The past week witnessed the frequent occurrence of the words ‘resign’ and its derivative ‘resignation’ in the print, electronic and social media, thanks to LK Advani who stunned the BJP with his resignation letter, which he withdrew a day later. Look at these news headlines:
• Rift in BJP wide open after Advani’s resignation from party posts (Hindustan Times)
• LK Advani resigns from all party posts (Times of India)
• Advani resigns for the third time in eight years (PTI)
• LK Advani resigns all his leadership posts (Global Post)
The verb ‘resign’ was used transitively and intransitively in many tweets, news reports and comments. This prompted a reader to send in this query: Is ‘resign’ a transitive or intransitive verb? Resign is used as a transitive as well as an intransitive verb. It has the following three different meanings as a transitive verb:
• To accept as inevitable. Eg. He resigned himself to the corrupt system by paying `10 lakh as capitation fee to get an engineering seat for his son.
• To give up (a position, for example), especially by formal notification. Eg. She resigned her teaching post in order to focus on writing.
• To relinquish (a privilege, right, or claim). Eg. Ashok resigned his right to be the head of the department of mathematics. Here are some more examples:
• I hereby resign the Office of President of the United States — Richard M Nixon.
• Pope Benedict XVI has announced that he will resign the papacy because of ill health, according to the Italian news agency ANSA (Independent).
In the above examples, ‘resign’ is used as a transitive verb as the verb is followed by objects, namely, the Office of President and the Papacy. As an intransitive verb, ‘resign’ means ‘to give up one’s job or office’ in a very formal manner. Here are some examples where ‘resign’ is used as an intransitive verb and it is followed by the preposition ‘from’.
• Mrs Gomez resigned from the board of directors of Kavin Mutual Benefit Fund.
• Yielding to pressure by the opposition party, Tom Mathew resigned from the presidency.
• President Nixon to resign from office.
• Hillary Clinton Resigns From Secretary Of State Post.
Which is correct: ‘to resign from a post’ or ‘to resign a post’?: ‘To resign from a post’ and ‘to resign a post’ are acceptable but the first one is more common. For example:
• I have decided, therefore, to resign from the three main fora of the party.
• I would like to inform you that I am resigning from my position as Placement Officer effective June 21.
• I am writing to notify you that I am resigning from my position as Finance Officer.
The words closest in meaning to the word ‘resign’ are ‘leave’ and ‘quit’. Both can be used as transitive verbs. Look at these examples:
• Advani quits all party posts.
• I am writing this letter to inform you that I am leaving my position as Quality Assurance Manager with JVC on 15 July 2013.
The only way to do great work is to love what you do — Steve Jobs.
Dr Albert P’ Rayan is an ELT resource person and associate professor at KCG College of Technology, Chennai
— rayanal@yahoo.co.uk