151. Ways of Using Compass Words

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Compass words like “North” are usable with various confusing partner words and adjective endings

COMPASS WORDS IN ENGLISH

By “compass words”, I mean North, South, East and West (used both alone and in combinations like North-West and South-South-East), plus related forms with the  endings -ward(s), -ern and -erly, such as southern and southerly, whose pronunciation features in 41. Unexpected Vowels in Derived Words. Compass words can easily occur in academic and professional writing because most of its varieties need sometimes to say where something is (see 295. Options in Saying Where).

There are a number of ways in which compass words can be used in English. The aim here is to describe, illustrate and explain as many of these as possible, and to offer some general guidelines for avoiding errors with them that are sometimes made by speakers whose mother tongue is not English.

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COMPASS NOUNS WITH NO PRECEDING PREPOSITION

North, South etc. are most often nouns, filling the standard noun positions. They may be written either with or without a capital letter (see 62. Choices with Capital Letters). When they are the subject, object or complement of a verb, they usually indicate a subdivision of a previously-identified country or area, a meaning that requires them to be used after the:

(a) The north is wild and uninhabited.

The reason for the is that simple compass words used as nouns are normally countable, a characteristic typically requiring their singular form to have the or a or equivalent (see 110. Nouns without “the” or “a”), and the is better than a because a “unique” concept is being expressed (there is only one north, south, east and west in any particular place).

There is, however, one use of simple compass words in the subject, object or complement position where adding the is optional. This is when they represent the ultimate compass points of the whole world:

(b) (The) West is where the sun sets.

Apart from this, a basic compass word with neither the nor a preposition before it has to be understood as an adverb rather than a noun:

(c) Deforestation means the Sahara is moving south.

If south here was truly a noun, it would be the object of moving – naming something being moved – and would hence indicate nonsensically that the movement belonged to south rather than the Sahara. The actual meaning of south here, of course, is “in a southward direction”, the idea of “direction” being a common one of adverbs (see 120. Six Things to Know about Adverbs, #1).

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COMPASS NOUNS AFTER A PREPOSITION

Basic compass words are easily usable as nouns after a preposition, often one that itself has an adverb before it (e.g. far to the north, right across the east: see 262. Adverbs that Describe a Preposition). A particularly common preposition is to. However, its meaning is not always the same. The following are different ways of interpreting to the south:

I) DIRECTIONAL ADJECTIVE OR ADVERB (= “towards to the South Pole”). The adjective use would follow a noun like movement; the adverb one a verb like moving. This meaning of to the south is the same as that of south by itself in (c).

II) DIRECTIONAL ADJECTIVE OR ADVERB (= “into the south of a particular area”). Examples are:

(d) ADJECTIVE) Routes to the south (of Europe) are likely to meet mountains.

(e) (ADVERB) Young people are going to the south (of their country) to find work.

When sentences like these are spoken in a more northern part of the same area, to the south can be replaced informally by down south. Related expressions are up north (spoken in the south) and out east/ west.

III) POSITIONAL ADJECTIVE OR ADVERB (= “just beyond the southern border”). This use says where something is rather than where it is going:

(f) (ADJECTIVE) A country to the south (of Turkey) is Syria.

(g) (ADVERB) The main Silk Road passes to the north (of Afghanistan).

We understand here that Syria and the main Silk Road are respectively just beyond the borders of Turkey and Afghanistan. This understanding could also be an alternative one of (d): instead of referring to routes going into the south of Europe, (d) could be about routes existing just beyond that south. The fact that the positional usage of to the is about the outside of a particular region, rather than the inside that the directional usage involves, is a key point to remember.

When to the expresses a position, as in (f) and (g), it can be dropped to create a subtly different meaning: not “just beyond” (= “touching”) but “somewhere beyond” (= not necessarily touching). For example, Syria in (f) is implied to touch Turkey‘s southern border, but without to the only its more southerly location would be implied. And if Syria was replaced by Yemen, to the would have to be dropped in order not to falsely imply a common border with Turkey.

Besides to, other common prepositions usable before the + compass word are across, from, in and out of. They have their normal meanings. In the cannot be directional like to the, but it can still be replaced by the more informal up or down (used with positional meaning) if the speaker is in the opposite part of the same region, e.g. is down south (= is in the south). Up and down can also follow BE without a compass word to mean “visiting from the south/ north” (see 154. Lone Prepositions after BE).

