- I belong to
Ahmedabad.
This expression reminds me of the past era. It is a
kind of allegiance to any ruler. It looks as if you show your allegiance to a city.
Yes, when somebody asks you where you are from. Better say the following way:
I come from Ahmedabad or I am from Ahmedabad.
- She is doing
her graduation in Cincinnati.
The moment I hear the word ‘graduation’, it reminds me
of my graduation ceremony day, dressing up in a gown and cap to receive the
degree certificate after studying a three-year undergraduate degree. But it is
not the case in India. ‘Doing graduation’ refers to the full undergraduate or
graduate degree. It does not say about the one special day for which students
wait anxiously in life. ‘I did my graduation at the University of
Toronto’ is the equivalent of saying ‘I studied for my degree at the University
of Toronto’ – in the context of India.
- I passed
out of college last year.
As per the Oxford dictionary, the phrasal verb ‘to pass out’ means ‘to become unconscious’.
Therefore, if I put this statement into a literal translation, it comes out
like ‘I became unconscious at the college last year’. Do we mean this? I guess
not. It should be, “I graduated last year”.
- My sister
is convent-educated.
So, the meaning of convent-educated in the context of
India is somebody who has studied in a school where the medium of instruction
was English. Parents proudly mention this expression on matrimonial ads/websites.
There was a time when teaching in India was generally delivered by members of
the clergy, but it is not the case anymore. The choice is yours whether you
want to use this expression or not.
The ‘Grammarly Blog’ describes this expression in a
cogent way. The writer or speaker here wants to say is ‘do that which is
needed’ or ‘do what needs to be done’.
“If it sounds too chunky or vague to you, or if your
audience will be unfamiliar with it, you can politely ask people to do what you
need them to do instead”.
- My father is
out of station.
I don’t really understand the rationale behind this statement. There could be many stations in the town, such as the railway station, bus station, and other types of stations. Which station is referred to here? It can simply be said like this: My father is away or My father is not present in the place.
There is no word such as prepone in the English
language, but it has certainly been invented by Indians. Yes, it has been added
to the dictionary because it has widely been used in India. Let’s put this word
in the context: I am out of my station next week so I will prepone this job
tomorrow.
The right way of speaking: I will do this job tomorrow as I
am away next week.
420 is an Indian Penal Code (IPC) which states
cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property. In a way, it attributes
to the IPC for a cheat. Why complicate? Make it simple by saying: He is
a thug.
- My neighbor
is foreign-returned.
All right, so this expression also stems from the
family of convent-educated. People in India perceive valuable studying or
living abroad and when somebody returns to India after living another country,
they are called as foreign-returned. However, there is no such expression
anywhere in the world but in India. It is an asset in the matrimonial adverts,
too.
- My teacher is standing/sitting on my head.
It is a colloquial way of comparing. If your teacher
is standing or sitting on your head, tell him to get down and make a complaint
to the principal.
My teacher is stressing me out.
- He was doing this thing and that thing.
It is another colloquial way of comparing. He
was doing all sorts of things, wasting my time.
- Do one thing.
It is a common expression while suggesting or ordering
someone to do something, but it also brings some laughing. The right way of
speaking is ‘There is one thing you could do’.
- Aakash is my cousin brother:
We never use a brother or a sister after the noun ‘cousin’.
The word ‘cousin’ itself proves a relationship. Aakash is my cousin.
- According to me…
According to someone or anyone is all acceptable but
not according to me. Grammatically some sentence structures cannot be
challenged, but their finesse and usage will certainly be questionable.
‘According to me’ is one among them. There is no such expression. The right one
is: To
me or In my opinion or My viewpoint is…
- Myself is Ronak.
This one is the deadliest. Right from the beginning,
it gives a funny impression of someone when he introduces himself using
‘myself’. I am Ronak.
