Know Your English (Feb2001)

Know your English

``HOW IS your favourite teacher?
I hear that she was operated on recently.''

``She is in very bad shape. Her husband took her to the hospital again yesterday. The diagnosis was terrible.''
``The diagnosis was terrible? You mean the doctors were....''
``...so they went to get a second opinion. Even then, the diagnosis wasn't very encouraging. The doctors say that she may have to quit her job. It seems that...''
``....I am sorry to hear that. But the word you are looking for is not diagnosis, but prognosis.''
``What?''
``P..r..o..g..n..o..s..i..s. The first syllable `prog' rhymes like the word `frog', while the second is pronounced like the word `no'. The `i' in the final syllable is like the `i' in `sit', `sip', and `sick'. The main stress is on the second syllable.''
``I guessed as much. But tell me, what is the difference between `prognosis' and `diagnosis'?''
``When a doctor examines you after listening to your complaints, he attempts to find out what is wrong with you. He then arrives at a conclusion. This is what we call `diagnosis'. For example, the doctor was unable to diagnose what the problem was.''
``Sounds like a doctor I know. After several tests, my friend Ranjan was diagnosed with vitamin B deficiency.''
``That's a good example. The doctor's diagnosis was that the patient was not getting enough sleep.''
``You couldn't have been the patient! You sleep quite a bit in my opinion. Anyway, what does `prognosis' mean?''
``Once the doctor has finished examining you and telling you what your problem is, he goes on to tell you what your chances of getting better are. He may also inform you of the problems you are likely to have in future because of whatever illness you have.''
``I see. So what you are saying is that a prognosis is a statement about how a disease that I have will affect me. Is that it?''
``Exactly!''
``The doctor also tells me what my chances of getting better are. He tells me if my condition will improve, deteriorate, ....''
``....and so on and so forth. Here's an example. The prognosis after the operation was for a partial recovery.''
``In the case of my teacher, the doctor gave us a gloomy prognosis. Does it sound OK?''
``As far as the example goes, it sounds great. But I wish it didn't have to be your teacher. I understand that she....''
``...she is a woman of promises. I am sure....''
``....surely, you don't mean that!''
``Of course, I do. She has a lot of potential. You could see that she....''
``...well, in that case, she isn't a woman of promises, but a woman of promise.''
``What is the difference between the two? I don't see any.''
``When you refer to someone as a man of promise, it means that there is a lot of potential in the man. He has a bright future. My neighbour Mahesh is a batsman of promise.''
``Many people believe that my cousin Dilip is a poet of promise. But I don't think he will amount to anything.''
``You are such an optimist! You have such a....''
``....let's not talk about me. Now you tell me what is the meaning of the expression `a man of promises'?''
``When you say that someone is a `man of promises', it means that the individual makes a lot of promises, but doesn't keep any of them. It is used in a very negative sense.''
``Is it a polite way of saying don't believe the person?''
``I guess you could say that. Here is an example. Many people have started saying that my boss is a man of promises.''
``Most of our politicians are men of promises. They promise a lot of things during the elections. Once they get elected, they do absolutely nothing.''
``That's true. My cousin Gautam is a man of promises. Tell me, what does your teacher plan on doing?''
``She wants to talk things over with her family doctor. That's why she and her husband are leaving to Mumbai today.''
``That's a sensible idea. By the way, your teacher and her husband are not leaving `to' Mumbai, they are leaving `for' Mumbai. You leave `for' a place, and not `to' a place.''
``I see. My cousin is leaving for Georgia next week.''
``I am planning to leave for London next week.''
``Really? Will you get me a nice T-shirt?''
``Of course, I will.''
``I know you. You won't do anything of the kind. Like your boss, you are a man of promises. That's all.''
``If somebody has a bad heart, they can plug this jack in at night as they go to bed and it will monitor their heart throughout the night. And the next morning, when they wake up dead, there'll be a record.'' - Mark S. Fowler, FCC Chairman

Source:
The Hindu daily, Tuesday, February 27, 2001