Archives: May 2019

Prof. Kev Nair's Tips on English Usage

COMPREHENSIVE FLUENT-ENGLISH USAGE™

May 22, 2019

sky: Correct usage 2

skies

The word ‘sky’ has a plural form. It’s “skies”.

Now, under what circumstances can you use this plural form “skies”?

There are three inter-related ways of using the word skies. And you can notice one thing from them: The word skies is generally used when you want to refer to the appearance of the sky.

Firstly, the word skies is often used to refer to the sky when you’re describing the weather:

We had clear skies in the morning, but cloudy skies in the evening.

The skies soon became dull/overcast/stormy/bright/sunny.

Secondly, you can use skies to refer to the sky in a particular place or part of the world or country:

The skies in that state/region/country are usually moonless/star-lit/starry at night.

They call their place the land of blue skies, cloudless blue skies.

Thirdly, you can also use skies to refer to the vast/wide expanse of the sky.

She loves lying on her back, gazing at the big/huge/vast/wide skies.

A trek across the mountains under the clear, open skies. That’s what I’m looking forward to.

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May 29, 2019

“no any": What’s the correct usage?

We often find ourselves having to stress what we’re saying in negative statements. Yes, in negative statements. What many people, even educated people, often do is this: They use a wrong combination “no any”:

There was ~~no any~~ reason for him to say that.

Mind you, this is wrong usage. Yes, wrong. One you should avoid at all costs. Say instead:

There was no reason at all for him to say that.

Here are a few more examples:

We had ~~no any~~ difficulty completing the project.

Say instead: “We had no difficulty at all completing the project”. Or, if you don’t want to stress what you’re saying, just say, “We had no difficulty completing the project” – without using any or at all.

There was ~~no any~~ question of his resigning.

Say instead: “There was no question at all of his resigning”. Or, if you don’t want to stress what you’re saying, just say “There was no question of his resigning” – without using any or at all.

He had received ~~no any~~ payment from them.

Say instead: “He had received no payment at all from them”. Or, if you don’t want to stress what you’re saying, just say, “He had received no payment from them” – without using any or at all.

Now, in certain contexts, if the sentence structure allows, you can also use “never”, instead of using a structure with “no” and “at all” (as in the above examples):

She had ~~no any~~ doubt in her mind that he was innocent.

Say instead: “She never had any doubt in her mind that he was innocent”.

During those days, he had ~~no any~~ desire to do such a thing.

Say instead: “During those days, he never had any desire to do such a thing”.

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