Birthday Anniversary?

Common Errors In English With Samuel Alimi

Today’s class is focused on tautological expressions we mistakenly use in our daily conversations. What exactly does tautology mean in English? According to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, it means “the redundant use of words, a pleonasm, and an unnecessary and tedious repetition.” I will take a trip down memory lane to expose some of these repetitions and note the corrections.

Serious entrepreneurs also prepare for the success of their businesses through their written ‘future plans’. Every person must plan to avoid living life with regrets. Whoever fails to plan must be ready to face catastrophic outcomes. Did you know that it is tautology to say ‘future plans’? According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a plan is “a set of decisions about how to do something in the future.” Did you notice the word ‘future’ in its meaning? Anything planned is for the future. Can you plan for yesterday?

Study the following examples:
Writing ten books is one of my future plans. (Wrong)
Writing ten books is one of my plans. (Correct)
One of my future plans is to travel to the United Kingdom. (Wrong)
One of my plans is to travel to the United Kingdom. (Correct)

Birthday or Birth Anniversary?
We love to celebrate our birthdays. Joyfully, we throw memorable parties and exchange cash and other special gifts to express our relationship with one another. However, it is time we learned the correct term between ‘birthday’ and ‘birth anniversary’. Using ‘birthday anniversary’ is incorrect. Have you noticed this error on invitation cards, banners, and souvenirs? Collins Cobuild Advanced Learner’s Dictionary explains that ‘birthday is the anniversary of the date on which you were born.” Please, do not attach ‘anniversary’ to ‘birthday’ again.

Read the following sentences:
I invited my best friend to my grandmother’s birthday anniversary. (Wrong)
I invited my best friend to my grandmother’s birth anniversary. (Correct)
Ngozi celebrated her 25th birthday anniversary in the United States. (Wrong)
Ngozi celebrated her 25th birthday in the United States. (Correct)

Gift or Free Gift?
What do you say when someone gives you a gift you never worked for? You are likely to also call it a ‘free gift’. When I was a teen, my father once bought a nice shirt for me. Upon arrival at school, I announced the ‘free gift’ I had received from him to my colleagues. You are probably wondering what went wrong with the word ‘free’. A gift means “something freely given to another”. Therefore, it is a ‘gift’, not a ‘free gift’. Do you pay for gifts? During your next birthday, anybody may decide to present a nice wristwatch to you.
Examples:
My friend presented a free gift to our teacher. (Wrong)
My friend presented a gift to our teacher. (Correct)
I was gifted a wristwatch free of charge. (Wrong)
I was gifted a wristwatch. (Correct)
Repeat or Repeat Again?
Repeat simply means “do or say again”. The word ‘again’ is already attached to its meaning. To avoid wordiness, write or say ‘repeat’. Learn from the sentences below:
Her father ordered her to repeat what she said again. (Wrong)
Her father ordered her to repeat what she said. (Correct)
Please, do not repeat the mistake again. (Wrong)
Please, do not repeat the mistake. (Correct)
Refund or Refund Back?
Entrepreneurs hold meetings with bank managers to seek approval for loan applications. In response, banks also request their assets to find out whether or not they have enough to refund their loans if they cannot repay. You may decide to borrow some money from your friends, and you also need to refund them to avoid losing your cordial relationship with them. I observe that some speakers and writers still use ‘refund back’. Anything refunded is back. Study the following examples:
My friend refunded the money I lent him. (Correct)
My friend refunded the money I lent him back. (Wrong)
Please, do not forget to refund the money you borrowed. (Correct)
Please, do not forget to refund the money you borrowed back. (Wrong)
This column is highly recommended to improve your writing and speaking skills. Do not miss it every Saturday!.

Assignment

Choose the correct answer to each of the following questions.
1. The principal ordered his driver to ———. (a) reverse back (b) reverse (c) reversed
2. Segun’s boss congratulated him on his ________. (a) innovation (b) new innovation (c) innovated
3. The man just _________ from Abuja. (a) returned back (b) return (c) returned
Kindly send your answers to samueltolulopealimi@gmail.com or 07049203179.
Names of students that got the answers to the last questions correctly.
Rasheed Fatah, Oluwah Goodluck, Samuel Adisa, Ayobami Safiyyah, Otukoya Gabriel, Akindunjoye Micheal, Onademuren Pathfinder, Yusuf Gbemiro.Yussuff Temitope, Alimi Racheal, Orishade Gbenga, Olive Alimi, Awoyemi Joseph, Ibrahim Bukola and Atanda Happiness,