These examples clearly show that “casted” is incorrect, as cast does not take “-ed” in any tense.
Aspirant vs. Candidate
During election seasons, these two terms are often misused. In 2023, more than 40 presidential aspirants from various political parties procured nomination forms and began mobilizing delegates for support. However, at that stage, they were not yet candidates.
Referring to them as “candidates” is incorrect because true candidacy only begins when an individual officially emerges as their party’s representative in an election.
To clarify, the Cambridge Dictionary defines a candidate as “a person who is competing to get a job or elected position.”
Correct usage:
The All Progressives Congress presidential candidate Bola Ahmed Tinubu was declared the winner of the 2023 election.
40 aspirants wrote a petition against the emergence of the newly elected candidate of the primary election, alleging vote buying and intimidation of delegates.
Incorrect usage:
The All Progressives Congress presidential aspirant Bola Ahmed Tinubu was declared the winner of the 2023 election.
40 candidates wrote a petition against the emergence of the newly elected aspirant of the primary election.
In short: An aspirant seeks the ticket, while a candidate holds it.
ASSIGNMENT
Please attempt the following questions:
1. Which of the following is the correct past tense form of the verb “cast”?
(a) Casted
(b) Casting
(c) Cast
(d) Caster
2. Who is referred to as an aspirant in political discussions?
(a) A person already declared winner of an election
(b) A person officially representing a party in an election
(c) A person seeking to obtain a party’s ticket before primaries
(d) A person announcing election results
3. The presidential _________ Bola Ahmed Tinubu was declared the winner of the 2023 election.
(a) candidate
(b) aspirant
(c) representative
(d) director
Kindly forward your answers to samueltolulopealimi@gmail.com or 07049203179 via SMS.
Names of those who answered the last questions correctly:
Abdullahi Nuhu, Korede Adewale, Sultan Moses, Agbolade Ifakorede, Uchenna Phillips. Bala Uthman, Eze Solomon, Adewale Olarewaju, Solomon Ashey, Ahmed Roqeeb, John Solomon, Adebayo Bukola, Okere Chigozie, Phillip Solomon, Wilson Racheal, Adeyemi Abigael, Alimi Olive, Adedigba Emmanuel, Eze John, Abdullahi Nuhu, Bello Sulaimon, Bankole Richard, Yahyah Aisha, Oladunjoye Oluwafemi, and Bello Sulaimon
