Know your English

"HOW WAS your trip to Madras? Was your sister happy to see you?''

"I don't know if she was happy to see me or not. But she was definitely happy to note that my water bottle was full."

"Your water bottle! What was so great about...''

"...there's an acute water shortage in Chennai. Things are really bad. If you were to walk into a stranger's house with a couple of bottles of water, he would welcome you with open arms!"

"It's that bad, eh? It's nice to know that your sister was happy to see your water bottle at least. Did you inform that you were planning to take up a job in Bombay?""No, I didn't. Besides, I haven't really decided whether..."

"...you should have informed that you were...."

"....informed her."

"What?"

"You should have informed her. You cannot say 'You should inform' or 'She informed'. You don't merely 'inform', you 'inform someone' of something. You have to let the listener know who that someone is. Here is an example. I informed Bala that there would be a meeting tomorrow."

"Would it be wrong to say 'I informed that there would be a meeting tomorrow'?"

"Yes, it would."

"I see. Then how about this example? The Principal informed some of the students that there would be no school tomorrow."

"Wishful thinking on your part. But the example is fine. The Manager informed Madhuri that he was taking the rest of the day off."

"The teacher informed me that I had done fairly well in the test. How does that sound?"

"Sounds great! I must say that you cotton on fast."

"I `cotton on' fast. What's that supposed to mean?"

"Why don't you try and guess the meaning?"

"Well, let me see. I gave you an example and then you said that it was right. And then....Does cotton on mean that I understand things quickly?"

"Well done. When you `cotton on' to something, you begin to understand it or realise it."

"Is it an expression that is used often?"

"It is an expression used by native speakers of English in informal contexts."

"I see. How about this example then? At long last Harish cottoned on to the fact that Chitra wasn't interested in him at all."

"That's a pretty good example. Most of the students cottoned on to what the teacher was trying to say."

"That never happens in my case. Especially when it comes to Physics. Whenever my Physics teacher says something, it takes me at least half an hour to cotton on to what it is she is saying."

"That's because you don't cotton to physics like some of your other classmates."

"Cotton to? You mean cotton on to, don't you?"

"No, I mean `cotton to'. Here is an example. Jaya doesn't cotton to Karunanidhi."

"That example makes everything clear. Everyone knows that the two can't stand each other. So does `cotton to' mean to like someone."

"Very good. When you `cotton to' someone or something, you like the person or thing. Here's another example."

"Wait, wait! Let me come up with one. At the meeting the Manager came up with an excellent idea. Unfortunately, the Chairman didn't cotton to the idea."

"The heroine of the film didn't cotton to all the attention that the new hero was getting."

"It's not at all surprising that Namratha and Krishna didn't cotton to each other."

"That's a pretty good example. Now then, how about..."

"....by the way, how is your friend Namratha doing? Last I heard she was trying to find a job. Has she found one?"

"Didn't I tell you about Namratha? She won the lottery about six months ago. And since then she has been in tall cotton."

"Not cotton again."

"You don't cotton to expressions with the word cotton, do you? Anyway, any idea what 'in tall cotton' means?"

"Not a clue."

"When you say that someone is in `tall cotton' it means that he or she has life made. The person is fairly successful and has absolutely no problems with money."

"I wish I were living in tall cotton."

"Who doesn't? The two Ministers were in tall cotton till the CBI figured out what it was that they were doing."

"Can I say the two Ministers were in tall cotton till the CBI cottoned on to what they were doing?"

"You certainly can."

"How about this example? Twenty years from now I hope to be in tall cotton."

"Sounds good to me. By the way, the expression 'in tall cotton' is considered to be slang. So it should be used only in informal contexts."

"I'll try and remember that!"

"Hey, where are you off to?"

"Nagu's brother is leaving for Chennai tomorrow. Apparently he and his mother in law just don't get along."

"So how are you going to solve their problem?"

"Simple. I am going to ask him to carry about ten bottles of water."

"You have just given me an idea. I think you and I can become rich by selling water to our relatives in Chennai!"

"We'll be in tall cotton then."

* * *

"I told my wife that a husband is like a fine wine; he gets better with age. The next day, she locked me in the cellar." - Anonymous

S. Upendran

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