To Escape' or 'To Escape From'

To Escape' or 'To Escape From'

THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS

A few days ago, while interacting with a group of students at a communication skills workshop at a deemed university in Chennai, one of the participants approached me with a request, “Sir, some of my classmates and I read your English Blues column regularly. The column is very useful for those who prepare for competitive exams. We will be delighted if you can answer some of our queries in it.” Touched by their enthusiasm, I assured them that I would choose some good queries and discuss them in the column. Here are two of their queries:

Is the verb ‘escape’ followed by the preposition ‘from’ or is it followed by an object?

What is the difference between ‘presume’ and ‘assume’?

The verb ‘escape’ can be used both as a transitive and an intransitive verb depending on the context in which it is used. A transitive verb is followed by an object whereas an indirect object is not followed by an object. Look at these examples:

Vijay Mallya escapes from India (news headline)

One tiger has escaped from its cage in the zoo.

The idiomatic expression escaped from my memory.

The child escaped the torture of her mother.

I am one among a few passengers who escaped serious injury.
r name always escapes me.

In the first three sentences, the word ‘escape’ is used as an intransitive verb whereas in the last three sentences, it is used as a transitive verb. In the first two sentences, the verb ‘escape’ means ‘to get away from or to gain liberty from something and so it is followed by the preposition ‘from’. In the third example, it means ‘to slip away from something’. In the other three examples, the verb, used transitively, means ‘to succeed in avoiding someone or something’ and ‘to ellude’.

Though both the words ‘assume’ and ‘presume’ mean ‘to suppose’ or ‘to take for granted’, ‘assume’ means ‘to take something for granted without proof’ whereas ‘presume’ means ‘to believe that something is true or to form an opinion based on reasonable grounds or evidence’. To make it clearer, if something is presumed, it is more likely to be true than something assumed. Look at these examples:

Don’t assume every educated person is against casteism. (no proof)

The public assumed that the dalit youth had some problems with his killers but only some critics presumed that he was killed because he had married a girl belonging to a different caste.

“Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won’t come in.” - Isaac Asimov

Dr Albert P’ Rayan

is an ELT Resource Person and Professor of English. He can be contacted at rayanal@yahoo.co.uk