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COMPASS WORDS IN ADJECTIVE POSITIONS

Some adjective-like uses of compass words require -ern or -erly, while others keep the base forms, rather like nouns acting as adjectives (see 38. Nouns Used like Adjectives). Readers are invited to analyse the following common expressions in search of rules for choosing between the different possibilities:

a north wind

a southerly breeze

an easterly direction/course

East London

Southern Ireland/France/Italy

South Germany/China

New South Wales

Southern Europe/Africa

South Africa/North Korea

West(ern) Africa

North/South America

The West Indies

Western Samoa

The South Pole/The North Star

The Southern Cross

My feeling about these is that no definitive rules can be given because there are so many anomalies and exceptions. However, I offer the following observations. The -ly ending indicates direction, either towards or away from the compass point. A southerly breeze is usually understood as coming from the south, but an easterly direction would likely be towards the east (unless it had from in front).

The absence of -ly before wind is interesting. I suspect that it indicates generality – no link with a particular place or time, like this:

(h) A/The south-west wind brings rain.

Conversely, -ly words might be preferred when talking about a wind in a specific place at a specific time:

(i) A northerly wind was blowing when the ship set sail.

For more on the difference between general and specific meaning, see 89. Using “the” with General Meaning.

East London in the list above is part of a city. Most city parts seem to be expressed with basic compass words, though exceptions can probably be found (Western Paris?). I would suggest that a basic compass word indicates a widely-recognised city district, while one with –ern is vaguer. In Britain, a basic compass word is sometimes placed after a city name instead of before – e.g. Bristol South-West – indicating a district whose people elect a politician to represent it (see 137. Words that Reflect English Culture).

A further clue to the use of -ern is perhaps obtainable from the difference between South Africa (the country) and Southern Africa (the whole of Africa south of the Equator, including South Africa). The names of countries usually seem to have the basic compass word, while parts of countries and of continents prefer -ern. Other country parts with -ern include Southern England, Eastern USA and Western Peru.

Exceptions to this trend can usually be explained away. The countries of Southern Ireland and Western Samoa perhaps have -ern because they originated (in colonial times) as parts of larger countries. On the other hand, the country parts of South China and South Germany may lack -ern because they are large enough to be countries in their own right (indeed South Germany was once very like one). Alternatively, these regions may have some political as well as geographical status, just as New South Wales does.

The reason for not saying *Northern (and *Southern) America might be that these regions are thought of as whole continents, not parts of one. Less easy to explain, however, is the continental subdivision West Africa, which seems more common than Western Africa. Perhaps both are possible, but the former has become more popular for an unknown reason.

Finally, the trend of using basic compass words for wholes and -ern words for parts (except in cities) also seems evident in The South Pole and The North Star. These are not just in the south/north, they are those ultimate points. On the other hand, the star constellation known as The Southern Cross is just a feature of the sky in the Southern Hemisphere.

150. Verb Choices with Reported Speech

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Verbs introducing reported speech often indicate the kind of message being reported

CHARACTERISTICS OF REPORTING VERBS

One of the characteristics of reported speech, both direct and indirect, is that it rarely forms a sentence by itself – it tends to have some words alongside it that are not reported speech. One of these other words is nearly always a verb. Sometimes, such a verb does not itself introduce the reported speech, but merely helps another word – a noun like question, for example – to do so, e.g. raises the question of… (see 287. Speech and Thought Nouns). Often, however, the verb next to reported speech is the main introducer, like this:

(a) Smith (2014, p. 42) ARGUES that sustained sporting success is impossible without money.

What is interesting about argues here is that it does more than just show there to be a statement within a statement: it also suggests that that statement is an opinion rather than a fact (see 107. The Language of Opinions).

Suggesting an extra meaning of one kind or another seems, indeed, to be a common role of reporting verbs. In this post I hope to show the truth of that, and also to set out some of the more common contexts where it might occur, as well as the variety of extra meanings that can be communicated.

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MEANINGS OF REPORTING VERBS

The basic meaning of reporting verbs is some kind of “saying”, such as argues in (a), or of “thinking”, such as KNOW, BELIEVE or REALISE. “Saying” includes communication by non-human objects on behalf of humans, such as graphs, by means of verbs like SHOW and ILLUSTRATE (see 104. Naming Data Sources with “as”). If the reported speech is another writer’s, the verbs chosen are sometimes called “citation” verbs (see 76. Tenses of Citation Verbs).

Extra meaning beyond “saying” or “thinking” is conveyed by many statement-reporting verbs and nearly all verbs with reported questions and “commands”.

