TAMPERING WITH, NOT TAMPERING

WHEN the dailies went to town about the alterations made to the financial report on 1MDB, they chose to write "charged with tampering the report".

The correct grammar is "tampering with". The former premier was charged with tampering with the financial report.

If unclear on this, choose the simpler word "alter". He was charged with altering the financial report.

WANT THAT . . . SHOULD/WANT . . . TO When someone wants someone else to do something, the expression is not “she wants that you should do it” but “she wants you to do it.”

Similarly, it’s “I want you to do it,” “we want you to do it,” etc.

WARMONGERER/WARMONGER “Monger” is a very old word for “dealer.” An ironmonger sells metal or hardware, and a fishmonger sells fish. Warmongers do not literally sell wars, but they advocate and promote them. For some reason lots of people tack an unneeded extra “-er” onto the end of this word. Why would you say “mongerer” when you don’t say “dealerer”?