Usage of "in charge of"

[LeTyan]

Hi,
Some English professors in China claim it is NOT OK to say "He is in charge of delivering mails everyday". They believe "in charge of" shouldn't be used in this situation. What do you think?

Thank!

 

[Barb_D]

"In charge of" is fine. The plural "mails, however, is not.

What do they suggest should be used instead?

 

[LeTyan]

Oh I thought "mail' and "letter" are used the same way. So are you suggesting we either say "deliver a letter" or "deliver mail"?


They didn't suggest anything other than that. I assume they sometimes say things out of their sheer fantasy without checking with native speakers first.

 

[Mr_Ben]

Oh I thought "mail' and "letter" are used the same way. So are you suggesting we either say "deliver a letter" or "deliver mail"?

Yes, letters are countable; mail and post are not (but emails are). That's just the "logic" of English for you. ;-)

Their prohibition of the phrase might be a relic of "phrasal verbs are NEVER to be used in formal English." I think nowadays "formal" English and "formal academic English" are distinct. I would have no problem writing "in charge of" on my CV, but I wouldn't put it in a paper for my Master's degree.

 

[Odessa Dawn]

***NOT A TEACHER***

Hi,
Some English professors in China claim it is NOT OK to say "He is in charge of delivering mails [STRIKE] everyday[/STRIKE] every day". They believe "in charge of" shouldn't be used in this situation. What do you think?

Thank!

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