1. Verbs Introducing Reported Statements

The basic choices here, indicating not much more than “saying”, include MENTION, SAY and STATE. The passive BE TOLD – where the subject is no longer the reported speaker – is similarly neutral, as are active equivalents like HEAR and UNDERSTAND (see 27. How to Avoid Passive Verbs). There is also a special use of GO (see 176. Ways of Using “Go”, #1).

Of the others, many additionally suggest that the reported statement represents either a fact or an opinion. Examples of fact verbs are APPRECIATE, INDICATE, KNOW, LEARN, NOTE, POINT OUT, SHOW and RECOGNISE; examples of “opinion” verbs are ARGUE, BELIEVE, REJECT and THINK. For more examples, see 107. The Language of Opinions and 152. Agreeing and Disagreeing in Formal Contexts.

A notable subgroup of opinion-showing verbs reports statements about the future (a topic that is by definition rarely factual). Consider the following future-referring direct statement:

(b) The new law will reduce unemployment.

If this is uttered by a government official, its role is likely to be interpreted as a promise, whereas coming from economic observers it would more likely be seen as a prediction. In reporting it, either of these two different views can be made explicit through the choice of introductory verb: The government promises… in the first case and Observers predict… in the second.

Other verbs that can introduce a reported opinion about the future include ANTICIPATE, DOUBT, ENVISAGE, EXPECT, FORECAST, HOPE, PLEDGE, THREATEN and VOW (see 316. Future Verbs without “Will” or “Shall”, #2). Note that these verbs can introduce an indirect statement that is not a report as well as one that is: beginning I predict (that)…, for example, would not be reporting but would still involve indirect speech (see 127. When to Use Indirect Speech).

Another common additional meaning communicated by statement-reporting verbs, either alongside or instead of the fact/ opinion one, is an indication of the role, status or function of the reported speech. DEFINE, for example, leaves no doubt that it is a definition. Other examples are AGREE (see 317. Tricky Word Contrasts 13, #2), COMPLAIN, CRITICISE, DESCRIBE, EXPLAIN, GUARANTEE, NOTE, NOTICE (see 132. Tricky Word Contrasts 4, #4), PROMISE, QUOTE, (see 79. Fitting Quotations into a Text), REPORT, SUGGEST, SUMMARISE, THREATEN and WARN.

Verbs of this kind include many that, unlike ARGUE in (a), cannot combine with that. Examples in the list above are underlined. For the main alternatives to that, see 279. Grammatical Differences between Citation Verbs.

A further group of statement-reporting verbs indicates not the function of the statement but the way it was originally presented. For example, EMPHASISE indicates forcefulness, HIGHLIGHT shows focus and HINT evokes implicitness.

Finally, there are a few statement-reporting verbs that indicate a sentence link (defined in this blog in 18. Relations between Sentences). Consider the following words of an imaginary writer Jones (2015):

(c) It is commonly observed that price rises reduce sales. The reason is that many consumers are willing or able to pay no more than a specific amount for a commodity.

The meaning link between these two sentences, indicated by the underlined words, is one of “cause” or “reason”. Another writer wanting to repeat all of (b) would probably not need to reference the information in the first sentence because it is common knowledge, but perhaps would need to reference the reason given in the second sentence (making it into either an exact quotation, or a paraphrase constructed as advised in 80. How to Paraphrase).

The simplest way to link in the author’s name is with the verb SAY: Jones (2015) says that this is because … . A much more elegant way, however, is with a reporting verb whose very meaning includes the idea of “reason”, like this: Jones (2015) attributes this to… (see 306. Ways of Giving a Reason, #3).

There are a number of other reporting verbs that similarly indicate a possible sentence link. PUT…DOWN TO is a less formal equivalent of ATTRIBUTE…TO (see 72 Causal Prepositions, final paragraph); ILLUSTRATE can report exemplification (suggesting for example); CONCLUDE can report inferencing (as shown by therefore); IDENTIFY, LIST, NAME and SPECIFY can report specification of a more general idea (see 117. Restating Generalizations More Specifically); DISTINGUISH can report a difference (suggesting on the other hand); CONCEDE a “concession” (suggesting may – see 51. Making Concessions with “May”); and RELATE … TO a similarity (similarly).

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2. Verbs Reporting Questions

The extra meaning that question-reporting verbs usually carry alongside that of “saying” or “thinking” is “asking”, “explaining” or “knowing” (see 57. Indirect Questions in Formal Writing). There are numerous ways of including these verbs alongside a reported question (see 219. Wording next to Indirect Questions, #1).

