“You look really busy. I’ll come back later.”
“No, no! Come on in! I could really use a break.”
“Are all these files related to the project that you and your boss are working on?”
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“That’s right! But these are just half the files. My boss is going through the other half.”
“It must be nice to have a boss who works as hard as you do.”
“Do you seriously think he is going to read the files? No chance. He’ll probably get one of his lapdogs to do it.”
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“Lapdog? What are you talking about?”
“A lapdog is usually a weak individual who does whatever someone tells him to.”
“I see. Since this individual is always under the control of someone else, I guess ‘lapdog’ is normally used to show disapproval.”
“That’s right! The word can be used with organisations as well. For example, the local news channel is nothing more than the Government’s lapdog.”
“Most people think that our coach is the captain’s lapdog.”
“That’s a good example. In 2003, people accused Tony Blair of being George Bush’s lapdog.”
“I remember that. Quite a few politicians put up a statement saying ...”
“You generally don’t ‘put up’ a statement. One usually ‘puts out’ a statement.”
“But is it correct to say ‘put out a statement’?”
“It certainly is. When you put out a statement, you issue a statement to the media. They, in turn, make the information available to the public. For example, the accused put out a statement denying that he had done anything wrong.”
“We are waiting to hear from the Leader of the Opposition. She should be putting out a statement soon.”
“Why are your pants so dirty?”
“Oh that! My friends and I went to the park, and we sat in the grass.”
“You sat ‘in’ the grass or ‘on’ the grass?”
“Is it wrong to say in the grass?”
“No, no! In terms of grammar, it is possible to say ‘in’ and ‘on’ the grass. But there is a difference in meaning.”
“Really? What is the difference?”
“In the grass suggests that the grass was pretty high or tall. So when you sit down in such grass, others cannot see you. You remain hidden.”
“Tigers and lions hide in the grass to catch prey.”
“That’s right! Sitting on the grass suggests that the grass was not tall at all. Usually in parks and gardens, we sit on the grass.”
“The grass in the park that we went to had been mown recently. So, we sat on the grass and watched the ducks swim by.”
“I understand there are quite a few ducks this year.”
“Yes, there are more number of ducks this year than last year.”
“You don’t need to say ‘more number of’. It sounds clumsy. ‘More’ will do. For example, there were more people at the concert this year than last year.”
“More students are deciding to specialise in English.”
“I wish more politicians would choose to be honest.”
“Then they wouldn’t be politicians, would they?”
******
“Journalists should be watchdogs, not lapdogs.” — Newton Lee