Sentence structure on MRT ‘Show You Care’ poster leaves foreign student ‘confused’
A foreign student in Singapore has sparked a debate on English grammar after questioning a seemingly simple phrase on an MRT poster.
On 30 Nov, the student posted on Xiaohongshu asking whether the #StandUpStacey sign, which encourages commuters to offer priority seats to those who need them more, contained any grammatical errors.
Source: Xiaohongshu
“I’ve been meaning to ask . . . is there a grammatical issue with this sentence?” the student wrote, referring to the phrase “Show You Care”.
They suggested the sentence should read “Show Your Care” or “Show That You Care” instead.
“How can it be ‘Show You Care’? I’m confused,” they added.
While their exact nationality remains unclear, they identified as an “international student”.
Netizens share their thoughts
The post sparked a range of reactions from netizens.
Some criticised Singapore’s English standards, with one user remarking: “People in Singapore don’t even speak proper English. Only people from China get hung up on whether it’s standard, but there’s really no such thing as a standard.”
Source: Xiaohongshu
However, others were quick to defend the language used, arguing that there was no issue with the sentence.
“Did you not learn grammar in the UK?” one retorted, referring to the first user’s location tag being set to England. “The sentence is perfectly fine. Singapore’s public transport signs wouldn’t make such a basic typo, it would be flooded with criticism.”
They also explained that Singlish is used for convenience in everyday communication, and this doesn’t contradict the use of standard English in professional settings.
Others offered a more detailed explanation of the phrase’s structure.
One user wrote: “There’s no need to say ‘Show that you care’ because ‘that’ is implied. In advertising or slogans, the goal is to create a catchy, memorable phrase. ‘Show You Care’ achieves this with simplicity and clarity while remaining grammatically correct.”
Source: Xiaohongshu
Adding “that”, they continued, would not change the meaning, but it would make the phrase longer and less impactful.
Another user pointed out that it’s often non-native speakers who play “grammar police” over minor details, to which someone else explained it’s because such phrasing deviates from more formal “textbook” English.
After reading all the comments, the original poster thanked everyone for their input and said they had learned something new.
Source: Xiaohongshu
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Featured image adapted from Xiaohongshu.