Common asking verbs in formal writing include ACCOUNT FOR, ADDRESS, ANALYSE, APPRECIATE, ASCERTAIN, ASK, ASSESS, CLARIFY, COMPREHEND, CONSIDER, DETERMINE, DISCOVER, DISCUSS, ENQUIRE, ESTABLISH, EVALUATE, EXAMINE, EXPLORE, FIND OUT, IDENTIFY, INVESTIGATE, QUERY, QUESTION, SEE, UNCOVER, UNDERSTAND and WONDER. Some of these can also be explaining (see below). For the difference between QUERY and QUESTION, see 218. Tricky Word Contrasts 8, #2.

Common explaining verbs include ACCOUNT FOR, ASSESS, CLARIFY, CONSIDER, DEMONSTRATE, DESCRIBE, EXPLAIN, HIGHLIGHT, ILLUSTRATE, INDICATE, OUTLINE, REVIEW, SAY, SEE, SHOW, SPECIFY, STATE, SUMMARISE, SURVEY and TELL. Many are typical of essay questions (see 94. Essay Instruction Words). Verbs of knowing include APPRECIATE, BE MYSTIFIED, BE PUZZLED, KNOW, REALISE, RECOGNISE, SEE and UNDERSTAND. 

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3. Verbs Reporting “Commands”

Reported commands tend to accompany a speaking rather than thinking verb, since commands cannot usually exist if nobody can hear them! However, they are less easily characterised than statements or questions. This becomes especially clear when indirect reporting is given consideration. The most typical indirect command form comprises an object of the command verb, indicating who is being commanded, and a verb in the infinitive form (with to) representing the command itself, like this:

(d) Caesar ordered     his army      to attack.

For numerous verbs with this use, see 208. Verbs with an Object + Infinitive, #1.

The problem is that some sentences with the above structure are clearly indirect speech but not commands, and some indirect command sentences do not have this structure. Sentences of the first kind might be introduced by a speech verb like ADVISE or PERSUADE. These alternative meanings mirror the numerous non-command meanings of verbs in the imperative form (see 128. Imperative Verbs in Formal Writing). Sentences of the second kind might express the command with just an action noun (…ordered an attack), or an -ing verb (…recommend returning) or even a that statement (…said that they should…).

As a result, coursebooks usually widen indirect “commands” to include advice and persuasion, and also variant structures, thereby greatly increasing the speech verb choice. The best generalization that I can find for indirect command verbs is that they indicate speech aimed at making other people think or act as desired by their subject. I do not think there is a general verb for this meaning, like SAY for statements, nor even a small group of verbs, like ASK, KNOW and EXPLAIN for questions, and this is perhaps why indirect commands are generally harder to compose.

The more precise meaning of individual indirect “command” verbs – advice, command, instruction, recommendation, suggestion etc. – is another example of the additional meaning carried by verbs with reported speech.

Verbs that always have the target action as their object rather than an addressee are illustrated by PROHIBIT (prohibited entry). Verbs like PROPOSE, RECOMMEND and SUGGEST allow either this or a that statement. For more on RECOMMEND, see 187. Advising and Recommending. TELL meaning “advise” can only have an object + that statement (see 217. Tricky Grammar Contrasts, #4).

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PRACTICE EXERCISE: VERBS WITH INDIRECT COMMANDS

The variety of meanings and grammatical requirements of indirect “command” verbs makes their use a challenge. For practice, here are some direct “commands” that could be put into indirect form after a suitable verb. Which verb is best each time (answers below)?

1. (A teacher to young children) “Don’t be afraid to ask for help”.

2. (A TV announcer) “If you would like to take part, call this number”.

3. (A child to its mother) “Please, please buy this for me”.

4. (A police officer to a motorist) “Don’t forget to wear your seatbelt”.

5. (A travel agent) “Take a taxi to save time”.

6. (A doctor) “If you feel unwell, contact the hospital immediately”.

7. (A teacher to a young child) “Go and wash your hands immediately”.

8. (A lecturer to students) “Check this out in the textbook”.

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Answers: Most of the sentences allow more than one choice of reporting verb. My suggestions are 1-ENCOURAGE;  2-INVITE;  3-BEG/ENTREAT;  4-REMIND;  5-RECOMMEND/ADVISE;  6-URGE;  7-ORDER;  8-REFER…TO.